The Sorcerer's Apprentice poem's story is alluded to in several episodes of the fairy-tale drama "Once Upon a Time", especially in "The Apprentice". A variation of the Dukas piece also plays in certain scenes. The apprentice himself is a recurring character, while the sorcerer is shown to be Merlin. The "Fantasia" version appears in the video game series "Kingdom Hearts", with the sorcerer Yen Sid serving as an adviser to the heroes, teaching Mickey, Sora, and Riku the Keyblade skills needed to guard the universe from his former friend Xehanort's plan. A world based on the "Fantasia" version also appears throughout the series,
The Sorcerer Sausages" (2011). In "Meet Mr Mulliner" by P. G. Wodehouse, the title hero sings a fragment from Dr Daly's ballad and characterises his nephew as "the sort of young curate who seems to have been so common in the 'eighties, or whenever it was that Gilbert wrote The Sorcerer." It has also been referenced in popular TV series, such as in the "Family Guy" episode "Patriot Games", where characters sing the song "If you'll marry me" from Act II. The Sorcerer The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan.