I'm watching the episode currently and I just have a hard time someone in the production team actually watched this and let it get broadcasted. This is horrible.
The actors' singing voices generally sound fine but the 'songs' are just atrocious. These are not songs, they're just people speaking in a singsong voice over extremely simple instrumental tracks. Henry's rendition of "The Parting Glass" was good but that's a traditional drinking song.
That's the point.
Carl: I stabbed him 37 times in the chest
Paul: Carrlll that KILLS people!
I'm at the beginning of the episode now. I've got to say, I love musicals (I've seen Wicked three times : ) ) but I was almost to nervous to watch this one. It's awkward. However they probably have the best justification for a musical episode of any tv show besides Glee. I really do wish they'd gotten the rights to real songs (or preferably not done this at all). It's not even that I really mind an occasional awkwardly terrible episode, but I was seriously beginning to believe Sanctuary might have a shot at a fifth season. I think if they'd stop pulling stunts like this (musical, lesbian kiss etc...) they might be able to pull it off. Let's have more Sanctuary for All, more Requiem, Next Tuesday, The Five, Haunted, Awakening, For King and Country and all the other episodes that are actually good. Still, it's going to take a lot more than a bad tune to make me stop loving Sanctuary.
shareI love musicals too and agree this was terrible, probably the worst episode of the series. I wonder why they did it--whether it was to boost the singing career of the actress who plays Abby?
shareHowever they probably have the best justification for a musical episode of any tv show besides Glee.
Yup. I'd go with that for the reason it seemed absolutely necessary to address some of the unspoken conflicts and motivations; the Scoobies and Buffy, Spike and Buffy, Tara and Willow, Xander and Anya.
shareThey also did this in an episode of Scrubs entitled "My Musical."
shareand the Scrubs ep was remarkable.... i am NOT a musical fan btw. I thought Fugue was well done - just curious why they did this --- boredom, comfort that the show wont get cancelled - etc? i thought Fugue was pretty good - given the defining point - which again - not my main thought vis scifi.
Other thought ----- Sci-Fi dweeb-fans -- of which i am one -- you ever read these actors life histories, trivia, etc -- many of them caught the "drama" bug when they were 6-8-10 years old -- i think thats waaay cool they have gone on to be quite successful in their careers.
They must get reallly tired of shooting phasers year-in year-out. Yeah - Shakespeare - killing the King - with a sword... ok, granted.... repeat.
The way I could see it, is that they were trying to copy-cat "Once More, With Feeling" in it. The moments where they started singing completely out of context were supposed to be funny, but the timing was off on most of the moments.
Pascale Hutton (Abby) was a terrific singer and you could see by her acting that she knows how to perform in musicals and on stage. However, Robin Dunne's singing voice was too clearly dubbed and auto-tuned to be recognized as his own singing (where you could clearly hear some good intonation by Hutton) and one of the highlights, IMO, was Ryan Robbins' rendition of "The Parting Glass" where he proved that he was one of the other cast members that could really pull off a musical performance.
Amanda Tapping had some good musical moments, but some of her singing was clearly dubbed as well.
The reason this didn't really work on Sanctuary, but did on Buffy was because in Buffy part of the *show* was already tongue-in-cheek and it wouldn't be very out of context. Furthermore, in OMWF, the entire episode had a musical background, where in Sanctuary there were some obviously fabricated moments of musical intermezzo, not providing any additional value to the episode.
I get the impression that this episode was shot on a shoestring budget and the writers thinking "let's go outside the box", not working out as well as they hoped in the end.
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"dubbed" ?
This wasn't a Japanese to English anime.. :)
Have you ever considered the fact that 'dubbing' (meaning, recording new audio over existing video) can also be done with English over English dialogue or vocals? It's not just a process of re-recording a different language over an existing clip.
It's done in cartoons *all-of-the-time*. Otherwise, it would be a very quiet cartoon. In musical cartoons, there's usually a singing double for the actors if the actors have less musical talents.
Most of the time, recordings are dubbed if the actual recorded dialogue on set isn't good enough because of, for example, background noise (like from traffic or wind) and the dialogue is recorded without any garbage on a sound stage, allowing it to be mixed together better with the main mix.
