Competition Mode

I'm not going to complain about the cliche writing, imprecise story-telling, uneven character development, lack of Sue, blatant Damian-ignoring or history re-writing (I thought Sugar Motta wasn't allowed in New Directions, wasn't that the whole catalyst for The Troubletones?, never mind) on Glee this week. What I've decided to focus on instead is the actual Sectionals competition and the competitors.

First of all, The Unitards (worst club name ever!). Lindsay Pearce is a great talent so I'm thrilled to see that the producers have come to their senses and aged her down 2 years from where they started her (even if it doesn't actually make sense). Maybe she'll make like Blaine and migrate to an inferior school for no reason; Glee is in desperate need of a new leading lady who can step up after the current seniors graduate and one whose voice isn't an over-familiar airy mess would be more than welcome (and we already know she has AMAZING chemistry with Damian McGinty, who should also return next season). The Unitards are clearly a phenomenal club and their Evita excerpt should easily have won them first place instead of third. 

If The Unitards couldn't win (and let's face it, there was no way they would, even if they should've), it really really really should have been The Troubletones. They were amazing this week. Actually, they're always amazing, delivering some of the best performances ever on the show. Naya Rivera has a dynamo voice and a presence that's entirely more interesting to watch than anyone in New Directions (on a side note: her welcome back insult list to Sam was delivered with just a hint of fondness, it was clearly brilliant). The Unitards can also dance, all of them, so Zach Woodlee's been giving them harder and harder stuff to do. They're just a better group, all around. Even if Mr. Schue did agree to let them sing one number per competition, I'll be very sad to see them all-but disbanded. 

That said, I thought The New Directions were doing great by highlighting the pathetically underused Tina and actually giving Harry Shum Jr. something to sing (he can totally sing, what have we been talking about for 2 years now? It's Cory Monteith who can't sing... or dance.... or act... why is that kid on this show?!) and it's fun to start including some of those kids who've been sitting in the background playing instruments- maybe there's a star in there? But they blew it when Monteith stepped up to star in the worst rendition of "Man in the Mirror" I've ever heard, backed by literally no dancing but tons and tons of applause. You can't convince the audience that a performance was better than it was by having the fake on-screen audience cheer really loudly, we're not that stupid. It was terrible, can't you just fire the kids who can't sing? And by the way, no one actually missed Sam and he didn't contribute at all to the competition (show of hands, is that move actually considered sexy? I thought sexy was sweaty Darren Criss making Fight Club jokes in the locker room, or- less universally, but my personal preference- in his Dalton uniform remembering his crush's coffee order). Oh, and I've never seen a less convincing couple than Sam and Mercedes, give it a rest and send him back to Kentucky please!

PS: They really seemed to be having fun in that group number at the end of the episode. So while it was depressing to hear Rachel and Finn back on lead (what is this group delusion about?!), I was all for it. 

Glee Fight! Kelly's Take on "First Time" (and "Mashoff")

As usual, Kelly and Rachael are fighting about Glee. As usual, Kelly hated an episode Rachael loved. So in keeping with our policy of balanced evaluation (which was first attempted with polarizing Glee offerings in the past and perfected with our reader-magnet opposing Black Swan reviews on My Cinema), we're posting a mini-series centered on last week's episode "First Time" (with a tad bit of redemptive commentary on tonight's offering thrown in for good measure).

Rachael shared her thoughts HERE but Kelly was (predictably) less impressed. However, tonight did ease her pain just a little bit. Read on for her thoughts.

Glee Fight! Rachael's Take on "First Time"

As usual, Kelly and Rachael are fighting about Glee. As usual, Kelly hated an episode Rachael loved. So in keeping with our policy of balanced evaluation (which was first attempted with polarizing Glee offerings in the past and perfected with our reader-magnet opposing Black Swan reviews on My Cinema), we're posting a mini-series centered on last week's episode "First Time" (with a tad bit of redemptive commentary on tonight's offering thrown in for good measure).

First up is Rachael, the forgiving and optimistic one.

