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S01.E01: Pilot / S01.E02: Joust Friends 2015.01.04


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I rather like Deja Q as an episode, if for no other reason than Worf's great line "Captain, I must protest, I AM NOT a merry man".

 

Actually, that's from a later episode, "Qpid", which was Robin Hood themed.  "Deja Q" is set on the Enterprise.  Personally I liked both episodes :-)

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I normally loathe musicals, so I didn't have a very high bar for this, but it was tolerable and I'm sticking around for King Lassiter. If only they could have James Roday and Dule Hill guest as a Rosencrans and Guildenstern type duo. Ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease.

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A few people have mentioned wishing they had the closed captions on.  Mine happened to be on, and I don't know if CC is universal, but they were a mess, with the majority being nonsense (and I don't mean nonsense like the silliness of the show, I mean nonsense like "woeig?!")

Edited by Senna
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I was laughing so hard during the jousting scene, and when Jean was throwing up so hard that it was spewing out I his armor. I really like the squire and princess, and King Lassiter is awesome. I also would love a Dule/James singing duo cameo- I may cry from happiness.

I wonder how the queen became such a bitch. If Galavant liked her she couldn't be that bad.

Edited by twoods
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...but then I found out it was from the creator of The Neighbors. As one of the few people still lamenting its cancellation, I decided to tune in, and I'm glad I did. I just wish Fogelman had tapped Toks Olagundoye for this one, as she's one of my favorite new stars to come out of the last couple of years of TV...

And didn't she sing in one episode of The Neighbors? I didn't realize the two shows shared a creator, but now I can totally see it. And I wish The Neighbors had gotten another season too.
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Didn't those of you with children find it terribly crude? I don't have children but I just spent few days with my sister and my 13- and 14-year-old niece and nephew and the thought of them seeing this made me cringe.

I don't have kids, either, but I was a bit annoyed at the crudeness.  Not because I can't handle it but because I might have been watching it with my dad. I ended up watching it by myself and was so glad I did when the crudeness asserted itself.  I would have died of embarrassment if I were watching it with him.  We are both adults but we purposefully don't watch stuff like that together.  Just ew!

 

Some posters are saying the crudeness was indicated in the promos, but I missed that.  The only promos I ever noticed were the ones where Madalena is shown in the castle window just singing "Galavant!" and the one where Galavant is trying to "rescue" her from having to marry King Richard but she says she's decided to go with "fame and fortune."  I never heard the the lines about cojones and cleavage until I watched this episode.

 

Anyway, this episode was okay.  It wasn't knock-my-socks-off funny but I didn't hate it.  It'll make a decent substitute while I wait for the admittedly goofy Once Upon a Time's return.  I thought the singing was very good and the "tummy flowers" line and slow joust were funny.

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Edited because Dan Fogelman is not Dan Fogelberg.

LOL

 

I liked it a lot, but was taken very much aback when Sid said he liked to "fetch".  One of the early black comedians went by the name "Stepin Fetchit".  (Get it, get it?  Huh???) Although the actor was first black actor to become a millionaire, the character he portrayed is seen as a terrible stereotype.  I was expecting some kind of "lampshade" but they just left it there.  Cringe.

 

This was balanced by the rest of the show, so I'll be back.

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LOL

I liked it a lot, but was taken very much aback when Sid said he liked to "fetch". One of the early black comedians went by the name "Stepin Fetchit". (Get it, get it? Huh???) Although the actor was first black actor to become a millionaire, the character he portrayed is seen as a terrible stereotype. I was expecting some kind of "lampshade" but they just left it there. Cringe.

This was balanced by the rest of the show, so I'll be back.

He was being sarcastic and snarky and frankly he's a squire in a middle ages era fairy tale...serving his Knight's table is part of his job.
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Loved it. It's a melange of some pre-existing ingredients (Spamalot, Mormon, Mel Brooks, etc.), but it's a new melange. Which makes it original. Which makes it very uncommon for TV.

 

Laughed out loud at the song "You're Not the Worst Thing Ever."

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He was being sarcastic and snarky and frankly he's a squire in a middle ages era fairy tale...serving his Knight's table is part of his job.

 

I realize that, but I would have had him say "I love to fetch.. I love to bring things!"  That's what I meant about "lampshading' the remark.

