Then you’ll definitely love this- she steals every scene she’s in as the most evil (in the cartoon sense) character in sitcoms for a long time. PLUS- there are lots and lots and lots of showtunes! You may want to netflix the first 13 episodes though to catch up, plus the last few are online at its website.
I’m about 30 years older than the show’s target demographic, never participated in a choir (show or otherwise) and am half convinced the reason the show exists is that Auto-Tune has evolved, taken on sentience, and is trying to breed- but I still like it… I liked it God help me I liked it, the smell of cigarettes and cheap roadhouse liquor… but I remember how those boys could dan
Sorry, what was I talking about? Ah yes, GLEE. Total fluff, but in a good way.
I was watching auditions for IDOL on the TV Guide channel so I’m not sure how long ago that was- at least a couple of years- but I’m absolutely convinced I saw the kid who played Artie in the audition line. I know he was in a boy band but does anybody know if he auditioned for Idol? He sang a couple of bars of some song while in line and his voice is pretty recognizable as well (very quavering).
No spoilers since this isn’t from an official site but just my own speculation: I’ve wondered if Idina Menzel’s character is going to turn out to be Rachel’s biological mother. The reason I’ve wondered is I’ve always thought the two looked alike (Lea Micheleand Idina Menzel) and even sound alike when they sing.
IIRC Rachel said one of her dads is black, which would be a great way to bring (Menzel’s real life husband) Taye Diggs onto the show. (If there was anyway you could conceive of Taye’s type being really tall fat and much older Jewish guys Harvey Fierstein could be the other, but Nathan Lane would be more reasonable perhaps.)
When they announced that Idina Menzel was going to be on the show, the speculation was that she would be Rachel’s bio mom. I can definitely see it, for a few seconds there I thought Will was making out with Rachel.
Another great line for Kurt tonight, that kind of got lost in the shuffle.
Schu: What do you say when you answer the phone?
Kids: [various stuff]
Kurt: No, she’s dead; this is her son.
I did like the Hello, I Love You number. Otherwise I agree the music was lackluster.
Brittany was in fine form though. Gay sharks had me laughing for several minutes. Plus, when Santana said the food wasn’t satisfactory, and Brittany says (over her empty plate), “There was a mouse in mine.”
I liked that they had the guys realize that they couldn’t jump from one serious relationship, which ended in awful betrayal, right into another. It was weird though - earlier they did a good job building chemistry between Finn and Rachel, but it was totally gone in this episode. Maybe that was part of the point, but it felt a little jarring.
This was the first episode I ever watched, and I didn’t hate it nearly as much as I thought I would. I actually…God help me…sort of enjoyed it. The “nasty dumb-as-dirt cheerleader” is usually such a boring cliche, but they had great lines.
It bugged me that when the girl and the guy were singing in the book store (sorry, I don’t know names yet) all the other instruments appeared; my wife and I discussed it and I figure it’s kind of like the strange elements of Lost or Pushing Daisies. They don’t have to make sense, but there’s an internal consistency that’s important. These things happen because that’s what happens in that show.
That one took a couple of seconds to hit me (i.e. the fact he sounds like a woman). While he wasn’t in the show this week, I like the actor who plays his dad; the only thing I’ve ever seen him in was Yes Dear and he’s had more range as a father accepting his son’s homosexuality in a couple of episodes than he had in the seemingly 30 year run of the other show.
I liked the Hello Goodbye number at the end, though I was waiting in dread for Lionel Ritchie’s Hello until it finally happened- so overdone.
Jonathan Groff, the actor who plays the Vocal Adrenoline divo, is openly gay in real life; I wonder if that will be reflected on the show. (Certainly not mandatory- Jane Lynch is openly gay and Sue is straight [or leastwise slept with a man]).
Harvey Fierstein as Kurt’s homophobic maternal grandfather.
Tyler Perry and David Hyde Pierce as Rachel’s gay dads. (Alternate choices: Brian Stokes Mitchell [who though African-American would make Rachel’s claim she doesn’t know which is her bio dad feasible] and Ben Stiller.)
