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Twitter'Glee' review
"Glee" features some sharp writing and a core group of winning characters, and its swirl of teenage nastiness, idealism and semi-detached world-weariness (not to mention musical numbers) give it a tone that's not quite like anything else on television. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Despite all that, though, the show hasn't made me fall in love the way it has with some other reviewers. A few aspects of the "Glee" -- which airs its pilot episode after "American Idol" Tuesday but won't be back until fall -- fall kind of flat, and I found myself thinking of the show's antecedents more than I probably should have.
Still, there's more good than bad in the pilot, and with the post-"Idol" push Tuesday and all summer to promote its place on the fall schedule, FOX is doing everything it can to make "Glee" a hit.
"Glee" was co-created by Ryan Murphy of "Nip/Tuck" fame (he also directed the pilot), and it bears some of the DNA of his previous series, "Popular." Murphy and fellow writers Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are squarely on the side of the outcasts here, who take the form of William McKinley High School's underpopulated and underperforming glee club, who are in danger of losing their practice space to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting while the school's cheerleading squad ("They were on Fox Sports Net last year") gets its own nutritionist.
The thing is, the few kids in the club -- especially the driven, Rachel Berry (Broadway actress Lea Michele) -- have some talent. But no one much cares, except for teacher Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), who offers to take over the club and has visions of turning into a nationally competitive show choir like the one he was part of as a student.
Will realizes he's going to need more than five kids to make that happen, so he tries to recruit from other cliques at the school, with about as much success as you might imagine -- until he overhears stud quarterback Finn Hudson (Corey Monteith) singing in the shower (it's not as creepy as it sounds). One small piece of authority-figure blackmail later, Finn is part of glee club, turning the group into a more cohesive unit and turning Rachel on a little.
Finn's crossing of class lines stirs up some friction among his football teammates and with his cheerleader girlfriend (Dianna Agron), but his willingness to stand up for the little guy (explained in a nice little bit of back story) will likely be one of the central themes of the show going forward. So will the battles Will has to fight with the school's autocratic cheerleading coach (Jane Lynch), indifferent principal (Iqbal Theba) and his newly pregnant, status-obsessed (with credit card bills to match) wife ("Nip/Tuck" and "Heroes" veteran Jessalyn Gilsig).
Add in a handful of musical numbers each week, all of them involving pop music from the last 20 to 30 years, and you have a pretty winning formula. Even if things occasionally feel a little formulaic.
With its multiple narrators, odd musical cues and the Tracy Flick-esque Rachel at its center, "Glee" sometimes plays like "Election: The Musical," and Monteith often feels like he's channeling Chris Klein's characters from that movie and "American Pie." The other glee club members also get very little to do -- a situation that I hope gets rectified as the series plays out in the fall.
And, I have to say it -- the fact that the show uses Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" as its big musical number just really didn't work for me (the song has been all over the promos, so I don't think I'm spoiling anything there). The semi-ironic-but-not-really use of the band's music in TV and movies has gone past the tipping point, and the band's presence here took away a bit from my enjoyment of the show.
It's also not the most important thing in the show. The musical performances -- regardless of the song -- are pretty strong, and the characters of "Glee" are ones I suspect will grow on me after more than episode. I may not be in love with "Glee" yet, but I'm open to the idea.
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I think its pretty good!!
Glee was absolute garbage. It's getting a lot of good reviews right now, but I'd be shocked if it gets a full first season, let alone renewed for a second.
Ok this is going to be one of those love it or hate it shows. I personally loved it. Needless to say I don't like critics. They have to drivel on and on to fill the word quota and make themselves look intelligent. "Election: The Musical", you have got to be kidding me; sometimes I think that the critics need critics so they will try harder. This show stands alone. It is not a musical it is a comedy with music. This show will make you feel good and I think that is OK sometimes. Unfortunately it is on FOX, and it's not 24, American Idol, or a cartoon, so it will be cancelled after the first season. Look at what they did to the brilliant, Arrested Development, the goons!
The premise for the show Glee has a lot of promise, but as usual, the writers and directors these days are un-inspiring and lazy. For years now, there has not been an original story told,just a change of charectors and scenery and more skin to make up for the bordom.
I loved it. This was the gayest (And I mean it in a good way) show I've seen and I will be shocked if America embraces it as the critics have. But, as a show, it was one of the best premieres I've seen. Yes, I agree with the reviewer that the main actress was very Tracy Flisk, and at first I thought it was going to copy the whole "Election" premise/story, but was glad to see it morph into more. I loved Gina (Something) from Nip/Tuck in this new role...she was hysterical and well cast. The only downside I see is that I can't see the show maintaining this top form for an entire 22 episodes, let alone multiple seasons. It felt more like a funny/well done movie than a TV show.
Wow! What is wrong with you? Glee is a wonderful show, and anyone who appreciates great music, biting humor, decent acting, and overall good writing should like it. Perhaps you are just jealous that you lack the creativity to create something like this?
Is the show derivative? Sure, but then virtually everything is, especially shows about high school. It is nearly impossible to tell stories about teenagers without using or at least encountering archetypes. Rather than trying to be "original" by avoiding stereotypes, this show does what most good ones do and simply embraces them and synthesizes them in original ways to create compelling plotlines and interesting characters.
Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" was a fine choice for the end-of-show performance. If you can't see this, then just get over it and recognize that you have narrow musical taste.
At some level, either you enjoy music and characters who aren't afraid to chart their own paths or you don't. Either you like irony, sarcasm, and satire, or you don't. Just let yourself enjoy the show and leave your petty obsessions and obvious hatred of life behind for a while.
This show is a hit in the making, and I think the audience numbers will quickly show it come Fall.
Ugh...what a disappointment. I was really looking forward to this and the pilot was just...awful. What plot are these other reviewers talking about? GLEE was a series of dozens of quick 10 second clips that make no sense, allowed for zero character development and just plain SUCKED. Add to this the obligatory gay humor, you have pure trash that simply will not survive fall programming. go away please
I actually enjoyed the first show. The music was fun, especially the Rehab song, and the story line as it was was a good start. Im definitely giving it a go. S--t Im sick of detective/hospital shows so this is a pretty good change of pace
I'm with the original reviewer. I just finished watching the pilot, and I felt like I've seen it all before. There was nothing new, all the events were completely predictable, and it didn't live up to the hype at all.
Having said that, it does follow a formula that has proven itself in many other successful shows so I'm betting viewership will be high and we'll all be subjected to it for many seasons to come.
But hey, at least it's not another reality TV fiasco.
I thought it was fabulous.