Questions from Tonight's Glee

by Kelly Bedard

If you read this site regularly you know how long I've been looking forward to this episode of Glee- since the first time I saw The Glee Project. Damian was my favourite from the get-go and the twist "everyone wins" ending landed him a 7 episode arc starting with 304- this week. But the episode was far from the greatness I expected, as was Damian's uninspired character Rory (whom Brittany thinks is a leprechaun- original!) Blah Blah Blah. Glee can do better. And Damian deserves better.

Here are the questions I have after this confounding 43 minutes of my life:

Glee Comes Back

by Kelly Bedard

The lunch jam was annoyingly over-processed, no one cares about Emma and Will, Santana's betrayal is unbelievable and the rejection of Vanessa Lengies was just sad (how many years has that girl been playing a teenager? 13 years!) But Chris Colfer is still one of the best young actors on TV, every single character got at least a little air time, we established that we get at least one more year of Artie and Tina, Blaine is now at McKinley (though it's stupid for him to leave as great a school as Dalton just for a boy, I'm glad we get to see more of him!), Kurt is running for student council, a highschool musical has been pitched (a storyline they should've done ages ago) and the show ended with a creative then classic take on one of my all-time favourite musical theatre songs, "You Can't Stop the Beat".

Glee is back and I'm glad to see it.

It was alright premiere, nothing special but nothing terrible either. But the one thing I'll say:
WELCOME TO PRIMETIME LINDSAY PEARCE!!

The Glee Project dynamo made a surprise appearance in the premiere as Rachel's university admissions competition. Armed with the best voice Glee's ever seen (Idina excluded, obviously), Lindsay sang and danced circles around Lea Michele's Rachel, appropriately sending her into a tailspin of self doubt. And while I'm incredibly disappointed (if not surprised) that Ryan Murphy is wasting her on a role that doesn't have the expansion capacity I would have liked (come on, make her a freshman, give yourself a shot at having a real leading lady after Lea leaves!), I couldn't be more thrilled to see Lindsay's debut. Now who's excited for the episode 4 arrival of Damian?!

The Man Who Might Save Glee

by Kelly Bedard

Chris Colfer stepped up to the plate and delivered an uneven season one home safely. Darren Criss pulled season two back from the brink of absurdity. Since we know we can't rely on Ryan Murphy to do it, who is going to save Glee's third season? Sunday night gave us that answer.

Tonight on The Glee Project

My absolute favourite contestant went home because her real emotions for one contestant got in the way of her attempts to fake emotion for another contestant. Lamest reason ever. Sure Hannah was distracted during the video shoot but 1) she should have channeled that and just pretended she was singing to Damian but 2) she does keep getting the hardest partners to work with (prudy Cameron for the sexuality challenge AND Alex for the video about romantic longing? Give the girl a break!). So after a beautiful rendition of my beloved Taylor's "Back to December", my girl got sent packing- but not before some sweet, comforting hugs from dreamboat Damian and some genuine tears from her BFF Lindsay.

The Glee Project

It's no secret that I have have a very love/hate relationship with Glee. What I don't have a love/hate relationship with is The Glee Project- I just flat out love it. I'm a sucker for summer reality TV, throw in an eclectic group of singing and dancing kids, the people who make Glee great (choreographers, music directors, supporting actors guesting as mentors) and minimize the importance of lunatic creator Ryan Murphy (only in the final 10 minutes of each episode) and you've got a winning combination. Every week those kids are given some sort of ridiculous "assignment" made out of a word that doesn't exist ("Pairability"? Really?) and they have to make music videos, some give a "last chance" performance and one "isn't called back" for the chance at a 7-episode guest stint on season 3 of Glee- it's ridiculous. And great. It's ridiculously great.

