The Flash: The Musical. Even better Supergirl: The Musical

Newsflash episodes 13 and 14 of  The Flash and Supergirl are going to be musicals. Hold the phone. What? Why? What is the point? Usually shows hold on to this gimmick and bust it out when the show needs a bump, seasons later. (And psst, I prefer my musicals superhero free.) I’m a big fan of Wicked and Oklahoma. No superheroes. I don’t really care if the actors are musical. If they want to do musicals then perhaps they should return to theatre. However, if you’re of the ilk that doesn’t care if you have musical superheroes, here are some musical hero alternatives.

I like my fights and explosions. They do a fine job of suspending my disbelief. Toss in a random song and it’s ruined. Galavant, great example. It would have been much more, if they had focused on the story and not the songs! As I stated, the reason why the superhero genre works and works well is the suspension of disbelief. It’s actually how all genres function.

I know! ‘But Buffy did it.’ If Joss Whedon jumped off a bridge for art would you do it too? It doesn’t matter which show started the trend with musical episodes, pretty sure I don’t remember the Xena episode (and there’s probably a reason why). Cartoon superheroes are obviously not exempt with the Music Meister’s sappy mind control singing that causes everyone to break out in his song in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Yes, I know. It’s a cartoon but it’s not Disney and it’s not got a princess in it, so I don’t expect it to have singing. It appeared as episode 25 of the first season. This iteration of Bats lasted just three seasons. The Music Meister episode could be an indicator. But Supergirl’s cousin Superman was also subjected to the good idea fairy and it wasn’t such a good idea. It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman!  was a 1970s TV adaptation of a 1960s Broadway musical. It didn’t fair well and that could have been ABC’s fault but I’d say that’s not the case as the Broadway version failed as well. You can read a review of the movie for yourself.

Superman is a solid. You can usually count on Supes to sell, so if a musical including the Man of Steel tanks … see where I’m going? To add to the “superheroes on Broadway” debacle is Spider-man. I know what you’re thinking, ‘It’s Spider-man. How?’ Lots of aerial stunt work involving wires, harnesses and pulleys. Well, the show went way over budget and was plagued with injuries, not to mention critics panned the show in the beginning but due to the problems, by the time critics came around the show had to close. Even with a soundtrack by Bono & Edge from U2, I’m sure it was epic, that couldn’t save the show.

Let’s address budgets. Supergirl’s budget was already strained, hence the move to The CW, and it’s an effects heavy show, adding in the cost of a choreographer as well as additional music for not one but two episodes we’ll have to wonder what will suffer. Flash is also an effects heavy show… if you don’t know what I’m talking about when I say “effects heavy” I mean all the scenes that involve flying/super running, make-up effects, and explosions. These are all pricey. So, why do it? I think it’s all a gimmick to grab viewers, but why? They shows aren’t struggling and Supergirl’s fan base will follow it to The CW from CBS.

Turning an episode here or there into a musical isn’t necessarily the answer. I think I’ll be skipping these episodes of Supergirl and The Flash.