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The promos had singers singing about Galavant's cojones (displaying grapefruit) and Maddalena's cleavage big enough to hold a parade in, so it was more than hinted at.

The original version of the opening sequence that was released over a month ago was even raunchier than the one that aired. Overall I think the change was a wise one, though I was sorry to lose the "Plus more than just a touch of Nymphomania" line.

 

I think it's interesting that Richard seems resigned to his wife's shrill disapproval in the first episode. You'd think someone who has people executed over less-than-perfect food might bring more pressure to bear on that situation, but Madalena clearly has his number.

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Just the fact that she's having an affair with the court jester behind his back (and probably not even being all that discreet about it) tells you that she does.  If they were ever found out, it would be an automatic death sentence for both of them on grounds of treason.  That is, if anyone else but Richard were King.

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I realize that, but I would have had him say "I love to fetch.. I love to bring things!"  That's what I meant about "lampshading' the remark.

 

 

It's a proud and  storied tradition,jplipton as well as a trope. (clickhole alert, clickhole alert, never click on a TV Trope link unless you have great willpower or hours to spare).  Having said that, I don't think the "fetch" thing had anything to do with the character you mentioned and attempting to lampshade (or a hang lantern) on it , likely wouldn't occur to the writers because of that.  That's not a particularly well known thing and then also, feeling the need to define it for the audience assumes that they would not know what a squire does, which while possible, would also mean the entire show would be confusing as hell to that viewer and the script would have to be littered with moments like that if they believe that to be the case.  

 

"You can joust for the prize.  Charge another knight atop a steed while carrying a spear-like weapon! Or possibly a mace or....what you mean, what's a mace? Okay, it's a ....Are you serious, you don't know what a steed is either? Dude, go watch The Sword in the Stone or something, who has time for this?!?"  

Edited by stillshimpy
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Actually, that's from a later episode, "Qpid", which was Robin Hood themed.  "Deja Q" is set on the Enterprise.  Personally I liked both episodes :-)

 

 

Hmmmmm......you're right.  I assumed with the topic being this show the earlier reference was to Qpid rather than Deja Q and we probably just mixed up the episode titles in our minds.  Qpid is what I was thinking of anyway, not Deja Q, and is I imagine what Terrafamilia meant as well.

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Watched it again, and laughed just as hard and even more in different spots.

 

 

Me too, partly because I paid more attention to it so I could get the jokes, plus I had on the closed captioning so I could read the lyrics. 

 

First off, to sell comedy, you have to play it straight. Here - There was too much winking along with the mugging. They all desperately wanted us to know that they were in on the joke.

 

I don't think there's one just one rule to comedy. This was played very broadly because that's what was intended, with the actors in on the joke and letting us know that they knew. The only thing they didn't do was break the fourth wall, as Ted often did in "Better Off Ted." Breaking the fourth wall is also supposed to be "forbidden" in comedy.

 

I liked it a lot, but was taken very much aback when Sid said he liked to "fetch".  One of the early black comedians went by the name "Stepin Fetchit".

 

And sometimes a word is just a word. Then again, this is 21st century America, where everyone is offended by everything all of the time. 

 

The show had a lot of innuendo, but I don't think it was crude -- certainly not as crude as, say, "2 Broke Girls" or "Two and a Half Men." 

I also liked Sir Jean Hamm's line to Galavant about "nice beard," and then following it up with something along the lines of "your facial hair looks good too."

 

I think that was the joke that had me thinking "they can say that now at 8? Ok then."

 

 

I'm not sure what you mean. Sir Jean says, "Nice beard. I mean her..." I think he was referring to the princess as "woman Galavant dates to show he's not gay, even though he totally is." Did you think "beard" meant something else?

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I'm not sure what you mean. Sir Jean says, "Nice beard. I mean her..." I think he was referring to the princess as "woman Galavant dates to show he's not gay, even though he totally is." Did you think "beard" meant something else?

 

No, I got the joke the second time I viewed it, I totally missed the "beard" comment the first time round.  

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Blue Plastic said:

Some posters are saying the crudeness was indicated in the promos, but I missed that.  The only promos I ever noticed were the ones where Madalena is shown in the castle window just singing "Galavant!" and the one where Galavant is trying to "rescue" her from having to marry King Richard but she says she's decided to go with "fame and fortune."  I never heard the the lines about cojones and cleavage until I watched this episode.

 

Yep, the G-rated promos were the only ones I saw as well.

 

Add me to the list of those wishing for a James Roday/Dule Hill cameo!!

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Watched it again, and laughed just as hard and even more in different spots.  I also watched the ABC promos this time that you all spoke of and I guess I'm in the minority but I thought it was clever and pretty adorable that ABC did this.  I got a kick out of it.  

Me too!

 

The whole show is worth it, if just for the signpost.

And for Maybe You're Not the Worst Thing Ever!

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I definitely want You're Not the Worst Thing Ever on my iPod. That is a great song.

 

I watched it live but gave up half way through the first ep. But bored, I tried again the next day and OMG I LOVED it. I laughed so much and really just enjoyed myself. It's great to have something that is just fun. Love the idea of a short little 4 week burst of chivalric dancing and singing and attempted jousting. I love that Madelena is an oversexed bitch. Love that the King is a big old wimp. Love all the subversion. Good times. Looking forward to more.

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...as did seeing John Stamos playing such a smarmy knight. He gets better with age, like a fine wine.

 

Oh the jousting scene...what can I say, I could barely see the screen for laughing so hard. They actually got slower the closer they approached one another and the horses were golden the way they just left them there like useless sacks of wheat on the ground.

I completely agree about John Stamos. I was very pleasantly surprised at his fine wineness.

And with his, and the rest of cast's, utter enjoyment at being in this production, I've really enjoyed these first two eps. Unapologetic campiness. Quick dialogue + raunch. Romping around. Slowest joust ever. The "Ow." just killed me.

I wasn't sure about my staying power with this musical format, though I love musicals themselves; yet I am looking forward to next time. I even liked the singing ABC promos, though I'm not saying they need to continue. ;)

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First off, to sell comedy, you have to play it straight. Here - There was too much winking along with the mugging. They all desperately wanted us to know that they were in on the joke.

I don't think there's one just one rule to comedy. This was played very broadly because that's what was intended, with the actors in on the joke and letting us know that they knew. The only thing they didn't do was break the fourth wall, as Ted often did in "Better Off Ted." Breaking the fourth wall is also supposed to be "forbidden" in comedy.

 

This is not really comedy anyway, or, rather, it is a special kind of comedy - a spoof. I think they played it exactly the way this genre is supposed to be played. Which is why I am a bit puzzled at the comments praising the actors for not taking themselves too seriously. Is there really an alternative? I mean, they know this is not Shakespeare, right? Why on earth would they even think to take themselves seriously if they chose to sign up for this? 

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I was predisposed to like this as I loved Tim Omundsun in Psych.

 

Gah! I'm turning in my Psych fan card, because I didn't even realize that was Tim Omundsun!  I feel so ashamed.

 

I had some moments of laughs and yawns. But, the jousting scene won me over.  Just, the horses wandering off had me dying. More scenes like that, please.

 

The singing ABC promos are irritating as hell.  

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On rewatch, it occurs to me that they may pull a Glee.

 

There were two things that struck me.  First, I'm not sure that King Richard would know whether he did 'IT' or not.  Second,  Madalena was doing the had over stomach move after she told King Richard no one could ever love him and is cheating with the Jester/narrator.

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Gah! I'm turning in my Psych fan card, because I didn't even realize that was Tim Omundsun!  I feel so ashamed.

Funny enough, with the beard and the overall shagginess, Omundson looks like he did when he was on Xena. Just grayer.

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Funny enough, with the beard and the overall shagginess, Omundson looks like he did when he was on Xena. Just grayer.

 

Yup, once I realized who it was, I had a V8 moment.  Honestly, it was bugging the hell out of me, because I recognized him but was too lazy to look it up.  Now, on rewatch, it seems so obvious.

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I wonder how the queen became such a bitch. If Galavant liked her she couldn't be that bad.

Oh I don't know.  In my experience men are absolutely fascinated with and inexorably drawn to bitchy women.  (In fairness, nice guys always lament the way women go for bad boys.) My personal theory is that bitchy women compensate for their bitchiness by giving olympic gold-medal level blow jobs.  But it's just a theory.

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I haven't seen the ABC promos but I guess the positive way to look at it is that at least ABC is making the effort to promote the show, unlike some other shows/networks that get ignored by the promo department and then get no viewers!