Here's the deal with the kids who are left and what they would bring to the show:

The Power of Song Selection

If there's one thing you learn from American Idol it's that song selection is everything (and that Steven Tyler is a god). That rule has never been more true than for this week's episode of Glee. "Born This Way" had some meaningful moments (here's looking at you Santana!) and some trite ones (sorry Quinn, when was the last time you had a good storyline?), some perfect character points (Lauren for the win!) and some wastes of time (flash mob? really?!). From Tina's wonderful monologue that prompted a cute/hilarious Mike Chang makeout session through Karofsky's heartfelt apology (good guest actor alert- let's make him a regular, shall we?) to Rachel's self-indulgent nose job story (inevitable, really), there was one thing that was consistently awesome this week: song selection.

It pains me to think that Blaine will be scaled back and we might never seen much of my beloved Warblers again, but their farewell number of "Somewhere Only We Know" was tremendous, triumphant and layered with just enough acapella sweetness and Darren Criss dreaminess (and, you know, good acting/vocals and stuff) to prompt many many re-watchings. It was sad and sweet and generally just awesome.

Then there was the awesome and unexpected "Unpretty"/"I Feel Pretty" mashup (which actually came earlier in the episode but was slightly less epic so is being mentioned second). Rachel and Quinn are far from my favourites but the emotional notes hit in that inspired mashup were really pretty great (not to mention the songs flowed together beautifully).

Finn's "I've Gotta Be Me" was a surprisingly strong vocal from the worst singer in the cast on what was supposed to be a mostly dance number, and the title number was fun if only for the shirts (because the song is offensively derivative *I'd never heard it before and honestly thought it was "Express Yourself"*- seriously, when are people going to realize that Lady Gaga is really boring?!)

But the best song selection in the episode? Easily "As If We Never Said Goodbye" from Sunset Boulevard. Not only was every word perfect for Kurt's return to Kennedy High but its very Sunset Boulevard-ness was character perfect and fit with the themes of self-acceptance this week. And, most importantly, Chris Colfer nailed it. Chris Colfer almost always nails the acting side of his songs (kid can emote: "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" or  "Blackbird" anyone?!), but his vocals sometimes leave something to be desired. But on this hard piece made famous by a host of spectacular altos, Colfer hit every note perfectly (including the impossible falsetto on the last "bye" and the lower tenuto on the final syllable).

This was one of those Glee weeks that really made iTunes some money.

True Love: Other Stuff Edition

It's Valentine's time and TV is in full romantic bloom. Here are our favourite romantic episodes of the week:

1) Glee 
(We've covered this already. Twice)

2) Community
(This too. Just once)

3) Modern Family
The reprisal of Clyve and Juliana, Gloria turning Valentine's day into a competition, Manny's quest for Hayley's love, Cam and Mitchell's jealous search for attention, the triumphant return of Dylan! Brilliant.

4) Raising Hope
It wasn't romance, it was bromance, but it was awesome. "Romeo and Romeo" was the hilarious story of two star-crossed single dads in desperate need of a friend. Hilarity ensued.

5) 30 Rock
Not overtly Valentines-themed but based almost completely on couples when the show almost never is, this week's 30 Rock saw the return (and dismissal) of my (and everyone else's) beloved Matt Damon (seriously, who doesn't love this guy?!).

6) The Office
An awkward (but cheeky) Pam and Jim plot and a sweet but strange one for Michael and Holly made this episode of the office slightly above average. What made it significantly above average (at least for the current season) was Erin's Valentines treasure hunt. It was designed for her by the wonderfully deadpan new character Gabe and followed by my favourite character in the office, Erin, and her endearing ex Andy. It was sweet, it was melancholy, and it disrupted the office wonderfully (the scene with Darryl is classic).

Redemption

Rachael's already posted about how great the second Glee of the week was, but having just watched it (finally), I have to put my two cents in, if only because I am a firm believer in expressing your love when it's there, especially if the last thing you did was express something less lovely.

Click Here to continue reading

Silly Love songs

After an underwhelming (to some down right maddening) post-Super Bowl episode, Glee returned tonight with something that was so perfect I almost wanted to vomit.

Mostly that vomit came from how damn uncomfortable I was through half the episode. Unrequited love always makes me uncomfortable on the screen, and seeing the season long flirtation between Kurt and Blaine teeter dangerously close to Kurt getting his heart broken for realsies was almost enough to make me die from embarrassment. On top of that, Puck singing his heart out to the newest member of Glee club to the tune of "Fat Bottom Girls" or Rachel trying desperately to vie her way back into Finn's affections despite his recent reaffirmation of his feelings for Quinn...

