Glee: We Are The Champions

It's been many weeks since I've covered Glee, meaning that I haven't been able to talk about "Proud Mary" in the wheelchairs, Artie and Tina's romance, the drug-infused mash-up songs, the mattress commercial, or Suzie Pepper. To make a long story short, Glee remains a very fun show to watch, and although I will definitely be sticking with it, it continues to do some things that I find very off-putting. These things can take me out of the episode because they are so jarring. The end of the episode "Hairography" was nearly unwatchable due to forced dialogue, and plot points still come up for about one episode only to be neatly resolved by the end. The mid-season finale, "Sectionals," had some of these issues, but all-in-all, I was able to look past them for the most part because of how fun the episode was. Right now, the show's biggest sin isn't its fault: not coming back until April?! What the hell, FOX!?

"Sectionals" was written to be a potential (open-ended) series finale if it did not become the phenomenon that it has become, so many plotlines were essentially wrapped up (thankfully, the fake pregnancy story was one of them). All hell broke loose for the club because, in addition to Mr. Schuster not being able to attend the Sectionals meet due to accidentally and unknowingly accepting consideration for professional work, Rachel told Finn that Puck was the father of Quinn's baby. Finn's reaction and flight from the club was good, but Quinn's reaction was pretty unbelievable. Her rival for Finn's attention ratted her out (how did she figure it out... aside from her "psychic" powers, because her only evidence was Puck's devotion to Quinn), and she not only let Rachel off the hook, she told Rachel she was glad Finn knew. Which makes no sense because prior episodes have definitively shown us that she would rather have Finn as the father figure than Puck. I do like that Finn and Puck did not make up at the end; when Puck asked if they were cool, having Finn say no was very satisfying.

My other huge gripe with the episode was the way New Directions was able to come up with TWO new routines, which helped them win the competition, in about 20 minutes. Granted, one of them was pretty much a solo number by Rachel, which she claims she had been working on since she was 4 (note: I had no idea Barbara Streisand was the original singer of "Don't Rain On My Parade"; I have only ever heard the amazing Bobby Darrin version). But for them to choreograph "You Can't Always Get What You Want" so quickly is pretty unbelievable. Their final song was "Somebody To Love," so they didn't show it again.

However, in spite of the suspension of disbelief requirement, the episode was incredibly fun and rewarding. Emma took charge and represented New Directions at Sectionals, and showed some backbone by standing up to the cheating heads of the other two glee clubs (who received the set list for New Directions from Sue). Speaking of Emma, I'm really happy her wedding plotline ended; I like Ken, but the quickie wedding was almost as unbelievable as Terry's fake pregnancy, especially because of all the conditions Emma placed on their relationship and Ken's awareness that the whole thing was a sham. Things are going to be awkward between him, Emma, and Will when the show starts up again. The two new numbers used for Sectionals were great, and the final song was a great way to end this stretch of episodes (or series had it come to that). Too bad we won't get more Glee until April.

Up next: HBO presents a history lesson...

Glee: Something To Love

Ok, allow me to geek out before getting into the actual post: THEY DID "SOMEBODY TO LOVE" ON GLEE THIS WEEK! AND KRISTEN CHENOWETH WAS ON!

Anyway, despite the still very-real flaws, Glee continuously proves to be extremely fun and entertaining. The story is very good for the most part, showing a "high-school-is-hell" world that doesn't rely on actual demons to make the point (not that Buffy needed them to make the point, and in doing so, told stories that Glee will never be able to tell) and positing on how far people will go to reach their dreams, no matter how much their decisions affect other people. Plus, the show features amazing musical numbers performed by amazing singers and dancers. And yet...

I really like this show, yet there are times when I wonder why. The chief sin of "The Rhodes Not Taken" was the efficient wrap-up of two storylines that should have had much messier resolutions. First, Rachel returned to the club a week after quitting, and second, April Rhodes willingly left the club when she had a realization of how her presence was impacting the club. Let's start with Rachel. She certainly had reason to want to leave the musical; Sandy was treating her horribly and was abusing his power as director (which he shouldn't even have; he only got his job back because Sue blackmailed the principal). Yet I would think that she would be somewhat willing to put up with a terrible director if it meant exposure as the lead in the school musical. And then when Sue gave her full creative control in the production (how does Sue have the power to do that?), she realized that she still didn't get what she wanted. But she only told us this. We did not see how this new level of power affected her, and I would think that someone as driven and conceited as Rachel would ignore any misgivings resulting from her new role.