Mark Indelicato (Ugly Betty) as a Vocal Adrenoline junkie.
Another great Brittany line: “Sometimes I forget my middle name.” But the “Dolphins are just gay sharks” was the funniest line I’ve heard on TV in a while - especially since it came right out of the blue.
The ‘Vogue’ video at the end was amazing. My daughter never saw the original, so she didn’t know what I was exclaiming about. When I showed it to her, she just said, “Wow…” Jane Lynch didn’t even sound bad singing, but I’m pretty sure that was auto-tuned. But who cares? It was a parody, and brilliantly done.
I too was dreading Lionel Richie’s “Hello”, which I knew we’d be hearing as soon as Will announced the week’s contest. But you know… It was actually pretty good. The harmonies they worked into the arrangement were beautiful.
I actually like the direction they’re going in. Sue’s got the principal in her back pocket, so she can step out and be REALLY mean. I was worried about the relationship between Will and Ms. Clean, so I’m glad they’re dialing that back a bit. And Terry is much better as the mean ex-wife than as the clingy wife.
Sue’s dance with Willto Sing, Sing, Sing (totally unexpected when you saw them dancing) was one of the highlights of the series. Considering the actress does not have a background in dance it was particularly impressive. (Matthew Morrison does- not nekkid but might not be safe for work- yet great body and good voice and all for some reason I don’t find him attractive.)
Earlier in the series (which I didn’t watch until recently) Santana had said “Having sex doesn’t mean you’re in a relationship, if it did I’d be in a relationship with Brittany!”
The Auto-Tune wasn’t nearly as bad on this episode. They use the hell out of it for Finn, or at least they did in the first half of the season. My WAG is that they put Corey Monteith through some serious vocal training between the first half of the season and now. He was the weakest link in the cast vocally, and everyone always talked about what an amazing voice he had, while it was pretty obvious they Auto-Tuned him. Watching this episode it looked like he stepped it up a notch, which was very nice. He’s still no Matthew Morrison(Will), or even Mark Salling(Puck), but he’s turning into a solid singer.
Right now the ladies in Glee are seriously outshining the guys, and the guys need to step up. They built the show around Will, but he’s pretty much the straight man in this series, so they need a strong singer/performer on the guy side. Kurt has promise, but he’s getting one trick ponied vis a vis his homosexuality. Half the time they’re making Puck a “thinks with his dick” bastard, and half the time he’s a deep character with reserves of emotion. Most of the guest stars have been women, and it would be interesting to see another strong male in the cast, or at least guest starring. Hopefully Monteith can step up. A couple of male pop/rock star guests wouldn’t hurt either.
Kurt’s castrato version of Defying Gravity was extremely impressive. Agree that they need to downplay the stereotype- besides which no way in hell would the son of a mechanic be able to drive a SUV and wear Dolce Gabbana raincoats.
An interview with Ryan Murphy(Warning, spoilers for season 2) has some info on what may happen with Kurt, and it looks like he’s going to be moving more in the direction of adding characterization instead of performing to the cast, and more emphasis on his homosexuality. Artie had a number of strong solos and we know next to nothing about him as a character, and Kurt is going the opposite direction it seems, which is a shame because I agree that he has great potential as a musical performer.They’re conducting a nationwide talent search for new characters and one of them will be a boyfriend for Kurt. Once that happens he’ll come out of the closet and presumably his homosexuality will be most of what we see of his character, although I can see some strong musical numbers popping up in the course of his new romance.Then there’s the rumor Neil Patrick Harris will guest star which helps the XY part of the equation. It’s still heavily leaning towards this being a show where the ladies carry the singing. As someone who really enjoyed the Acafellas, and Morrison’s covers of Bust a Move and Leavin’ on a Jet Plane this makes me sad.
ETA: Jas09 you’re exactly right about missing an opportunity with the Victor Garber guest spot, and I’d add another possible missed opportunity with the Josh Groban guest spot. Although it does seem they aren’t having all their guests sing. They didn’t have Eve sing anything, even though she was in a few episodes, and Menzel hasn’t hit a note yet. Chenoweth got in and got down though, so maybe they’ll mix it up.