This was Glee at its squirmy best. I was so excited when Lauren turned down Puck (because, seriously dude, what girl wants you to sing to her about how, yeah she's fat but you want to bone her anyway?). And watching Kurt "man up" and help his friend Blaine out even when it hurt him was nothing short of brilliant. Even the aforementioned (and somewhat painfully perfect) Blaine's overly sincere sung valentine at The Gap was painful goodness, so much so that I am literally covering my eyes and squealing at my computer. And Kurt finally fulfilling the brazen badassness inherent in his character and TELLING Blaine what he thought was going on with the two of them? OH MY GOD. Pitch perfect, painful, and a gorgeous note for the character. Even if it didn't lead to immediate "macking out" (thanks Puck, for bringing that expression into my lexicon).

On top of that, the over-the-top ridiculousness was played pitch perfect with Santana's mono-induced revenge scheme. I even liked Finn's sudden transformation from somewhat-dumb but ultimately good-natured to conceited schemer. And Tina breaking down into melodramatic tears during "My Funny Valentine?" I can do that level of melodrama, Glee, even if it did leave me slightly bemused.

The big finish, with Gleeclubbers past, present (and dare I say future, Blaine?) hanging out with the Warblers as they celebrated the holiday was a nice little bittersweet candle, whether because Blaine singles out Santana as the one most likely to never fall in love, or for the confused and yet blatantly sexual looks shared between Blaine and Kurt throughout. This episode rebuilt the casts relationships even as it tore them down, restating not only the legitimacy of Finn's feelings for both of the women in his life and Puck's feelings for anything with breasts, but also instilling in the club a sense of friendship and genuine affection that has been sorely lacking in episodes more concerned with spectacle than substance.

Also, side note, any time Mike Chang can do a random and pointless dance number in the middle of the show.

Additional side note, while I love the ego-kick of making Kurt sing mostly back up now, how is it that Blaine is the only person to EVER have solos?

Damnit Glee

So they were given the coveted post-Superbowl slot and all the screws came loose.

I could not have been happier about the fact that since the second season premiere (excepting the atrocity that was "Britney/Brittany" and the half brilliant/half horrifying "Grilled Cheesus"), I have either decently enjoyed or really really liked every single episode of Glee. From the pleasant decentness of "Duets" and "Special Education" to the loveliness of "Furt" and "The Substitute" to the true excellence of "Never Been Kissed" and "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", the fall of 2010 was a season of tremendous growth for my old least-favourite show. The writing got better, they evened out their absurd outsider complex and post-modern ideology, they developed their supporting cast, allowed us to see Sue's heroic side, downplayed Rachel and rescued the badly-written Kurt. It was an exciting time.

And then there was this. Maybe they were trying too hard and lost their way a bit or maybe it was just the law of averages that eventually Glee's gross, predictable, backwards core would reappear. Either way, this week sucked.

Let's just start with the fact that the show is coming to the zombie party months/years late, but who really cares. Onto the things I super hated:

- "lady chat"?! Kurt just took leaps backwards in development. "Blaine loves football, I love scarves"?!!!!!!!!!!! EWWWWWW. I'm all for the stereotype-defiant Blaine getting new details, but I cannot believe they are putting this swill in Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer's mouth.

- Oh, and the tremendous anger inspired by the silly feminist statements around the girls volunteering to play football then the undermining "after the snap we're just going to lie down on the field"! And Tina's triumphant foray into actual participation? Somehow it unfolded as a display of feminine fragility. I'm not quite sure how that happened, but okay.

- "It'll be worth it" from Santana was golden after Brittany expressed her fear of death by cheerleading canon, but the fact that those girls quit Cheerios essentially because Finn told them to was just stupid. Santana doesn't need prompting to make whatever decision she wants to. If she wanted to be doing glee that's where she would have been the whole time. I'll grant the peer/Sue pressure issue with Brittany, but if I have to hear one more character tell me how strong Quinn is when she's already proven it herself I'm going to explode. The girl's an icy queen bee who has consistently stood up for her ideals- why do we need quarterbacks to validate her all the time?

