Musical Mondays: Television Addition
I’m not sure the exact quantity of occurrences something has to obtain in order to become a trope nor how many occurrences takes a trope to a cliché, but it feels the musical episode of an otherwise not musical television series seems to be somewhere in between the two. Sometimes it asks as a major marketing ploy to try to up viewers and sometimes it feels like a desperate attempt to bring some pizzazz to a show that is waning. Obviously I’m not referring to Glee, Smash, or any show where music and singing is at the heart of the show. These are episodes on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Grey’s Anatomy, and That 70s Show—all of which did in fact have a musical episode. For this Musical Monday, I want to highlight three examples of shows that had particularly strong musical episodes.
The Flash
The CW superhero show’s musical works not because of the music being any type of groundbreaking, but rather because of the just sheer strength of the existing cast. Grant Gustin, the titular Flash, was in a national tour of West Side Story prior to making his television debut on Glee. Jesse L. Martin, a detective on the show, originated the role of Collins in Rent on Broadway. He went on to play the role on the West End as well as in the film. The dude can sing! Additionally, Melissa Benoist had a guest appearance as Supergirl—the same Melissa Benoist who is currently playing Carole King in Beautiful—and Darren Criss made a guest appearance as well. The Flash decided a musical episode suited the strength of its cast, and it was the main reason it felt like such a natural fit.
Scrubs
Scrubs is a bit of a guilty pleasure show for me. I know it is a little bit dumb, and the writing can be a little cheesy, but it always brings a smile to my face. The musical episode worked for two reasons: (1) it gave the characters a reason to be singing and (2) it didn’t stray from its zany humor. In the first scene of the episode, a character passes out and when she wakes up she hears people singing. It turns out she has a brain tumor that is affecting the way people sound. Suspending disbelief is necessary in musicals, obviously, but it feels less jarring to give this a reason when the first singing is multiple years into the narrative. As for the humor, two doctors have to collect a stool sample and sing the side splittingly funny Everything Comes Down to Poo.
Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The Nightman Cometh is one of the most absurdly funny pieces of theater I can think of, and it is the name of the musical the characters in Sunny perform within the show. It was so successful they actually toured the show. I’m not sure I can put into words an accurate, appropriate summary of the musical, but it is also wonderfully addicting. One of the most underrated parts of the episode are when Charlie announces he has written a musical just because, and no one will accept this. “No one just writes a musical,” another character says. To keep this spoiler free, I’ll say that character is right. The actual reason is revealed in the absolute high point of the episode.
Do you have any favorite musical television episodes? Did I miss one you love?