[movermike] movermike: Studio 60 and Pirates of Penzance

[Email subscription to blog articles]

Posted by movermike:
Studio 60 and Pirates of Penzance
http://www.movermike.com/posts/1159639145.shtml


   Studio 60 had a musical sketch featuring the music from the the
   [1]Major General's song from the Pirates of Penzance. It is a popular
   format for comedy, parody and education. Here are some examples:

   [2]Mike Stanfill, Private Hand - Flash Animation - The Elements, by
   Tom Lehrer

   [3]The Buff Barbarian Song

   How about a cartoon character:[4]I am the Very Model of a Cartoon
   Individual Sung to I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General from
   The Pirates of Penzance

     Yakko:
     I am the very model of a cartoon individual
     My animation's comical, unusual and whimsical
     I'm quite adept at funny gags; comedic theory I have read
     From wicked puns and stupid jokes to anvils that drop on your head.
     I'm very good at fancy dances; I can even pirouette
     Then smack the villain with a fish; I know my cartoon etiquette
     I can make my face all mean and really give you quite a fright
     Then make up with flowers made of real exploding dynamite.

     When in a jam I just yell "stop" and villains in their tracks are
     froze
     Then I sneak up and utter "start" and take my hands and honk their
     nose
     I am quite proud to be in such a hierarchial progeny
     From Daffy Duck and Tweety Bird to Babs and Buster Bunny.

     To suit my mood I can call forth a lot of different sceneries
     Like outer space and desert scapes and Himalayan eateries
     From this bag here why I can pull most anything imaginable
     Like office desks and lava lights and Bert who is a cannibal.

     YW+D:
     You see, in matters comical, unusual, and whimsical
     We are the very model of cartoon individuals!

   Then there's [5]David Hyde Pierce's Monologue on SNL:

     Oh, Kelsey is our show's big star, I'm number two, that's only fair
     'Cause he deserves it, even though I'm young and thin and have more
     hair."

     [ four soldiers from the general's army return to repeat the last
     two lines in song ]

     Soldiers: [ singing ]
     "Kelsey is the show's big star, he's number two, that's only fair
     'Cause he deserves it, even though he's young and thin and has more
     hair."

   While I have not found the transcript of Studio 60's version of the
   Major General's song from Pirates of Penzance, here is the movie
   version starrin Kevin Cline: [EMBED]

   [6]Studio 60 [7]NBC [8]Major General's+song [9]Pirates of Penzance
   [10]Mover Mike

References

   1. http://www.zeitcom.com/majgen/021msong.html
   2. http://www.privatehand.com/flash/elements.html
   3. http://www.zeitcom.com/majgen/022xena.html
   4. http://www2.cruzio.com/~keeper/00.html#7
   5. http://snltranscripts.jt.org/94/94kmono.phtml
   6. http://technorati.com/tag/Studio+60
   7. http://technorati.com/tag/NBC
   8. http://technorati.com/tag/Major+General's%20song
   9. http://technorati.com/tag/Pirates+of+Penzance
  10. http://technorati.com/tag/Mover+Mike