RECAP & REVIEW: Glee

I haven’t talked about Glee in a while.  Actually, I haven’t talked about anything in a while.

I was so ready to give up on Glee this season.  But the last two episodes of last season, I really enjoyed.  I thought the season finale was well done and executed and I was very curious to see how the show was going to incorporate the college lives with the high school lives.   For me, when shows go down that road, I find myself much more interested in the meat of the show vs. the periphery stories.   That isn’t the case with Glee. I’m SOOOO invested in Rachel and Kurt and their adventures in NYC than what is going on with the crew at McKinley.

I want to back up to last year’s season finale for a minute because I love the way it went down.  They finally won nationals, all the kids were getting what they wanted, kids were going to new opportunities, Mr Schu got the elusive National Championship.  And then when it looked like Rachel and Finn were going to make the horrendous mistake of getting married, Finn pulled a level of maturity out of him that most men twice his age don’t have.  Showing his true love for Rachel, he put her first, he realized what they were doing is ridiculous, and put her on a train to her dreams…NYC and NYADA.  It was such a great scene because you can tell they both want to be together yet both want to branch out and chase down their potential futures.  When she was on that train singing “Roots Before Branches” crying her eyes out with Finn running next the train as it was leaving, I couldn’t help but cry.  I always loved Rachel and Finn and it broke my heart to see them take that leap of faith, apart from each other.

Return to this season and I couldn’t wait to see how this was going to work.  I’m surprised to say that I can’t get enough of Rachel and Kurt in NYC.  When she first was there by herself….alone, scared, out of her element…I wanted to run to NYADA and give her a big bear hug.  And after the rough time at school and just when she thinks she may want to run back to Lima Ohio, she turns around and there is her BFF, Kurt.  I LOVED IT!!!!  I was so happy for both of them.

The thing I like most about the way Rachel and Kurt are being handled is that it’s the most realistic storyline I’ve seen Ryan Murphy tell on this show in a while.  Here’s the big star from Lima realizing she’s just one of many big stars from lots of small towns.  How does she react?  How does it impact her confidence?  Will it shake her?  Motivate her?   How does she handle it?  Then you have Kurt.  Without a real plan until by chance, he stumbles upon an internship at Vogue.com.   Now he’s working with one of the top designers, possibly contemplating a career change.  As Carrie Bradshaw said, many people come to New York with one dream and end up staying with a completely different dream fulfilled.  I think that’s exactly what’s going to happen with Kurt.

I’m sure what people are most upset about is the last episode before the baseball break…aptly titled “The Break Up.”   The four major couples were having problems…Rachel and Finn, Kurt and Blaine, Santana and Brittany, and Will and Emma.  Two of these couples break up by the end of the episode.  Thankfully, it wasn’t Kurt and Blaine because I think their fan group might have torched Ryan Murphy’s house.  And it wasn’t Will and Emma.  It unsurprisingly was Santana and Brittany (yawn) and Rachel and Finn.  It just goes to show you, DON’T GET MARRIED IN HIGH SCHOOL!!!!

While many shippers of Rachel and Finn and Santana and Brittany are heart-broken, I’m glad the story was told.  Why?   Because this happens more times than not.  High school couples promise to stay together and then usually by the fall break, it ends.  Sometimes sadly, sometimes happily, sometimes matter-of-factly.  But 99.9% of the time, it happens.  The scene with Rachel and Finn was fantastic.  Lea Michele really knocked it out of the park.  It was devastating to watch these two have the break up on the stage where their relationship got started.   When Rachel was crying her eyes out telling Finn what a man he was for doing what he did after graduation and what a lack of man he was for ignoring her for months after he left the Army, I couldn’t help but cry with her.  Michele was outstanding.  But college is a time to find yourself and that’s exactly what Rachel needs to do.  And honestly, so does Finn.  Unfortunately by the end of his high school career, he defined himself too much by Rachel.  Finn wasn’t Finn anymore and he needs to find that self direction again.  It looks like he will back at McKinley, which is great for him.  He needs to do what’s in his best interest first.  He needs to create a life for himself before he starts creating one with another person.    So in that sense, I’m glad he and Rachel are going their separate ways…for the time being.  We’ll see what happens.

As for the McKinley crew, I really don’t care.  Brittany, Artie, Unique, Tina…I couldn’t care less.  It’s horrible to say, but it’s true.  When they are back at McKinley, I fast forward all the scenes.  The only somewhat interesting storyline is the new Rachel and the new Puck.  Although it can’t be that interesting if I can’t remember their names!

So sadly enough, I’m on board with Glee for another season.  If only Ryan Murphy can spin-off Rachel and Kurt  into their own show so I could just watch that!  It would make me so happy!!!

 

CASTING NEWS: CSI (AGAIN), HIMYM, House, Glee, and Castle

CSI

CSI has made another significant casing announcement this off-season.    Sam Malone, otherwise known as, Ted Danson, is going to be a series regular on the hit TV show.  On CSI’s 12th season (wow!) Danson will be the new supervisor in charge and his experience comes from a lab in Portland.

Castle

Castle and Beckett and the boys are going to have a new captain in the fall and she is much different from Captain Montgomery (I still haven’t gotten over his death.)  Captain Victoria Gates will be played by Penny Johnson Jerald of 24 fame.   Captain Gates is said to be tough but she is more concerned about climbing the NYPD corporate ranks than the grunt “police work.”   Doesn’t sound like she and Beckett will be getting along initially.   I’m really anxious to see how Jerald’s chemistry works with this very solid cast.

How I Met Your Mother

Remember the guy that left House/acting altogether for a job at the White House?   Well he’s back!    Kal Penn is joining HIMYM in a recurring role as a love interest for Robin.   Not sure how long he’ll be sticking around since he is hitting the campaign trail with Obama in 2012.   But this will bring and interesting dynamic for all of us who are hoping the bride Barney is marrying at the end of the season is Robin.  Barney looks to be starting things again with Nora (who I love) which left Robin slightly perturbed.  But now Robin seems to be moving on herself.   How will this impact a potential Barney/Robin romance?   Time will tell!

House

Jesse Spencer has renewed his contract with House and will be back as a Dr. Robert Chase for  House’s eighth season.   I know a lot of House fans were sweating that one because it REALLY was down to the wire to sign him.  And after Lisa Edlestein’s Cuddy suddenly parted ways with the show, I don’t think House fans could take another major departure!

Glee

In what really isn’t that surprising (but some people are reportedly shocked by this news) Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, and Chris Colfer will NOT return to Glee for Season Four.   Season Three of Glee, which kicks off Tuesday Sept 20th 2011, will be their final season.  I don’t know why people were surprised by this.  Ryan Murphy had already said that as characters graduate from McKinley, they won’t return to the show.  This is a show about a high school Glee club, not this particular group of people and we follow them through life (like we do in shows like 90210 and Gossip Girl.)  So these people will move on, new people will come in, and the McKinely High School Glee Club, has been and always will be, the focus.  Sounds reasonable to me.  So it shouldn’t be surprising to anyone that Rachel, Finn, and Kurt will all graduate this year and move on with their lives apart from McKinley.  The question will be, who else is graduating?   I would have to think Quinn and possibly Santana.  Puck should but he could easily be left back.   Brittany may never graduate.   So we have to see.

 

 

SEASON FINALE REVIEW: Glee “New York” S2 E22

Thank God this season is finally over.  A show that started out with so much promise, originality, and interest has turned into a joke of show.  The show should be called iTunes instead of Glee because that what this show is all about.  iTunes downloads!!!  I know that sounds really harsh and I hate being that harsh on someone’s creative work but it’s true.  And I’m always hardest on the things that have so much potential but are falling way short.  Glee has become that for me.  The show I watched last night didn’t even feel like a season finale.   I felt like I was watching a nice little episode of Glee that had a few moments in it.  But it was very underwhelming.  Granted not every season finale needs to have the impact Castle and The Mentalist have, but it doesn’t need to be boring either.  And that’s what “New York” was for me…boring.   I’m sure there are Finn and Rachel fans screaming at me right now that it was the best finale ever and that I must not know good TV when I see it because it rocked and I should give them back their Barbie dolls.   Finn and Rachel together is fine but there were some bigger moments for me personally but regardless, it was still blah.  And I am still upset at Ryan Murphy because I have now seen Cheyenne Jackson on THREE episodes of Glee and he still has yet to sing on one of them.  So I am a little bitter, if I’m being honest.

