jQuery gallery doesn't work in IE.. but DOES after refresh?

Question

I am using jquery galleria like so:

$(document).ready(function() {
    Galleria.loadTheme('js/galleria/themes/classic/galleria.classic.js');
    $('#galleria').galleria({
        image_crop: true,
        /*transition: 'fade',*/
        data_config: function(img) {
            return {
                description: $(img).next('p').html()
            };
        },
        extend: function() {
            this.play(6000); // will advance every 4th second
        }
    });
});

It works as expected in Chrome, there is a small flicker on load in Firefox. But in IE its like the code above never gets called. the images are laid out as they would be if I never called the code above. However, simply refreshing and IE will then start working right.

Any ideas what might cause this to happen?