TV show musicals

[Gavin Rehfeldt]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 12:07am

I just wanted to get the ball rolling for some discussion of TV show musicals. Now I would include the Cinderellas and the Gypsys for sure, but what about Evening Primrose and all the other casualties from the ABC Stage 67 musicals like Olympus 7-000? Have I lost you yet?

Well, what about Buffy the Vampire Slayer's magnificent hour "Once More With Feeling"? I believe it to be the most entertaining piece of television produced, frankly. I love the musical episodes of Scrubs, and I was particularly impressed with what It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia cooked up in "The Nightman Cometh." I STILL have Charlie's closing number in my head. It's like some prog-glam-show-music gem with all the wacky ornamentation. "No one writes a musical for no reason."

So, yeah, tell me about your thoughts on musicals on television. Anyone seen the tv airings of Shangri-La? The Golden Apple? Simply Heavenly? Do we all still cherish seeing the episode of Lucy where they go see The Most Happy Fella?

What about musical-ish type experiences like Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! or The Sifl and Olly Show? They are like little variety shows and both feature original music compositions. Heck, I even saw an episode of Chip N Dale's Rescue Rangers that had a musical number that progressed the plot. Batman Beyond had a Batman: the musical that is worth noting as well.

Ok, GO!


Batman: The Musical!

Updated On: 12/6/09 at 12:07 AM

[I<3bway]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 12:15am

Can forget about Family Guy! Seth is a musical fan and is usually giving his regards to broadway every other episode. The episode where Peter accidentally runs over one of the cats from CATS is a laugh out loud moment.

[After Eight]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 12:22am

I remember enjoying Cole Porter's "Aladdin." It certainly has some nice songs, which I still listen to today.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 1:35am

Alice at the Palace

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 4:39am

There's "Cindy" which is a black version of Cinderella starring Charlayne Woodard, Cleavant Derricks, Clifton Davis and Nell Carter. Part of it was good, and part of it was stupid. For example, Cindy's father worked as a washroom attendant at the Plaza Hotel. There's a song and dance number where these businessmen are dancing in and out of bathroom stalls singing "He's the best damn men's washroom attendant in the history of the Plaza Hotel."

There's the really great Mrs. Santa Claus starring Angela Lansbury.

The tv series Head of the Class did a really shortened 20 minute version of Little Shop of Horrors.

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 5:42am

Even Stevens: Influenza basically defined my middle school experience.

[Weez]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 6:34am

I always had a semi-irrational hate-on for the Buffy musical episode, 'cos I knew a lot of people at the time who kept TALKING about it and TALKING about it and TALKING about it and TALKING about it and "GOSH isn't it just the most CLEVER thing you've EVER seen, a MUSICAL episode of a TV SHOW, no one has EVER done that before!", and it got on my wick, 'cos Xena: Warrior Princess had definitely done at least one musical episode at that point, but try pointing that out to devoted Whedonites. Who are they to listen to fact when the alternative is ignoring it in the name of the godliness that is Joss?

*ahem*

So, yeah, Xena: Warrior Princess had one or two.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 7:46am

I remember there was an episode of Daria where they did one. That was funny.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 10:25am

Didn't One Life to Live have a whole week or something that was a musical? During the prom?

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 1:40pm

Stockard, I have tried to block that thing out. GAH!

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 1:47pm

If that was the case then an abused wife can not help loving her abuser.

Sixth Period! Sixth Period!

[BroadwayBenny]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 2:37pm

Joss Whedon even mentioned in an interview how he was such a big fan of Xena and got the idea to do an episode with entirely original songs from the warrior princess.

The first Xena musical episode, "The Bitter Suite" was all original songs and on the dramatic side. It was brilliant way to end that story arc in Season 3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gktwyJkEMN0



The next time they did an all musical episode, "Lyre, Lyre, Hearts On Fire" it was already existing material (Moulin Rouge-ish) and was a comedic episode. They even rewrote the lyrics to "The Telephone Hour" from Bye Bye Birdie for that one. Funny, at the time of filming this one they were going to have Xena and Gabrielle sing the duet "We Can Work It Out" by the Beatles, but the studios told them to nix it because it came off as too lesbian. The track is on the CD though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbIaQVkgGHM
Updated On: 12/6/09 at 02:37 PM

[Gavin Rehfeldt]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 5:41pm

I have Alice at the Palace in my Nflix queue and can't wait to check it out. I've had a live tape forever and Swados's score is by far her best. Oh, and Meryl has a lovely lilting bird-voice.

