Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan judge to something out of Gilbert and Sullivan. Aside from politics, the phrase "A short, sharp shock" has appeared in titles of books and songs (most notably in samples of Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon"). Likewise "Let the punishment fit the crime" is an often-used phrase in popular media. For instance, in episode 80 of the television series "Magnum, P.I.", entitled "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime," Higgins prepares to direct a selection of pieces from "The Mikado" to be staged at the Estate. The phrase and the Mikado's song also are featured in the "Dad's Army"
Gilbert and Sullivan [The words'] precise degree of levity and distance from reality ... seemed to be expressed ... in the very notes of the music; almost ... in the note of the laughter that followed it." In 1957, a review in "The Times" gave this rationale for "the continued vitality of the Savoy operas": Because of the unusual success of the operas, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company were able, from the start, to license the works to other professional companies, such as the J. C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, and to amateur troupes. For almost a century, until the British