SAVE THE BABY; TOSS THE BATHWATER: For my money, tonight's was by far the best Glee of the year, and maybe the best-written Glee I can remember. That's not to say that it was All the King's Men, but for a show that is usually as lazily written as this one, the fact that we were given a beginning, a middle, an end, fully shaded characters, plot movement, three stories with some or a lot of emotional resonance, all three of which played well against each other without being exact parallels, and a non-monstrous Will Shuester, plus a great fake-out with the score suggesting the thematically on-the-nose "Beautiful," but cutting into a mash-up that was very much not "Beautiful" -- frankly, I didn't think this was a show capable of putting together as cogent and likeable an episode as that one. [takes breath after run-on sentence] Also, Heather Morris doing the enthusiastic dancing.
It is no coincidence that all of that happened in an episode that was as light on Rachel, Finn, Rachel and Finn, Will Shuester's love life and rap career, and stunt casting as any episode in the show's run.
Paraphrsing Sue with what I thought would be the header (maybe Alan will use it) Don't you get it Andy Sullivan, or should I sign it into your hand?
ReplyDeleteOh Snap.
Katy Perry's songs sung by male groups sound pretty good.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. Tonight's episode was human, decent, and moving. It felt like a throwback to last fall, when this show had both spectacle and heart. I also loved the Teenage Dream performance -- perhaps the first time I've actually enjoyed that song!
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched yet--got back to hotel from dinner too late to watch, but may watch on Hulu tonight. That said, Linda Holmes offers the opposite opinion, calling it "the most ham-handed, tin-eared bucket of nonsense since Glee's disastrous fake-pregnancy storyline."
ReplyDeleteI think my opinion falls somewhere in the oh-so-narrow space between Isaac and LH.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Bieste storyline was hypocritical (no, I don't think they were trying to make us complicit when they were making fun of Bieste earlier in the episode, as they'd gone to that well previously) and kind of insane (I'm not sure that either Will's moment with her or the song at the end made any actual sense as a way to show that she is respected and loved), but it still somewhat worked for me. Mainly, I think, b/c the actress who plays Bieste is kind of great.
I thought that the Kurt storyline with the bully was facile (that issue is much more complicated and difficult than was presented) and cliched (though I think the "Buffy did it first" critique is, generally, unfair as the show ran for seven years and did almost everything), but it still somewhat worked for me. Mainly, I think, b/c the actor who plays Kurt is really great.
I thought the Puck/Artie storyline was ridiculous, out of nowhere, and included one of the worst renditions/uses of "One Love" I've ever heard, which is saying something, though it almost worked for me. Mainly, I think, b/c of Brittney.
In other words, I think the episode, much like the show in general, was in many ways an infuriating mess, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit because some of the actors/characters work in a way that transcends the writing, and the ones that don't (Rachel, Finn, Will) weren't central to the episode
In this case, the male group was voiced by the Tufts Beelzebubs: http://sites.tufts.edu/jumble/2010/11/08/the-beelzebubs-on-glee/
ReplyDeleteI'm in the hated it camp. The whole Bieste storyline was ridiculous and just bizarrely contrived. Maybe the point was a fine one, but it was such a strange road to get there. Loved "Teenage Dream" and the introduction of Kurt's love interest, but everything else was basically just boring and felt hollow to me. There was an excrutiating stretch between songs before the end.
ReplyDeleteI ache to offer editing services to Ryan Murphy, but clearly there's no incentive to write the show better or make sense of the weekly mess (why would you when you're raking in $$ and nominated for Emmys). The numbers, the conceits, the one-liners, the small moments are fantastic--but the overall stories and character development (typically for everyone who's not Kurt) are a mess.
I completely disagree with you, Isaac, and I see Matt has already posted the Lina Holmes piece that explains why. Seriously- the only reason someone would bully a gay kid in high school is because they're closeted themselves? And the response to Kurt standing up to him is to kiss him? And perfect perfect Blaine can show up in the middle of the school day to make it all better for Kurt? And where is his dad in all of this - his dad has been recovering, Kurt's taking care of him, this is huge in his life right now, and it's somehow not even mentioned as he's going through this? Not to mention that Kurt would have told his father if he were being painfully slammed into a locker every day.
ReplyDeleteThe Beiste storyline was among the most offensive things they've ever done. I've really liked the character they've created in Beiste, and they ruined it by making her grateful to Will for kissing her. That is utter crap. No 40 year old woman who has spent her whole life being mocked for her appearance wants the pity of an ass like Will Schueter, especially one who made her feel bad in the first place by telling her hwat was going on with the kids when there was absolutely no need to hurt her that way.
About the only thing here that worked for me is, as always, Brittany's delivery of the baby-bathwater line, which was perfection. Even the musical numbers fell flat for me. So overproduced - and with the band so loud- that you can barely tell who is singing. Just once, I'd actually like to hear these extremely talented people just sing.
This show REALLY pissed me off this week. So much potential, and yet they find so many ways to crap all over it.
Shouldn't Sue have called him Helen Keller? Annie Sullivan was the signer, not the signee.