WHAT WORKED:

• The kids reaction to NYC.   These kids are from a small town in Ohio and had never seen a city as large as Philadelphia let alone New York City.  There reactions were perfect and I enjoyed seeing them dance and skip all over the city with joy as they finally made it big!
• Rachel meets Patti Lupone.  This was adorable.  Rachel was so nervous to meet her but she said Kurt would never forgive her if she didn’t so she stops Patti and introduces herself.  I assumed Patti wasn’t going to be her rumored cantankerous self and she wasn’t.  She was very sweet to Rachel and gave her typical Broadway vet to aspiring high schooler advise…don’t give up on your dream and he’s really cute (meaning Finn.)  On a side note, I got to meet Patti Lupone one night after seeing her in Gypsy on Broadway and she was a lovely woman.
• Kurt and Rachel’s BFF day in NYC.  This was my favorite part of the episode.  I love the friendship that has developed between them vs. the nasty competitiveness they had before.  These are two people with very similar personalities who want the same things out of life and only those two really understand that about themselves and each other.  From Breakfast at Tiffany’s to breaking into the Gershwin Theater and being able to sing on the WICKED stage was fantastic.  Plus it helps that they pick one of my all time favorite Broadway songs…”For Good” and did a really wonderful job with it.   The best part was Kurt helping Rachel to figure out that her one true love, the whole time, has been herself.  I’m kidding (sort of.)  It’s the Broadway stage and her dreams of becoming a star. So while she isn’t sure if she should pursue Finn or her career, that moment on the stage with Kurt showed her what was really important to her.
• Blaine telling Kurt he loves him.  Hands down the most realistic scene of the episode.  Kurt gets back from Nationals and immediately meets up with his boyfriend to tell him all about it.  And while Blaine is listening to Kurt and seeing how this trip affected him, Blaine couldn’t help but tell Kurt “I love you.”   And it was the way he said it that was so perfect.  He said it so matter-of-factly like it was the most natural thing in the world.  Now the debate comes with Kurt’s reaction and I want your opinion on this.  Did you think Kurt’s reaction was a little odd or was he so blown away that someone told him he loved him that he reacted in a shocked way?  I think it could go either way but my initial reaction was “that was strange.”  To me it felt like he wasn’t ready for those three little words and it through him for a loop and he just said it back to Blaine so it wouldn’t be awkward.  The “love you too” seemed very flip to me.  But I can see how some people would think he was just stunned the boy he loved all year told him that he loved him and just wasn’t expecting it.
• Rachel and Finn deciding to be a couple until she leaves for NY after her senior year.   I always liked the idea of the high school quarterback and the dorky glee club girl who no one likes being a couple.  Although I’m not the biggest Rachel Barry fan, there are times she tugs at my heart-strings (damn her.)  Finn has been giving Rachel google eyes for about 4 episodes now so it’s about time he cut ties with Quinn and made his move on Rachel because it wasn’t fair to Quinn.  I liked how it was his friends that pushed him to got for it with Rachel.  ”Can we talk about the huge Jewish elephant in the room?” asks Puck.  Probably one of my favorite lines ever on this show!!!   Rachel realized and tried to explain to Finn that she will be going back to NYC after graduation to pursue her dreams and nothing or no one will stop her.  He very sweetly asked her what she is going until graduation over a year from then.  And she realized she could have Finn for the year until she moves.   However I would like to point out two things.  First, who says she’s going to get into a school in NYC.  Second, why can’t Finn go to NYC or they do the long distance thing and try it.  She doesn’t have to have one or the other in my book.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK:

• Original Songs.  They aren’t good.  I hate to say it but people would rather watch the Glee kids belt out tunes we know vs. tunes no one’s ever heard of.  They aren’t completely terrible.  But they aren’t good either.  The only one I sort of liked was from last week’s “Funeral” episode called “Get it Right.”  Other than that, they should stick to Broadway and Pop/Rock songs.
• No Sue and Emma for 5 seconds.  I understand Sue’s big episode was last week but she wasn’t even IN the finale at all!  At least Emma got a 5 second flash in the glee room with Will’s arm around her.   But I don’t understand how Jane Lynch isn’t in the season finale at all.  Hell Teri Schuster got more air time than Sue and Emma combined!   But considering Jessalyn Gilsig’s been a “series regular” all season and the last 2 episodes are really all we have seen of her this season, I can’t complain.  But I’m glad she’s leaving for Miami.
• Rachel being nice to Sunshine.  I know many people probably thought this was a nice moment…and it was.  But it was completely out of character for Rachel.  She has a hard enough time letting Mercedes take the spotlight away from her (although she has gotten better about that) let alone help out and give the competition encouragement to beat her.  Rachel can be a heartless shrew when she wants to be but she can show some softer, sweeter sides to her.   But the writers need to make up their minds on her.  Is she a woman determined to be a star and not let anyone get in her way.  Or is she going to be nicer to people and help out the competition so they can beat her.  It doesn’t make sense.
• Brittany gets a song over Mercedes?  After the performance Mercedes gave last week, I knew she wouldn’t be featured in this week’s nationals competition because it always has to be about Rachel. Therefore last week was Mercedes moment.  Why it can never be during a competition I don’t get, but whatever.  But I never thought I would see a solo performance by Brittany before I saw one from Mercedes.  ”My Cup.”  Are you serious?  Granted it was just a 3 minute practice run for a new song for the competition (more on that later) but it’s 3 minutes I would still rather give to Mercedes or Quinn even.
• Brittany being the smart one.  I have said time and time again that I hate the way they portray Brittany sometimes.  I don’t mind if you want to show a girl who isn’t that bright for comic relief, like when Kurt said he felt like Eloise and Brittany said “I have pills for that.”   Hilarious!!!  But when they do things like have her interview her cat and she actually expects it to answer her, I hate it.  It’s too over the top.   But it also doesn’t make sense that Brittany would be the voice of reason for how the year ended for the Glee club and Santana.  Again, very out of character.
• Matthew Morrison’s song and Will Schuster’s Broadway opportunity.  I have seen Matthew Morrison on a Broadway stage and the stage manager was right when he came down and told Will that he had “it.”  MM does have “it” when it comes to performing on stage.  He’s incredible.   And I have also complained that we don’t get to hear him sing enough for my liking.  So he finally get a song to belt out and it’s one of his original’s from his debut album.  While I don’t begrudge him wanting to use the show to promote his album, I really wish he would have sung something else.  On that note, I don’t understand why Will wouldn’t have tried the Broadway show for the summer.  He said it himself.  After school was out, he would rehearse for a few weeks and then open the show.  If it was a success, he could have taken a sabbatical for a year and stayed with the show.  If the show tanked and closed, he could still be back with New Directions and try to get them to nationals.  How do you not at least try???   He does owe it to himself to give it a shot.  But instead of taking the opportunity given to him that so many people strive for and very few get, he chooses to stay in Ohio teaching glee club.  Ok.
• Sam and Mercedes hiding the fact they are a couple.  It didn’t surprise me they went there.  It’s about time Mercedes got some love!!!  But I don’t know why they feel the need to hide it.

THE ARE YOU F*@&ING KIDDING ME MOMENTS:

• The songs not being ready for nationals.   I can’t even begin to talk about how ridiculous this was.  Your kids aren’t professional song writers and you think you can just whip up two original songs the night before the competition?  Really?  You think writing an original song is that easy?  No wonder the songs stunk and no wonder you lost.  I’m surprised you came in 12th!!!  Not only were the songs not written, but they obviously weren’t rehearsed.  How can you rehearse and practice songs you don’t have written?  But they show up the day of the show and the songs are done and everything is perfectly sung and choreographed.  Yeah right.  Do the Glee writers think we are that stupid?  They must.   Once you won sectionals, you have how many weeks to prep for nationals?  Why didn’t you start writing songs then if you were so set on going the original song route?  And if you weren’t sure, don’t you think you should have practiced another routine just in case the songs weren’t good?   What if all they came up with was Brittany’s “My Cup?”  Would they have performed that?   I was seriously floored by this!!
• Finn and Rachel’s date.  While this was absolutely adorable and very romantic, it wasn’t even close to being realistic.  First, what high school kid just so happens to pack a suit and formal dress on a show choir trip?   Neither kid was prepared for this impromptu date so where did the clothes come from?   I guarantee you they couldn’t afford to buy them in NYC!  Which brings me to my next point.   Where does Finn get the money to take Rachel to Sardi’s?  Granted he didn’t take her to Daniel but for a high school kid, Sardi’s can be expensive.  At least fifty possibly seventy dollars.  And what kid has seventy dollars to blow on dinner?   Then when he goes to kiss her, she takes off and runs away from him.  Wherever they were walking looked nothing like the Times Square area of NYC.  So did Rachel know where she was going?  She’s 17 years old in New York for the first time.  Would you really run away from him by yourself in a huge strange city if you aren’t sure where you are going?  I know I’m nitpicking here but come on.  As realistic as Blaine and Kurt’s scene was, this was the complete opposite end of the spectrum of realism.  I can only suspend my disbelief so far.
• Quinn drops her revenge because of a haircut.  Last week she develops this plan to take down Finn and Rachel by destroying the team’s chances to win nationals.  But after her haircut, the revenge is out the window and by the end of the episode, when Finn and Rachel are walking into the glee room, she greats them warmly.  All because of a haircut?  Granted it was absolutely adorable on her but for real?  I don’t know one broken-hearted teenager that can get over being dumped that quickly.  Especially when you are the popular pretty one and got dumped for the dorky not as attractive as you are one.  No.  Stinking.  Way!  Not happening and I don’t buy this at all.  Quinn’s another one where I can’t figure out if the writers want her to be a bad girl or a good girl.  Same with Rachel.  Starting off bad and growing to be good is one thing.  I’ll take character growth and development any day.  But that isn’t happening here.  One day these girls are ruthless, the next they are sweet as anything.   I still can’t get over the fact that Quinn forgave Lauren for what she did to her.  That was awful.   Lauren purposely hurt Quinn but yet Rachel’s never done anything to Quinn and Quinn hates her.  I don’t get it.  I like bad ass Quinn because I find her more interesting and layered.  I also wish they would revisit her friendship with Mercedes that seems to have been completely forgotten about.  That was one of my favorite parts from last season.
• Will giving up his Broadway dream.  I know we already talked about this but it’s so ridiculous that he would give up a chance on Broadway to stay and manage the glee club, I had to bring it up twice!

