Glee: 2.11 "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle" (open spoilers)

[alphaboi867]

Head's up, Glee returns tonight after the Super Bowel. This is supposed to be the most-expensive episode of Glee so even it's complete crap it should have lot's of impressive dance numbers. Also Katie Couric is guest starring.

A local football championship game takes place and the New Directions tackle a "Thriller" and "Heads Will Roll" mash-up, performed during the halftime show. Mr. Schuester and Coach Beiste devise a plot to bring together the warring glee club and football team factions, and the Cheerios, McKinley High's cheerleading team, compete at Regionals; Sue, desperate to win, launches a dangerous plan to bring home a trophy.

[obfusciatrist]

It was complete crap.

Did like the stage zombie number in the beginning though. And ninja poops. But everything else was pretty awful and once again they just randomly changed the character personalities of everybody.

[Gadarene]

Pretty impressed that they were able to hold the opposing football team to 24 points in the first half, especially with Finn and Puck off convincing the girls and the other players for the last few minutes. Mmhmm.

[Cat Whisperer]

The hockey hair on all the hockey team players made up for a lot of the rest of it, in my opinion. :D

[RandMcnally]

I thought it was meh. I enjoyed the music performances but even for Glee, a lot of stuff was just too out there. Not one teacher mentions the slushie? Ever?

[alphaboi867]

I thought it was meh. I enjoyed the music performances but even for Glee, a lot of stuff was just too out there. Not one teacher mentions the slushie? Ever?

Nope, but it was nice to see the footballers get slushied for a change (have we even seen the hockey team before?). And girls on the football team? ;) I guess in a universe where a paraplegic can play anything's possible. The Kurt & Blaine stuff was very obviously added at the last minute; they need to get Kurt back at McKinley. I wonder how Sue's going to cope with the loss of Quinn, Britteny, & Santanna? Other than Becky those are the only Cheerios who have names or know how to speak.

[bouv]

Not one teacher mentions the slushie? Ever?

It seems odd that a lot of people still don't "get" this show. A lot of it is a blown-up, and over-the-top version of high-school. It's not even remotely meant to be a realistic portrayal. It's not just "high school, but with songs!" It's a full-blown musical in every sense. Everything is exaggerated, and you let things slide fro the sake of the music, dance, plot, and jokes.

So while in a regular high school you have bullying, it is never to that extent (without serious consequences, at least not anymore.) But at McKinley, they just get a "stern talking to" that bullying isn't cool, and as punishment you do a song and dance number.

IO loved it. The zombie make-up was actually pretty good, especially Artie. He looked creepy as fuck. I wasn't familiar with the song that was mashed up with Thriller, but it seemed to fit pretty well, and the first zombie number done on the stage was good, too.

[RandMcnally]

It seems odd that a lot of people still don't "get" this show.

I "get" the show. I even said while watching, "I'm willing to suspend my disbelief, but c'mon now." Bieste didn't even mention it once.

Oh, I do love Brittney S. Pierce. Easily my favorite character.

Funniest scene, for me at least:

Puck: What happened man? We used to be best friend?
Finn: Well, you got my girlfriend pregnant...then you made out with my other girlfriend.

[Cat Whisperer]

It seems odd that a lot of people still don't "get" this show. A lot of it is a blown-up, and over-the-top version of high-school. It's not even remotely meant to be a realistic portrayal. It's not just "high school, but with songs!" It's a full-blown musical in every sense. Everything is exaggerated, and you let things slide fro the sake of the music, dance, plot, and jokes.<snip>Absolutely. The characters practically say as much in the show (like today when Will was talking about how great the football players did in the song number that they were just going through for the first time {wink wink}). They've winked at the camera any number of times in the past; you just have to go along for the ride, or the show would drive you crazy.

[Eyebrows 0f Doom]

I didn't like this one. First, have we ever even seen the hockey team before? And it felt like a retread of the episode where the football players danced to Beyonce's "Single Ladies" in the first season. Plus, Katie Couric interviews Sue because she didn't win a competition? Not to mention the whole "girls on the football team" thing. It just seemed even more over-the-top than is normal for Glee, like it was supposed to be a standalone episode that didn't fit in with the regular story of the show (like the Treehouse of Horror specials of The Simpsons, for example.)

Also, I've never heard the song that the Dalton guys were singing before, but weren't the lyrics about them dumping a guy? Are we really supposed to think that that entire school is gay?

I did like the zombie make-up though. Artie was really creepy. (Though I did wonder how he could possibly sing with fake teeth & prosthetics...)

[Tangent]

I didn't like this episode very much. I'm okay with the usual absurdity of the show, but they just threw so many impossible things into this episode that it seemed like they were trying way too hard.

Also, the Chevy commercial thing was stupid. I realize it wasn't part of the official episode and that there may have been many people watching Glee for the first time, but that was a recycled storyline from season 1 (when they made the mattress commercial and almost got disqualified from competition because of it). There's no way the kids would have just forgotten about that.

If I were trying to convince someone to start watching Glee, this definitely would not be an episode I would recommend.