- "This is the moment of our lives". Really Puck? It's a high school football game. Perspective please.

- Why the hell did Karofsky join "Thriller"? Did he just catch boogie fever or something? It was genuinely bizarre (not to mention convenient). If the man really can't help but dance then glee club would have had him dancing a season and a half ago.

- Even the usually wonderful Warblers couldn't cheer me up with a silly 90s pop song. They were over-choreographed, somewhat out of character and completely irrelevant to the episode, it was depressing.

- Oh, Beist got lines though! I love it when they give Beist something to do. She is truly excellent. But she's not enough on her own. 

The whole thing seemed like an exercise in formula writing. By the end everyone was left back exactly where they started at the beginning. The plot unfolded as a "here's a tiny problem+ obstacle+ another obstacle+ 1 more obstacle then climax and solution" situation. No one's motivations made any sense, arguments we've had 8 times already with all these characters were rehashed ("we want to be popular, but oh we love glee so much, whichever shall we choose?!") and even the musical numbers were more forced than usual (that first song wherein Lea Michele strutted around for 3 minutes of my life was truly painful). 

Oh, and really? We're throwing season one pairings back together? That's not a cliffhanger, that's a misdirect. Is there anyone out there who actually cares about Finn's love life? At all? The only thing that stupid kiss guarantees is more whining from Rachel- YAY!

That sucked. And now my heart hurts.

Quote of the Show

Sunday's Golden Globes contained no small number of witty shots at any and all celebrities in attendance, some great speeches and some deserving winners (the most obvious of the bunch: Aaron Sorkin, Paul Giamatti and Christian Bale, are among my favourites)  but perhaps my favourite moment was provided by Chris Colfer.

Glee's greatest asset, Colfer's been handed the season of a lifetime by the writers who've been highlighting his character Kurt specifically lately, especially as the stats on gay teen suicide keep mounting. Colfer's elevated the uneven material beautifully and though he may not actually be the greatest supporting actor on TV, he's definitely the most deserving nominee and I was very happy to see him win. I was even happier to see the reactions of his cast-mates at his table, they looked so proud (the usually obnoxious diva Lea Michele even cried for him, it was really kinda nice).

My favourite bit of the eloquent and remarkably calm speech he made after he opened with the sensational line: "I dropped my heart somewhere between Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, if you find it please return it to me"? As he predictably (and appropriately) dedicated his win to the teenagers everywhere who've been bullied and told they're not good enough, he capped with a triumphant "screw that" to the belittling as he raised his award in the air. It was a lovely testament to how to truly deal with bullies (the way that Kurt is slowly learning this season with a breakthrough in "Never Been Kissed"), don't cry about it, sing sad songs or write out your feelings, say "screw that, you're wrong and this doesn't fly".

That'a boy Chris.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Despite my unabiding love for all things Christmas related, I mostly thought this week's Glee was inconsistent and goofy (although I can never have enough Grinch parodies in my life). However, how freaking fantastic was that Baby It's Cold Outside number between Kurt and Blaine? I'm madly in love with Darren Criss (and have been since spending a memorable week watching the Harry Potter musical on repeat) and every week Chris Colfer proves again and again how fantastic he is. So even in an episode that gave neither of them a particularly large amount to do, it was nice to get to here this interesting, flirty and most of all adorable rendition of one of the creepiest Christmas songs of all time ("hey what's in this drink?").

The Rachel Solution

The character of Rachel has really been problematic on Glee since its inception, since she walks that fine line between annoying and amusingly annoyingly, and in its first season, far too often fell on the annoying side. But so far, this season has treated Rachel with a much more even hand. It turns out that as soon as the show stopped marveling at Lea Michelle's voice and started dealing with the complexities of Rachel's character (and actually dealing with the fact that she's a pretty unlikeable character) that the show's break out voice became more than just a ballad-getting attention hog.

