“Just remember whenever you have sex with someone, you’re having sex with everyone they’ve ever had sex with. And everybody’s got a random.” -Holly
Sigh. Glee. How you upset me so. Tonight’s episode “Sexy” highlighted everything I don’t like about the show. While there were a few bright spots, they were few and far between and no memorable songs to break up the mess that was tonight’s episode. Tonight we were given a theme episode. I can’t stand these poorly constructed episodes. Apparently every single person at the school, teachers included, is having a similar problem at the exact same time. It’s unrealistic. And then they have to weave songs around their point as opposed to going with songs that are right for the story and seem organic in the moment. Not too mention they decided to blast us with all sorts of visiting stars that we barely got any real time with characters.
Just so you don’t think I’m some ball of hate toward the show, let’s start with the positive. Tonight was an amazing episode for Santana and Brittany. Naya Rivera continues to amaze me. We’ve seen her sing and dance at high levels, but tonight she really flexed her acting skills. Her scene in front of the lockers with Brittany was elegant and understated just enough. It would have been easy to play extremes and it would have seemed disingenuous, but she played hurt and conflicted very well. These types of scenes and relationships are what make the show so great. So it’s baffling when they stray from such honest and real emotions for cheap jokes and forced situations. I’m not saying I need every scene needs to be a heartbreaking emotional experience tonight, but I think the show thrives when see kids in honest situations reacting in honest ways. There was a nice attempt with Kurt and his dad,but the Kurt story line seems so disconnected that it’s hard to muster up the same empathy for his situation.
My lack of interest in Kurt’s story line is a manifestation of a bigger problem on Glee’s hands: there are too many plots. It seems simple enough to fix, but Glee can’t help themselves. Every week there seems to be a new story or a new character that wasn;t there before that takes up large portions of the episode pushing stories we actually care about to the back of the line. This week it was the reintroduction of Holly Holiday. Gwenyth Paltrow is currently trying to reinvent her career as a total performer. While I very much enjoy Gwenyth’s peformances, I just feel like she robbed too much of the episode. High on the list of things I don’t care about is Will Schuster’s love life. At one point, I cared very much. I think he had a real nice thing with Emma, but then Glee decided to take Emma PIllsbury away from us to the point where it’s hard to think about their relationship in the way we once did. I enjoy the adults presence when they are their as guides for the students. Perhaps instead of so much time devoted to Will trying to get his freak on, we could have seen more of Quinn and Finn making their relationship strong again. This was the show’s original power couple! Yet their relationship tonight felt like an aside. And when was the last time anyone heard from Tina, Mike Chang, Brittany or Sam? Heck even the diva herself, Rachel Berry, took a big backseat tonight. The show needs focus and it needs to find it quick.
Themed episodes are also a plague on the show. Just think of certain stories we had to endure tonight that we wouldn’t have had to if the show hadn’t decided that everything had to revolve around “Sexy.” First in line is the Lauren and Puck sex tape story. First of all, gross. Second, how ridiculous is it that that’s even a suggestion. Lauren was originally painted as this sassy smart woman who was leaps and bounds ahead of Puck mentally, but now she thinks just having a sex tape will bring her fame and a fragrance? Ugh. The Dalton Academy’s “sexy” foam party was laughable at best. The show is just constantly trying to make sure we don’t forget about Kurt, but honestly, I wish they’d leave him out until regionals. The “Afternoon Delight” number was a nice and funny gag, but did we really need John Stamos to come back? I realize the show wanted everyone to see that Emma was conflicted with her emotions, but it was just yet another character the show had to share screen time with. My problems with Sue Sylvester have been well documented, but I actually her when she’s used correctly, so when she was used tonight in a realistic way to deliver the “sexy” news to Kurt, I welcomed the change of pace she brought.
So Glee? If you’re listening, will you please focus your show? Please. For those of us who loved what it once was and know that it still can be. Do it for us, because we were here first and we’ve remained loyal. Please, do this for us. Thanks in advance.
Other thoughts:
- Doesn’t it seem like every teenage male Kurt’s dad comes into contact with seems like they all have something he can relate too? Did they really need Blaine to know about cars? And for that matter, isn’t Finn Kurt’s brother? Can we see any of that story? Oh well...
- Kurt and Blaine need their own spinoff series in that coffee shop. It just seems like every scene takes place there. I think I might be able to order Kurt’s coffee for him before too long.