[Reno Nevada]

Also, the Chevy commercial thing was stupid. I realize it wasn't part of the official episode and that there may have been many people watching Glee for the first time, but that was a recycled storyline from season 1 (when they made the mattress commercial and almost got disqualified from competition because of it). There's no way the kids would have just forgotten about that

Well, there was plenty of stupid in the episode, but not that. Sue suggests doing a Chevy commercial, the kids imagine what the commercial would look like, and then Rachel immediately says, "No, that would destroy our amateur standing" or whatever. The Chevy commercial was intended to be a fantasy sequence.

Or so I believe. It is getting a little hard to distinguish between "fantasy" sequences and "real" sequences in Glee these days.

[jackdavinci]

And it felt like a retread of the episode where the football players danced to Beyonce's "Single Ladies" in the first season. [...] Also, I've never heard the song that the Dalton guys were singing before, but weren't the lyrics about them dumping a guy? Are we really supposed to think that that entire school is gay?

I agree with your first point about the football team. They've already done singing bit, so this shouldn't be a stretch for them. But it's a well worn tradition when covering a song that someone else of a different gender wrote and sung originally, to not change the lyrics out of concern that you will sound gay singing it. You'll notice that the song, besides obviously having been sung by a woman, was also pretty obviously sung by a *black* woman, but despite there only being two black Warblers, they didn't try to rewrite the song as white.

But everything else was pretty awful and once again they just randomly changed the character personalities of everybody.

Yeah, I don't mind so much the suspension of disbelief, but the erasing of continuity is a bit much.

OTOH ignoring the rest of the series, it was a fun episode.

What I don't get about this thread is the overwhelming shock at *girl* football players. I mean, really folks?

1) They were just stand in players to make the team have a quota to be able to play. They could have had sock monkeys as long as they were registered students.

2) I thought it was a well known fact that for many years, any school sport team that does not have a corresponding women's team must let girls play on the boy's team (assuming they pass tryouts). This isn't even made up like Artie being on the team.

3) The wrestling girl probably would have made an actual decent player.

[kapri]

Absolutely. The characters practically say as much in the show (like today when Will was talking about how great the football players did in the song number that they were just going through for the first time {wink wink}). They've winked at the camera any number of times in the past; you just have to go along for the ride, or the show would drive you crazy.

Exactly. Otherwise, the full orchestra or rock band or whatever that kicks in when they start singing would drive you nuts. Or the fact that they are always complaining about their low budget, but they have near-Broadway level costumes and makeup. Or that no one wants to join Glee Club, when in fact in most high schools lots of kids would love that stuff.

Jane Lynch was great last night. She has that character down, although IRL if she were to destroy an office that way she'd be punished somehow.

[Casey1505]

I like the show. It's entertaining. And I'm willing to suspend my disbelief a lot for entertainment.

HOWEVER........

So the Cheerios were getting pulled to attend a regional competition. When in the annals of high school sports did it ever then become the TEAM'S responsibility to produce a halftime show, and why would the lack of said show have any impact at all on the actual game itself?

The guys were playing for a championship and should have been in the lockerroom at halftime, trying to figure out how not to continue having their asses handed to them rather than scrambling to entertain the crowd and convince the o-line to re-join the glee club.

Other than that, how many Ms are there in the letter R?

[Cat Whisperer]

<snip>

Also, I've never heard the song that the Dalton guys were singing before, but weren't the lyrics about them dumping a guy? Are we really supposed to think that that entire school is gay?<snip>
Bills Bills Bills by Destiny's Child. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiF6-0UTqtc) It was an interesting take on it, having all the guys make the instrumental sounds. I did wonder about the lead singer who actually is gay singing about his good-for-nothing boyfriend - isn't that a little on-the-nose for conservative Ohio?

[Sampiro]

This definitely isn't on my short list- it seemed too much like they were making it up as they went along and not doing a great job of it. The entire football lineup was super lazy writing, and the attempt to show layers to Karofsky was futile. (So he has some talent? So he's tortured on the inside? Good. Until he does public penance and either takes a bullet for Kurt or gets 39 lashes well laid on he's not pitiable.)

Sue was too over the top in her cruelty, same as the Grinch episode, and even though the show is a fantasy nobody would ever let her get away with that rampage, especially Bieste who could pulverize her with one arm and while remaining seated.

Not one of their better efforts to me.

[alphaboi867]

...2) I thought it was a well known fact that for many years, any school sport team that does not have a corresponding women's team must let girls play on the boy's team (assuming they pass tryouts). This isn't even made up like Artie being on the team.

3) The wrestling girl probably would have made an actual decent player.

I was being sarcastic; my niece played football (though she stopped when she got to high school). My school also did an annual all-girl touch football game with the actual football team as cheerleaders. The joke was that none of the firls had ever played football before; even Coach Bieste was reluctant untill it was pointed out that they didn't have to do actually do anything. I thought the same thing about the large girl.

BTW, did anyone else notice that Kurt said he & Finn still lived together and he brought Finn a glass of warm milk every night? :dubious: I guess that rules out Kurt being a boarder. That must be a hell of a commute.

[Sampiro]

BTW, did anyone else notice that Kurt said he & Finn still lived together and he brought Finn a glass of warm milk every night? :dubious: I guess that rules out Kurt being a boarder.

