Thoughts on Galavant

Galavant, the musical, comedy, fantasy TV series ended it's first season (already!) on TV last Sunday.  It ran two half hour episodes a week, for four weeks and was a fun, quirky and entertaining romp.  I was excited for this show because of the fantastic combination of genres, and because it's such a unique kind of show for TV.  I really wanted it to do well, and I hope it comes back for season 2, but it wasn't a perfect show.

Even though the show boasts amazing music and lyrics talents in Alan Menken and Glenn Slater (they worked on The Little Mermaid, Sister Act and Tangled together!), I thought most of the songs were pretty forgettable from the show.  The music was catchy for the most part, and the lyrics advanced the story, but I was hoping for some songs to stick in my mind more.  It must be hard though to compose two or three new songs for every episode - so I'm really in awe of what they accomplished here.

The show started off a bit rough I think, establishing characters - the villains and the heroes who all are not entirely true to archetype.  Galavant loses his way somewhat in the hero game, and the villain King Richard (played by Psych's Timothy Omundson!) is quirky, weak and with an awful sense of humor.  And he just want's to be liked.  Madalena is probably my favorite character from the show - in the first episode it seems like she will be the heroine and the damsel in distress, but she turns into this delightfully selfish, lustful, and devious woman.  The characters make up the main appeal of the show when they are all established.  The strong cast is the main reason why I tuned in every week.

The humor of the show was another great aspect.  It could be sarcastic, vulgar, self-referential and entirely inappropriate for the time and I loved it!  There were a few episodes that felt like they fit common comedy archetypes, but the way the characters commented on the action made it unique and hilarious.

If you haven't seen this show, but you like musicals and comedies like The Princess Bride and Black Adder, then I think you will really enjoy this show.  Hopefully it will be given a chance to grow - especially since the season finale left the door wide open for more plot development.