So that was season 2, the iTunes season.  Not a lot of substance or character development of any kind.  Some good episodes, some lousy episodes.  Some great music, some not so good music.  And a bore of a season finale.  I’m going to give Glee one more season.  But if this keeps up, I won’t be back and season 3 will be my last following Glee.

 

QUICK REVIEW: Glee “Sexy” S2 E15

Gleeks are not going to like me for this review.  This was back to being a typically bad season 2 episode.  Although I liked the songs and the renditions more than other people, the stories, again, were awful and all over the place.  Nothing made sense.  Plot lines were disjointed and completely far-fetched.  Aside from the songs, the only part of this episode that really stood out as great, was Burt Hummel.  Mike O’Malley really deserves the Emmy this year because he is outstanding!

Not too sound like an old fart, which I’m sure I will, but what was the point of this episode?  I don’t understand.  Was it to tell kids to not have sex?  To tell kids to have sex?  To teach high-school kids how to be sexy?  To teach kids to wait until they’re 30 for sex?  There was such a mixed message in this episode I really don’t know what the message was.  And if I were in McKinney, I would be more confused about sex than ever.  Even Will gave mixed signals.  In the course of 30 seconds, he flashes a sign to Holly that says “Too Much?” meaning that maybe she should tone it down. Then he shows all signs of being turned on by her as well as dancing along with the kids!!!  Are you kidding me?   While I thought Gwyneth did a great job with Joan Jett’s “Do You Want to Touch Me” it was completely inappropriate for high school kids.

It must be in Darren Criss’ contract that at least once an episode he and the Warblers have a song.  Remember the completely random number from the Super Bowl that was dumb and pointless?  So was this one.  The Warblers now need to be sexy?   That doesn’t seem to fit with their rigid structure and their devotion to tradition.  I hate when writers do this, especially on this show.   The theme of the show is SEXY so character development and staying true to character be damned because we are sticking with the theme!  And how do the Warblers practice their “sexy?”  With an all girls’ school watching to let them know if they are sexy.  It didn’t work.   The number wasn’t sexy at all.  And by the camera flashing all over the place and bubbles spewing everywhere, it killed whatever possible momentum it may have had.  Really?  You think drowning high school kids in bubbles are sexy?  Ok.  The only thing that came out of this was the Kurt is definitely NOT sexy.   Which leads to a sex talk between him and Blaine which leads to….

Blaine completely stepping over the line and having a sex talk with Burt.  How is this in any way acceptable?  I know it came from a good place and I know he was very sweet about it but it doesn’t change the fact that it was completely out of line.  I mean would it have been ok if Quinn went to Finn’s mom to tell her how she should talk to Finn about sex?   No.  I don’t care if you are talking about gay sex or straight sex, it isn’t right for the girlfriend/boyfriend/potential love interest to go to the parent and tell them how they should handle this very private, personal discussion with THEIR child.  At least I give Blaine credit for realizing how completely out of line he was being and acknowledging it.  And Burt handled it like a perfect gentleman.  But it wasn’t all bad because it led to the best part of the whole show.

Burt sat down with Kurt to talk about sex.  As you can imagine both parties were completely uncomfortable but both handled the situation with respect and grace.  This is where the writers have done an excellent job with Burt’s character and Mike O’Malley has hit it out of the park.  Burt is staying true to character by still being uncomfortable and getting used to his son being gay yet still showing sensitivity and compassion and a real effort to try to understand his son and be there for him.   It’s always so wonderful to watch.

The other stand out of the episode was Naya Rivera.  Here is another person that no matter what stays true to her character.   And we learn that she is also confused about her sexuality.  She has real feelings for Brittany but is it because she’s her best friend or something more?  She admits that she likes both men and women but right now, there is no one she cares about more than Brittany.  Holly helps them figure this out by singing a beautiful rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”  Afterwards, Santana goes to Brittany to tell her that she truly loves her and wants to be with her but Brittany says she’s with Artie and she while she loves Santana, she also loves Artie.  But she is going to stay with Artie because she can’t hurt him.   That was an interesting comment by her.  I know she said she loved Artie but she gave her reason for staying with him so she won’t hurt him.  So would she rather be with Santana but to not hurt Artie she is staying with him?  I hope that isn’t the case.  As well all know, Brittany is not the sharpest tool in the shed and I can totally see her telling Artie that she wouldn’t leave him so she wouldn’t hurt him but not because she loved him more.   If that happens you might as well stick a knife in him.  I never understood when people say things like that.  ”I can’t leave so and so because it will hurt them.”   But staying with them out of pity won’t hurt more?   Ugh.   I know I need to cut them some slack.  They’re only high school kids.

Finally we have the Will/Emma/Carl/Holly quadrangle going on.  We find out that Emma still hasn’t done the deed with her HUSBAND OF 4 MONTHS Carl.  For some reason, Carl decides talking to a substitute teacher who is subbing for the sex-ed teacher will be able to help them out.  I’m not even going to go there on that ridiculousness.   But when the 3 of them sit down, Holly flat-out asks Emma if she still has feelings for Will and she honestly answers that she is confused by her feelings for him.  Carl then tells her that she and her confused feelings can stay at the condo while he goes to a hotel.  I feel bad for Carl.  He was in a lose-lose situation from the beginning and John Stamos deserves better than that!   Maybe he can run off with Holly?  On no wait!  Now she has decided to make a play for Will since going after someone who some one else is in love with turns her own.   That’s pretty twisted and rude but alright.

Some people had a major issue with the fact that Gwyneth performed most of the songs.  I didn’t have a problem with it at all.  Why have a guest star come on and sing one song?   What’s the point?  She sang 2 songs and did a duet with Will.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.  And all her songs were good (especially since I actually knew them!!)  Where I do agree in regards to guest starts on the show, is that the episode becomes completely about that guest star and not the plot.  This has been brought up countless times and is truly one of the biggest downfalls of this show.  They constantly sacrifice the plot for guest stars and increasing iTunes downloads.  It makes me fear how they are going to handle this SPOILER ALERT………STOP READING NOW….character death that happens at Regionals…..SPOILER ENDED.

I warned you Gleeks that you weren’t going to like this post!    Sorry!!!

 

REVIEW: Glee “Blame it on the Alcohol” S2 E14

Not a bad episode.  It was rather enjoyable frankly.  Glee is having a few decent individual episodes this season but I’m still not sure what that means for a serialized show where the “major” plot lines either go no where or are completely absent.

Kurt and Bert

This was the first time I completely disagreed with Kurt.   He was 100% wrong with the way he reacted to his father.  Bert went into Kurt’s room to ask his help with something and he see that Blaine has slept over.   Bert isn’t too happy about that and rightfully so.  Later in the show when the 2 are talking, Bert tells him that from now on, if he has a guy sleep over, he needs to ask his permission and clear it with him first.   Sounds perfectly reasonable to me…a little too reasonable some might argue.  Kurt takes this as his father being homophobic again.  Bert very clearly and fairly lets him know that he would have a problem if Finn wanted to have a girl sleep over in the same bed.  Kurt then tells him it wouldn’t bother him as much though.  In the end, Kurt gives his dad a half assed apology and walks out.

Kurt clearly did not understand his father’s issue.  Someone you are sexually attracted to, cannot sleep over in the same bed as you when you are in high school!!  Oh and by the way, the same rule applies to Finn with girls.  How is that being homophobic?    That’s being a parent laying down some ground rules in their home.  I hope the writers don’t go down this road with Kurt.  You know the road that every time something doesn’t go his way someone must be homophobic.  First off, it would completely cheapen all the amazing stories they have done with his Kurt’s sexuality.  Second, it would also cheapen the character.   Kurt is smarter than this and he and his dad have gotten through a lot together in this area.  Don’t minimize that by going down this road!  Bert was right and Kurt was wrong.  Let’s chalk it up to that happening sometimes and moving on from it.

