"Mr. Worf, do you know Gilbert and Sullivan?"

Over this weekend, I was reminded of the Gilbert & Sullivan sci-fi references I have come across with the help of my soon-to-be husband. I was introduced to these references first out of the context of their show/movie/game they appeared in but this weekend, I have finally witnessed them all in context.

I have enjoyed Gilbert & Sullivan music since I first really started listening to them in high school years ago. In grade school, I remember we watched the Pirates Of Penzance with Kevin Kline but I don't really remember it affecting me. I don't really remember much of it from class and so when I came across a recording years later of The Mikado with Groucho Marx (as the Marx Brothers were my interest at the time), I didn't even know it was by the same composers.

I believe this is the same recording, which you can get on Amazon. The recording is about an hour in length to fit on television, which cuts out some songs and bits of plot but still gives you the general gist of the plot. (Check YouTube if you are interested in clips from the show too.)

Over the next few years or so I acquired some Gilbert & Sullivan CD's, attended performances of live shows and memorized, just for the heck of it all the words to "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" (as I figured if I could memorize that, I could memorize anything). I also insisted to my Mother that I would never marry unless they knew about Gilbert & Sullivan. I already had a long list of what I wanted in a spouse and this really added to the, "I will never find a mate" mindset. I was completely accepting of the theory that I would someday end up with lots of cats and no husband, which to me would be a great deal better than lots of husbands and no cats. (I really like cats, what can I say.)

Fast forward a bit more to a new relationship I was in. The guy I was seeing was a major fan of sci-fi and video games. Having watched more musicals than sci-fi and not really gaming at the time, I wasn't sure how this was all going to work out but I was open to sci-fi, providing that the storyline was good as I am a sucker for a good plot. I had seen a bit of Star Trek and had seen Episodes 4-6 of Star Wars growing up (except part of the storyline on Hoth since our video tape fell apart there) but that was about it.

A discussion one day brought up a song from a Gilbert & Sullivan show, which left me a bit in awe until I realized that he had no idea what it was that he was actually quoting. It had been in some movie or show he had seen but he had no idea where it actually came from. I rather handed over my Gilbert & Sullivan CDs as soon as I could get my hands on them after that and surprisingly, he enjoyed them. (On a side note, similar to other experiences I had, when he tried to introduce the music to other people, it just got him some strange looks.)

Together we've watched a few different Gilbert & Sullivan musicals and though we both list different ones as our favorites, we still geek out over them and the references that pop up in sci-fi and other things (like Geico commercials). These are the only sci-fi Gilbert & Sullivan that we have come across personally in sci-fi movies, shows and games but if you know of any others, let me know. I've noticed that Isaac Asimov has made mention of various Gilbert & Sullivan songs, etc in some of his work. I also want to add that while searching down these sci-fi shows, movies and video games, I  found a Firefly inspired production of The Pirates of Penzance by The Stanford Savoyards with a few photos on their Facebook page from the production.


(POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR STAR TREK, BABYLON 5 AND MASS EFFECT)

("A British Tar" - H.M.S. Pinafore)

I believe there is at least another Gilbert & Sullivan reference during the show itself but I have not been able to find a clip of that yet. This is one of my favorite scenes and I play it for myself ever so often when I get in a silly mood for it. Worf's reaction to Picard's singing really makes it for me.

On a side note, as I was doing the research for this post, I came across a theatre out in California that combined Star Trek and Gilbert & Sullivan works into a show called USS Pinafore (article with a preview video at the link). It looks interesting but there seem to be a lot of red shirts. Hmm...

("I am the very model of a modern Major-General" - The Pirates of Penzance)

I was rather on the fence about watching Babylon 5. Season One went rather slow for me but once I got into it, I loved it. They had some great jokes ("Nibbled to death by cats," is one of my favorites.) and character and plot-wise, I thought it was excellent. I thoroughly enjoy Marcus' character and seeing him sing this really sealed it for me.

("I am the very model of a modern Major-General" - The Pirates of Penzance)

This I witnessed over the weekend for myself as Mass Effect 3 was released last week. I've watched a bit of the game but I just don't have time to play the whole thing myself. The "scientist salarian" was back from Mass Effect 2 (at least in our version) and so was his song, for a brief moment. It seems as it was rather popular as they also have a shirt available in the BioWare shop of Mordin, The Scientist Salarian.


There seem to be a lot of Gilbert & Sullivan references in many shows, movies and so forth in our culture. These are just the ones I've come across personally in sci-fi shows, movies and video games. If you wish to see a list of other Gilbert & Sullivan references, Wikipedia has a rather long list of them here. Some you may recognize and some you may not. YouTube may even have some of those in videos, among some others that aren't on the list, such as Christopher Lee singing a few of their songs.


I remember hearing from my parents that it use to be said that somewhere around the world, someone was performing Gilbert & Sullivan. Perhaps this still rings true today with the cultural influences that W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan have left on society even one hundred years after their deaths that have gone into new worlds to the year 2257, 2183 CE and Stardate 52000.