A few weeks ago I arrived home on a Friday night, grabbed a salad, and sat down in front of the television to watch the Guthrie Theater production of H.M.S. Pinafore. It was the initial offering of the PBS “Arts Fall Festival,” an eclectic group of programs (encompassing theater, dance, rock, opera, and “the art and history of banjo playing”) that are airing on Friday evenings through the end of the year.

The Gilbert and Sullivan operetta was introduced by Rainn Wilson, which in itself seemed a bit strange. (I know he did a lot of stage work prior to landing his breakthrough role on TV’s The Office, but he’s not the first person who comes to mind when I think of musicals.) Nevertheless he was amiable and gave a bit of background on the Guthrie—one of our country’s finest regional theaters, founded in Minneapolis nearly half a century ago.

As the show began my expectations were high. But I was completely miffed by the amateurish production that followed. Badly cast and poorly directed (by the Guthrie’s artistic director Joe Dowling) and choreographed, this Pinafore was a debacle that attempted to “modernize” the music for today’s audiences by using faux ABBA arrangements instead of Sir Arthur Sullivan’s brilliant orchestration. Mamma Mia!

I can’t believe that PBS, which these days rarely broadcasts complete plays or musicals (with the notable exception of the 2010 telecast of South Pacific on Live from Lincoln Center), dared to televise this bit of hokum for the first show of its new series. It did a major disservice to the Guthrie and to musical theater.

Fortunately this disgraceful offering was offset by last Friday’s telecast of three dances (two by George Balanchine and one by Twyla Tharp) performed by Edward Villella’s marvelous Miami City Ballet. The first of these works, the sprightly “Square Dance,” was set to music by Vivaldi and Corelli and performed without gaudy scenery or fancy costumes. The genius of Balanchine shone through and almost made me forget the shipwreck of the Guthrie’s Pinafore.