Not to mention: boundaries. Sounds like Kurt is still pining for the Kurt fjords.

The rumor on the streets (street people being almost unanimously obsessed with GLEE) is that Kurt and Blaine are going to kiss in the Valentine's Day episode. I hope so as it would be a lot more interesting than anything this week.

[randwill]

Also, the song they did on stage in the make-up, "She's Not There" was originally recorded by... The Zombies.

[Cat Whisperer]

Also, the song they did on stage in the make-up, "She's Not There" was originally recorded by... The Zombies.
That was perfect. :) Well, not completely perfect - the one song where Finn should have used that pained screech he does, and he didn't do it.

[twickster]

I thought "She's Not There" was the highpoint of the episode. Of course, I'm of an age where it took about three notes for me to say "fuck, that's by the Zombies!" :D

Plus, having it sung by zombies added whole new levels of meaning to it.

[Sampiro]

They mentioned "zombie camp". I'd only heard that term before in an Atlanta cattle call for extras in The Walking Dead- it's a short workshop where they teach you how to and how not to move and what expressions to make and not make. Is it a term from something else as well?

I wonder how many new hits the Filipino prison video had as a result of this. That video got my hopes up for a production of Oklahoma! starring the Aryan Brotherhood as the farmers and the Crips as the cowboys, but to date it has yet to materialize.

[bouv]

The rumor on the streets (street people being almost unanimously obsessed with GLEE) is that Kurt and Blaine are going to kiss in the Valentine's Day episode. I hope so as it would be a lot more interesting than anything this week.

Huh...that will surprise me if true, because I had predicted that the Kurt/Blaine thing would end with Kurt saying he's madly in love with Blaine and assumes that they are going to be together, and Blaine having to give Kurt the bad news that he only sees him as a friend. The ensuing awkwardness is what makes Kurt transfer back to McKinley a week before Regionals.

[alphaboi867]

Huh...that will surprise me if true, because I had predicted that the Kurt/Blaine thing would end with Kurt saying he's madly in love with Blaine and assumes that they are going to be together, and Blaine having to give Kurt the bad news that he only sees him as a friend. The ensuing awkwardness is what makes Kurt transfer back to McKinley a week before Regionals.

They can both be true. Kurt surprises Blaine with a kiss, then Blaine trys to let him down easy. Or they kiss, date for awhile, then breakup. Or Finn finally get's tired of all his girlfriends playing mind games with him and turns to Kurt for "comfort". The last option being a fantasy sequence of Kurts.

[Sampiro]

They can both be true. Kurt surprises Blaine with a kiss, then Blaine trys to let him down easy. Or they kiss, date for awhile, then breakup. Or Finn finally get's tired of all his girlfriends playing mind games with him and turns to Kurt for "comfort". The last option being a fantasy sequence of Kurts.

With a Moulin Rouge- Lady Marmalade inspired dance number featuring that week's guest artist Loretta Lynn as Mrs. Figgins.

[Lamia]

The entire football lineup was super lazy writing, and the attempt to show layers to Karofsky was futile. (So he has some talent? So he's tortured on the inside? Good. Until he does public penance and either takes a bullet for Kurt or gets 39 lashes well laid on he's not pitiable.)I appreciated that they didn't end this episode by having Karofsky joining the glee club and vowing to be a better person and all. He's not sorry for how he treated Kurt, and while he found that being in the glee club was kind of fun he probably won't be treating the members much differently now. I figure they will eventually try to redeem the character, but at least it won't be done so quickly or easily.

[Exapno Mapcase]

I watched the whole first season but dropped the show this year. And almost every reason I had for dropping it was written into this episode.

Sure, I get the whole "it's a musical fantasy" notion. In fact, I would keep watching that show. The show I can't watch is the one in which you're supposed to believe a bunch of people in their late 20s pretending to have serious life-altering high school crises each and every week with no consequences except the ones that surface five shows later for a plotline. (Look at some of the real teenagers in the background. They look like the kids of the actors.) A movie musical that takes characters you don't care about and gives them unreal problems to solve with a final musical extravaganza is great fun. A tv show that does that every single week to the same set of characters is a turn off.

The show has Sue's problem. It's been trying to top itself every week. It's so far over the top now that it blew itself up in its own cannon. Watching after the Super Bowl, sure. Watching it every week? Can't.

Two things. The Katie Couric interview was obviously Sue's fantasy scene just like the Chevy commercial.

And I did like that the songs weren't auto-tuned to death. And that "She's Not There," one of the greatest 60s' songs, wasn't turned into a bad version of a show tune as they so often did to rock last year.

[TBG]

I liked when the big black football player said "who's [whatever the name was]" about the song they were mashing Thriller up with, because I had just said the same thing.

Probably overthinking it, but wouldn't highschool football have ended already? Even assuming the episode takes place earlier than it's airing, it still has to be taking place after Christmas which was in the previous episode. When does HS football usually wrap up?

In that one locker room scene, between his mohawk and his shoulder pads being above his shirt, Puck looked like something out of a Mad Max movie.