i am thinking of doing a musical tv show. i know you all probobly think it will be cheasy but i sm not going to do it broadway style. it will have modern songs from all genres. like rihanna's "umbrella", or Timbaland Featuring OneRepublic "Apologize". and some oldies but goodies. like elton john's "rocket man", or mabey a few beatles songs. really any thing so I want a few ideas on song choices.
PLEASE AND THANK YOU!

Musical television - as in Cop Rocks and Viva Laughlin? As in cancelled almost before they aired? As in ridiculed despite how much many of us like musicals in general?

As for music choice, it depends on what your show is about. Just 'cause the music is cool doesn't mean that it will attract an audience. Also music, along with fashion, is one of the biggest thing that age a show when it goes into syndication.

Definitely try it, because if it works, that would be awesome. But keep in mind that it is a very, very hard genre.

You'd REALLY have to know your audience with this one. Even if a group of people might like the story of the show, if you pick music that they don't like, that's the end of the series. Some musical TV shows have worked, like the few musical numbers from I Love Lucy and the one musical episode from Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (season six, ep. 7: "Once More, With Feeling" if you want to watch it for research). It can be done, but like the previous post said, it's very difficult.

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NaNoWriMo '07: The Squabbles of Nearly But Not-Quite Scientists; winner!
FAWM '08: "The Fall of the Candy Gladiator and Other Tales"; winner!
SF '08: In planning...

angelcollins, now i understand what your saying, but cop rock and viva laughlin wern't well made. first off they had about 7 songs per 1 hour episode, and you tend to get tired of hearing song after song after song. and it was the same genre. and they didn't mix well. I mean singing cops, seriously. and its not like you go to a casino and you hear the guys at the table say, "deal the cards and sing a song".so i plan to do 1 song per half-hour episode, mabey 2 at the most. for starters.and i plan to do is use all genres so there is something for everybody. and i want the show itself to be about people, life, love, faith. I want the audience to look at that and say thats me, thats my life. so it will grab them and pull them in. so how do you like it?

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underline2, your absolutely right! for example viva laughlin(which only lasted 2 episodes)used only 1960's music. the first episode alone used only the songs viva las vegas and these boots are made for walking and two others. so by mixing the genres and having the first 2 or 3 episodes having just montagues with music in the backround, they might be drawn to it in such a way that they don't mind the music, and then slowly progress to the charecters singing. and one other thing viva laughlin messed up, they had dancing which not many like. what do you think?

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writing(writing) writing(writing) writing on a river.

Personally, I love all things Broadway Musical including the spontaneous choreography and all that. I would love to see a TV show that's like an extended version of a Doris Day movie, but that's just my opinion.

Also, if you're going to have your characters singing, you'll want to introduce that right away. You don't have to go all the way with it at first, though. A character could be singing on stage or in the shower or have some kind of lounge act (think the songs from Some Like It Hot - it's not really a 'musical' but Marilyn gets to sing just the same). Let the audience know from the start that there's going to be musical numbers.

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NaNoWriMo '07: The Squabbles of Nearly But Not-Quite Scientists; winner!
FAWM '08: "The Fall of the Candy Gladiator and Other Tales"; winner!
SF '08: In planning...

thank you, i really appreciate you advice. and i will use it too my advantage.
and do you have any song suggestions. (i want to do sons from late 70's - present)
thanks!

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writing(writing) writing(writing) writing on a river.

I think the only musical television that is working right now is Eli Stone. It has to be a pretty solid idea with a quirky enough catch to work. I saw the pilot for Viva Loughlin and liked it but not enough to be bothered with finding it for the second episode. But Eli Stone I make the effort every week to go to the ABC online player and watch. (I don't have reception for ABC where I live so it is online or not at all.)

Well, I love most 80's one-hit wonders, but most people don't agree with me on that. Anything David Bowie, Queen or Billy Idol is amazing and most people won't admit it, but "Walk Like An Egyptian" is possibly one of the greatest songs ever.

My 90's experience was mainly Chumbawumba, Savage Garden (both of whom are no more than guilty pleasures) and the Goo Goo Dolls' album Dizzy Up The Girl, which is angsty, yes, but also quite good.

More recently... My favorite bands are Maximo Park, the Decemberists, Nightmare of You, Vienna Teng and Belle & Sebastian. Vienna Teng might have some good songs that could work for musical numbers. Most of her stuff is painfully pretty and really showcases what we non-sopranos are jealous of.

But a small list of songs that I think would work in a musical-type setting:

Faith - George Michael
In The Bathroom Is Where I Want You - Nightmare of You
Angel - Aerosmith
Asleep On A Sunbeam - Belle & Sebastian
Between - Vienna Teng
Gravity - Vienna Teng
Your Woman - White Town
Waste More Time - Marit Bergman
Romeo's Waiting - Billy Idol
Take It Off - The Donnas
These Days - Nico

Look these songs up on YouTube or ProjectPlaylist and see if any have the sound you're looking for.

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NaNoWriMo '07: The Squabbles of Nearly But Not-Quite Scientists; winner!
FAWM '08: "The Fall of the Candy Gladiator and Other Tales"; winner!
SF '08: In planning...

thank you for the song suggestions i will look these up. and i love 80's one-hit-wonders too. something i imagine for an episode is to have a scene at some sort of sporting event and have the audience singing a mix of "we will rock you/ we are the champions". i got this idea after seeing michael johns on american idol.
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