As for the April storyline, April specifically stated that she wasn't going to give up her new position in the Glee Club because she was getting her second chance. She was clearly more talented than any member of the club, and a second chance was something she had been dreaming about for years. And then, after stunning the crowd with the first song, she suddenly realized that she was hurting the dreams and chances of the kids. April didn't really seem like the kind of person who could develop such complex and selfless thoughts. But the writers needed her out of the way. They could have had Will forcibly remove her (he could certainly have her arrested for certain things) or Emma could have tried to do something. Instead, she left willingly.

And yet, I almost feel like those gripes don't even matter. Glee remains simultaneously hilarious and sad and the musical numbers always blow me away (those two factors plus Chenoweth's appearance this year opened my wounds from Pushing Daisies' cancellation). April's website and message ("Bring Buffalo wings."), Emma's reaction to Kurt puking on her (her facial expression and trip to the hospital), Puck's snide comment about Bert and Ernie were all great.

And then there was Finn trying to get Rachel to come back by convincing her that she had a shot with him, only for her to learn that he only did it for his own personal gain and that Quinn is pregnant, which provided a lot of sadness this week. And Will's blind adoration of April, despite the current state of her life, continued to show how devoted Will is to the idea of Glee Club as opposed to the people who are currently in the club. In an effort to ensure the club will carry on, he put the dreams of the kids on hold by introducing a ringer. Not only that, he basically overlooked the negative influence April placed on the club because he felt that he was serving the greater good by keeping April around. Emma had to assert herself against Will, the man she secretly loves unconditionally, and make him see what he was doing.

So I'd say that after weighing the positives against the negatives of "The Rhodes Not Taken," the episode is definitely a winner. I really hope that the show fixes its problems, but they always present themselves in hindsight; when I actually watch the show, I have a blast. And the fact that they finally did "Somebody To Love" tonight ensured that I would love the episode on some level.

Up next: Good news, sports Fans...

Glee: On The Rise

Three episodes of Glee have aired since the pilot premiered back in May. I was certainly excited about the show coming back because I loved the pilot so much; it kind of reminds me of the Battlestar Galactica miniseries pilot in that it seemed almost cinematic in its scope (although the Glee pilot certainly wasn't feature-length). However, with a 4-month interval, I definitely felt some withdrawal and doubts. Was the pilot really that good? How could the show go on every week without some of the characters becoming caricatures? For as great as the pilot was, and it certainly was, characters like Terri, Quinn, and Puck were barely shown, and what we saw was not much more than 2-dimensional archetypes. Furthermore, aside from Rachel and Finn, we didn't really get to know any of the other members of the club, and as we learned in the second episode, the club would have to expand in order for them to qualify for regionals (which is what the season is moving toward).

So how is the show after these last few episodes? Fortunately, it remains hovering somewhere around amazing. It has definite faults, faults which should irk me much more than they do, but the great aspects of the show convince me to overlook them to a degree. So far, Terry and Puck have been developed enough for me to accept them as characters. They are still not good people (though not villainous in the way that Sue is), but some of their internal conflict is starting to show. Puck even joined the Glee Club tonight. As for Terry, it is amazing to watch the lengths she will go to in order to keep Will loving her. Her perspective of the world is warped beyond belief, but in her mind, she is doing everything she can to keep her husband. Quinn still has to prove herself as a worthy character, but I have faith that the writers will give her some redeeming qualities and/or conflict to make her someone worth watching.

The show also continues to display a subversive sense of humor. The series points out the folly of blindly following the perceived status quo and turning a blind eye to alternative ways of living or expressing oneself. Quinn is the leader of the Celibacy Club, and the viewpoints expressed in those meetings are extremely ass-backwards, yet most people present take them as fact. On tonight's episode, Kurt showed the football team that they could improve their performance by dancing (it could loosen them up). Yet no one other than Finn wanted to try it, out of fear that they would become laughing stocks (never mind that they already were due to their poor performance on the field). Ken, the coach, was onboard with the plan to get the players dancing in theory, but once he saw them in practice, he got uncomfortable with the situation. However, it worked out in the end; check out its awesomeness here:



The Glee kids act as counterweights to the status quo views. Rachel pointed out the fallacies that the Celibacy kids believed and Kurt isn't afraid (to a degree, anyway) to fully express who he is, even though he knows that people won't accept him and will pick on him. But they are by no means perfect. Rachel is arrogant and self-centered, while Kurt is egotistic. With any luck, Tina, Artie, and Mercedes will get fleshed out in coming weeks, and we will learn their strengths and flaws.

And that's as good a place as any to start discussing the show's failings. The cast is large, and not everyone gets enough screentime. I'd be more forgiving about this if other shows hadn't proved that it was possible to devote enough time to everyone in large casts to fully develop (nearly) every character (LOST, Galactica, Deadwood). Along those same lines, the plotlines can be a bit choppy. Every character has a life outside of Glee Club, and although the show tries to sufficiently cover everyone, people and plots get lost. A plotline will be introduced at the beginning of an episode, won't be discussed until two acts later, and then sometimes even resolves at the end of the episode before the show has time to fully develop the story. For example, Mercede's sudden infatuation with Kurt was over and done with before there was enough time to derive significant dramatic tension (read: pain), and Will's a capella group disbanded for little or no reason.

Still, even if I didn't like the show, I'd probably still TiVo it just to fast forward to the musical numbers. The "Don't Stop Believin'" routine from the pilot is still my favorite, but so far, every big number has been superb. Their renditions of the songs are fantastic, and I find myself loving songs that I don't like when sung by the original artist. You have no idea how absolutely psyched I am for the "Somebody To Love" routine that we have been promised since the preview at the end of the pilot.

Glee still is far from perfect, but it is definitely worth watching.

Up next: Probably back to the Dollhouse...

Glee: Audition

Tonight, FOX aired the pilot of the show Glee, a new musical comedy that will begin airing in the fall (no, I don't know why they are only showing the pilot tonight, while they wait for the rest of the summer before showing the next episode). When I first saw a preview for the show, I thought it looked really stupid, but as time went by, the trailers started looking better and better and many critics released advance reviews hailing it as a new gem, with the whimsy of Pushing Daisies and the realism of Freaks and Geeks (note: in both Glee and F&G, the characters go to a school named after President William McKinley in a small midwest town). Finally, this trailer made me realize that I would have to watch the pilot:



The pilot certainly wasn't perfect, but it captured my attention, and I will be tuning in for the next episode when it airs. The episode was very funny and full of characters who initially seem offbeat, but become too close to being real for comfort. Will Schuster is the lead, a Spanish teacher at the high school who decides to take over the glee club after the old director (Stephen Tobolowsky in a funny cameo) is fired for inappropriate behavior with a student... allegedly. The whistleblower is Rachel Berry, the club's most talented member and resident overachiever. She is similar to Reese Witherspoon's character from Election, except instead of desiring power, she lusts for fame. The other members of the club certainly have talent, but none of them are anything special. But when Shuster cons the football quarterback Finn Hudson into joining the club (his strategy was hilarious and a dark look at the power anti-drug campaigns have given people in authority), it looks like the club may actually have a chance at being competitive... until they go see the school that won the national competition the year before.

Other characters include Emma, another faculty member who likely has a crush on Shuster, Schuster's neurotic, shopaholic wife, and Sue Sylvester, wonderfully played by Jane Lynch. Sue is a heartless, two-faced bitch who clearly was the popular girl in high school and chose never to leave. She is the cheerleading coach, and she openly reminds the other teachers that her squad gets the most funding because of the "prestige" they bring to the school. She openly believes in and attempts to perpetuate the social classes that are present in high schools, and is proud to be the leader of the elite. She describes the glee kids as the lowest of the low, and in many ways, that is true. Rachel is ostracized for her devotion to becoming famous (although her personality doesn't help very much; she sees herself as being above most of the other students at school). Tina is a stutterer, Mercedes is a diva, Kurt is gay (which, sadly, is not accepted by many people in high schools), and Arty is in a wheelchair. However, in the glee club, these flaws disappear. Tina doesn't stutter when she sings, Mercedes has a good voice, Kurt is a good performer, and Arty can play an instrument. They remain in somethings that most students who would otherwise have the talent to participate in avoid out of fear because it helps develop who they really are.

However, the episode was not without its flaws. I think the biggest problem was that the pilot needed two hours to tell its story. They tried to cram a lot into this episode, and sometimes it seemed like they were skipping over the smaller developments to get to the big plot points. Along those same lines, many characters, who are going to be series regulars (Finn's girlfriend, Finn's football buddy, and Schuster's wife) were underdeveloped and had only token appearances to establish their characters. Tina, Mercedes, Arty, and Kurt also weren't used too much this episode, but the episode wouldn't have worked without them. Despite these flaws though, I still enjoyed the episode and look forward to what comes next (especially because Kristin Chenoweth and Victor Garber are going to guest star and perform musical numbers).

Updated for your viewing pleasure:







Up next: Buffy #9...