Will/Beiste/Sue

The funniest most cringe worthy part of the episode!!!  Will and Beiste go out to her country western bar and tie a pretty good load on.  They seem to be having a great time blowing off some steam and also crank out a nice rendition of “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.”  Beiste gets Will home and I like that the show keeps building on their friendship.  Will starts to grade papers and gives everyone an A+…love it!  But then another classic drunk move happens…Will goes to drunk dial Emma.  But we all know, it wasn’t Emma.  The husband and I were pretty sure it was Sue but when she didn’t say anything to him in the hallway, we thought, maybe it was Teri.  Nope it was Sue!!  And what does Sue do (during alcohol awareness week mind you) she plays the drunk message from Will on the school PA system!!!!!   It was fantastic!!!  If I were Will I would kill her for that!!!!  See now this is the out-of-line Sue I can deal with because the material Will just threw right into her lap was priceless!!!   She still should have NEVER done that to him in front of the students but it was so great, I can forgive it.

Mr Schue/Glee Kids/Drinking

I know I’m getting old when I side with the adults and I have MAJOR issues with how some of these things were handled!!  Ha!!!  Rachel’s dads are out-of-town and Puck is planting the idea of having a party at her house with a beer ball, booze, the whole nine yards.  Rachel of course says no but after a little peer pressure (and a really bad song about headbands) she decides to live a little and have the party.  Everyone comes over and she is serving wine coolers (I’ve been to some of those parties!!)  The party stinks and everyone wants to leave.  Rachel isn’t happy (maybe her God awful Little House on the Prairie dress has something to do with it)  but Puck offers a solution of breaking into her dads’ liquor cabinet and replacing it before they get back.  She says ok and the party really gets underway.  This I have no problem with because this is normal teenage experimentation and fun.   I also loved the part where Finn broke it down for Rachel how girls can get a parties when they get drunk.  It was so true!!!!

The next day, they are all hung over in school.  (Don’t worry I didn’t forget about the Spin the Bottle portion of the party, but that’s for another segment.)  By the way, could they be anymore obvious with the big sunglasses?  But Artie’s genius plan…drink Bloody Mary’s!  In school?  Are they crazy??  And by the way, didn’t anyone smell alcohol on them?   Well apparently the bloody mary’s got them all loopy again but no one in the school noticed.  This is where writers annoy the crap out of me.  You mean to tell me not ONE school official noticed about 16 kids walking around school with a buzz on?  Then you take the same 16 buzzed kids and put them in a closed auditorium where their behavior is really off, and you can’t smell alcohol on them?  And even if you can’t, you don’t notice that something is severely up when certain kids are slurring their words a bit?

The final kicker is when the kids have to perform in front of the school and they are all nervous.  Are you serious?   You perform live in front of people all the time and NOW you are nervous?  It was a completely ridiculous reason for them to be able to introduce alcohol again into the show.  So to calm their fragile nerves, Rachel happen to have a concoction of 7 different alcohols, cough syrup, Hawaiian Punch and some other gunk that probably would have poisoned or killed most people.  They all drink, go on stage, and Brittany ends up puking on Rachel and Santana ends up puking on stage as well.  It was like the pie eating scene from Stand By Me all over again!!!

Finally Will is clued into what is going on and in the Glee room tells them that they have no right to drink and act like that ever again.  Quinn tells Schue that’s the pot calling the kettle black (which Brittany thinks is totally racist…ha!)  He has them all sign wavers that there will be no drinking leading up to regionals but that if any of them “fall off the wagon” his cell phone is at the top of the page and they can call him anytime of the night to come and pick them up and drive them home.

Ok here’s the thing.  I liked the cell phone element.  When Will and Beiste were talking in the lunch room about being hypocrites telling kids not to drink when they did it, Beiste brings up a realistic point.  Kids are going to drink and experiment no matter what they say.  So you hope to give them the best guidance and direction and pray they make the right decision.  What she should have also said was that if they make the wrong decision, you punish them to the point that they will think twice about doing it ever again.  So Will giving them his cell phone in case of an emergency, I have no problem with because it’s a matter of safety.  I would rather young kids feel like they have a safety net if they get themselves in trouble so something worse doesn’t happen as a result of bad judgement.  I don’t believe that is condoning the action but merely looking out for someone’s well-being.   That’s not a bad lesson to teach.

What I did have a problem with is what Quinn said to Mr Schue and the fact that none of them were punished in some way. If I were Schue and my students started coming back at me for my drinking this is how I would have handled it: #1. I’m your teacher and you can’t talk to me that way.  #2. I’m over 21 years-old which is the legal drinking age.  You are not.  #3. I’m an adult.  You are not.   Therefore I can have a drink, responsibly, when ever I chose and I don’t have to answer to any of you.  It really pissed me off that Will backed down to the kids coming after him.  He has NOTHING he needs to apologize for.  And there is one HUGE fundamental difference between him and them…he is over 21 and therefore it is perfectly ok for him to have a drink.   They are not!!!!   How was this point completely missed in all this??   Also, Will should have made them have some sort of detention or after school project to pay for what they did.  They should have had some kind of punishment to show that what they did, wasn’t cool and won’t be tolerated.   I thought it was handled very badly and was very lazy on the writers part.

Blaine/Rachel/Kurt

To wrap up quickly, at Rachel’s party, they played Spin the Bottle and Rachel and Blaine ended up kissing.  It was a pretty good kiss.  So good, that since Blaine liked it, he started wondering if he was really gay.  When he opened up to Kurt about this (because he is going on a date with Rachel as a result) Kurt was hurt because of his feelings for Blaine but I think felt threatened that he was a losing a great connection with him so he blew off Blaine’s feelings.  Blaine put him in his place by telling him how disappointed he was in Kurt because he of all people should be supportive of Blaine trying to figure out who he is.  He’s never had a boyfriend so maybe he isn’t gay or maybe he’s bi-sexual.  Either way, Kurt should be supporting him not reprimanding him for being confused.  Kurt is always preaching about being tolerant and not being judged so I was glad Blaine showed him that Kurt is doing exactly what he gets on other people about.

The end result was pretty funny since Rachel and Kurt had a bet over Blaine being straight or gay.  Kurt thinks it was all because he was hammered when they kissed that he is confused and Rachel is convinced there is chemistry between them regardless.  At the coffee shop, Rachel goes right up to a very sober Blaine and plants one on him.  He then steps back, says wow, and thanks Rachel for clearing everything up….he’s gay!!  You think Rachel is going to be crushed but she isn’t.  Instead she hugs Kurt and thanks him for giving her some new material to be able to write about since she dated a gay guy.   Ha!!!!   Kurt’s happy all around.  His friendship with Rachel is just fine and the love of his life is still gay.  Yeah!!  Although to nit pick a little, I think that would have been a great storyline of Blaine questioning whether or not he is gay.  I was hoping that was going to drag out longer but it didn’t.  Most importantly for me though, Rachel and Kurt’s friendship is still in good shape.  They took so long to get to this place and Rachel really needed a good friend that I’m glad this didn’t bust them up.   Now if he can only give that girl some party attire fashion advice!!!

 

REVIEW: Glee “Silly Love Songs” S2 E12

Hello Glee!  It is so nice to see you again and welcome you back with gusto!   Yes, I do remember you.  You are that great show that features interesting characters, decent storylines and incredible music to help tell your story.  Of course I’ve missed you!!

One of the best episodes of the season so far.  It reminded me of Season 1 a little bit…Rachel being insecure, Quinn and Finn hooking up, friendships pulling together, great music that lined up perfectly with the episode, and multiple story arcs for multiple characters.  It was great!!!!  I hope this is more of what we will see in the later part of S2 because this is so much better than what we have been watching the first half of the season (with the exception of Kurt’s storylines which have been phenomenal!)

Quinn/Finn/Rachel

I loved this dynamic in season 1.  And even though the same 3 players are involved again, this time it’s completely different.  First, what the hell has happened to Finn?  When did he become Puck?  Seriously what is with his new-found cockiness and wanting to kiss every girl in the school?   Just because you can’t have Quinn?  Stupid.  This isn’t Finn.  And the part I really don’t understand, is that he was SO incredibly hurt (and rightfully so) when Quinn cheated on him with his best friend and ended up getting pregnant.  And then he got crushed AGAIN when Rachel cheated on him with his best friend.  So why would he want to cheat with Quinn knowing what it is going to do to Sam?   This doesn’t fit with his character.  I really don’t understand.  And Quinn had the best line…”the first time I cheated, I got pregnant.  The second time I cheated, I got mono.  I think the universe is trying to tell me something.”  It is.   STOP CHEATING ON YOUR BOYFRIENDS!!!  Or just be single so you can kiss whomever you want!!

