Glee - Page 4

Fair enough.  I appreciate the clarification :)

I thought tonight's episode rebounded nicely from last week's episode. I have to finally join, though, and admit that Will's wife is pure evil. Elsewhere, the show was really firing on all cylinders. I particularly enjoyed Mike O'Malley's performance, so different than those infuriating Time Warner Cable commericals. On the surface, he's the stereotypical distant working-class TV father but there were a few moments including the scene at the end where its made clear that he's grappling with a lot more than actually comes out of his mouth. And "I wish your mother would have been there -- you know, alive" has to be my favorite line of the night.

I thought tonight's episode rebounded nicely from last week's episode. I have to finally join, though, and admit that Will's wife is pure evil. Elsewhere, the show was really firing on all cylinders. I particularly enjoyed Mike O'Malley's performance, so different than those infuriating Time Warner Cable commericals. On the surface, he's the stereotypical distant working-class TV father but there were a few moments including the scene at the end where its made clear that he's grappling with a lot more than actually comes out of his mouth. And "I wish your mother would have been there -- you know, alive" has to be my favorite line of the night.

I really liked tonight's episode.  In particular, I also like how the show isn't as formulaic as I assumed it was going to be.  Not every episode ends with a "big song," and I appreciate that.  Further, it was refreshing for not *every* storyline (gay, teen pregnancy) to drag out over mroe than one episode.  At this point I wouldn't be surprised if the "father" storyline is resolved sooner-than-later, leaving only the hysterical pregnancy story.

My only complaint is that I wanted to see more of the "Maria" performance (maybe on a later episode?).

This show brings out laughter from me, so I'm in for the long haul.  There are touches of poignancy that are rare in our current TV landscape, and when the show swings for the fences, it rarely misses.

Last nights episode was by far the best episode of the show. The opening of the show was just great! Curt singing single ladies and being caught by his father, the football players singing single ladies during the game and curt coming out to his father were all great scenes. I love how shows can make it's viewers get so involved and actually feel sad, anxious or heartbroken right along with the characters. When Curt came out to his father I was so nervous for him. When Noah walked away at the end of the game sad and defeated, I felt defeated with him.

I loved Moulin Rouge!  It was what I expected.  I thought Glee would have more comedy/drama with some singing and dancing.
But I'll do the right thing and post no more about Glee, and leave to those of you who enjoy the program.

This week's episode was the weakest so far, for me. The first half felt uneven, but it came together in the second half for another strong episode.

I missed the strong song & dance numbers; lip syncing to pop songs doesn't do much for me.

And that's how I "C" it.

Aww...  but that's what I want.  And Lea Michele only sang for 30 seconds.  That makes me sad.  

I'm especially disappointed because after having Don't Stop Believin' rattling around my skull since the pilot aired, Take A Bow absolutely displaced DSB with a vengeance, monopolizing my cognitive processes for the past two weeks.  My wife complains about my incessant humming and singing of that song.  I assumed some other song would replace it last week but didn't, and I was praying something would replace it this week just for sanity's sake.  But nada.  Take A Bow is threatening to become the only thought in my head.  BTW, Take a Bow sounds like that Madonna song -- no, not Take A Bow -- it sounds like Don't Tell Me.

And while I tried my best to suspend my disbelief over the football scenes, that was some of the worst depiction of how football is played I've ever seen, only rivaled in its lack of understanding by the various depictions of how hackers work.  If Finn wants a college scholarship, maybe he should convert from QB to linebacker or safety, because that WMHS defense is pretty damn good considering they held the opponents to 2 field goals after giving up umpteen sacks (they really should learn how to hand-off every now and then).  It also felt very contrived --the whole plotline seemed to have been reversed engineered from the premise, "the football team is performing Single Ladies on the field".  Most of the circumstances of how they got there made little sense -- why would dancing help them?  Why did the other players submit?  Why specifically Single Ladies?  Lots of "huh?" moments in there.

Okay, so they have acknowledged that the principal is in fact Indian, but did not explain the surname Figgins.  They had a similar moment in this weeks  Parks & Recreation regarding the origins of Tom Haverford.

Oh, and props to Mike O'Malley, who went from the critically reviled Mike O'Malley Show to becoming an excellent character actor.  It's surprising since he was so terrible in the execrable Yes Dear (he was one of the reasons I couldn't watch that show).

Oh, and that little look Jayma Mays gave after she caught herself hugging Schue a bit too enthusiasctically was OTT adorable:


Anyone else notice that Finn looks like Phillip J. Fry?

I had the same issues. Even if somehow you could convince a team of football players to dance to Beyonce, there's no way any football official would allow that dance number to take place during a game (though I didn't see any referees on that football field...another unbelievable item). And there's also no way that Kurt would have the time to do his little dance and kick the ball before the defense blocked the kick and/or drove him into the ground.

"Glee" seems to be more fantasy than any sort of realistic depiction of high school.

I'm also officially sick to death of "Single Ladies," though I never much liked it in the first place.  Bad song, silly video. Why it's treated as such a phenomenon escapes me.

It was a brief solo, good but not great, and not integrated into the visuals as the great scenes, like "Can't Stop Believin'". I enjoyed it, but the joy of Glee are the big productions like "Threw a Brick through your Window" from last week.

The weakness of the episode was that its heart was the gay boy (whose name escapes me) lip syncing the Beyonce song, rather than singing it. Previously, the core songs were sung by cast.



You say that like it's a bad thing. Or an unexpected thing. It's been fantastic from the start. And it follows other quasi-realistic dramas, like Boston Public or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I believe the key is for the emotions to resonate and to feel true. Which they did through the main plot of the boy striving to impress and fit in with his dad.

Re: The football scenes.

Since when have musicals ever concerned themselves with realism?  I am sorry, but I believe expectations of conformance to reality are misplaced with a show like Glee.

- Walter.

I agree, Walter.  I treat the entire show like I would a stage musical--the musical/dance numbers are to be taken completely out of context, even if the dialogue preceeding or following references those very routines.

It was only an issue because I'm a huge football fanatic.  Imagine of they had a home theater plotline and they used a VCR?  Wouldn't that bother you even though it's not realistic?  Hmm?

 Hanson  - Technical miscues bother me if the genre presents itself as realistic; but for musicals as long as the events themselves work within the context of the storyline, then I do not have any expectations regarding realism.  So no, a VCR would not bother me, if it serves the aesthetic of the presentation.  WALL-E was one of my favorite films from last year and it featured a VCR. 

- Walter.

I'm not a big fan of Kristin Chenoweth, because her high-pitched speaking voice really grates on me. But she is undeniably one of the great voices of our time, and probably the only one brave enough to take on such a classless role. She was made for a role like this, which both showcased her incredible versatility and total commitment to a role. One thing I love about the show is how seriously it takes the music, even when they don't have time to completely nail the lip sync. Anyone who cares about show tunes should consider Chenoweth a huge "get." Just a top notch episode, with the focus back on the music where it should be.

This episode also proved they could do nearly an entire hour without Sue Sylvester and still be great.

Yup, even with the quick build-up of the April storyline, interspersing the ongoing plotlines with the musical song performance makes for one of the quickest hours on TV this season.  Really enjoyed the last number of the episode, and also the songs performed by Kristin Chenoweth (though her first number was directed a tad too off-putting with the intercutting with Rachel).

Television is suppose to be a way to escape from reality. So if things don't seem like they fit or shouldn't happen the way they did, I can get past that. I enjoy Glee. I love that they brought in Kristen Chenoweth for this one role. She was fabulous.So far I have not been disappointed in anything she has done in her career. I could listen to her sing anything, anytime.

Glee is quickly becoming my favorite show. I must say that even though I enjoy the storylines, I really watch this show to see/hear the musical numbers. I get excited for tomorrow to come so I can see if they are available for download on itunes.

So much Lea Michele!  Then you throw in Chenoweth!  Loved it!  I had a huge smile on my face through all the musical numbers, and I will be rewatching this episode for sure.

Gotta say that after getting accustomed to the glacial pace of most hour longs, Glee moves like a mutha.  Plot lines that appear to be season long arcs resolve themselves in the stretch of one episode.  It's a bit jarring, but only because it goes by so fast.  I'll get used to it -- it's actually pretty awesome.  It has the kind of pace that invites multiple viewings.

Small quibble -- Rachel leaves and there isn't anyone to step into the soloist spot.  Uhh... what about Mercedes?  Her voice ain't no chopped liver.  Kind of lacks internal logic there.

Kristen Chenoweth was just amazing in this episode.  I hope that this is not the last we've seen of April Rhodes. 

I also like the way the Rachel and Finn relationship is developing.  I wonder how long the writers will be able to keep them apart.  Eventually the truth of Quinn's pregnancy is bound to come out.  I can't see Puck keeping his mouth shut.

 

And Kurt's first hangover was a comedy gem.  The look on Emma's face! 

I loved the pseudo-duet--how it was April singing "Maybe This Time" with a defiant attitude, and Rachel singing more hopeful and sweet. 

Once again, the show delivered in the technical area (lip-syncing aside), with great lighting and direction.  Speaking of lip-syncing, I can totally forgive them, seeing as how not only are the artists singing anyway, but I'm certain they are sync'd to the itunes tracks (though truncated, of course), and people want to be able to buy what they heard on TV.

Emma got the "full Silkwood".

I have to believe that at the breakneck pace things resolve in Glee land, the identity of the baby-daddy and the Finn/Rachel relationship will be resolved soon -- like, the next episode.

One thing I most have trouble keeping straight in my head is that Rachel is supposed to be irritating and unpopular.  But I love Lea Michele -- she's so magnetic and spectacular that this just doesn't come across for me.  It's less like Charlize Theron as Eileen Wuornos and more like Rachael Leigh Cook as the supposed ugly duckling social outcast in She's All That.  In her romantic scenes with Finn, Rachel is eminently desirable.  And the way she plays the character, she just seems quirky, not difficult.

Made sense to me. Tina is shy and unsure of herself. Even though Mercedes has the talent, I don't think her character can handle the pressure of being the main star of the group.

Going by the preview for next's week episode, some sort of shit will be hitting the fan - though, I don't think Finn will be learning the truth about Quick & Puck just yet.

The dirty secret is that any time you're seeing a song and dance number in a filmed musical, you're seeing a performance to a prerecorded track. It's nearly impossible to get a clean vocal track in the middle of all of that choreography. Off the top of my head, the only exception I can think of is Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, because he refused to go into the studio. (They hid the microphone in the knot of his neck tie)

The only difference is that the demanding production schedule of a TV show like Glee doesn't allow the luxury of filming until the sync is absolutely nailed. What they do accomplish is remarkable for television. And since they are performing to their own voices, it's not like we have a Milli Vanilli situation.

I just jumped into this today based on my friends sparkling recommendation and I freakin' loved it!

Sharply written, quiet humor, energetic and refreshing, it's the feel good, tap your feet show of the season!

As a huge Journey fan, their coverage of 'Don't Stop Believin'' blew me away!

Yup.  That is exactly why I don't allow it to bother me in the least for the show.

I flat out love this show, and it's must see TV for me. This is why you watch the shows, not read the premise. I had ZERO expectation of liking this show before I saw it. After the episodes air, I go back and watch the musical numbers again. The gay kid doing Single Ladies is just so... what's the word? Cute? Charming? Joyful? Hmm, maybe Gleeful.

Something about the way this show is filmed makes it really easy for me to hear everything they do, and it just sounds fantastic. I'm really liking the song choices as well.

I haven't been buying as much TV on DVD lately for shows I've watched when they aired, mostly because I'm not likely to watch them multiple times, but I can't see not purchasing this on DVD or Blu-Ray.
Edited by Mikah Cerucco - 10/2/09 at 8:48pm