Buffy’s OMWF VS Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: Whedonverse’s Reaction to Show-Stopping Vote

(The following post is for all Whedonverse fans but should resonate even further for those who attend Dragon Con.)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s “Once More with Feeling” VERSUS Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Both featuring singing superheroes and supervillains (yes, Buffy is a superhero). Both by geek god extraordinaire, Joss Whedon. Put lightly, both pretty freaking sweet.

Buffy‘s a ten year old cult phenomenon, with a fandom continuing to grow–In every generation, more Scoobies are made–starring every nerd boy’s (and, if we’re honest, every nerd girl’s) dream girl, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and “Once More with Feeling” is its highest rated episode…and Dr. Horrible(‘s) is newer, fresher, and not to mention starring the awesomeness that is Neil Patrick Harris, other geek god Nathan Fillion, and geek goddess Felicia Day.

Earlier this week, the “Buffy or Dr. Horrible” question was posed by Dragon Con in a way that affects a ton of people. If you haven’t been to Dragon Con, we’d be willing to bet you at least know what it is. But just in case, you should know that it’s a pretty big deal. Dragon Con is “the world’s largest fantasy/[Sci-Fi] convention, held annually in Atlanta, GA, on Labor Day weekend.” And every Labor Day weekend, shadowcasts of Once More with Feeling (officially performed as the “Buffy Horror Picture Show” at Dragon Con) and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog take place (in the vein of Rocky Horror).

We’ve been lucky enough to be a part of it, and we don’t mean to brag, but it’s pretty awesome. The cast and crew goes all out. I mean, check out how awesome Buffy‘s Sweet was last year, whose costume was complete with facial appliances and makeup by (SyFy) Face Off‘s Laura Tyler and a tear-away suit we constructed for the magical red-to-blue color change (we did the magical Dawn quick-change too).

And the Dr. Horrible(‘s) cast has the performance down to an art form, complete with working freeze ray (sort of).

Dragon Con has been putting on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog since it came out in 2008 and the “Buffy Horror Picture Show” for even longer. Both shows are major Dragon Con traditions for many attendees. The lines are always way too long and the room is always packed to capacity (even back when they had two showings of each show a year!), but it’s always worth it! For 2014, however, the new track director has decided to have only one show. Period. Not each. (It should be noted also that whichever is not picked may come back in 2015, replacing whichever is performed this year.) That’s where you come in! They’ve created a survey to see which fan favorite really is the fan favorite. Which has the right to live on in 2014? Buffy‘s “Once More with Feeling” OR Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog? You can vote on that by following this link. And even if you’re not a Dragon Con goer, the result could be a pretty good reflection of which show is more beloved…as long as enough people get out there (so to speak) and vote. Claim your fandom and vote while you can!

If, however, like so many of us, you’d like to see both shows live on (not a lot of people are thrilled about having to choose–and that’s putting things lightly!), we encourage you to make that known in the comments on the Facebook posts here for the official WhedonUniverse at Dragon Con Facebook post and here for the official Dragon Con (as a whole) Facebook post. Have a read through the comments (especially on the WhedonUniverse post, where the bulk of responses are) to get an idea on what most people are thinking… Comments range from the hilarious (and sort of mean, but mostly hilarious), “Just so we’re clear, the complaints and headaches are the result of this event being TOO popular, and your solution is to cancel half of it? Did Fox execs take over the track?!?” and, “That’s like asking me to vote if you should cut off my index finger or my thumb. False choice.” to the heartfelt and upset, “this is the nail in the coffin on con for my family this year. this is my favorite part of Con every year. We won’t be going and that is so heart breaking to me it was so important to us that we made it a tradition for our wedding anniversary.” all the way to the very well thought out response from the former (and much loved) Whedonverse track director of many years stating, “I know that my opinion no longer matters but if you really want it: Don’t do this. The only time that some people even spend is in the shows and nothing else. Both of these shows are what really took our humble beginnings and made the track as big as it is now. The stories alone that are outside the production are monumental. There have been marriage proposals happen at the shows, lifelong friends made and for me and Melissa before we were on staff it was the only event that we would block off and actually stand in line for no matter how long it took. It’s more than a show to most of us are voicing their concerns. In closing the shows over the internet comes to life all that geeking out that you do with all those people all you’re on Facebook and other social media avenues gets played out in the stage live it makes for some of the memories that you can I get it any other convention in the entire world.” [sic] RE: all quotes–and that’s with people trying to be respectful on the public forums. We have, however, witnessed more than a few rage-filled rants by more private means of communication from spectators and cast. It’s clear that a lot of that comes from the promise of losing a time-honored tradition that so many hold dear, but also because it was a surprise to all, cast and spectators finding out at the same time via public Facebook announcement. This unpopular decision was only that of the new track director, and people aren’t thrilled about being offered the illusion of a choice (which one instead of if there should only be one) after that decision has already been made.

At the very least, we hope they postpone this decision and continue on with both shows this year (at least) so that people can decide if they want to cough up the big bucks on attending Dragon Con without their favorite part in the future. Especially now that Dragon Con has the “No refunds or transfers” rule, those of us who have already purchased tickets (some cast members attend because they are committed to the shows) are stuck with no options. Our voices may or may not make a difference in this (beyond which show makes the cut), but it’s at least worth letting the Powers That Be know what we want. Isn’t Dragon Con, after all, and this event even moreso, for the enjoyment of the masses (that’s us)?

The above .gif is one of many excellent reasons that the two should co-exist. But at the very least, we want to know… BUFFY OR DR. HORRIBLE? If you had to choose, which would it be?

Last day to vote and or speak your mind on the issue? March 31st.

Let us know what you think in the comments and, “Tell your friends.“

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