The most heartbreaking part was when Rachel went to see Finn in the school infirmary.  She is dabbing his head with a cold compress when she starts to ask him about Quinn and if they really kissed or not.  He confirms it.  We start to see S1 Rachel in the sense that she is comparing herself to Quinn and looking at herself as someone who is inferior to her on all levels.  It isn’t true and even though Finn chose her at one point, she still has the self doubts.  Those doubts aren’t helped when she asks what it felt like to kiss her vs Quinn.  Finn tells her about the fireworks with Quinn but it silent when she wants to know if they had fireworks.  It’s the first time in a LONG time, I wanted to jump through the TV and hug her.  It again brings us back to the heart of S1…these Glee kids are outcasts.  And even though they are all beautiful and talented in their own ways, they are still the outcasts.  They still have insecurities in comparison to the cool and popular kids.  Ah, high school.   At least it led to Lea Michelle’s best hit of the year…”Fireworks.”  It reminded me of when she did “Take A Bow.”  Not stylistically of course, but the arrangement, the staging, and emotion behind it.  She was terrific!!!

Tina/Mike/Artie/Brittany

More MJ this week!!!!  Awesome.  I always liked P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing) and since I dig Artie’s vocals and Mike’s dancing, it was a great number.   I like that some of the couples are relatively drama free and if I get to see more Mike Chang dancing while Artie is singing, I am all for keeping these couples together, if that’s what it takes!

On a side note, what the hell was up with Tina’s Funny Valentine?  Was that horrendous or what?  This girl NEVER gets to showcase her talents and the one time she does, you make her wail through the whole song and collapse at the end?   I don’t understand that point AT ALL!!  Schuester’s face and comments captured my thoughts perfectly.  Note to the writers: if you aren’t going to let Tina sing her song like a normal person, don’t have her sing at all.

Bitchface and Sam

No, I don’t mean Quinn (nice try!)  I mean Santana….the ultimate Glee bitch.  Santana’s been a little more toned down this season from the bitchiness quotient and I don’t think I like it.  You can’t have everyone on the show be sweet and nice and you can’t have anyone else crazy like Sue.  But a good bitch is a necessary evil…especially in high school!!!  Another reason why you need a good bitch, to watch the bitch finally get bitch-slapped of course!!!  The beat down Santana got in the Glee room was awesome.  When Rachel told her the only thing she will be a star at is dancing on a pole…outstanding!!!!  What I don’t get is her crying about it.  Quinn’s right, she can dish it out but she sure can’t take it.  And if you’re going to be the bitch, you have to know people are going to hate you and hate you huge.  So suck it up and deal with it!   Eventually she did and decided to get revenge in a sneakier way.  She was able to detect that Finn and Quinn were hooking up.  In order to prove it, she kisses a boy with mono (she’s had it so many times, she’s immune…ha!)  She then kisses Finn at his kissing booth knowing he will hook up with Quinn.  It works because they both show up in the choir room with mono and thus are both found out.  Oops.  At the end of the show when they are all hanging out at Breadsticks, Santana gives a little wave to Sam who eyes her up.   I guess they are going to move to these two hooking up.  Ok.  I still feel bad for Sam though.

Puck and Lauren

I don’t know what to think about this.  I don’t really like Lauren.  I haven’t been given a reason to like her and think she’s a bit of a nasty, grumpy person.  Maybe if I could have had some more insight into her leading up to this, I would have a different opinion but it is what it is.   I like the idea of exploring their relationship and the fact that she is being smart about it considering Puck’s reputation.  It could be really sweet.

The one area where I thought the writers missed a really big opportunity was with the fallout from Puck singing “Fat Bottom Girls” to her in the choir room.  He thought he was doing this awesome song to her but he didn’t get it at all.  She tells him that no one had ever sang a love song to her before and, at the same, no one ever made her feel more like crap.  Then…nothing.  They never revisited that.  I think it was important for Lauren to explain to him why that song was more insulting than sweet.  But it never happened.  If they want me to like Lauren and buy into this storyline, I need to know more about her.  I need to dig deeper into who Lauren is and what makes her the way she is.  Plus, it would have been a great time to show why the song was insensitive to her.  It makes me nervous about how they are going to handle this.   I hope they give it the respect it deserves!

Blaine and Kurt

These scenes were some of the funnier and more heart-warming parts of the episode.  We see that Kurt and Blaine have gotten really close (they even know each other’s Starbucks orders….cute!)  Blaine is asking for Kurt’s help to convince the Warblers to take their show on the road so he can serenade the boy he has a crush on.  Kurt is convinced it’s him so every time Blaine asks if what he wants to do is ok, Kurt answers based on what he would like…adorable!   Back on campus while talking to the other Warblers, Kurt finally learns who the true object of Blaine’s affections really is…an assistant manager at the Gap in the mall.   Poor Kurt!!!  So what’s a depressed gay guy supposed to do…have a sleepover with his girlfriends of course!!!

Mercedes, Rachel, and Kurt have a sleepover at Rachel’s and it is my FAVORITE part of the episode.  I love that Rachel has gotten so close with Mercedes and Kurt.  We started to see Rachel and Kurt break down that barrier of competition to friendship towards the end of last season so that wasn’t a surprise.  But to see Rachel and Mercedes so close, is a surprise…a wonderful surprise.  There was still a lot of “diva” tension between those two and since Rachel’s been a little back-burnered this year and Mercedes has been non-existent, I guess their burgeoning friendship happened off-screen, unless I am completely forgetting something.   See, and this is what I have been talking about ALL YEAR!!!  I would have loved to have witnessed the evolution of their friendship.  From enemies/competitors, to friends who respect each other’s talents.  How great would that have been!!!   Ugh.  Both Rachel and Mercedes really needed a good girlfriend since Kurt was at Dalton.  It looks like they found each other….yeah!   It was great to watch them have a normal, teenage discussion about boys and whether or not they like them.  It was also nice to see Rachel being Rachel (turning Kurt’s issues with Blaine to all about her relationship with Finn) and instead of Mercedes getting pissed at her, she reminded her that this about Kurt not her.  It’s like she can respect Rachel is who she is and laugh it off and Rachel is learning how to be a real friend.  I. LOVED. IT.  The only thing that was missing from this scene was a song!!!  Wouldn’t this have been a perfect time for all 3 divas to belt out a tune?  Seriously, what does Mercedes have to do to get a song people???

Blaine, Kurt, and the Warblers hit the mall and Blaine busts out a version of “When I Get You Alone” to his crush.  Everyone is the Gap is loving this, except you know who.   It was so cute when he was outside the store with Kurt asking him if it was too much and second guessing himself.  Up until this point, Blaine has been the “together” student.  He seems to have his life all figured out.  It was nice to see him being just as unsure as the rest of kids.  It brought him back down to earth a bit and I think that’s good.  He was a little too perfect for a while there.  Mr Gap comes out and the first thing I thought was “Oh my God, he’s not out of the closet!”   My husband thought “Oh my God, this kid isn’t even gay!!”  We were horrified to hear what was going to come out of his mouth.  First, he tells Blaine he was just fired.  Are you kidding me?  What jerk would fire him for that?  You know what Mr Gap, if he would fire you for that, you can do better.  Go be Mr Banana Republic!   But he tells Blaine that not only did his boss not like it but neither did he because no one there knew he was gay.  Oh snap!   But the line of the episode happens next from Kurt: “Can I be honest? Just with the hair…I think they do.”  FREAKING HILARIOUS!!!  I don’t do it justice in print because his delivery is what makes it fantastic!   Mr Gap tells him that just because they got coffee twice, doesn’t mean they are dating.  Beside, he would get arrested because Blaine is under age.  Wow.  Mark Sanchez could learn something from Mr Gap!  It was heartbreaking for Blaine but slightly triumphant for Kurt because now the door is open for him!!!!

They talk at Starbucks again and Blaine is beating himself up for reading too much into their connection.  That’s when Kurt is openly honest with him about thinking all the talk about serenading the boy he likes and them always hanging out and singing gooey love songs with one another, meant Blaine was going to ask him out, not Mr Gap.  Blaine responds with “boy I really am clueless.”   Yeah buddy, you are!  He’s not sure he would be good in a relationship because he’s never been anyone’s boyfriend before.  Kurt admits, me too.  So they agree to be friends, really good friends.  ”Like When Harry Met Sally” Kurt says.  ”What, didn’t they end up together in the end?” Blaine asks.  Yes Blaine, they did!!!