In this case, the dubbing is done because some actors have a more difficult time with their singing and they re-did it in the studio (sometimes, with a splash of Auto-Tune here and there). It's good to hear when Abby is singing, you can hear from her vocal intonations and expression that it's done on set and she's able to do the same on stage, where the singing by Will sounds a lot more forced, less 'human' and clearly too much in key.
stoneyk... ya nailed it right there buddy!
and lemme add... in most shows like these where actors get to sing with an accompaniment music, they don't actually sing live. They record the material beforehand in a studio, and after mixing it, it will then be ready for playback during the shooting of the scene, where the actor/s will sing in sync with it. Well, not just lypsynching per se, but really sing on top of their lungs if need be, so as to get those actual facial expressions and exertions of force to "fool" the audience that it was sung live. In the movie's final mix or product, the studio recorded voice with the music is used, and the actual voice in the shooting is not. It will only be used for synching purposes.
...in Ryan Robbins's case where he sang without an accompaniment, or accapella, his actual voice during the shooting is used.
... Abby & Daddy Magnus are great singers! :D
Have you ever considered I was making a joke? The :) was an indication.. I'm very aware and don't need a lesson thanks.
Anyway, none of the vocals were recorded live on set other than Henry's song. It was recorded weeks in advance and then the actors lip synched their own parts on camera.
It's done this way for control, because as you mentioned there's no way to get clear audio on set the moment you have a fan or any loud equipment running. SInce Sanctuary episodes are shot in 3 to 4 days and time and budget are the same as a non-musical episode, having the actors practice their own parts and come in and play the scene like a 'usual' day of shooting made the most sense. Glee is done the same way.
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hey... not to forget Jim Byrnes, aka Daddy Greg Magnus. He sang great in that episode, which made me look in his profile... he is a musician in real life after all :)
shareAll of the singing was recorded by the actors in a studio except for Ryan Robbins' acapella performance of "Parting Glass". Don't see a problem with that. That's how most shows have to do it to achieve the results they want. Doesn't mean the actors are autotuned. Amanda and Robin sure weren't. It was certainly clear that neither one of them are singers.
It was an awkward episode. It was an experiment on their part, not a stunt. I think everyone just wanted to have fun with it. They definitely were not trying to copy-cat other shows but trying to do something that was unique and would work for the Sanctuary universe.
I didn't care for most of the songs, but appreciated the story of the episode. There was some very tumultuous drama between Helen and Will that had major effects on their relationship in this episode. I also enjoyed the style in which this episode was shot and appreciated the realism they injected into the story. It was not all together bad, but I think on a scale of hit or miss, I'd have to say it was a miss.
I'm sorry, but even liking Buffy doesn't mean you have to agree about whether or not that singing episode worked. It didn't work for me on Buffy, and it didn't work here. It works on Glee because Glee is written that way, and the actors are chosen for their ability to sing. Here, it was just an embarrassment. Och, what a lousy episode!!! And a very thin, not at all credible plot. Feh!
The only singing episode I've seen outside of Glee that's ever worked in a regular non-singing series was the one earlier this year on Grey's Anatomy, "Song Beneath The Song," during which the team struggles to save Callie and the baby, and nearly-dead Callie dreams/hallucinates as a witness to her own life and death -- the songs were well chosen for the plotline, they had been used on the show before for their topical lyrics, most of the actors on the show can at least hold a tune, and some (like Sara Ramirez, around whose character the episode's plot revolved) can really belt one out (and she should -- she's sung on Broadway). Putting Ramirez in the center was the key: she pulled everything together. I was major wowed, as I hadn't expected much going in. But *this* mishigas on Sanctuary??? Not even close. Unbelievably awful. You can't even put it in the same category as "Song Beneath the Song." "Fugue" was a lesson in how *NOT* to do a singing episode, and why. Let's NEVER do this again.
I'm curious, why didn't the Buffy musical episode work for you, was it the songs, the singing, the demon plot, or what?
When it comes to bad writing, bad acting, no one does it like the 'SyFy' channel.
I have to say, I didn't watch the entire episode(I could tell from the beginning that I wouldn't enjoy it). But the premise seems to make it an opera rather than a musical.
What's the difference you may ask. Well, the difference is simple. In musicals the songs are about the plot. However in opera, the plot is delivered through the music.
And "real songs" wouldn't really fit the premise of the episode, which was that the characters had to sing in order to be understood.
Prof. Farnsworth: Oh. A lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!
I'll agree that this episode was kind of out of character and the first "musical" number had me going like "WTF ???". But then I tried (and hopefully succeeded) in being professional about the singing. Obviously all four actors who had song lines know how to sing. That is not the issue. But as my singing teacher used to say : "Everyone can sing, but not everyone is a singer." If there is critiscism on the musical score for being too simple, then the explanation for that is to be found precisely in that statement. The Abby character is clearly the most proficient at singing and acting at the same time, so she gets the more melodious parts. The others - perhaps limited in their range - get the accompanying lines that, indeed, do not offer much room for musical eloquence.
