If you listened to the most recent Watercooler Podcast (and you should have subscribed by now!) you will know that ABC’s Galavant is one of the midseason shows that I was most looking forward to. Musicals on television aren’t really the most dependable entries for prime time, but Galavant’s Monty Python-esque tone should appeal to a select viewers. Music by Alan Menken (musical godfather to the Disney renaissance) also helps, but Galavant doesn’t go far enough or funny enough in the first two episodes that aired on Sunday night.
The opening tune (which we will get to later) introduces our hero and his fair maiden: Galavant (played by Joshua Sasse, stealing Joseph Fiennes’ face—I couldn’t stop thining that) is a talented swordsman, and he is crazy about his lady, Madalena (Mallory Jansen, a dead ringer for Olivia Wilde). Like something out of Sweeney Todd, Madalena is kidnapped by the evil King Richard (Timothy Omudson), and he forces Madalena to marry him. When Galavant crashes their wedding, he declares his love for her, but she admits that she wants Richard’s fame and fortune instead.
One year later, Galavant has become a drunk (has he?) and he’s let himself go (has he?). His faithful, smiling squire, Sid (Luke Youngblood), lets in the beautiful Isabella (Karen David), and she pleads with Galavant to save her kingdom of Valencia from an evil invasion. She offers him the jewel of her people (a huge green jewel right out of the final of Return to Oz), but he only gets interested when he finds out King Richard is the man who invaded her land. Richard wants to find Valencia’s prized hunk of jewel to please Magdalena, who isn’t the sweet, fainting maiden that usually fills in these kinds of stories. His attempts to please Magdalena are constantly thwarted, and she does a good job of reminding Richard of how manly Galavant is (was he?).
The second half-hour of Galavant fares better than the first. Isabella trains Galavant to compete in a joust against Sir Jean Hamm, played by grinning guest star John Stamos! The training sessions are pretty lame, because Sasse is in fantastic shape no matter how many times the other characters tell him otherwise. The joust might garner the biggest laughs of the premiere since Galavant can barely move from overexerting himself and Hamm got pretty sick on some absinthe that Isabella served him. On a side note, I wish Jon Hamm would have played Sir Jean Hamm.
The actors themselves are decent singers. Sasse’s Galavant could be a bit more arrogant (it’s only alluded to a few times), and Isabella has the potential to be a strong female character. Maybe the writing will step up now that all the exposition has been gotten out of the way. Youngblood’s Sid might be only there to be on the receiving end of thinly veiled gay jokes.
My apologies to Mr. Menken, but the music of Galavant is no “Part of Your World,” and that’s part of the reason why the premiere of Galavant is so disappointing. Perhaps the show will wiggle into a more likable, funny direction, but as of right now it’s not going far enough to compare to, say, Men in Tights or The Holy Grail.