The Legacy of Gilbert and Sullivan – on TV

Over the 150 years that their works have been shared with the world, Gilbert and Sullivan have had an indelible effect on popular culture in the English-speaking world. Last week, I shared a list of movies that have a Gilbert and Sullivan connection – and this week, I’m offering you a short (and by no means exhaustive) list of G&S television references!

Let’s start with some lively tunes from The Mikado.

In this clip, popular singer and TV talk show hostess Dinah Shore pairs up with jazz great Ella Fitzgerald and opera diva “La Stupenda” Joan Sutherland for a fun rendition of “Three Little Maids From School Are We”:

 

(They also sing “Lover Come Back to Me,” and who can ever have enough of this lovely trio?)

The classic sitcom Frasier featured a number of Gilbert and Sullivan references. In the first clip, the “endearingly pompous” Frasier and his brother Niles (both psychiatrists by training) sing “Tit Willow”:

 

 

And in this Vine video, Frasier’s radio station co-workers trick him into singing “Three Little Maids” in a falsetto voice –which is then broadcast live on the air (Episode 3.04 Leapin Lizards):

 

 

From the TV show Angel, vampire hunter Charles Gunn is overheard singing “Three Little Maids” – until someone catches him:

 

 

Other Gilbert and Sullivan works have gotten their moments on the air, including H. M. S. Pinafore’s “For He Is An Englishman” and the Major-General’s Song from The Pirates of Penzance.

American screenwriter and producer Aaron Sorkin is a Gilbert and Sullivan fan, and wrote in several delightful references to their works in his long-running TV drama, The West Wing.

In this clip from the episode, “And it’s Surely To Their Credit,” Ainsley Hayes (Emily Procter) is a conservative Republican who has just joined a very Democratic White House staff as an associate White House Counsel. Her right to be there is challenged by her very left-leaning boss, White House Counsel Lionel Tribbey (John Laroquette).

 

 

That clip sets up this one, in which the other staffers finally accept Ainsley, decorating her office with Gilbert and Sullivan posters and surprising her with a song:

 

 

In the sitcom Home Improvement, Tim the Handyman’s sidekick Al thinks no one can hear him singing The Major General’s song from The Pirates of Penzance:

 

 

In fact, the Major General’s song is very popular! Here is a collection of references to this song:

http://allthetropes.wikia.com/wiki/Major-General_Song

 

And, I couldn’t leave out my very favorite parody of the Major General’s song – “The Elements.” The inimitable song-writer and humorist Tom Lehrer took all the elements listed on the Periodic Table, and set them to that rousing tune:

 

 

Younger folks might remember this version of the song because Daniel Radcliffe sang “The Elements” as a party trick on the Graham Norton Show.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1TfPDlA1xE

 

Tom Lehrer also referenced Gilbert and Sullivan in his version of “My Darling Clementine.” He took that famous folk tune and re-imagined it as it might have been written by Noel Coward, Mozart, Thelonious Monk, and finally, Gilbert and Sullivan.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b3coO_6MwY

 

Enjoy!