- Something about lead characters on network shows having crushes on girls named Holly. Michael Scott from The Office and now Will Schuster. Remind me not to name my girl Holly because it will lead to many unwanted crushes.
- One adult I do always like, but only in very small doses is Principal Figgins. Coach Bieste has her moments, but did we really need her one moment on camera tonight as just a reminder of another story we weren’t getting too?
- Glee always brings up social issues that I have forgotten existed since I’m no longer in school. Growing up in Texas, we didn’t have a sex-ed class. We had health class where we briefly touched on sex, but only as a means of reproduction. There’s a lot of people wanting to talk about the difference between abstinence only and safe sex practices. But what I thought was interesting was that Blaine brought up that there’s no real information for gay teens in sex-ed classes. Is this a real issue? I’d imagine so. I can’t imagine a gay teen sitting through class listening to everyone else get their questions answered but feeling to afraid or ashamed to ask theirs. Just never really thought about it.
Brittany line of the week: “ I get my information from Woody Woodpecker cartoons.”
Showing posts with label will schuster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label will schuster. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Glee - "Blame It on the Alcohol" Review
“I brought some bloody marys y’all...It’ll help your hangover. That’s what bloody marys are for. Hair of the dog that done bit your ass.” -Artie
I think it’s time to realize that Glee will never be a perfectly crafted show. While there are glimpses of its potential to do so, it seems to be settling a bit in the middle between what I love and hate. I love the relationships of the students with Will as a type of guide in their paths to success, with a little bit of Sue and Emma sprinkled in. On the outside, this episode seemed to have everything I’d want in a favorite episode, but their exists one problem now: too many plot lines!
We can’t get any continuity with this show. How are we supposed to care about Kurt and Blaine when they weren’t even in last week’s episode? The same goes for Emma and Will. I think we could feel empathy towards Will and root for that relationship if they gave it consistent airtime. With focusing on Will and Bieste this episode, we lost out on the Lauren and Puck story line and they barely touched on Santana and Sam. It’s like if one character isn’t featured that episode, they seem completely useless. I love all the characters in their own respect, so I like to see them working together as a unit, celebrating their wins and being heartbroken by each other’s actions. They have a problem that Hollywood seems to struggle with a lot in that happy couples aren’t interesting. We don’t see much of Artie and Brittany or Tina and Mike because they’re happy. Instead we only see characters that are constantly making up and breaking up. It makes it hard for us to root for couples to succeed in the long term.
I do like the episodic feel of this episode. We got some over arching story arcs, what with Rachel and Blaine, Kurt and his dad, Sue and Will as well as the Glee club tackling a specific issue independent to this episode. This is a strong recipe for success in network television. Shows like House, CSI and NCIS play to killer ratings every week using this formula. It’s a bit hidden with this week’s episode, but just think of accomplishing the task of an alcohol awareness song at assembly like a medical mystery on House. I think Glee can be successful in this respect. As long as we move towards to regionals and we spend some time developing important relationships, I’ll be satisfied.
But is being satisfied enough? Think back to the first half of the episode. The Rachel Berry Extravaganza had real potential to illuminate so many truths about these kids. I would not have minded a bottle episode where we stayed in that party the whole 44 minutes. We could have had a unique introspective look at all the characters relationships. Finn and Quinn could have talked about everything, Blaine and Rachel could have figured out he wasn’t straight by the end of it, Sam and Santana could have connected on another level that’s not purely physical, Puck could have shown more kindness to Lauren, you get the picture. Not that I hated the episode as a whole, on the contrary. I very much enjoyed it. We’re just so close to capturing it’s former greatness, yet so far.
Other thoughts:
Heather Morris continues to amaze me as a performer. I’ll take all the auto tune and Ke$ha in the world if it means getting more of her fronting the Glee club. This also on the heels of her being the “Stripper Girl Drunk” makes for one her finest episodes.
30 plus episodes for an original song and we get “My Headband.” Love it! I know the Rachel Berry original will no doubt help propel the group to nationals, but still, “My Headband” will forever be the first original song on Glee.
The evolution of Artie is probably one of the biggest successes of the show. No sympathy for his being in a wheelchair. Instead they let him flourish as a person.
Kurt is arguing on the wrong side of teenage gay rights. He has to realize that there is something different about him having a gay guy sleep over. Even if they are just friends, a parent of a high schooler is usually not ok with people of the sex they’re interested in sleeping over. Where I normally find Kurt and his father’s arguments about tolerance and homosexuality, I was left a bit angry with Kurt on this one.