Magnus' "rap" in the conference is funny, but no more than that.
It is not easy for an actor who is either untrained as a musical performer or unaccustomed to this type of theatre to get the right angle on such scenes. Believe me, I know. I'm one of those crossovers that is regarded by singers to be an actor, and regarded by actors to be a singer.
Conclusion : "agonizingly bad" ? No, not really. "Could have been better ?" Probably. But someone here commented that it was - maybe - an attempt to think "out of the box" gone awry. I tend to agree : either not far enough out of the box, or not far enough inside of the box. The effort has potential, though. WIth a good story and a good composer, this might even be Broadway material.
I totally agree. These are not songs. It's speak singing. And it's horrible!
shareI actually didn't think it was bad. And I'm not a fan of musicals at all.
I think they worked the reason for the music in fine. And Abby has a great voice. So does Helen's dad. Helen's and Henry's are okay, and Will was adequate, but IMO, the weakest. I have no problem with them not using "real songs" - many musical productions have parts that seem like people just singing their lines. And traditional songs with choruses would have seemed out of place since the whole point of singing was to have a conversation with Abby; in a conversation, people don't usually repeat the same thing three times.
Helen's dad and Abby are the only once with professional-caliber singing voices, and I'm wondering if the producers decided to make a music episode to boost her singing career? As I recall, he sang on Highlander a couple of times.
shareThat's who he is - isn't it??? I knew he looked familiar! He was the head watcher, right? I'm blanking on his name on the show. I loved that show, and his character.
(Adrian Paul could still play Duncan - I saw him in a crappy Scyfy pirates movie, and he hasn't aged at all.)
The actor's name is actually Jim Byrnes and he's been playing jazz guitar since the age of 13. I often like to use the names of actors' previous characters--I often refer to Gina Torres, whom you might know as Zoe from Firefly, as "Gilgamesh's sister" because she played that role in Hercules: The Legendary Adventures--so I called him Joe Dawson.
shareJoe Dawson - that's it!! I knew he looked familiar but I couldn't place him.
I had no idea he was so multitalented. He sounded really great in this episode. In fact, he sounded so good that when he first started singing they were showing Helen, and I thought they'd hire a professional singer (it turns out they had - in a way).
Abby had a great voice too. This is the only episode where she didn't bother me. And Henry's was pretty good too - it was a considerable drop-off from Helen's dad and Abby, but IMO, it was still pretty good. He has an accent when he sings.
I thought that Amanda Tapping wasn't too bad. Henry though sounded off key to me, although he was singing pretty softly, and I've found that I sometimes have more trouble staying on key when singing softer. I think he was trying to do an Irish accent because it was an Irish song. Abby really had the standout voice in the show, and I wonder if someone didn't hear her singing and think, "we need to find a way to get that into the show." I've liked Pascale Hutton since she played Raya in Smalllvile, and have ever understood why people find her annoying. Anyway, I think the worst part of the episode came when Magnus and the other Sanctuary heads were singing to each other. That's when I said, "this is worse even than the singing Xena episode!"
shareYeah, the bit with the Sanctuary heads seemed so out-of-place. I was willing to accept the whole "Abby's mind has reverted to singing" bit, but having Magnus almost-rapping was awful.
I have to admit, I am among those who doesn't like Abby. I do think she's got an amazing voice though. She should really be on Glee. I find Abby annoying because (1) the relationship with Will feels forced to me, I just don't think they have any chemistry; (2) I find the character grating - like she wants to be tough, but isn't and (3) I'm not sure what she adds. I don't have a real problem with the actress, but I don't like the character at all.
Yeah, the bit with the Sanctuary heads seemed so out-of-place. I was willing to accept the whole "Abby's mind has reverted to singing" bit, but having Magnus almost-rapping was awful.
I have to admit, I am among those who doesn't like Abby. I do think she's got an amazing voice though. She should really be on Glee. I find Abby annoying because (1) the relationship with Will feels forced to me, I just don't think they have any chemistry; (2) I find the character grating - like she wants to be tough, but isn't and (3) I'm not sure what she adds. I don't have a real problem with the actress, but I don't like the character at all.
I never heard of 'The Parting Glass' before this though I can see now that both The Dubliners and Liam Clancy recorded it.
