Something is refreshing and endearing about a show that’s willing to take a risk and stage a musical episode. Doing so almost always carries some amount of risk, though it’s often greater for dramas than sitcoms. The very best musical episodes in nonmusical TV shows are potent reminders that there is more to a musical than just songs and that music itself can often express that which mere words or speech cannot.
Moreover, these episodes also demonstrate the extent to which the sensibility of the musical can work in tandem with other generic conventions to produce startlingly good results. “Brown Betty” ('Fringe') For the most part, Fringe is a very serious sci-fi show, particularly since it focuses on strange occurrences and parallel universes. Oddly enough, however, it’s the show’s very focus on these things that makes the episode “Brown Betty” a reasonable enough fit, focusing as it does on Walter’s marijuana-induced delusions.
While the musical idea was originally part of a gimmick from network Fox, it works remarkably well, and as such it’s a reminder of just how flexible the musical form can be when it comes to television storytelling. “Ally McBeal: The Musical, Almost” ('Ally McBeal') There was always something quirky about the show Ally McBeal, so it was probably inevitable that the show would end up doing a musical episode. In the aptly titled “Ally McBeal: The Musical, Almost,” viewers get a bit of everything.
Not only are there references.