I laughed way more than normal at Becky playing the xylophone.
This episode featured just the right amount of Sue and used her in a way that seemed believable. Hopefully we get more of this.
Where was Cheyenne Jackson supposed to fit into all of this? How about the girl he stole from McKinnley? Are we just supposed to forget about that?
Sam saying they haven’t had enough rehearsal is ironic because we never really see them rehearse for any numbers in class, yet they deliver knock out numbers. Like “Blame it” in this episode.
Brittany line of the week: “You guys I’m really nervous. Ke$ha has been a cultural icon for weeks and I really want to do her music justice.
Kurt line of the week: “Bisexual is a term that gay guys in high school use when they want to hold hands with girls and feel like a normal person for a change.”
I think it’s time to realize that Glee will never be a perfectly crafted show. While there are glimpses of its potential to do so, it seems to be settling a bit in the middle between what I love and hate. I love the relationships of the students with Will as a type of guide in their paths to success, with a little bit of Sue and Emma sprinkled in. On the outside, this episode seemed to have everything I’d want in a favorite episode, but their exists one problem now: too many plot lines!
We can’t get any continuity with this show. How are we supposed to care about Kurt and Blaine when they weren’t even in last week’s episode? The same goes for Emma and Will. I think we could feel empathy towards Will and root for that relationship if they gave it consistent airtime. With focusing on Will and Bieste this episode, we lost out on the Lauren and Puck story line and they barely touched on Santana and Sam. It’s like if one character isn’t featured that episode, they seem completely useless. I love all the characters in their own respect, so I like to see them working together as a unit, celebrating their wins and being heartbroken by each other’s actions. They have a problem that Hollywood seems to struggle with a lot in that happy couples aren’t interesting. We don’t see much of Artie and Brittany or Tina and Mike because they’re happy. Instead we only see characters that are constantly making up and breaking up. It makes it hard for us to root for couples to succeed in the long term.
I do like the episodic feel of this episode. We got some over arching story arcs, what with Rachel and Blaine, Kurt and his dad, Sue and Will as well as the Glee club tackling a specific issue independent to this episode. This is a strong recipe for success in network television. Shows like House, CSI and NCIS play to killer ratings every week using this formula. It’s a bit hidden with this week’s episode, but just think of accomplishing the task of an alcohol awareness song at assembly like a medical mystery on House. I think Glee can be successful in this respect. As long as we move towards to regionals and we spend some time developing important relationships, I’ll be satisfied.
But is being satisfied enough? Think back to the first half of the episode. The Rachel Berry Extravaganza had real potential to illuminate so many truths about these kids. I would not have minded a bottle episode where we stayed in that party the whole 44 minutes. We could have had a unique introspective look at all the characters relationships. Finn and Quinn could have talked about everything, Blaine and Rachel could have figured out he wasn’t straight by the end of it, Sam and Santana could have connected on another level that’s not purely physical, Puck could have shown more kindness to Lauren, you get the picture. Not that I hated the episode as a whole, on the contrary. I very much enjoyed it. We’re just so close to capturing it’s former greatness, yet so far.
Other thoughts:
Heather Morris continues to amaze me as a performer. I’ll take all the auto tune and Ke$ha in the world if it means getting more of her fronting the Glee club. This also on the heels of her being the “Stripper Girl Drunk” makes for one her finest episodes.
30 plus episodes for an original song and we get “My Headband.” Love it! I know the Rachel Berry original will no doubt help propel the group to nationals, but still, “My Headband” will forever be the first original song on Glee.
The evolution of Artie is probably one of the biggest successes of the show. No sympathy for his being in a wheelchair. Instead they let him flourish as a person.
Kurt is arguing on the wrong side of teenage gay rights. He has to realize that there is something different about him having a gay guy sleep over. Even if they are just friends, a parent of a high schooler is usually not ok with people of the sex they’re interested in sleeping over. Where I normally find Kurt and his father’s arguments about tolerance and homosexuality, I was left a bit angry with Kurt on this one.
I laughed way more than normal at Becky playing the xylophone.
This episode featured just the right amount of Sue and used her in a way that seemed believable. Hopefully we get more of this.
Where was Cheyenne Jackson supposed to fit into all of this? How about the girl he stole from McKinnley? Are we just supposed to forget about that?
Sam saying they haven’t had enough rehearsal is ironic because we never really see them rehearse for any numbers in class, yet they deliver knock out numbers. Like “Blame it” in this episode.