So far this season,. Rachel has been dealing with trying to become a better person for reasons both altruistic and not so. And in an episode that was all about Rachel being upset that so much of the spotlight is being taken away from her (and Quinn uttering the fan-pleasing line of, "You used to just be annoying. Now I want to punch you in the face every time I'm around you."), it may seem a little surprising that this was the most likeable I've ever found Rachel. Her conversations with Kurt were some of the most real and interesting the two have ever shared, and I liked the idea that performing with the whole choir in a non-lead position actually did have a profound effect on what Rachel thought being a part of Glee was all about.

In fact, Rachel's arc this season has been one of the show's most satisfying and one of the most consistent things across episodes that have ranged from the utterly absurd to the moderately ridiculous.

* All that being said, I found the conclusion to the Santana chapter (that Rachel kissed Puck, who was only being nice to her because he realized he couldn't be nice to all people, and so decided to focus on God's Chosen People) stupid and forced, and would have preferred a little more ambiguity in the whole Finchel argument, and I hope they get back together soon, because I find Rachel as romantic-lead annoying, but Rachel and Finn as a scheming, quirky couple intriguing and fun.

Genuine Human Emotion

I don't usually cry while watching TV. Well, maybe sometimes. Okay, every now and again, but not super super easily. I'm secretly a cryer, I'll admit that; I'm a chocolate turtle; one of those "nougat-y" people is what Glee would call me. Or, as my friend Rini puts it, I'm a marshmallow. But Glee usually just makes me mad. It's one of the few shows that elicits a big reaction from me; underneath my metaphorically mixed porcupine spikes, deep down in my marshmallow centre, Glee makes me feel things, usually anger. But tonight, tonight was all sorts of genuine human emotion inspiring, and not one of those genuine human emotions was anger.

The "big twist" of the bullying story was easy to spot from before the opening credits, the Puck/Artie story was a little shaky and under no circumstances should getting to kiss Will Schuester seem like a prize (ugh). A lot of the characters lost some credibility in that final pandering scene where they all started to lie so they didn't seem like bad people anymore, the boys' musical number could have been much more cleverly chosen and making poor Beiste sit through that scene was just mortifying. But none of those things were terrible. Some were annoying, others were just underwhelming, but mostly they were just the mandatory valleys that allowed for the tremendous peaks of this episode. Abandoning theme, as they do in all their best episodes, Glee really got me this week, all the way through the tough chocolate "I hate Glee" to the nougaty schmoop in the middle, just like a turtle (thanks Sam, the metaphor's been useful).

The first emotional breakthrough of the night was one of those subtle happiness things that, had I been watching with friends, I probably wouldn't have let on to. It was during the "Teenage Dream" number at the all-boys prep school. I was doomed from the get-go on this one because not only do I have a guilty pleasure love of that song but I adore a good prep-school-boy story. School Ties, Dead Poets Society, The History Boys (not really prep school, I know), even Gossip Girl sometimes, they're my favourite (go ahead Freud, take your best shot). The (unavoidable pun, I apologize) gleefulness of that number was goosebumpy. And the look on Kurt's face (once again, reiterating, Chris Colfer is THE actor on this show), it was everything. I grinned from ear to ear for every second of that performance, falling in love with the warblers myself and jealous of Kurt for the days of sweet happy crushes where just watching the person makes everything better. That scene was the sort of thrilling secret happiness that you feel in your toes and fluttering in your stomach- that's the stuff.

Oh, and the triumphant pride that came later in the episode when Kurt, abused by the writers last season as he whined and pined his way through the victim role, finally stood up for himself- that felt good! The courage and strength and sense of self and confidence of principles that that took- I literally cheered for him. Given courage by the wonderful new character Blaine, Kurt stopped letting himself be made into (and making himself into) a victim. For the first time, the kid seemed comfortable in his own skin. And the emotional hits just keep on coming.

The joyous excitement of the awesome "Livin' on a Prayer"/"Start Me Up" mashup that gave the girls a chance to finally truly rock out: grin-worthy, dance-inspiring, download-prompting AMAZING. done. moving on.

