I think we can all agree what most medieval tales of knights, maidens, kingdoms and sword fights needs is more singing. And that’s just what ABC’s new comedy Galavant delivers, daring, chivalry, and songs about decapitation. Quick plot rundown-Galavant (played by Joshua Sasse) is the show’s brave knight, good with a sword and even better with the ladies, in particular his girlfriend Madalena (Mallory Jansen). When poor Madalena is kidnapped and forced to marry King Richard (Timothy Omunsson from Psych, and more importantly, The Luck of the Irish), Galavant quickly rushes to the rescue, only to find Madelana would rather live the good life with the King than be loved by Galavant in his cottage (there just isn’t a lot of money in knighting). So Galavant becomes a broken man, until Princess Isabella (Karen David) presents him with a quest to defeat the king and win back his love. Cue another musical number.
In the post-High School Musical pop culture landscape, many networks have tried to capitalize on the idea that people like to watch characters sing, with varying degrees of success. There’s Glee, its initial promise was buried under a pile of poorly arranged pop covers, and Smash, its original songs never quite living up to the promise of the pilot’s “Let Me Be Your Star.” Luckily Galavant seems to be taking its cues from a the far more successful musical episodes of non musical shows, by remembering the songs serve the story and character development, not the other way around. Sure “Guy Love” is catchy, but what made it a stand-out in the classic Scrubs musical episode is the fact that viewers loved the exploration of JD and Turk’s relationship. How I Met Your Mother’s “Nothin’ Suits Me Like a Suit” was a fun excuse for a dance number (and to have Neil Patrick Harris sing) but it was truly memorable because it was a just a hyperbolic manifestation of a favorite character’s favorite quirk. Galavant’s title song is all about making the audience care about yet another brave night (there are a lot vying for our affection lately) while King Richard’s ode to the ways he’d like to inflict bodily harm on Galavant cements him both as evil and the funniest guy on the show.
Some of the jokes are a little too obvious (we get it, Madalena wants to get with the Jester), but overall Galavant’s pilot was fast-paced and fun.