Much as I dislike Robin Dunne as an actor, he does seems to have a genuine interest in Irish culture and I'm inclined to give him the credit for including it.
Yeah, I had never heard of 'The Parting Glass' before either but it was so different from the other songs up to that point in the episode by the fact that it actually had a melody that I looked it up. Jim Byrnes's song stood out in that respect as well, I'm guessing he either wrote it for the episode himself or modified one of his own songs. On the other hand, I didn't think anyone stood out as having a bad singing voice.
While I'll admit I was only half paying attention through parts of the episode, when Magnus and the other Sanctuary heads were singing it left me confused--I thought it a reveal that Magnus had gotten infected as well.
If they had either restricted the musical bits to the singsong talking with Abby with no musical accompaniment or alternatively hired a real songwriter to write the music for the episode it probably would have been much better.
Honestly I was expecting to have my head bitten off and told I was trolling. I'm glad I'm not the only one who was less than impressed.
I like this show. But as the guys on www.spill.com would say this was Some Ole Bullshyte!!
shareI'm about halfway through and I'm actually enjoying it FAR more than I thought I would be. I have to admire the actors and actresses for being brave enough to try something new and different.
Carl: I stabbed him 37 times in the chest
Paul: Carrlll that KILLS people!
"While I'll admit I was only half paying attention through parts of the episode, when Magnus and the other Sanctuary heads were singing it left me confused--I thought it a reveal that Magnus had gotten infected as well."
That would actually have been a plot that worked a lot better than Abby only being able to communicate through singing. It also meant that the episode was a lot less bombastic and epic than OMWF which was intended to be Broadway style.
It might have been a bit more of a "Once More, With Feeling" rip-off in that case (where the whole gang was effected by a let's-go-for-a-musical inducing demon) but it would have explained the music more as a plot device and feel less fabricated.
While I'll admit I was only half paying attention through parts of the episode, when Magnus and the other Sanctuary heads were singing it left me confused--I thought it a reveal that Magnus had gotten infected as well.I actually thought that too, so it seemed a little out of place for her to randomly sing if it didn't have any meaning behind it. But as a whole I liked this episode.
I never heard of 'The Parting Glass' before this though I can see now that both The Dubliners and Liam Clancy recorded it.
Much as I dislike Robin Dunne as an actor, he does seems to have a genuine interest in Irish culture and I'm inclined to give him the credit for including it.
This whole season has been bad and disappointing, in my humble opinion. Perhaps Sanctuary has "jumped the shark?" I agree that "Fugue" is the worst of the worst. I'll give Sanctuary a couple more episodes, if it doesn't improve, then I'm done.
shareThen I suggest you go back and watch the "Fight club" episode in season 1 for worst episode because that still sucks way more than this one did.
Carl: I stabbed him 37 times in the chest
Paul: Carrlll that KILLS people!
I thought it was clever. Not the greatest episode but, it was clever just the same.
Now what 'bugged me' was at the end when Abby and Will were in her recovery room.
I have had extreme emergency abdominal surgery a few years back and I can guaranty you she would NOT have just sat up in bed to kiss Will like that.
No WAY!
After my surgery if I even coughed, cleared my throat, or laughed it hurt like HELL.
And that was with my Infusion Pump full of pain meds. (Click-click and even after a bolus shot)
If I felt a cough trying to come out I would hit the bed Up Button to sit up more straight and I had a blanket where I would squeeze my gut hard to minimize the pain when I finally did cough.
Even then it hurt like HELL!
This went on for days after my surgery.
No amount of pain medication would alleviate that pain.
Think OutSide of the 'Box'!
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Just because they tried something new that you didn't like does not mean that the show jumped the shark. My God, it's almost as overused as the term "Mary Sue." Jumping the shark means that the show starts going downhill rapidly and never gains the momentum it had. Example? Prison Break after season 2.
Carl: I stabbed him 37 times in the chest
Paul: Carrlll that KILLS people!
This series just doesn't seem to know where it wants to go, this sing song episode is the worst. I just don't get it, do they actually want this show to stay on air? I'm a fan, I like this show, the action, the abnormals, Magnus' hot daughter(something to look at during the main bit of the ep; same with Kate but they got rid of them!), but this... sheesh. It's like they know they're popular but think they're moreso than they actually are. Just get back to the exciting action and leave the 'ACTOR' showcase episodes until never. Okay keep the 'CHARACTER' showcases they're actually pretty good. Might take a break until the end of the season, then skim watch the rest of the episodes.
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