Glee

[WOM]

Glee

Bruno Sono wrote:

I'd literally never heard of Glee before noticing this thread just now, not even a little bit, and I'm trying to figure out why that is.

Jesus, gramps, what are they showing down at the home these days?

[Bruno]

Glee

Hmm, and now Reed has me wondering if maybe Wyatt's wrong and he's right. Must to get to the bottom of it somehow....

Yes, there really is a thing called show choir. It involves sparkly red clip-on bow ties and matching cummerbunds. I still bear the scars.

[WOM]

Glee

WE's used the 'smug' criticism before (not about Glee) and I confess that I don't really understand it. I know that people can be smug about certain things, but how can a show be smug?

[Bruno]

Glee

Worn Old Mbeki wrote:

Bruno Sono wrote:

I'd literally never heard of Glee before noticing this thread just now, not even a little bit, and I'm trying to figure out why that is.

Jesus, gramps, what are they showing down at the home these days?

I'm 37. I shudder to think what I'll be like in 50 years.

[Etienne]

Glee

It treads a narrow line between being a sharp satire on the likes of High School Musical and High School cliches in general, while still trying to take advantage of the things people like about the former (singing! dancing!) and the latter (hot teens, melodrama). Usually it works, sometimes it can be a bit pleased with itself, and sometimes it does seem basically indistinguishable from High School Musical. The music is generally well chosen and well-performed, though I think the standard has dropped a little during the series, and the show tunes bore me. Looking forward to the season finale.

[Bruno]

Glee

Worn Old Mbeki wrote:

WE's used the 'smug' criticism before (not about Glee) and I confess that I don't really understand it. I know that people can be smug about certain things, but how can a show be smug?

Oh, there are definitely shows with a self-satisfied air about them. I bet you Party of Five was one such, but I never watched it. They all looked smug, though.

Or maybe it was that other show, tho one that might as well have been Party of Five but was called something else instead, with different actors, whose name and purpose escapes me.

[G-Man]

Glee

Both Reed and Etienne are on the button.

[Reed John]

Glee

The one show that jumps out at me as being really smug and pleased with itself was Gilmore Girls. I watched it anyway.

Yes, there really is a thing called show choir. It involves sparkly red clip-on bow ties and matching cummerbunds. I still bear the scars.

You and I are the same age. As I recall, lots of stuff at high school in those days involved sparkly red clip-on bow ties and matching cumberbunds. Google Image "Prom 1988" and witness the horror.

Our symphonic band uniforms, for the boys anyway, were our marching band trousers (maroon with a silver stripe up the side) a white dinner jacket with SC on the pocket, white with maroon trim RUFFLES (I shit you not) and a maroon bow tie. Fortunately, my year the school sprung for some smaller bow ties than the comically large 1970s style my brother's class had to wear.

[WOM]

Glee

Etienne's got it nailed pretty well. You'll either like that night's songs or you won't. But they won't be shit. As Reed points out, though, it's the dialogue that keeps it on an even keel and mitigates the teen-angst part of it. Like when Kurt and his dad have the 'outing' conversation and his dad, the blue collar dude, says "Jeez Kurt, I've always known you were gay. When you were three, all you said you wanted for Christmas was a sensible pair of pumps." Or in the "Hello Goodbye" number when the teacher asks them how they answer the phone and Kurt matter-of-factly says "No, she's been dead for five years. This is her son." And every episode's littered with 'em.

[Wyatt Earp]

Glee

Reed John wrote:

I would have thought it would take an extremely miserable and negative person to have WE's opinion.

Not exceptionally for a Limey.

[Bruno]

Glee

Reed John wrote:

Our symphonic band uniforms, for the boys anyway, were our marching band trousers (maroon with a silver stripe up the side) a white dinner jacket with SC on the pocket, white with maroon trim RUFFLES (I shit you not) and a maroon bow tie. Fortunately, my year the school sprung for some smaller bow ties than the comically large 1970s style my brother's class had to wear.

Dude, you don't have to not shit me. Please, do you think we didn't have ruffles on our band uniforms? Ruffles were a given. It was the maroon velvet cowboy hat with one side of the brim turned skyward that really wounded the soul.

[Reed John]

Glee

I always felt very blessed that our marching band uniforms were "military" style. No cowboy hats, plumes, or capes.

[Ray de Galles]

Glee

Wrieghd wrote:

The only thing missing in the last episode is another so-dumb-its-brilliant one-liner from Brittany - the daft blonde cheerleader who is inseparable from Santana, the other cheeleader/siren.

That actress has an unusual backstory. I saw an interview with her. Her name is Heather Morris and she's really a professional dancer. She was one of Beyonce's back-up dancers on tour and awards show performances, so somehow she got asked to teach the Glee cast how to do the same "Single Ladies" dance for that episode where Kurt becomes the placekicker on the football team. At that time, they needed to fill out the dance talent in the cast so they asked her if she wanted to hang around a while and then somebody noticed that she was funny and could sing so they gave her a permanent role. Now she's taking acting lessons, but the director is afraid of that because she's so hilarious as is.