Brittany line of the week: “You guys I’m really nervous. Ke$ha has been a cultural icon for weeks and I really want to do her music justice.
Kurt line of the week: “Bisexual is a term that gay guys in high school use when they want to hold hands with girls and feel like a normal person for a change.”
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Glee - "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle" Review
“You’re so afraid of getting called geeks, or losers, or gay, that you settle for being nothing.” -Puck
Glee is trying to ruin me. How is it possible for me to love and hate a show much? The show defies coherent story telling, but yet is somehow strangely engrossing. Why? How can this be? I’m not even sure if the show is self aware any more the way The OC was when it was on. Glee has several things working in it’s favor, and several things it needs to fix if it’s going to become a great show in my eyes.
Glee has heart. This can’t be denied. I applaud the show for sticking up for homosexuals and the bullying they receive. This is a rampant problem in high schools today and the show brings great awareness to that. The line about bullying being born out of ignorance is all too true. I applaud the show for it’s devotion to the fact that the arts needs to be supported. Theatre, dance, and music training and education in schools provides so many skills for a students success. The issues Glee is tackling are extremely important, but I feel it’s getting lost in the production.
Glee is splitting it’s focus entirely too much. There’s no way Karofsky(who did a mighty quick costume change after losing the Super Bowl to be on the show...still don’t get it...he looks like Ben Rothlisberger) should be getting more screen time than Kurt. The wirters are going to need to figure out a way to get Kurt back to McKinley. I do not think the show is as successful with him at the other school. It makes for sloppy transitions and silly reasons for members of both teams to get together. Is the show about high school issues, or is it about a Glee club trying to win Nationals. I know it can do both, but right now I think it’s failing.
The Sue Sylvester story line was wildly thrown together. Sue’s character works better when she’s operating as a regular individual who is evil, not a devilish cartoon character of herself. Sue would immediately be fired, and sued. Her story lines are played out. Sue hates the Glee club. Sue tries to sabotage the Glee club. Sue is unsuccessful. We are going to need her to do something important or else she will become useless in the plot. This is a huge problem, because the show can’t get rid of one its best stars and perennial award winner. Thus it will the water down the narrative. Though I was especially happy to hear a Dallas Cowboy burn on Glee. In case you missed it, Sue won “Loser of the Year” beating out a fairly funny list that included the Cowboys. Nice.
However, sadly, that was about the only thing the writers got right about football on this show. My suspension of disbelief only goes so far. I forgive the fact that we never see the Glee club rehearse and yet they deliver perfect musical numbers. I forgive the fact that Sue has assembled the most talented group of cheerleaders any squad has ever seen, but what happened in the football game was atrocious and was actually distracting. 5 guys and 4 girls, all in Glee club, lined up to play the championship game and were only down 17 at the half. Mind you, this is a championship game that you could lose the game before and still play in. Then there was the ridiculous play to end the game where the zombie football players started saying, “Brains” so much that it distracted the QB and he couldn’t handle the snap (THAT HE WAS TAKING FROM SHOTGUN?!!?!) to ice the game and McKinley picks it up and wins the game and all is happy, right?
Wrong. The football team and glee club still appear to be on the rocks. This plot point actually made me happy because it would be ridiculous to assume to that years of hate and bullying could be solved by one song and dance. So at least that felt genuine. Maybe Glee was trying to take advantage of being aired right after the Super Bowl and decided to go with a football heavy episode. Let’s hope this is never the case again.
The music in this episode was just ok. I’m always happy when it’s not a themed episode or one where it’s just one artist because I think the show works best when the songs advance the story. The first song “Need You Now” was a perfect example of that. However, “Bills Bills Bills” sung by The Warblers was a scramble to just get another song in that had Kurt in it. And it was glaring that the writers needed to remind us that there was a regional competition still at stake. I bet that since it aired directly after the Super Bowl there was a lot of first time viewers. Sadly after that episode, I don’t think a lot of them will be sticking around.
Other Thoughts:
-When did the football team get good?
-Chord Overstreet needs to get his roots in check.
-When Coach Bieste was telling Will Schuster how much winning means for a city and how it changes everything all I kept thinking about was Green Bay winning the Super Bowl. Well timed.
-The show needs to bring back Emma! The Will and Emma love story is one everybody enjoys!
-Interested to see the dynamic of Quinn still being in love with Finn. Those teens have been awfully forgiving up to this point. I don’t know if certain friendships could survive more betrayal.
