Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan a 1966 episode. In the UK series "Lilies", in the 2007 episode "The Tallyman" both "When I Was a Lad" and "The Sun Whose Rays" are heard. An episode of "Car 54, Where Are You?" has parodies of several G&S songs. In 1988, episodes of Australian soap opera "Home and Away" featured a school production of "The Mikado". A second-season (1998) episode of the TV show "Millennium" titled "The Mikado" is based on the Zodiac case. Gilbert and Sullivan references often appear in "The West Wing". Some incidents include an episode-long argument over whether "He is an Englishman" is from
Gilbert and Sullivan up in a risky intrigue at the Tower of London during the 16th century. The dialogue, though in prose, is quasi-early modern English in style, and there is no satire of British institutions. For some of the plot elements, Gilbert had reached back to his 1875 tragedy, "Broken Hearts". "The Times" praised the libretto: "It should... be acknowledged that Mr. Gilbert has earnestly endeavoured to leave familiar grooves and rise to higher things." Although not a grand opera, the new libretto provided Sullivan with the opportunity to write his most ambitious score to date. The critics, who had recently lauded