They are putting a lot of promotion behind this.  The commercials leading up to it, the repeat airing tomorrow after their new, popular comedy block and even doing the sing-songy commercials for other shows indicates financial support for this show.  As much as the back-to-back episodes in January would indicate a 'burnoff' all the promotion almost suggests ABC envisions some kind of future for the show. 

 

I'm curious to know what that future would be.  Special events every year?

 

I wonder how the queen became such a bitch. If Galavant liked her she couldn't be that bad.

 

I don't think the show has done much to support the notion that Galavant is a good judge of character or as super wonderful as his legend claims he is.  I can very well believe that he thinks she's incredible.  Plus, we mostly see her with King Richard, who she despises, and don't really see how she acts around someone she thinks she loves. 

 

I do think they gave a decent back story for why she chose King Richard over Galavant. Speaking of King Richard, I just loved the "real" acting Tim Omundson did when she told him he was unlovable.  He would do that on Psych as well.  The tone could be silly but he could slip in great moments of gravitas. 

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It's a proud and  storied tradition,jplipton as well as a trope. (clickhole alert, clickhole alert, never click on a TV Trope link unless you have great willpower or hours to spare).  Having said that, I don't think the "fetch" thing had anything to do with the character you mentioned and attempting to lampshade (or a hang lantern) on it , likely wouldn't occur to the writers because of that. 

 

 

And sometimes a word is just a word. Then again, this is 21st century America, where everyone is offended by everything all of the time. 

TV Tropes is where I learned I learned the term "lampshade".  [Grin]

 

You both are probably right since I haven't seen any other comments about it.  I wasn't offended by it as such, it just was a bit weird.

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I'm surprised I liked it. I normally hate all singing in movies, TV shows, musicals, you name it, I hate it.

 

I might be getting old though, since I loved the musical episode of Supernatural and now this. A short run is just the kind of palate cleanser that is needed with all the grim stuff that I watch.

 

And I'm glad Cain has such fun.*

 

*Supernatural reference

 

The two horses need a comedy Emmy.

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I don't think the show has done much to support the notion that Galavant is a good judge of character or as super wonderful as his legend claims he is.  I can very well believe that he thinks she's incredible.  Plus, we mostly see her with King Richard, who she despises, and don't really see how she acts around someone she thinks she loves.

 

Then again, when he was battling his way to stop the wedding, he did tell one of the guards to "Fall!" and he obediently did just that, so there's some truth to his prowess as a knight.

 

Presumably, Madelena has some affection for the jester (she's sleeping with him), but she's pretty nasty to him too. Someone mentioned upthread the one shot of her holding her stomach. Isn't that pretty much a time-honored way of indicating a woman is pregnant?

 

So as I understand it, King Richard invaded Valencia, but then moved his court there? Princess Isabella says she was hiding in the basement because her father put her there, and that is the perspective we're given when she's caught.

 

Did I miss where they explained who "Pearl" was? I presume it was a nursemaid or governess. 

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I laughed for a good few minutes at that joust. I thought I had it under control when they finally hit the ground, but the horses just wandering off started it up all over again.

I'm a big fan of Robin Hood: Men in Tights (used to watch it so many times as a kid) and this is a lot like it, so they have me.

 

The joust part also had me rolling. It brought to mind that First Knight movie with Heath Ledger, which I loved. And it also looked so much like the medieval faire setup in my town that it was making me giggle. I also love Men in Tights, so I am totally sold on this too. And they have Lassie as King Richard! He is probably my favorite so far.

 

It's completely ridiculous, but they know it, and the music is catchy and the lyrics are funny. I forgot it's only going to be a few weeks, but that's perfect! I thought it was great fun in a sea of lawyer/doctor/cop shows with dreary lighting and murder on the brain (not that I don't love some of THOSE shows, but really, sometimes you just want to laugh).

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Did I miss where they explained who "Pearl" was? I presume it was a nursemaid or governess. 

 

The king explained it was his beloved nanny who raised him, the only person who ever loved him.

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Which she would have no way of knowing since she never met Pearl.

No, but it's pretty likely that Madalena is right. Besides, the point was to hurt the King which-- mission accomplished.

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I loved it. The joust made me laugh so much I was crying. The king is pure gold -so prissy and evil...-  and I love his relationship with his "minion". Madalena was an absolute surprise, I was so sure she was going to be loyal to Galavant... But she's a total bitch and I adore her. 