Brittany line of the night: “I don’t want to die yet. At least not until One Tree Hill gets canceled.”
Kurt line of the night: ““Blaine and I love football. Well, Blaine loves football. I loves scarves.”
What are your thoughts?
Glee is trying to ruin me. How is it possible for me to love and hate a show much? The show defies coherent story telling, but yet is somehow strangely engrossing. Why? How can this be? I’m not even sure if the show is self aware any more the way The OC was when it was on. Glee has several things working in it’s favor, and several things it needs to fix if it’s going to become a great show in my eyes.
Glee has heart. This can’t be denied. I applaud the show for sticking up for homosexuals and the bullying they receive. This is a rampant problem in high schools today and the show brings great awareness to that. The line about bullying being born out of ignorance is all too true. I applaud the show for it’s devotion to the fact that the arts needs to be supported. Theatre, dance, and music training and education in schools provides so many skills for a students success. The issues Glee is tackling are extremely important, but I feel it’s getting lost in the production.
Glee is splitting it’s focus entirely too much. There’s no way Karofsky(who did a mighty quick costume change after losing the Super Bowl to be on the show...still don’t get it...he looks like Ben Rothlisberger) should be getting more screen time than Kurt. The wirters are going to need to figure out a way to get Kurt back to McKinley. I do not think the show is as successful with him at the other school. It makes for sloppy transitions and silly reasons for members of both teams to get together. Is the show about high school issues, or is it about a Glee club trying to win Nationals. I know it can do both, but right now I think it’s failing.
The Sue Sylvester story line was wildly thrown together. Sue’s character works better when she’s operating as a regular individual who is evil, not a devilish cartoon character of herself. Sue would immediately be fired, and sued. Her story lines are played out. Sue hates the Glee club. Sue tries to sabotage the Glee club. Sue is unsuccessful. We are going to need her to do something important or else she will become useless in the plot. This is a huge problem, because the show can’t get rid of one its best stars and perennial award winner. Thus it will the water down the narrative. Though I was especially happy to hear a Dallas Cowboy burn on Glee. In case you missed it, Sue won “Loser of the Year” beating out a fairly funny list that included the Cowboys. Nice.
However, sadly, that was about the only thing the writers got right about football on this show. My suspension of disbelief only goes so far. I forgive the fact that we never see the Glee club rehearse and yet they deliver perfect musical numbers. I forgive the fact that Sue has assembled the most talented group of cheerleaders any squad has ever seen, but what happened in the football game was atrocious and was actually distracting. 5 guys and 4 girls, all in Glee club, lined up to play the championship game and were only down 17 at the half. Mind you, this is a championship game that you could lose the game before and still play in. Then there was the ridiculous play to end the game where the zombie football players started saying, “Brains” so much that it distracted the QB and he couldn’t handle the snap (THAT HE WAS TAKING FROM SHOTGUN?!!?!) to ice the game and McKinley picks it up and wins the game and all is happy, right?
Wrong. The football team and glee club still appear to be on the rocks. This plot point actually made me happy because it would be ridiculous to assume to that years of hate and bullying could be solved by one song and dance. So at least that felt genuine. Maybe Glee was trying to take advantage of being aired right after the Super Bowl and decided to go with a football heavy episode. Let’s hope this is never the case again.
The music in this episode was just ok. I’m always happy when it’s not a themed episode or one where it’s just one artist because I think the show works best when the songs advance the story. The first song “Need You Now” was a perfect example of that. However, “Bills Bills Bills” sung by The Warblers was a scramble to just get another song in that had Kurt in it. And it was glaring that the writers needed to remind us that there was a regional competition still at stake. I bet that since it aired directly after the Super Bowl there was a lot of first time viewers. Sadly after that episode, I don’t think a lot of them will be sticking around.
Other Thoughts:
-When did the football team get good?
-Chord Overstreet needs to get his roots in check.
-When Coach Bieste was telling Will Schuster how much winning means for a city and how it changes everything all I kept thinking about was Green Bay winning the Super Bowl. Well timed.
-The show needs to bring back Emma! The Will and Emma love story is one everybody enjoys!
-Interested to see the dynamic of Quinn still being in love with Finn. Those teens have been awfully forgiving up to this point. I don’t know if certain friendships could survive more betrayal.
Brittany line of the night: “I don’t want to die yet. At least not until One Tree Hill gets canceled.”
Kurt line of the night: ““Blaine and I love football. Well, Blaine loves football. I loves scarves.”
What are your thoughts?
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