Some stage productions transfer to the small screen better than others; this 1985 performance at Canada's Stratford Festival, with the actors hurling their lines to the last row in the house, has its drawbacks. Much of the broad, broad humor--such as the Pirate King's habit of mangling his words--isn't worth the trouble. Flawless voices are a secondary concern of this production, which includes an exceptional amount of dancing. Jeff Hyslop, who's quite appealing as Frederic, was surely cast for his athletic footwork, not his singing. Though Caralyn Tomlin, as Mabel, has a voice (Mabel doesn't get to do much besides vocalize), she's a screechy cliché of a soprano. As the Pirate King, Brent Carver gives a lively but misguided performance. Carver's King is an exquisitely groomed matinee idol, which drains the surprise (and the comedy) from the idea that this is a ruffian who salutes poetry and reveres the queen. That sort of imprecise thinking weakens the production as a whole.

The most satisfying turns come from the Major-General and the policemen, those characters with the deepest innate humanity. Douglas Chamberlain lets the arcane content of "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" whiz by in a manic blur (except when he shows off a witty new verse). He treats the song as a tour de force from a man who knows how preposterous his knowledge is and nevertheless takes huge delight in it. It's a charming performance. --David Olivenbaum