 

Loved the songs too, very catchy. I can't wait for next episodes.

 

PS I'm from Valencia and it was funny to see this AU version  of my city.

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If I remember my history correctly, wasn't the real 15th-Century Queen Isabella (that's actually written as "Isabel" in Spanish) from Valencia?

 

And yes, I know that the show is actually set some 230 years before the time of Isabel, Ferdinand, and Columbus.

 

And I just found the answer to my own question. The real Queen Isabella (the one associated with Columbus) was from Castile/Aragon, not Valencia. Her youngest daughter was Catherine of Aragon, who is best known as Henry VIII's first wife.  The fact that Catherine was from Aragon should have tipped me off!

Edited by legaleagle53
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If I remember my history correctly, wasn't the real 15th-Century Queen Isabella (that's actually written as "Isabel" in Spanish) from Valencia?

 

And yes, I know that the show is actually set some 230 years before the time of Isabel, Ferdinand, and Columbus.

No, Queen Isabel  I was from Castilla. Valencia belonged to the Kingdom  of Aragon, to Ferdinand. 

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I didn't particularly like the music. It seemed like if they simply cut the songs out, the "event" would have been done with in a half hour instead of an hour and would have lost nothing. The lyrics weren't very clever or surprising, and the tunes were pretty much "Generic Show Tune Number 3X5b." But the music didn't make me want to gouge out my ears. It just seemed like a waste.

The inability of most of the cast to sell comedy was what really hurt the show for me. The reason I never fully liked the "Producers" remake was that they replaced Gene Wilder's crazed, miserable, disheveled wreck of a character with Mathew Fucking Broderick, who spent the entire movie winking and smirking at the audience while doing jazz hands at random times. I had the same feeling, scene after scene, watching "Galavant," that I had watching "The Producers 2.0" The best way to kill a joke is... to kill it. I can be telling the funniest joke in the world, but if every half sentence or so I have to stop in order to jab you with my elbow and giggle about what a great joke-teller I am, the punchline is going to suffer badly.

Strangely, what I liked best was the actual plot. Both episodes featured interesting twists that I did not see coming. The overall outline of what each character does over the course of each show seems like there might be a good story there. I'll actually give it another chance on Sunday, because I actually am wondering what happens next.

However, I can't consider the series an actual success when it's trying so hard to be a musical comedy and failing to impress me on either level.

Edited by CletusMusashi
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So as I understand it, King Richard invaded Valencia, but then moved his court there? Princess Isabella says she was hiding in the basement because her father put her there, and that is the perspective we're given when she's caught.
Yes, he is occupying the castle there.  It's clearly the Valencian throne room that we see... a painting of the priceless green jewel is on the Queen's throne.  They never explain exactly what Richard is King of.  It would make sense that it is some kingdom in England since all of the people sound and look English, but I suppose it could be just some random kingdom near Valencia.  They also don't explain why the daughter of two people who look and sound Spanish looks Indian, but oh well.  

 

Really enjoying this, I have listened to the songs over and over on YouTube and other sites I can find.

 

I do agree that the jewel looks like a ring pop!  Maybe that's supposed to be part of the comedy, that it looks plastic.

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I was a bit underwhelmed by I get that my experience is probably greatly influenced by the chore of having to recap it for trashtalktv. There are the kernels of good things in there and I'm not even that bothered by the quality of the singing (which is usually my biggest complaint about these sorts of things). They managed to find good actors and everyone feels present and engaged. It's just the material that's letting them down. The music is fine but not what I expect from Alan Menken. The lyrics and script are full of lazy, predictable jokes. I'd like to be able to see this as paying homage but I don't feel like it's building on anything. It just seems like it's ripping things off but not as well and without the skill to be entertaining enough that I don't care.

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Yes, he is occupying the castle there.  It's clearly the Valencian throne room that we see... a painting of the priceless green jewel is on the Queen's throne.  They never explain exactly what Richard is King of.  It would make sense that it is some kingdom in England since all of the people sound and look English, but I suppose it could be just some random kingdom near Valencia.  They also don't explain why the daughter of two people who look and sound Spanish looks Indian, but oh well.  

 

Maybe she's just a really dark skinned Spanaird. My grandfather had rather dark skin when he was young - and he was born to two 100% Galician parents

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