At the end of the episode, everyone is at Breadsticks to celebrate being single and being anti-couple on Valentine’s Day.  I get why Rachel, Mercedes, Santana, Kurt, Blaine, and to some degree Puck and Lauren were there.  But if this is anti-couple, why are Artie, Brittany, Tina, and Mike there?  That didn’t make any sense.  Sam is still technically in a relationship but I guess you couldn’t have the Santana/Sam as a couple set up if he wasn’t there.   We also got to here an incredible version of Wings’ “Silly Love Songs.”  Final question, is Blaine the only one who can sing solos for the Warblers?  Kurt made this speech about his friends coming out to support him so I was ready to hear Kurt belt one out.  Maybe they are being true to the story that since Kurt is still a rookie Warbler, he hasn’t earned his right to a solo yet.  Still.  I was hoping to hear Kurt for once!

I am just so happy to see the show back to its roots and I pray this is what we will be seeing the rest of the season because it was terrific!!!

 

REVIEWS COMING SOON: Glee, Parenthood, The Good Wife, Traffic Light

Have to do my real job today people.    Sorry!   But later tonight I hope to get to all these reviews.  Some quick thoughts:

Glee: now this is the Glee I fell in love with.   This was sooooo much better than the Superbowl episode and got back to what makes this show great…the relationships and the music tying in so perfectly.  There were parts I loved and parts I still raise my eye brow towards.   Which ones were which?   Come back later!

Traffic Light: another comedy about 3 couples and their friendships vs. their relationships.  Didn’t this show basically premiere on NBC?  Perfect couples?  It was fine, wasn’t great.  More later.

The Good Wife: Alex P. Keaton is back!!  Another stellar episode and again, there is much to get into.   Many interesting facts were revealed tonight but there were still many points that kept you guessing.  And next week’s preview pissed me off.  I’ll tell you why later…although if you saw the preview and read my blog, you already know why!

Parenthood: I think this show has really hit its groove.  The Haddie/Alex storyline has really been in the forefront lately and it wrapped up (a little quietly for my taste considering all the fireworks) last night.  But Seth coming to town is finally going to put Sarah back in the mix and I don’t like Lauren Graham on a back burner.  She’s too good.  Plus there was the whole Crosby Jasmine dynamic…wow!!  Another show with lots to get into and I have lots to say…but it has to come later!!

So check back later tonight or tomorrow for these full reviews!!!

 

REVIEW: Glee “The Sue Sylvester Bowl Shuffle” S2 E11

I’ve come to the conclusion that when it comes to this show, I must not get it or I don’t see it.  I read a few reviews this morning talking about what a great episode this was last night.  Great musical numbers, genius writing to lure Superbowl viewers new to Glee, a few eye brow raising moments, but good plot development.  I must have been watching a COMPLETELY different show.  Great musical numbers…eh.  Great writing to lure post SB new viewers…I highly doubt it.  Good plot development….where?  Again, I must be missing something.  All season, Glee has been a mess.  Other than Kurt and his storylines, nothing seems to have a direction or focus and most times, it seemed the show cared more about selling songs than moving the characters and the story forward.   I know I have been very hard on Glee this year when last year I praised this show up and down for being fresh, different, and awesome.  But I’m really hard on things I think are great or have the potential to be great but are either getting lazy or complacent.  One thing I think makes Glee great is that it appeals to a myriad of viewers.  Gossip Girl typically is younger girls.  Blue Bloods attracts an older demographic.  Castle is right in the middle.  Glee is one of those rare shows that skews young, old, and in the middle.  It’s one of those shows that the family can watch together.  No offense to younger viewers but I don’t believe they are as driven by plot.  Not all of them, but most.  However the middle to older viewers, do care.  If you start having a show that is more about the musical numbers (to sell more songs to make more money) and showcasing the talent (to sell more concerts to make more money) than about the characters and the plot, you will lose those middle to older viewers because it will wear thin.

What worked:

Very little but I thought the best scene of the night was Katie Couric interviewing Sue for “Loser of the Year.” It was funny, it was witty, and it was a perfect way to use Katie Couric.  The women played very well off of each other and I thought this was highlight of the episode.   When Katie put into context what being “Loser of the Year” meant…”you beat out Dina Lohan, the economy, the housing market, Brett Favre’s cell phone, etc” it was fantastic.  The fact that Sue thought she was being interviewed for the 10 Most Fascinating People and Katie reminds her “that’s Barbara Walters.”  Ha!  Then she calls her Diane Sawyer at the end of the interview.  It was great.

Finn as a leader. We’ve always been told that Finn is a leader in football, in baseball, in Glee and in the school.  We’ve seen flashes of it (like Burt and his mom’s wedding) but we really got to see it full force in this episode.  Things are really falling apart quickly…half the football team hate each other and won’t play with one another, the Cheerios don’t like being Cheerios anymore but don’t want to quit for fear of public ridicule, the football team and Glee club have to perform together, the hockey team (and their mullets) want to take over the school from the football team.  Seriously guys, Flock of Seagulls called and they would like their hair back pronto!!!  It’s really a mess at McKinley.  However, Finn finds ways to get everything working (not the way it should considering girls like Rachel and Tina are actually PLAYING FOOTBALL in the championship game.)  But it shows that some people will go outside their comfort zone to do the right thing and do something for their friends.  It was great and I was glad to see Finn in that role because he does it very well.  By the way, I LOVED Rachel’s face when she was walking onto the field ready to play.  She had such a huge smile on her face and she was so proud to be helping out.  Her character can be so incredibly selfish most of the time, that you can forget how much she does care about Glee and the people in it and that she would do almost anything for them.  I like that Rachel vs. the other, nasty Rachel.  And how many of you were rooting for Tina to score a TD when she recovered that fumble?  I know I was!!  This was also one of my favorite moments…when she got tackled and didn’t get up, everyone rushed to her and was genuinely concerned for her, especially Mike.  When she turned over, all she said was “did we score?”  As someone who has played sports her entire life, I completely appreciate and love that comment from her.  Here is someone who has no business doing what she is doing but regardless of her health and risk of serious injury, she does it anyway.  And when she does get hurt, she could care less.  All she wants to know is did she help her team.  Tina just jumped to close to the top of my list of people I love on this show.

What was disappointing:

The Thriller Mash Up Halftime Show. I saw the pictures with the incredible makeup and costumes and thought this number is going to be outstanding.  I was a little disappointed.  Now, up until that point, the show was doing nothing for me.  So by the time they got to this number, I thought it was the best part of the show.  If they really wanted to attract new viewers, I would have led with this song vs. the epic fail that was “California Gurls.”  Maybe it was the editing of this number where several times they focused in on a single person over and over again.  Maybe it was the fact that I hoped they were going to incorporate more of the traditional Thriller video choreography.  Maybe it was the fact I was pissed that Karofsky joined them after shunning them but once he saw the crowd responding positively, THEN he joined them to do the show.  I’m trying to figure out how good (or bad) this number truly was.  Did I really enjoy it because it was actually great or because everything in the show up until that point wasn’t very good?  Or did I not enjoy it as much as I thought because it really wasn’t that good or the hype was so huge that it didn’t live up to it?  I’m not sure.   Let’ put it this way…it was the best musical number of the show but wasn’t nearly as good as it could have been.

What did NOT work:

The opening scene. I have heard people refer to this scene as the sexy scene with hot cheerleaders to attract the men from the Superbowl.  Now, this is where I am going to sound like an old fart, BUT, don’t you think it’s a little creepy using high school aged girls as the sex appeal?  I do.  I don’t think it’s really appropriate to use 14-17 year-old girls as the “sexy” reason to keep the guys tuned in.  Ew.  Not to mention, it wasn’t very sexy and the number was not very good.  If you want to use sex appeal to keep the guys watching, first, use an adult.  Second, this should be the bench mark moving forward:

Seriously, now that is sex appeal and hot!!!

Quinn and Finn Kissing.  This seemed to come out of nowhere.  They had been together before and I’m sure there will always be some feelings there.  But this seemed to come out of left field.  Isn’t Quinn seeing Sam?  Their relationship seemed to be just fine so I don’t know why she was making google eyes at Finn.  I get that he was being supportive to her and reminding her what a strong, confident woman she is and that she doesn’t need popularity to define her.  I get that.  But I still don’t understand how that all of sudden transfered to liking him (in that way) again.  And I certainly don’t know why she would kiss him.  It’s a little bizarre.  Although I’m curious to see where it goes but I don’t know if I understand it.

Finn and Puck Making Up. I don’t know how Finn would ever be friends with Puck again.  Not only did he impregnate his first girlfriend (while she was going out with Finn) but then he hooked up with his other girlfriend (while she was going out with Finn.)  What’s the expression?   Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  I don’t dislike Puck but I really don’t see how Finn would EVER trust this guy again.