She is apparently heavily featured in the live show, almost MCing it according to the lucky person I spoke to who caught two nights at Radio City Music Hall. It's hoped the tour will come to the UK in January.

[Ray de Galles]

Glee

Wrieghd wrote:

I can't recall ever seeing a bit of TV (other than sports) that instantly made me more positive about life. But this did.

(Having just watched the finale) Yes, this.

Well, I'm sure I can recall other bits of TV that makes me feel that way but 'Glee' definitely does the most right now.

[Cavalry Trouser Tips]

Glee

There is so much grimness on the telly right now.

Glee is the perfect antidote, IF you allow your miserable, cynical OTF-hardened self to get into it.

[Wyatt Earp]

Glee

A big if.

[Reed John]

Glee

She is apparently heavily featured in the live show, almost MCing it according to the lucky person I spoke to who caught two nights at Radio City Music Hall. It's hoped the tour will come to the UK in January.

There's a live show? That sounds promising. Maybe.

She's like Steven Wright in the body of a hot girl.

[G-Man]

Glee

After the first three episodes of the second season I was ready to quit Glee. But the fourth episode reminded me why I love that programme. A couple of great music productions (Kurt stole the show, twice, even though the version of River Deep, Mountain High was also great), a few well-handled plot lines. All that was missing was Sue Sylvester...

[WOM]

Glee

I think people are looking for reasons to hate/quit Glee. It has me scratching my head. Sure, not every episode will be of equal quality, or you'll not like the song selection. But I think the show's still pretty great. Music aside, it's really well written with some fantastic one-liners. And the inclusion of the second and third-tier characters is a good thing.

And yeah, Kurt stole that one.

[Reed John]

Glee

This is one of only three shows that I'm making a point to watch consistently.

The Brittany Spears one was oddly disappointing, even though it did inspire some impure thoughts about some of the female cast. I guess that was the point. Somehow the whole thing just didn't add up and, unlike the Lady Gaga one or the Madonna one, it didn't really seem to have a point. Although the Sue Sylvester element was strong, as always, and John Stamos as the dentist is kind of amusing because he's John Stamos.

But the religion-themed one was outstanding, which was surprising because usually in all things in life "religion-themed" means "pile of shit." But it was very emotional and yet believable (except for the Grilled Cheesus, but that was just funny). The songs were excellent. The original "What if God Was One of US" is turgid shit, really, but somehow it sounded fantastic when they did it. Or maybe I was having an undiagnosed manic episode when I was watching it. I doubt that, however.

Last night's was pretty good as one of those transitional episodes setting up new relationships and what not. I think the Brittany and Artie relationship actually has some interesting potential. But none of the songs really grabbed me. Also, they skipped over Kurt's dad's recovery. He went from just starting to get out of a coma to resting at home. Miracle or not, that takes a while. I guess that's just how TV (especially a show like this) does it, and it's not as if they're just forgetting that he had a heart attack. I'm sure that will come again as they come back around to subplots about Kurt's relationahip with is dad - which is one of the best things on the show - but it seemed to skip a bit too much.

[Cavalry Trouser Tips]

Glee

Great episode but, As the G.Man says, there was a definite Sue Sylvester-shaped hole. Hopefully she'll be back, more vitriolic than ever next week.

Brittany and her Lady and the Tramp mealtime almost made me piss my pants.

[Bruno]

Glee

I got sucked into Glee on Netflix last night. It was good like successive candy bars.

I’m a believability bore so it was pretty hard going. A group of 20-something finalists for the Tony awards all at the same small-town high school, with a backup band that is apparently Toto. Fine. Extemporaneous classroom run-throughs that are somehow perfectly miked, mixed and autotuned, fine. (It’s amusing how Mr. Schu always hands out sheet music, as though this is remotely necessary for today's savvy high school musician. I know that whenever our choir director handed out sheet music, it was only so that we could glance at the title and go “Oh, we got this.”) A guy in a wheelchair with a cool voice who also plays the ax like Neil Schon, okay. An emotionally intelligent teacher with a unusually tenacious psycho bitch-sized blind spot for his wife, if you must.

Not really sure about the grown-up men hooked on this. If it’s for the music, okay, it’s hooked to fuck and well performed. If it’s for the comedy, I thought it was pretty swamped by all the tender special moments and aimless manipulative melodrama. If it’s for the tender special moments and aimless manipulative melodrama, give yourself three hard slaps in the face. In short, a show for teens and letches.

[G-Man]

Glee

It's the energy of the show. Glee is TV Red Bull.

[Bruno]

Glee

I'm finding the second half of season one much better actually (so far). They seem to have found the show's comedic/farcical sweet spot and are hitting that a lot more than the cheesy moody romance stuff. There were more laugh out loud moments in the first couple post-sectionals episodes than in the entire first half of the season. Hope that continues. (Taking itself less seriously also ameliorates the ever more implausible music numbers.)

I'm hooked!

[G-Man]

Is that show cursed? Three young cast members have now died. First Cory Monleith died, then the Puck guy (of suicide, after being convicted of having child porn).

Now Naya Rivera, who played Santana, has apparently drowned.