By non-musical TV shows I mean you can’t count the musical guests on SNL or the Tonight Show or other variety shows that regularly have musical guests as themselves.
Once More With Feeling is the all time great musical episode in my opinion, but there are others as well.
The Drew Carey Show had lots of good musical moments. One of my favorite was Five o’Clock World, if only for Mimi’s cage dancing. There was also a great Viva Las Vegas number not on YouTube in a Drew Carey/Coach crossover.
Third Rock from the Sun had a great moment when Dick (John Lithgow), Mary (Jane Curtin), Don (Wayne Knight), and (can’t remember the character- a slightly closeted lesbian professor who was a semi-regular) coming out of a Riverdance type showat 8:00.
WKRP in Cincinatti had a great moment (can’t find it on YouTube) of the cast singing a cheery upbeat mortuary commercial (“Ferryman, Ferryman, he’s the man with the heart, he’s the man with the plan…”).
Fred and friends singing WHAM! (the jazz song- no relation to George Michael) on Sanford and Son (YouTube- 7:05).
SNL has musical numbers independent of its musical guests, some of which beat the pants off of stuff like “Once More with Feeling.” Off the top of my head:
–“We’re Not Stuffy Anymore,” the PBS fundraiser extravaganza circa 1983
–“Santa’s My Boyfriend” from a couple Christmases ago
–“The Penis Song” (Matthew Broderick hosts, featuring Kevin Nealon, circa 1994)
–Any music history bit, esp. “Cowbell” (C. Walken) and “I Say a Little Prayer for You” (Val Kilmer)
–Any of several Andy Samberg digital shorts
Probably something from SpongeBob Squarepants. That closing number from the episode where Squidward tries to make Bikini Bottom citizens into a band merely to impress Squilliam Fancypants is one of the funniest things I’ve seen, and the music was such a perfect send-up of 80s pop rock that I spent a few moments wondering who the original artist was.
Drew Carey also had “Sweet Transvestite” vs. “Priscilla.”
In terms of using a song as background music, my favorite is Seinfeld’s use of Green Day’s “Good Riddance (The Time of Your Life).” I first heard that song on the show and how I love its message–live life forward and you’ll understand it backwards.
I recently started watching Breaking Bad. I think it was episode 2 that ended with the Glen Phillip’s song The Hole. I tracked down what the song was and grabbed a copy. I am now addicted and play it several times a day.
My favorite is still the Big Man on Mulberry Streetnumber from Moonlighting. Stanley Donen directed, and while Bruce Willis can’t really dance, he has good presence and the other dancers cover for him pretty well. Plus, it’s a great song.
I happen to find Scrubs’ “Check the Poo” musical number nothing short of genius, but for raw hilarity I have to go with “Muffintop,” Jenna’s single (it was a dance hit in Israel!) in “30 Rock.” They’ve trotted it out a few times yet kept the joke fresh. Most recently it was sung ballad-style with cello accompaniment.