Sue Going Ballistic. Not only would she have been fired on the spot for her vandalizing school property, but probably taken to a mental hospital.  This is when I hate Sue.  This is way too over-the-top.   I didn’t mind the way she manipulated the situation to force Quinn, Santana, and Brittany quit Glee Club because she moved the regional competition to their Thriller Show time.  Sue will do anything to win.  But the way she tried to manipulate Brittany into doing a stunt that would kill her!  That’s where I drew the not funny line.  We have seen the softer side of Sue and she isn’t this cruel.  That’s why I hate when the show does this to her character. Only a sociopath would do what she was doing to Brittany.   None of it was funny.  It was pathetic and awful and this is the Sue Sylvester I don’t like to see.  I know reading this, some of you probably think I have a stick up my ass and should lighten up.  I find Sue hilarious.  I personally don’t find out-of-control Sue funny.   I don’t mind characters that push the envelope or even cross the line sometimes.  But when it goes so overboard that it’s distracting and detrimental to the character, I don’t like it.  I’m sorry.  I like Sue better when she is being witty and somewhat conniving with the adults.  I even like Sue when she puts the students in their place with her snarky comments.  I don’t know.  Maybe I am being too hard on her.  I just don’t like crazy Sue.  Give me witty Sue.

The Warblers Tune Up Session. Another element that seemed to come completely out of nowhere.  There is the whole bullying storyline going on a McKinley but yet let’s stop everything because we need to see the Warblers tumbling around and practicing for regionals!  Was this just to showcase Darren Criss?  Wouldn’t surprise me since most of the season has gone down that way.  But it seemed very awkward and misplaced in this episode.  Having said that, it was a really good number!

Karofsky’s Story Arc. A huge opportunity wasted and a complete waste of an episode.  I understand that you have Karofsky, who is gay and is hiding from everyone, who is utterly terrified of his sexual preference coming out and not being part of the popular kids in school.  Although I think his pressing need to be popular is more driven off the fact that he would rather not have anyone find out that he’s gay more so than he wants to be popular.  I think Karofsky could be an empathetic character if written differently.  But he is shown as such a bully and a nasty guy, it’s hard to feel badly for him.  And I think a big opportunity was missed last night because there were some cracks of decency.  Karofsky had a great scene with Mr Schue after he was done practicing his part for the halftime show (all the football players had to participate as directed by Coach Beiste.)  Mr Schue told him how talented he was and that if he really put some effort behind it, he could be one of the most talented kids in the school.  Karofsky’s face seemed to light up.  Right after that, he had a great scene with Finn when he realized he wanted to be a part of the show and asked Finn to help him rehearse.  I thought he was starting to turn a corner.  And the football looked like they were having fun.  Then the Flock of Seagulls hockey team showed up and slushied them all.  I was thrilled because now they get a taste of what they do to other people.  But I think what set Karofsky over the edge was the fact that the lead hockey mullet head said Karofsky turned gay since he was now singing and dancing.  I wonder, if that one comment weren’t made, if things would have been different.  But Karofsky isn’t going to find out because he is quitting the Glee club and so are the other guys.  Coach tells him if he quits, he’s off the team.  Finn begs him not to so they will have the guys for the championship game but they quit anyway.  And he’s right back to where he was.  Later, with the game and the show falling apart, Puck is in charge of getting the guys back on the team and Finn has to get the Quinn, Santana, and Brittany to quit the Cherrios and join.  All agreed…except for Karofsky.  That is until he saw how jazzed the crowd was and then he joined in.  Again, I think Karofsky, if he could choose (which he can), he would join the Glee club.  I know it isn’t easy and he’s messed up because he is trying to hide who he really is.  But at the end of the show, I was hoping that we wouldn’t see a 100% reformed Karofsky but maybe a softer, more understanding and respectful Karofsky.  Nope.  After they won the game and everything was over, Finn wanted to see if he would be willing to make things right with Kurt before permanently joining Glee.  Karofsky laughed at him, told him forget it and that he doesn’t want to change anything.  He’s on top again after winning the game so forget it.  What I would have rather seen is Karofsky maybe confide in Finn and talk about his fears.  Finn knows having been there and Finn has a gay brother and friend that he is extremely supportive of.  I wish Karofsky would have opened up to Finn and maybe slowly started to feel more comfortable around people he knows wouldn’t judge him but really support him and be there for him.  And even if it didn’t go that far, he could have met Finn half way.  He could have said “look dude, I respect what you guys do and I promise I won’t give you crap anymore, but I am not joining and sticking with sports.  Hope you understand.”  How hard is that?  But the writers made him a pompous jerk again and showed no signs of any growth.  It just bugged me.

I was thoroughly disappointed in this episode I had heard so much about.  I have written about this before and I am going to write it again.  The show has some great potential but it falls short on so many levels and is becoming a one trick pony.  Glee is turning into a show about 2 things: the music and the gay storylines.  The music is what it is.  The gay storylines have been AWESOME and the best part of the show quite frankly.   But are we ever going to learn anything else about the other kids?  Am I not mistaken or does Karofsky have a bigger storyline this year than Mercedes, Tina, Artie, Mike, Santana, and Quinn put together?  Mercedes has been completely non-existent this year and it sucks.  Even Mr Schue has less to do than Karofsky.  I think the storylines are fascinating and well written but you would think Kurt and Karofsky are the only kids with interesting stories.  What about learning more about Rachel, Puck, Quinn, Mercedes, Emma, any of the other “main” characters?  I’m not sure I understand why they are being forgotten about.  There was a great plot development with Mercedes and Quinn’s growing friendship last year.  Where has that gone?

I’m obviously going to keep watching Glee but if this is what this show is going to be, I may stop after Season 2.

 

CASTING NEWS: “The Substitute” Back on Glee!!

Courtesy of Aceshowbiz.com

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Gwyneth Paltrow has confirmed that she will appear as substitute Holly Holiday again this season on Glee.  She didn’t announce what episode she would be on or how long her return would be for, but she did confirm that it will happen again this season.

So Gleeks, are you happy Paltrow is coming back to Glee?  I am.  I thought she was fantastic the first time!!

 

REVIEW: Glee S2 E6-9

I have been so disappointed with Glee this season that I had 4 episodes on the DVR siting there waiting to be watched.  I finally got through them.   Since I am going through 4 episodes, I just going to do some general talking points about my feelings on the show and the episodes instead of full-blown recaps.  Seriously, this would be like 4000 words.  But it will still be long.

Let’s start with “Never Been Kissed.” This episode is why I fell in love with Glee in the first place.   It was a relevant story where the music fit the story that was going on.  I have read some other people’s opinion about what happened in this episode between our beloved Kurt and the bully Dave.   Many people were upset that the bully turned out to be gay.  I felt the exact opposite.  I thought it was great.  There were people who took what happened to mean that if a gay kid gets bullied by another kid, the bully must be a closet homosexual.  I completely disagree.  I think the writers were just showing one type of bullying AND another kid’s struggle with being gay or maybe even unsure about his feelings.  I thought it was a perfectly acceptable way to give the bullying story a “twist.”   For me, I saw it coming that Dave was gay.  And I think it’s important to show that not every kid in high school, who may be dealing with their sexuality, doesn’t handle it the same way that Kurt does.  There are some kids who, because of their “status” are trying to hide who they are.   Speculating here, but in a situation like Dave’s, maybe he really isn’t sure and he’s frustrated and lashing out or he does know but because of his popularity, he feels he can’t be “out” the way Kurt is and he is frustrated and taking his anger out on Kurt.  Either way, it’s wrong but these are high school kids.  They don’t make the best decisions.

The big issue I had with “NBK” was that I thought they put too many heavy storylines in one episode.  It was almost as if the writers woke up one day and said “Oh shit.  We have done any interesting plots yet this season!   We better get on the ball!”   You had the Kurt bullying SL, Coach Beiste’s SL, and Puck’s SL.  Each one of these could have been the main story of their own episode but the writers chose to put them all in one.  Coach Beiste’s and Kurt’s SL at least line up from the “NBK” stand point.  And since we are on that point, let’s talk about the scene with Will and Beiste.  Will seems to be a lot of people’s favorite whipping boy on the show.  Considering some of the stuff that has been written for him, I don’t blame them.  And maybe I am blinded for my love for Matthew Morrison from his Broadway days when I got to meet him and he was incredibly nice and thoughtful, but I don’t hate Will the way some people do.  I think that scene with Beiste, Will was trying to do the right thing and his intentions were good.  BUT, him kissing Beiste was soooo wrong.  It was a pity kiss and something like that will make someone like Coach Beiste feel worse instead of better.  She needed a friend, not someone to pity her and kiss her when she didn’t ask him to.  So even though he was trying to do the right thing and be sweet, it was wrong.

“The Substitute” was an example of a show from Glee that I hate…an iTunes episode featuring a major guest star that shows the writers could care less about the story.   Having said that, I liked the episode.   I thought Gwyneth Paltrow was the 2nd best guest star they have had so far (behind Kristin Chenoweth.)   She was terrific.  I found her to be funny, engaging, and a pretty good singer!!  When she told Rachel that she sucked, I nearly spit my fountain coke out my nose.  I loved that!  And I LOVED her rendition of Cee Lo’s “Forget You.”   They set her up in good way…as a substitute teacher…so she can definitely pop in and out of Glee from time to time.