ReplyDeleteThe guys over at Project Rungay posted an essay I entirely agree with...while also agreeing that there were huge problems. You can read their thoughts here.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was facile and contrived, but remember, I said that I was grading it on the Glee curve. Not every part of every story can make every person happy. I was just glad that there was an episode where characters behaved like human beings, not cartoon characters, where the show kind of made narrative sense from beginning to end instead of seeming like a bizarrely expensive skit show, and where the people we were being asked to root for were at least trying to be good human beings, as opposed to how people like Schue and Rachel generally behave.
ReplyDeleteThere's another fairly excellent version of Teenage Dream done by The Rescues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OLF6d4-Qcs
ReplyDeleteHuh. I'm with isaac; I really liked that they raised some issues you don't see a lot of on tv. And I loved the Noah Puckerman/Artie version of One Love; they both have insanely beautiful voices.
ReplyDeleteI'm terrified for next week. Why????
I was with those who mainly liked the episode, but I completely agree with you that there was no need for Will to tell Beiste. He told the kids that she must never find out, and then he went and told her because he's the only person at the school she trusts? Well then, tell her "Please trust me, it's something the boys talked about that is personal to them and I can't share their secret, they got things mixed up as teenagers will do, but I can tell you it is done and will never happen again."
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wish they'd mentioned Burt, but I was thinking that (a) Kurt wouldn't want to distress his still-fragile dad, and (b) the stress of having his dad so ill, looking after him with great devotion, and not being able to talk to him about a major problem was what led Kurt to the breaking point with the abuse he'd been managing to tolerate up until now.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wish they'd mentioned Burt, but I was thinking that (a) Kurt wouldn't want to distress his still-fragile dad, and (b) the stress of having his dad so ill, looking after him with great devotion, and not being able to talk to him about a major problem was what led Kurt to the breaking point with the abuse he'd been managing to tolerate up until now.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts:
ReplyDeleteWhile I think it's been implied that outdoor lunchtime concerts are rare, Artie and Puck begin singing, and suddenly there is another guitarist and a group of steel drummers.
The Warblers' impromptu concert, that "tends to shut the school down for hours," consists of one song.
Will Schuester becomes creepier every week. He's like a sincere version of Michael Scott.
The geometry midterm is in six weeks. Given that this is after Halloween, the geometry midterm will be held at Christmas.
I now only watch this show as a lead-in to Raising Hope. However, when Bieste meets some guy with eight kids and they run off to Arizona to remake Just The Ten of Us, I will watch that spin-off.
I will certainly keep an eye out for anything Dot-Marie Jones does from now on. She's fantastic as Beiste. Here's a great interview with her explaining some of the things she's done and how she ended up on the show: http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2010/09/glees-dot-marie-jones-could-kick-all-of-our-asses.html
ReplyDeleteAgreed with lots of this. I hated the completely stereotypical, "he's bullying a gay guy because he's secretly gay" storyline, although I did find it sad and touching that this was Kurt's first kiss, and he'll always have to remember the ass who he had it with. And I thought Kurt's reaction to the all-boys school, and the attitude towards their version of glee club, was really moving.
ReplyDeleteAlso really hated that Will kissed Beiste. She doesn't need a pity kiss, and it seemed really egotistical that Will was all like, "there, I provided what you needed, aren't I amazing?" But I did like the Beiste storyline. It felt like something the guys would do, and while I didn't like that Will told Beiste, she did ask for an honest answer.
I also really disliked the girls' mashup song. I like "Living on a Prayer," and every time it felt like it was getting going, "Start it Up" got in the way. It didn't work for me. And I didn't think Rachel should have taken the lead on it, either. Give it to Tina or Santana.
However, I did enjoy the episode overall, for showing the pain of being an outsider, even among outsiders. And I really liked the guys number at the end, a lot. Although to work as an apology to Beiste, it really should have been just "Free Your Mind." But then, the show has often not cared whether the song fits the moment. (Ala Rachel and her birth mom singing "Poker Face.")
Could it be possible that we had the same nightmare vision of Gwyneth Paltrow subbing for Mr. Shue? I'm just hoping she's not singing the songs of her good friend, William Joel.
ReplyDeleteWill there ever be a time when "William Joel" references won't crack me up? I most sincerely hope not....
ReplyDeleteHee.
ReplyDeleteAll joking aside (and damn, William Joel is funny EVERY TIME), those cookies are to die for. I make them quite often and they are a huge hit! I agree with Gwyneth-- the contrast between the dark chocolate and the cherries is awesome!
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't know about the rest of you, but I foresee the Warblers crushing New Directions at sectionals. I wonder if we'll get to hear from the elderly glee club...
ReplyDeleteHey, Dot Jones and Chris Colfer are BOTH from my hometown! Fresno represent.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely in the dislike camp - regardless of Murphy's experience, it's pretty facile to have the bully turn out to be a self-hating gay. And the Schue/Bieste kiss! Ugh, because that's what's going to make Bieste feel better about being marginalized and rejected for 40 years - some asshat giving her a pity kiss.
ReplyDeleteBut I did love the new addition to the cast in Darren Criss. And since I know there are a lot of fans of both musicals and Harry Potter here, I recommend checking him out in A Very Potter Musical. Takes a little while to get going, but once it does, it's hilarious. Criss may be playing resolutely earnest on Glee, but he's got great comic timing as a narcissistic Potter.
http://www.youtube.com/user/StarKidPotter#p/c/C76BE906C9D83A3A