I'm suprised that Scrubs hasn't done one before, the format lends itself to a musical rather nicely.

And they're right about The Simpsons 'Oh Streetcar'. That and 'Stop the Planet of the Apes: I Want to Get Off' are two musicals I would go and see.

Jona | January 17, 17:22 CET

I don't know if David Bianculli counts as "the media" but he's always been a huge Whedon fan, especially during his various stints on NPR's Fresh Air. I believe he even interviewed Joss on Fresh Air in 2000.

chickenbird | January 17, 17:47 CET

Matt Roush (who I remain convinced used to lurk at The Bronze)also came out and said that the best musical TV episode of all time was OMWF but that the Scrubs ep. compared favorably. :-D

OzLady | January 17, 18:13 CET

David Bianculli is a big Whedon fan; you can tell because he cites Whedon and "Once More with Feeling" by name instead of calling it "the BUFFY musical episode." I also commend Bianculli for including Xena's "The Bitter Suite" on his "best of" list; I think it's the only musical ep that rivals OMWF for conceptual punch and bitchin' tunes.

Looking forward to "My Musical." Love both Scrubs and Avenue Q, and the combo should be fantastic.

P.S. If you ever (somehow) have the chance, check out the Seventh Heaven musical episode. Awful beyond belief.

[ edited by cjl on 2007-01-17 17:08 ]

cjl | January 17, 19:06 CET

Funny enough the Xena musical ep "The Bitter Suite" and "Once More With Feeling" have the underlying plot point in common as well. Both episodes are based on the main characters singing about the secret they are keeping from the others. Which I though was an interesting similarity.

RavenU | January 17, 19:29 CET

Ah, but OMWF didn't have anything that compared with "Joxer the Mighty."

Nebula1400 | January 17, 19:47 CET

I could have sworn the scrubs musical was going to be episode 7 of season 6 like the buffy episode. Must have been mistaken. Cannot wait, "Guy Love" has whet my appetite so to speak.

gilesno1fan | January 17, 20:26 CET

Sweet! I'm excited for the Scrubs musical tomorrow night.

fortunateizzi | January 17, 20:37 CET

LOL fortunateizzi > Sweet!

D'entendre much.

:)

RavenU | January 17, 20:54 CET

Other than the obvious brilliance of OMWF, what I totally love about it is that the singing isn't gratuitious...it's a, the, actually intrinsically necessary part of the episode. Never saw the Xena one, so I can't comment, but removing from the musical form its essential absurdity (why are these people singing and dancing, anyway) was genius.

Chris inVirginia | January 17, 20:55 CET

There was an episode of Scrubs in the past where they had a parody of West Side Story. That was a great episode. I love Scrubs, and I think the team will have a great episode put together. For a preview, check out this clip and this clip.

Arabchick | January 18, 00:55 CET

I enjoy musicale pisodes but I agree they ofttimes fall flatty-flat. _Chicago Hope_'s for example;of course that was strictly speaking a "lip-synchal" since only Arkin, who isn't a singer, a nd Patinkin, who is, and I assume the kid who played "YOung Aaron," did their own material. Altho it also "explained" the musical format, saying it was Aaron's hallucinating.
I truly admired Sarah for deciding that, since Buffy's vocals were so key to plot and char. development, she needed to get a vocal coach instead of having someone dub for her. And Emma, as always, surprised everyone!
I also felt "The Bitter Suite" clicked. And the musical episode of _Big Brother Jake_ was the one truly, truly memorable and even high-quality episode of that rather forgetttable and pedestrian sitcom.

DaddyCatALSO | January 18, 03:54 CET

Although I haven't seen the Xena ep mentioned, I can't imagine anything comparing to the OMWF ep. I love that episode. I listen to the soundtrack frequently. I'm a fan of scrubs and really enjoy the show. I am looking forward to their attempt at the musical. Thanks for sharing the clips, they were a good preview.

sporter | January 18, 10:51 CET

The only problem with the Bitter Suite was Gabrielle's (fairly obvious) ringer. Fun tarot imagery, Joxer strumming his lute, Callisto's lapdance... er, I mean the musical numbers were really well written! Not perving over naked actresses and thinly-veiled lesbian subtext at ALL!

But yeah, OMWF blows them all out of the water :)

UnderTheDark | January 18, 11:50 CET

I'm not sure if it merits another front page post, but another article alludes to Once More With Feeling being a wonderful musical, even if it's supposed to be about the Scrubs one. I think this one is probably syndicated or whatever and probably found in a number of papers, but this was the first time I've seen it.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2003529609_tvscrubsmusical18.html

orangewaxlion | January 18, 12:51 CET

There's an hilarious letter from a Scrubs writer about the musical and OMWF over at AICN.

Simon | January 18, 13:39 CET

Simon - they've changed it to this link - dunno why.

zeitgeist | January 19, 00:37 CET

There was an episode of Scrubs in the past where they had a parody of West Side Story. That was a great episode.

Yep, the surgeons and doctors facing off as Jets and Sharks was awesome.

Then there was also 'My Philosophy' from season 2, in which a patient tells JD she imagines death will be like a Broadway show, and when she finally dies, the whole cast joins in singing 'Waiting For My Real Life To begin.' Quite touching.

I wish the OMWF dvd included Emma's extra song (from... an episode I scandalously can't remember the name of) in which Anya memorably describes herself as 'Anya Lame-Ass-Made-Up-Maiden-Name Harris.' I love that!

Mythtaken | January 20, 05:25 CET

Me, too. It's from Season 7, "Selfless."

"And I'll be Missis...
I will be his Missis
Mrs. Anya Lame-Ass-Made-Up-Maiden-Name Harris.
We'll never part
Not if we can
And if we start
Then here's my plan
I'll show him what bliss is
Welcome him with kisses
'Cause this is a Missis who misses her man
He's my Xander
And he's awfully swell
It makes financial sense as well,
Although he can be—I'll never tell—
Just stand aside
Here comes the bride.
I'll be Missis...
I will be his Missis.
I will be—"

Um, and then there's a bit of an interruption... very effective...

QuoterGal | January 20, 05:50 CET

True QG, one of the finest "effective" (good word) moments, imo.

Mythtaken, not in agreement with the wishing it was included. Her hair was way wrong. You'd think with all the attention to continuity in other areas, that it wouldn't have taken a lot to get it just right, but they screwed it up. It took me out of the scene and I thought the song was indulgent and unnecessary.

Liked the Mustard Man in the background, though.

Willowy | January 20, 06:13 CET

Yeah, Emma went through more changes in hairstyle than Sydney Bristow. But to clarify - I wish they'd release the ep with that scene as an extra, I wouldn't want it inserted into the episode - that would be wrong. I just think the actress did so well with all the musical material - she absolutely suits the genre. Go Emma, you good thing.

Ah, Mustard Man. How I long for you to star in your own Broadway show - or even some fan fiction. :D

Mythtaken | January 20, 13:08 CET