And the Beiste. Oh, the Beiste. I adore her, I have since the first time she showed up. Other than the fact that she really shouldn't have let Mr. Schue and the boys so uncomfortably pander to her at the end there, her arc in this episode was truly heartbreaking/wonderful/some of the most beautifully honest writing this show's ever had (and Dot-Marie Jones, what a performance!) This is where I cried. Obviously. If you've ever read this blog, ever, or know me even a little, you could have guessed that (oh and the proud of Kurt thing, sometimes pride gets me too). She was so vulnerable but sort of uncomfortable with that fact, strong and smart and unwilling to play the victim card but still willing to share the tough stuff. My god, would that we were all as amazing as Shannon Beiste.

Bravo Glee writers, that's 3 good episodes in row. And this one wasn't just good, it was "I'm gonna remember feeling like that for a while" kind of good (if we ignore the bad, which I'm absolutely dedicated to doing in this moment). The ups and the downs of joy, empathy, pride and all the other complicated and ultimately awesome stuff- that's metaphorically busting up the robotic song machine for you. Now to actually bust up that robotic song machine...

The Rocky Horror Glee Show

I really liked this week's Glee. Take minute, absorb the shock, now can we move on? Great.

I'd say about 3/4 of this episode was super fantastic for lots of reasons (*if you would like to read about that last quarter, see the footnote, otherwise feel free to revel in my rare Glee glee)

First of all, the wonderful Adam Shankman is the perfect person to direct an episode of this show. He is a musical theatre man at heart, a former dancer, a populist director and a man uniquely tuned in to all the things Glee is about when it's at its best (a sense of fun, the spirit of performance, social commentary, outsider triumph and an underlying base of sweetness). With my beloved Shankman at the helm, Glee is at its best.

And whether or not I was okay with how they got there (Really Mr. Schue? This is about a girl?!), The Rocky Horror Show is the perfect text for Glee to tackle, because they're essentially similar. Like Glee, Rocky Horror is beyond culty; it's an obsession that theatrically-inclined folks flock to and are miserable if they miss. They're both phenomena I don't entirely understand but I've partaken in more than once and even enjoyed on occasion. They're both strange and quirky but not as strange or quirky as they think they are. They're unpleasant and undeniable at the same time, mildly preachy but sometimes meaningful. Both have, as Sue pointed out, "incredible pacing problems", and some seriously questionable writing. They share an astronomical outsider complex, that weird mix of mainstream rebellion and an incredible sense of fun. The hipsters who spend their Saturday nights throwing toast will declare war on My TV because I said this, but in the ironic spirit of rebellion I've caught from watching this episode I'm going to ignore that threat and say honestly that I really think Glee and Rocky Horror may be one and the same. Mr. Schue is right when he says that Rocky Horror is about outsiders finding a place to belong, just like glee club. But the overarching everything matches so perfectly between the two that their incorporation was so much more interesting than anything else Mr. Schue has ever made a silly theme-y speech about.

But a theme or main plot device isn't worth much if the character stories found in it don't measure up. With the exception of the Mr. Schue/Emma stupidfest, the stories in this episode were fantastic. For once, the show played down the obnoxious Rachel (and even gave the roller coaster that is Kurt a rest) and gave the others something to do. The result was a shining moment for Mercedes (not a big story but a nice character triumph and a kickass performance), a great number by the awesome John Stamos, a lovely bit for (my new favourite character) Mike Chang and an interesting story about male body image. Making the rarely made but totally true "boys are objectified too" argument, the show examined male insecurity from two sides with Finn representing the care-free "I eat what I want and am still considered cool because the standards aren't quite as intense for men- until I have to sing in my underwear" side and Sam representing the intense "I take perfect care of my body because it is so intrinsically tied to my self worth and manhood, also because I am a perfectionist and always need to prove myself" side. Their insecurities were interestingly played out and Sam's body dismorphia hit an unusual and kinda great note.

