There’s something especially geeky about musicals mixed with “genre” fiction. It’s sort of like a meeting of the minds between the “classic” geeks and the theater geeks — with the horror nerds contributing notes. And surely, the great examples of this ultimate mash-up are inspiring — Once More, With Feeling, that ultimate Buffy episode that still enjoys Rocky Horror Picture Show-esque sing-along screenings being one of the very best. Who could forget the truly epic Star Wars Musical, which came from a time when Star Wars fandom still meant something.
However, it’s a genre in which a whole lot can go wrong, and Topless Robot has just posted a truly delightful list of the very worst sci-fi and horror musical productions.
I’m disappointed to hear that the musical based on cult favorite Barbarella fell flat, since it seems the subject matter would be pitch perfect for this sort of thing. But what really got me was the fact that The Fly — David Cronenberg’s 1986 deep, introspective, and totally disgusting meditation on existence and bodily transformation — has an opera based on it. An opera!
From the post:
“…none of that was able to help it overcome the fact that the audience was basically watching an awesome gore film mixed with “La Traviata.” According to the Los Angeles Times, the songs were repetitive and flat and must have been hard to take seriously since sweeping baritones are belting out tunes about “insect politics” and (seriously) “abortion.” The scariest part? It leaves itself open to a sequel. Sleep tight.”
Wow.
However, probably the best of the best is the lovely clip from the ’70s Superman musical. Check out those tights!
In other geeky news, Michael Dorn — the actor who played everyone’s favorite Klingon, Worf, on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine and several of the Trek movies, is now on Twitter. Follow him at @akaWorf.
