Editing The Pirates of Penzance (section)

===Major-General's Song===
{{main|Major-General's Song}}
[[File:Modern Major General, Bab.png|thumb|upright|The Major-General carries an encyclopedia in this "Bab" drawing.]]
''Pirates'' is one of the most frequently referenced works of Gilbert and Sullivan. The [[Major-General's Song]], in particular, is frequently parodied, [[pastiche]]d and used in advertising.<ref>Zetland, Earl. [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL81E47F8C9314A1D7 "Modern Major General Parodies"], accessed 7 May 2012</ref> Parody versions have been used in political commentary as well as entertainment media.<ref>Hinkle, A. Barton. "Hinkle: The Attorney General's Song", ''[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]'', 10 May 2010</ref> Its challenging [[patter song|patter]] has proved interesting to comedians; notable examples include [[Tom Lehrer]]'s song "[[The Elements (song)|The Elements]]" and [[David Hyde Pierce]]'s monologue as host of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.<ref>[http://snltranscripts.jt.org/94/94kmono.phtml "David Hyde Pierce's Monologue"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320074805/http://snltranscripts.jt.org/94/94kmono.phtml |date=20 March 2012 }}, SNL transcripts, accessed 15 February 2010</ref> In 2010, comedian [[Ron Butler]] released a YouTube pastiche of the song in character as [[Barack Obama|President Obama]] which, as of September 2021, had garnered more than 1.9 million views.<ref>Butler, Ron. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y54FRMedT_s "Obama! A Modern U.S. President (musical spoof)"], YouTube, 11 October 2010</ref><ref>Zacher, Scotty. [http://chicagotheaterbeat.com/2010/10/18/gilbert-and-sullivan-spoof-a-modern-us-president-fun/ "Gilbert and Sullivan spoof: A Modern US President. (Fun!!)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108180017/http://chicagotheaterbeat.com/2010/10/18/gilbert-and-sullivan-spoof-a-modern-us-president-fun/ |date=8 November 2011 }}, ''Chicago Theatre Beat'', 18 October 2010, accessed 7 May 2012</ref>

Pastiche examples include the ''[[Animaniacs]]'' version, "I am the very model of a cartoon individual", in the episode "H.M.S. Yakko";<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBFGj7LX530 "Animaniacs – Cartoon Individual"], YouTube, accessed 15 February 2010</ref> the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' audio "I am the very model of a [[Gallifrey]]an buccaneer" in ''[[Doctor Who and the Pirates]]'';<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIdDXQ2h1Pc "Doctor Who Gallifreyan Buccaneer"], YouTube, accessed 15 February 2010. Other songs, from ''Pirates'', ''Pinafore'' and ''[[Ruddigore]]'', are also parodied in the recording</ref> the ''[[Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip]]'' version in the episode "The Cold Open" (2006), where the cast performs "We'll be the very model of a modern network TV show";<ref name=Studio>Schillinger, Liesl: [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/theater/22schi.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1 "Dress British, Sing Yiddish"] ''The New York Times'', 22 October 2006</ref> and the ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' video game version, where the character [[Mordin Solus]] sings: "I am the very model of a scientist Salarian".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-HgVM6JSIY "''Mass Effect 2'' Mordin Singing"], YouTube, 23 January 2010</ref>

The song is often used in film and on television, unchanged in many instances, as a character's audition piece, or seen in a "school play" scene. Examples include a ''[[VeggieTales]]'' episode entitled "[[The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment!]]"; the ''[[Frasier]]'' episode "[[Fathers and Sons (Frasier episode)|Fathers and Sons]]"; ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Deep Space Homer]]"; and the ''[[Mad About You]]'' episode "Moody Blues", where Paul directs a charity production of ''Penzance'' starring his father, Burt, as the Major-General. In ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' (season 3, episode 4) guest host, comedian [[Gilda Radner]], sings the song with a {{convert|7|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} talking carrot (Parodying the pilot/pirate confusion in ''Pirates'', Radner had requested a {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} talking ''parrot'', but was misheard).<ref>[http://www.tv.com/the-muppet-show/gilda-radner/episode/176733/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;12 The Muppet Show] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508135023/http://www.tv.com/the-muppet-show/gilda-radner/episode/176733/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;12 |date=8 May 2008 }}, TV.com, accessed 25 July 2009</ref> In an episode of ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'', Al Borland begins to sing the song when tricked into thinking he is in a soundproof booth. In the ''[[Babylon 5]]'' episode "[[Atonement (Babylon 5)|Atonement]]", [[Marcus Cole (Babylon 5)|Marcus Cole]] uses the song to drive [[Stephen Franklin (Babylon 5)|Dr Stephen Franklin]] crazy on a long journey to Mars.

Examples of the use of the song in advertising include [[Martyn Green]]'s pastiche of the song listing all of the varieties of [[Campbell's Soup]]<ref>Stone, David. [https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/G/GreenMartyn.htm "Martyn Green"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060905101325/https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/G/GreenMartyn.htm |date=5 September 2006 }} ''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company'', 2003, accessed 2 December 2011</ref> and a 2011 [[Geico]] commercial in which a couple that wants to save money, but still listen to musicals, finds a roommate, dressed as the Major-General, who awkwardly begins the song while dancing on a coffee table.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpaS2Q3hTlA "Roommate – Easier Way to Save – GEICO Commercial,"] Geico, accessed 2 December 2011</ref> [[Gimbels]] department store had a campaign sung to the tune of the Major-General's Song that began, "We are the very model of a modern big department store."<ref name=Gimbels>One of these ads ran in ''The New York Times'' on 27 October 1953 as a full-page advertisement.</ref> George Washington, in the number "Right Hand Man" from the 2015 musical ''[[Hamilton (musical)|Hamilton]]'' by [[Lin-Manuel Miranda]], refers to himself with irony as "The model of a modern major general", which he rhymes with "men are all". Miranda commented: "I always felt like 'mineral' wasn't the best possible rhyme."<ref>Mead, Rebecca. [http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/09/hamiltons "All About the Hamiltons"], ''[[The New Yorker]]'', 9 February 2015 Issue, 2 December 2015</ref>