“Furt” was my favorite episode of the season.   I’m going to get the dumb part out-of-the-way.  Sue marrying herself?  Who thought of that ridiculous idea???  After meeting Sue’s mom, you find out that Sue was herself, the product of a bullying mom.  Her mom abandoned her and Jean to get rid of Nazis and when she was around, she was awful to them.  So Sue marrying herself is a way to show just how damaged and desperate for love that she is.   But there had to be a better way to do it, right?  This could have been a more impactful story if it was handled the right way.  The thing is, I think Sue is a thoughtful person.  Take the scenes where Kurt is talking to Sue about the bullying Dave is giving him.  You can tell she is upset about what is happening to him and I think she would do whatever it took to protect him.  The proof of that is when she expels Dave when he threatens Kurt.  But when the writing team does things like have Sue marry herself, she becomes so outlandish, it is hard to take her seriously.

This episode also featured the real wedding of Carol and Burt (Finn’s mom and Kurt’s dad.)  It also continued the bullying storyline and also showed how Finn was really struggling with sticking up for Kurt and regaining his popularity and leadership.   Sam is out take Finn’s role as not only the starting quarterback, but the most popular guy in school.  Finn is very threatened by him and when Rachel asks him to help his future step brother, he has to decline because of how it would look in the locker room.  Little does he know that the girls have band together to ask their boyfriends to confront Dave as a group and they do.  Artie and Chang go after Dave and when he pushes them, Sam jumps in and fist fight breaks out.  When they are in Glee later that day, all the girls are fawning over how the guys stuck up for Kurt…that is everyone except Finn.  Finn keeps making one bad decision after the next in this episode.  And it really dawns on him how he awful he has been.

At the wedding, in true Glee fashion, the Glee kids dance and sing down the aisle to “Marry You.”   Any other show I would cringe at something so cheesy.  But Glee makes it work perfectly.  Burt and Carol looked so happy and the entire cast looked like they were having a ball with this number.  I really liked the ceremony and of course it made me bawl my eyes out!  At the reception, Finn as the best man, starts his toast.  He toasts his mother and how wonderful she is and tells her that even though he didn’t grow up with one in the house, she did a great job of teaching him how to be a man.  But then he moves onto Kurt.  He apologizes to him saying he hasn’t been much of a man lately by sticking up for him.  But now that they are brothers, no matter what it costs, he will always have his back.   And here come the tears again!  Overall, it was a well done episode.

One observation I want to point out, is anyone else skeptical of Sam’s motives with Quinn?  I hope I am wrong and I am reading waaaaay too much into this.  But when Finn and Sam were working out and Sam told him how he wants to be the starting QB again and how he wants to be the most popular, it made me wonder if he was going after Quinn only because he wants to be popular.  Like I said, I could be reading too much into it but it seems like Sam is trying to hard.  For example, the fight in the locker room…I don’t think Sam was planning to stick up for Kurt until other guys were stepping up and it got physical against them.  I think it was more about him sticking up for his teammates than Kurt.   I hope I’m wrong because Quinn doesn’t deserve that.

Finally we have “Special Education.” Remember last year when there was all this build up to Sectionals and every week there was a discussion about set lists and routines?  This year it seems like it was completely ignored and all of sudden, “oh look, it’s Sectionals!”  ”SE” really highlighted why I hate Rachel.  She is so self-absorbed and selfish.  How disrespectful can she be when Will says that Sam and Quinn will have the leads and she asks him if he is trying to lose sectionals?   All she ever talks about how amazing she is and how no one appreciates her.  You know what it’s like?  It’s like when you know a really physically attractive person but their personality is so atrocious, they suddenly don’t seem so attractive.  That’s Rachel for me.  Every time she bitches about her lack of appreciation for how awesome she is, it makes me think she isn’t as awesome as she thinks she is.  Don’t get me wrong, she has a great voice, but not as great as she thinks it is.  But then, courtesy of Brittany’s idea, every time I want to throw possums at Rachel, she has a moment like she has with Kurt before Sectionals and I just want to throw more possums at her because now I want to hug her.  Why can’t she be like that more often?   Basically they both finally admit that even though they didn’t like one another, they made each other better and they miss one another.  I just wish at some point, she would start to grow up.  She can still be annoying (it’s part of what makes her character who she is) but she doesn’t need to be so self-centered and bitchy.

While Finn was making all the bad decisions last week, this week it was Rachel.  She finds out about Santana and Finn sleeping together because Santana spills the beans and needless to say Rachel is unhappy.  She gives Finn all kinds of grief but finds comfort in the arms of Puck.  There is a lot of back and forth but eventually they find their way back to each other.  When FInn promises no more secrets, Rachel’s face drops, and you just know what’s coming next.   She confesses to Finn that last week while she was mad at him, she ended up kissing Puck.  She apologizes but states that this should make everything even between them.  What a dumb ass.  Finn calmly reminds her that when he was with Santana, they weren’t together, he didn’t cheat on her the way she just did to him and he promptly breaks up with her.  I can understand Rachel being upset that Santana and Finn slept together but she can’t be angry with him because he didn’t betray her.  However, that is exactly what she did to him.  And this is the big problem with Rachel, her self absorbedness (yes I am making up words now) constantly blinds her to how her actions affect other people.  All she ever cares about are HER feelings.  And she wonders why no one likes her.

The other side of this episode had to deal with Kurt getting used to his new school and his new Glee club, the Warblers. The Warblers are VERY different from New Directions and the way Mr. Schue runs things.  First, the 3 upper classmen elected to the board decide the set list while the rest can have some input.  Kurt tries to put his spin on what he thinks they should do but they shoot him down instantly.  They do however give him an actual Warbler that he needs to manage as the newbie.  After the first meeting, Blaine comes over the tells Kurt that the board was so impressed with this enthusiasm, that they want to offer him the chance to audition for a solo.  Kurt does “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” and does it very nicely.  However, when he starts to get theatrical, Blaine coaches him not to.  Turns out Kurt doesn’t get the solo and Blaine coaches him again that being a Warbler isn’t about being noticed or being an individual stand out.  It’s about the team.   He tells Kurt not to worry that eventually he will fit in.   This is where I disagree with Blaine.  I don’t think this is the right environment for Kurt.  Other than the fact that there is no bullying and much more acceptance at the academy, that is really all that school offers.  The school will stifle Kurt’s individuality.  He can’t wear his great outfits, he can’t try to standout, he can’t be what makes Kurt great.  So we’ll see how long Kurt lasts.  There was a nice parallel at the end with Kurt and Warbler.  Kurt thought he hurt the bird since he wasn’t acting the same.  Blaine told, don’t worry, he’s just molting.  He’s shedding his old feathers and growing his new ones.  He won’t be himself for a little while, but once he gets used to the new feathers, he’ll be ok.

As for Sectionals themselves, incredibly boring.  The Hipsters were good but were never going to win.  And the Warblers were the best act of the night with “Hey Soul Sister.”  Darren Criss is awesome.  Great singer and so natural on stage.  New Directions wasn’t that great.  First, they did the same opening as last year with them starting from the back of the audience.  Quinn and Sam did a nice job with “I Had the Time of my Life” but it didn’t blow the doors off.  However, “Valerie”, sung by Santana and featured dancers Brittany and Mike, was really good!  Don’t know why the other groups got one song and ND got 2 but if they didn’t have the 2nd song, the would have come behind the Hipsters in my opinion.  Turns out it was a tie for first with the Warblers (shocker) and both groups are going to Regionals.

These last 4 episodes were much better than the other Glee episodes this season but I really think the writing team has gotten lazy.  This one blog I read about Glee brought up the following point and I completely agree with it…Glee should have never been renewed for a 3rd season before they had their 2nd season. Absolutely 100% correct.  If these last 4 eppies are any indication of what is coming the rest of the year, Glee will get better.  One thing I would suggest, as much as I love Kurt and I really like his storyline because it is the only thing the writers have done well this year, this is not the Kurt Hummel show featuring the McKinley Glee Club.  The show is about the Glee club…ALL of the Glee kids.  Has anyone even noticed Mercedes this year?   I think the featuring of Kurt so prominently in EVERY episode will get old after a while, actually it already has.  Let’s focus on the other kids for a change and continue to add Kurt in because he is a great character.

Final thought on Glee, what does everyone think of the news that the writers will graduate this class of Glee kids and bring in new kids to feature in the club?  I think it’s awesome.  The show is about a high school Glee club, not what these kids do after high school and in college.  You can always bring some of them back but I think it’s a very good idea to keep the show fresh by bringing in new kids.  But they should start to introduce them now so we can get used to them with the current crew.