Good Omens

Good Omens is a British fantasy comedy television series features various Christian themes and figures and follows various characters all trying to either encourage or prevent an imminent Armageddon, seen through the eyes of the angel Aziraphale, played by Michael Sheen and the demon Crowley, played by David Tennant. The series was created by Neil Gaiman and was based on his and Terry Pratchett’s 1990 novel by the same name.

In Season 1, Episode 4, titled Saturday Morning Funtime, and first broadcast on May 31, 2019, the angel Aziraphale had learned to dance the gavotte in the 1880s and was quite put out some decades later when the gavotte went out of style. In the episode, the music for the gavotte, playing in the background, is The Gondolier’s, “I Am a Courtier Grave and Serious.” Gaiman admitted that he used this musical reference as it was the only gavotte he knew.

The same scene can be viewed “behind the scenes” in rehearsal:

And there is also a disco version for the demon Crowley:

The Wiggles

The Wiggles are an Australian children’s music group, formed in 1991 and is still actively performing.  The Wiggles have enjoyed universal approval throughout their history of world tours, music and DVD recordings, as well as television broadcasts.  With a focus on children’s education, their music has been played in pre-schools all over the world.  While The Wiggles primarily sing songs which they write themselves, they also perform works written by others.  In an episode titled “Wiggle Bay,” in The Wiggle’s thirteenth video, released in 2002, the group performed “Dance a Cachucha.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhK1HcTi6I4

Chariots of Fire

The 1981 film, Chariots of Fire includes multiple Gilbert and Sullivan references.  The protagonist, Harold Abrahams, is a devoted Gilbert and Sullivan fan.  The film features “He is an Englishman” from H.M.S. Pinafore, “With Catlike Tread” from The Pirates of Penzance, “The Soldiers of Our Queen” from Patience, “Three Little Maids from School Are We” from The Mikado and “There Lived a King” from The Gondoliers.