Image Credit: Liane Hentscher/FoxWhat do you get when you combine a mad scientist, singing, dancing, and 1940s noir? Surprisingly, not a Broadway musical or a rejected episode of Glee, but tonight’s musical episode of Fringe. While dealing with some upsetting news, the self-medicating Walter (John Noble) tells Olivia’s (Anna Torv) niece a fairy tale, which plays out in his head with a lot of singing and dancing.
With tonight’s episode, Fringe is entering into some competitive territory. There have been some great TV musical episodes: A patient hallucinated that everyone was singing on Scrubs, which gave us the bromance anthem “Guy Love.” How I Met Your Mother recently celebrated its 100th episode with a big production number featuring Barney’s (Neil Patrick Harris) ode to suits. Harris also showed off his incredible pipes on a musical episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold last year. (You must download the soundtrack!) But of course, my favorite is Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s superb “Once More, With Feeling,” the granddaddy template for a great musical episode.
When I first heard Fringe was doing a musical episode — “Really? Seriously? Um, OK…” went my reaction — I thought maybe it was time to put the musical episode to rest. But with the success of the every-week-is-a-musical Glee, it seems like we’re in store for more characters breaking out into song. In fact, tonight is the beginning of Fox Rocks Week, so prepare for music-themed episodes of all your favorite Fox shows through May 5. I wish NBC was a part of this because if there’s one show I can easily picture doing a musical episode, it’s the self-aware Community. The show has already tipped its hat to The Breakfast Club, mafia movies, and classic sitcoms, so why not the musical genre? The funny will make up for whoever can’t sing.
My other pick if I could turn back time: Pushing Daisies. I’m still sad the show, which featured the occasional song, never did a full-blown musical episode. Its candy-coated world of whimsy was the perfect setting for one.
PopWatchers, are you excited for tonight’s Fringe? What’s your favorite musical episode? Which show do you think should tackle a musical episode next? Does all this talk of musicals make you miss ABC’s Eli Stone a little bit or is it just me?
Hands down best musical episode is Once More With Feeling from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Singing demons, cool choreography, great writing, put them together and you’ve got a masterpiece!
I, too, miss Eli Stone and the actress who played Maggie was GORGEOUS!
i miss eli sotne too, that show had hart
Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies made my week for two seasons. I still and always will miss them.
Amen!
Julie gonzalo is that chick and eli stone rocked hard.
I’m still sad about Eli Stone. Such a little gem of a show. Too bad ABC isn’t much for keeping their high concept shows around.
I’m still sad about both those shows too. They were the kinds of shows that are enjoyable upon multiple viewings because they were so fun and unique and smart.
Amen from me too! It’s certainly not just you! I miss “Eli Stone” sooooo much! I wish it could somehow have a miraculous resurrection!
i agree, the best one was the buffy episode, but it also was the first show which had the balls to do it, and everyone critiziced them, but they opened the door for shows like scrubs or himym, i think the next show that should do it is castle, i bet nathan fillion can sing
It was not the first.
Yeah, it wasn’t the first…off the top of my head, I can remember “Chicago Hope” doing a musical episode back in the day.
The first non-variety show that did a musical episode was, I think, “Moonlighting” back in the 1980s. (Of course, you could argue that even “I Love Lucy” had a few musical episodes. Remember the good prince Lancelot, who loved to sing and dance a lot?)
Of course Nathan Fillion can sing. Haven’t you seen “Dr. Horrible”?
his hair blowing in the breeze…
“Which show should tackle a musical episode next?”
Ugly Betty…oh wait.
Another vote for “Once More with Feeling” being the best TV musical episode of all time. I also have much love for “My Musical” (especially “Guy Love” and “Everything Comes Down to Poo.”)
And, although it was arguably weirder than the idea of a “Fringe” musical, the musical episode of “Oz” (“Variety”) had a couple of numbers I listen to every once in a while. (“The Last Duet” by Lee Tergesen and J.K. Simmons, and B.D. Wong covering “Leather.”)
Didn’t Silvio Horta once say that they were flirting with a musical episode of UB? Too bad they never got to do it (assuming, of course, that everyone had the chops to pull it off. If not, then I’ll be thankful that my ears were spared.)
Yeah, you’re right. I remember Horta talking about it. It was always kind of a “we’re planning it for next season” thing. Oh well.
I think the cast would’ve pulled it off just fine. I mean, the cast of “Buffy” and “Scrubs” weren’t exactly world-class singers, and that worked out ok.
A musical episode was originally planned for the second season, but it ended up not happening because of the writer’s strike. It’s really too bad, that cast had some amazing musical talent and Ugly Betty was a perfect show to have a musical episode.
I am really looking forward to seeing how Fringe pulls this off. I think musicals on tv (besides Glee which is basically a serial musical) musical episodes work best on dramas, where the music can convey major feelings without compromising the integrity of the characters. It is what made once more with feeling so epic. They found Buffy was in heaven! She didn’t want to come back! She’s been sleeping with Spike! perfect!
Except she didn’t sleep with Spike until after the musical.
Oh, I would love to see a 100% Classic rock ‘Supernatural’ muscial episode. That would be so awesome!
OMG I would kill for that — Dean rocking it out to Metallica, Sam going emo on us, Cas…well I’m not sure what he’d do…opera?
That would be seriously amazing.
Cas would do something off the wall. Enochian gangsta rap?
Jensen can sing, though. For real. Dunno about Jared and Mischa.
I’ve thought about this before. Everytime I hear Kid Rock’s “Amen” and Lady A’s “Lookin’ for a good time”. For some reason those two songs always feel like they would fit in a Supernatural marathon.
that being said, Jared has been pretty open about his inability to sing.
Pushing Daisies would have been perfect for a musical…it makes my heart hurt to think of it. Buffy is the all time greatest tv musical episode, but I would be ok with other shows trying it out. Imagine Cam and Mitchell imagining the whole crew of Modern Family as a musical or Supernatural tackling one (since they’ve already parodied most other genres)
They did quite a bit of music on that show.
Desperate Housewives. They name a lot of episodes after musicals (Sondheim songs specifically)and we already know James Denton and Terri Hatcher have musical talents.
LOST??? I guess not.
not looking forward to this one bit after such a big episode last week
As much as a musical episode of Supernatural would be awesome, Jensen Ackles has said it wouldn’t make sense, since Sam & Dean can’t sing particularly well. Jensen may be able to sing- but *Dean* can’t. Sucks for us. But hey, who knows? It’s Season 6, anything is possible!
The thing that makes me sad about “Fox Rocks” is that if Dollhouse hadn’t been canceled, could we have gotten a musical episode? Sigh. I want more Joss Whedon musicals.
I cant wait for tonight Fringe. I was sceptic at first but now I’m excited to see how musical and weird mix up
CASTLE!
Nathan Fillion was a-ma-zing in Dr. Horrible. I’m not sure if the rest of the cast has any voice training but I could see an episode where Castle is thinking about making one of his books into a Broadway show and so he tries to see if randomly busting out into song would fit into the crime solving world. I’m sure the writers would come up with something much better but it could be epic.
Glee!!! …oh, wait. Never mind.
In seriousness: Chuck, Castle, or Big Bang Theory. I’m not sure if all the stars can sing, though. (I mean, we know Nate Fillion can, but I don’t know about anyone else.)