Buffy’s “Once More With Feeling” was brilliant, not only for the way it fit seamlessly into the story arcs that were going on and moved them all along nicely, but also for the simple fact that in the Buffy universe, the fact that everyone was suddenly singing and dancing had a perfectly logical reason. I doubt there is any other TV series that will have the chance to come close.
Nonetheless, other series have tried the genre, well before Joss Whedon set the bar so high. Moonlighting, I remember, already known for breaking the fourth wall, once did a musical episode.
Who did the first one?
What was the first TV series to do a musical episode? I would exclude an episode that was about the characters doing a show – a musical within an episode, as it were – unless they also sang and danced outside the context of their internal show. Does that make any sense?
According to this site, I think the “Lucy Goes to Scotland” episode of I Love Lucy is the earliest, aired in 1956.
I found that site while looking for the date of Chicago Hope’s musical episode “Brain Salad Surgery”, from 1997, which is my personal favorite.
Not the earliest by a long shot, but a little earlier than Buffy there was a musical episode of Xena: Warrior Princess. It was actually really good as I recall–good songs and choreography and very visually creative sets and effects. Hudson Leick (Callisto) acquitted herself quite well, as did Lucy Lawless and her sidekick. I think maybe they did a second musical episode a couple of seasons later.
I think Buffy takes the award for actually moving the arcs along with its musical. All of the earlier musicals were either stand-alones, dream sequences, or “Let’s put on a show” episodes. You could say that OM,WF was the first modern musical TV episode, the way Showboat or Oklahoma was the first modern musical.
The Xena episode advanced the story as a portrayal of the reconciliation of Xena and Gabrielle following the death of Xena’s child Solon and the apparent death of Gabrielle’s child Hope.
You don’t even have to be a fictional program to do a musical: earlier this month, G4’s video game review show X-Play premiered an episode called X-Play: The Musical. It actually was kinda entertaining. Chunks of the episode can be seen on youtube.
Yes, but that was quite different. The first one, The Bitter Suite, had a reason for the singing and music and did move the story forwards, while the second one, Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire, was really just a comedy episode with a twist. There was no more reason for all the singing than in any other musical, and the story didn’t move. That said, I love both those episodes.
Back in the 60’s Jackie GLeason revived THE HONEYMOONERS in an hour long color format complete with Ralph and ED bursting into song with the June Taylor Dancers.
