Nearly four years after the end of the series, Buffy and the Scoobies (look it up) were resurrected in the form of a hit comic book series and a run of sold-out midnight sing-alongs à la “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Unfortunately for disappointed fans, the sing-alongs (or “Buffyokes”), which featured screenings of the musical episode “Once More With Feeling” with fans dressed in costume and a live cast acting out the story, have been dusted, according to MTV News.

Buffyoke in the States was started by Clinton McClung last year in Boston and the shows quickly spread across the country, selling up to 1000 tickets per performance in cities like Washington, D.C., San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Detroit, Denver, Los Angeles and Seattle.

McClung told MTV News tickets were selling out well in advance in every city the shows played. The event even had the support of “Buffy” cast members, including Michelle Trachtenburg and Amber Benson, as well as creator Joss Whedon.

“Who doesn’t dream of getting a little piece of that ‘Rocky Horror’ vibe?” Whedon told MTV News. “I wrote it to be an episode of television to air and disappear. I didn’t think about its afterlife much, and now it has much more of an afterlife than I could ever have expected, and a much more fun one. Of course I love it!”

Apparently the phenomenon exists even outside the States, as this clip from Israel illustrates.

So who’s the Big Bad in this story? The Screen Actors Guild started the trouble. Although McClung and the cast weren’t necessarily making a profit, they were charging a nominal ticket price in order to cover the cost of materials and travel. And as anyone in Hollywood can tell you, when there’s money involved, the Guild pays attention.

SAG sent 20th Century Fox Television a hefty bill for unpaid actor residuals, causing Fox to take a closer look. The studio had been unaware of how big the sing-alongs were and got in touch with Criterion Pictures, which had been granted a license to exhibit “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and in turn gave McClurg permission for the Buffyokes, and revoked its license.

A Fox spokesman told MTV News Criterion never had the legal right to allow the Buffyokes to take place, because screening “Buffy” theatrically or commercially was not part of the agreement.

Criterion issued a statement blaming McClung for the misinterpretation of the license that, like most seemingly hopeless situations in the Buffyverse, offers a glimmer of hope.

“Due to the terms of its license agreement with Fox, Criterion Pictures granted Clinton McClung only the non-theatrical distribution rights to Buffy,” the company said. “As this event has expanded beyond the rules and regulations of the non-theatrical market, Criterion Pictures must restrict the screenings of this episode until such time as it has secured the theatrical rights which it is now diligently pursuing.”

Several options are being considered to allow the shows to rise again in the best “Buffy” tradition, including the waiving of residuals by the cast and crew of the episode or screening it as a benefit show and asking for donations for admission.

In the meantime, fans who long to experience “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” – wait for it – once more with feeling, can show their support through an online petition McClung has set up – and sharpen up those stakes.