I saw one of the Xena musical episodes but had no idea that there was an original musical episode much like "OMWF." I'll have to hunt it down.

Weez: Don't let the Whedon fanaticism get you down. Have you seen the episode? Or, the whole 6th season? It is absolutely revelatory. It fits in perfectly with the storyline, the character themselves have issues that they are singing, and the songs are very well done and cover many styles. But, most importantly, it fulfills its promise by having the characters reveal intense feelings they would otherwise prefer to keep hidden.

I love Buffy and Whedon, and I understand the backlash because there are extremists, but it is difficult to argue Whedon's writing is glowing all around. Funny, intense, entertaining and always unpredictable. The flashback Anya solo song in the seventh season episode "Selfless" is delightful, too. See below, and listen to those lyrics.

I forgot completely the Little Shop episode of Head of the Class. I had that on vhs tape and would watch it over and over. It reminds me that I saw and taped a weird episode of I Love Lucy where she bumped her head or something and ended up in Brigadoon. Nice.

Anyone a fan of The Sarah Silverman Program? I love her original songs and they are often influenced by theater music. Her anti-duet with a homeless guy she's hosting in her laundry room is a charmer. "Now he's covered in dish towels instead of fleas!" ...and then the pigeons join in.
Emma Caulfield - "I'll Be His Mrs." 3m26sd - Buffy season 7 episode: "Selfless"

[Candleshoe2]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 7:30pm

I'm glad that more people know about "Alice at the Palace" or "Alice in Concert"! It's definitely my favorite adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland".

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 10:40pm

Nothing ever beat The Love Boat Follies, with Ethel Merman, Ann Miller, Carol Channing and Della Reese

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qaNIVbUvNs

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 10:54pm

There seemed to be endless musical shown on television, when I was growing up in the 1950s. One of my favorites of the later ones, is THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, which aired on PBS on March 5, 1980.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 11:07pm

You may think I'm joking, but I think the episode of "Gilligan's Island" when they perform "Hamlet" is sheer genius.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 11:09pm

By which I mean a musical version of "Hamlet."

[degrassifan]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 12:43am

I LOVED the Even Stevens musical episode.

I sometimes catch myself singing "Sixth Period" and "We Went To The Moon In 1969" sometimes.

[BroadwayBenny]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 12:52am

It would be a crime against humanity if we did not mention "Flight of the Conchords" here. Now THAT is some brilliant musical tv.

[Plum]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 1:44am

I love Conchords, but every episode of that is musical. If we're talking "special" musical episodes, the top post here reminded me of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which recently had a musical episode with a villain voiced by Neil Patrick Harris. It was...kind of awesome.

And I'm still disappointed that Bryan Fuller never kept his promise to make a musical episode of Pushing Daisies should that show get more than nine episodes. Kristin Chenoweth and Ellen Greene did get a few chances to sing, but I would have loved to see, say, Chi McBride joining in. And let's face it, the overall unreality of that show would have made a musical episode a whole lot less contrived than it is in most cases.

Posted: 12/7/09 at 3:54am

I think tis tv musical drama series has been completely forgotten for premiering right around the same time of the diaster that was Cop Rock but oddly this song has stuck in my head since I was 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJjPe0o1cf4

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 7:55am

In 1997, the Gilligan's Island musical Hamlet was voted by TV Guide as #52 in their list of the 100 Greatest Episodes of all time.

Here's the whole episode:

http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/25185635

[liotte]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 12:17pm

The tv show Rags to Riches was the best. 6 orphan girls singing 50s and 60s songs? Fabulous. I have the first 2 hour episode on VHS, then there were a bunch of 1 hour tv episodes. I recall a trip to Vegas where they got to meet Elvis and got his guitar...

[StageManager2]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 12:32pm

CHICAGO HOPE had a musical episode, too, back in '97. Schutt has an aneurysm and then hallucinates everything as song and dance numbers.