But my favourite voice in the episode belonged to Sue, and not just because of that awesome line about haters throwing toast at her and her disabled sister.

In a show that so often throws characters and story under the bus in order to make bold opinion statements (see Mercedes' single episode insecurities about weight, Kurt's homophobia soapbox and the strange religious conclusions of "Grilled Cheesus"), Sue suddenly stood up with the enlightened statement that "Artists are free to push boundaries to make art. But when pushing boundaries is their only aim, the result is usually bad art." So often Sue is framed as the sociopathic foil to Mr. Schue's generic good-guy, so I find it unfailingly refreshing when the tables turn. I love Sue as the voice of reason; she's weird, she's tough, she's unsympathetic, often villainous and strangely vengeful, but she's not always wrong. In this episode, she had a point. But so did Mr. Schue. Isn't that awesome?! Glee allowed some space for grey, for ambiguous issues where more than one person can be right, where the story has 2 sides. That's new, and that's awesome, and that's what interesting thought-provoking storytelling is all about.

This was one of those episodes that reminds me why I come back week in and week out to a show that infuriates me 90% of the time. Every once in awhile they'll say something really interesting, do something beautifully or simply fully entertain me- this episode did all 3. It was funny, clever, poignant without trying desperately hard to be so (always the better option) and entertaining as hell. Damnit Janet, I think I might love Glee... at least for this week.

*The quarter that I didn't like:

- "Touch-a, touch-a, touch me" somehow managed to be over-the-top and boring at the same time. It did nothing for plot, threw Santana and Britney into a bizarre voyeurism situation, served basically as an excuse to show off Matthew Morrison's abs and generally annoyed me.

- The incredible hypocrisy of Finn's arc about body image juxtaposed with the impressiveness of Cory Monteith's body when he finally showed up shirtless. Sure he doesn't look like Sam, but Come On! I liked the story, but unless he had the body that fit the story, they needed to leave his shirt on. Now they run the risk of the "if he's "doughy" what am I?" reaction that TV so problematically often inspires.

and, most of all

- I was so totally on board with this episode. I saw the connection, was loving the themes and how Rocky Horror as an entity tied in with the show and its overarching themes. And then Mr. Schue told me how Rocky Horror as an entity tied in with the show and its overarching themes. I don't know if it's network pressure or if the writers genuinely think their audience is stupid but I was much more likely to appreciate the lesson before I was hit over the head with it. I loved this episode, but Mr. Schue's obnoxious speech almost made me change my mind. Dear Glee, TRUST US PLEASE! Condescension is never endearing. Love, Your Audience.

Happy Glee Days

I am sort of in love with this week's Glee.

The show is wildly inconsistent, don't get me wrong, and that leads to some painfully bad episodes/moments. But it also means that even when I think I've seen exactly what this show is, it can come along with a little episode in between two ginormous theme episodes that helps to redefine the characters and the show for me, and gives the other episodes more emotional resonance than they deserve.

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Positively Glee-Lightful

It's rare that I post about a show before finishing the episode. It's rarer still that I post about Glee, since I mostly like it, don't love it, and let it wash over me in a musically induced coma. But while Kelly's early review focused on the emotional arch of the most recent, and somewhat hilariously titled "Grilled Cheesus," I gotta take a moment, just 10 minutes into the episode, to thank the writers for this little Puck scene.

"No, I mean I'm a total Jew for Jesus. He's my number one hebe. What I don't like seeing is people using J-money to cramp everybody else's style. Cause it seems to me that true spirituality, or whatever it is you want to call it, is about enjoying the life that you've been given. I mean I see God everytime I make out with a new chick... At this time I'd like to continue my streak of only doing songs by Jewish artists..." before launching into a painfully wonderful rendition of Billy Joel's anthem to sex-to-avoid-ironic-death, "Only the Good Die Young."

Thank you, Glee creators, for finally giving Puck a damn solo, and for making him play the Jew-and-proud card. The rest of this episode could turn out where the entire class pledges themselves to Jesus and sings nothing but "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore" until the closing credits, and I'd still consider it a success.