FALL TV REVIEW: Glee

Name of Show: Glee
Network: Fox
Day: Wednesday
Time: 9pm EST/8pm CST
Genre: Sitcom
Length: 1 hour
Episode Watched: Pilot: Director's Cut

Setting: Ohio!
Characters (in order of mention/appearance):
Ken Tanaka: Bitter teacher, football coach, into Emma
Will Schuester: Spanish Teacher, youngish, wants to take over the Glee club
Emma Pillsbury: Hot new teacher, germaphobe, guidance counselor
Figgins: Principal, cares about the bottom line
Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch): Cheerleading coach, hard core
Mercedes Jones: Kinda like JHud in high school
Kurt Hummel: gay teen, gets beat up by jocks. good singer. . .maybe a soprano?
Tina Cohen-Chang: Emo Asian chick
Artie Abrams: Wheelchair kid, nerdy
Rachel Berry: Nerdy girl. . .but cuter than any other nerdy girl you've ever seen. Think Tracy Flick. Has 2 gay dads. . .think Logan from Spelling Bee. People randomly throw drinks on her.
Terri Schuester: Will's wife, kind of a bitch. . .a selfish bitch.
Finn Hudson: Quarterback of the football team, sings well, not exactly bright, still doing the fauxhawk thing
Quinn Fabray: Finn's gf, cheerleader, president of the celibacy club (why do all TV schools have a celibacy club?)


Stereotypes:
- Grumpy Old Man
X Sassy non-White Woman
-Funny fat guy
-Hot blonde wife of funny fat guy
-Quirky, far too self-aware early 20's guy/girl
X Emo Teen
- Guy you've seen in that one movie who always has a sarcastic comment
- Fallen star taking what work they can get
X Relatable guy/girl, soon to be tabloid fodder
X High-strung guy/girl whose buttons everyone enjoys pushing
- Cougar
X Brainy brunette
- Precocious kid acting way too mature for their age
- Hot blonde

Basic premise:
Will was on the William McKinley High School glee club and wants to return it to his former glory. . .and all the other kids just want to find a place where they belong.

Pilot plot:
At William McKinley School, the Cheerios run campus life. They're the cheerleading team, and they're on Fox Sports. Oh! They're also coached by Jane Lynch. yay!

We learn that the old glee club coach was fired for being inappropriate with a student and so Will, the Spanish teacher, volunteers to coach them. He's told by the principal that until they have the kind of profile the Cheerios have, he'll have to pay $60/month to keep them going.

He holds auditions for "New Directions" (say it out loud. . .) and gets quite the motley crue. We learn that Rachel Berry is the most talented but isn't happy with the screwballs she's been cast with. All she cares about it being famous and does webcammy MySpace stuff (not THAT kind. . .) and the Cheerios post mean things about her. She's sick of being ridiculed and threatens to quit if Will doesn't recruit cool kids.

He tells his wife about needing to work late to run detention (which he agreed to do to keep glee club alive), during her shift at Sheets N' Things and she bitches about having to work part time (where she berates her coworkers for not knowing how to fold fitted sheets. I'd never make it there.) He runs into the old music teacher who gives him the medical marijuana he sells. . .oh old coworkers. Always willing to help you out.

Will talks to the other teachers and learns he needs to get some cool kids to join. He talks to the football team to get one of them, and none of them agree to sign up. He then hears one of the jocks singing in the shower and plants the medical marijuana on him. He basically extorts him into joining the glee club (like any good educator would do).

They rehearse with the jock guy and shock! They're kinda good! JHud is NOT happy about singing backup (hmm. . .sounds familiar. . .)

Act 1 Break Pickle: Will's trying to bring glee club back to its former glory and nobody believes in him!

He talks to his wife about wanting to take the kids to a field trip DOWN to AKRON (ok, they have to be near Cleveland. . .) to see another glee club. She bitches about finances and apparently is squandering their money on shit from Pottery Barn. She's a treat. She also reminds him that they'll never return to their glory days of Cheerio and Golden Boy (on the glee club!), so he needs to grow up and get a job as an accountant (teacher isn't a grown up job?).

Meanwhile, we learn that Finn learned to love singing when some lawn fertilizer guy (who may have also tried to fertilize his mom) played music and had him sing along.

They go on the field trip, which Emma volunteers to help chaperone, and Will confides a little bit of his marital troubles in her over some PB&J. Emma has a wild crush on Mr. Will (and while weird, isn't an uber bitch like his wife). The other glee club is crazy good singing Rehab and they all realize they have their work cut out for them.

Back at school, Ken is pissed that his qb is in New Directions (say it out loud) and even more pissed that Emma won't go on a date with him. One of the jock assholes hears him yelling at Finn about being in glee club, and tries to get Finn to admit it. Finn lies, but the jock thinks something may be up (ya think?).

Will arrives home to a "congrats!" banner and his wife gives him the news that she's pregnant! He looks sorta notsoexcited about the news. He decides to quit his teaching job and become and accountant.

The jockboys confront Finn with paintballs (ouch! those hurt!) and then, when he tells them he quit New Directions (say it out loud) to let him back in their club, they lock the wheelchair kid from glee club in the port-o-potty (side note: saw one today named Oui Oui. haha), and they offer to let him have the first roll. He thinks this is horrible and lets the kid out. He also gives the Moral Backbone of the Show Speech and tells them that they're all losers because only half of the kids from the school go to college and only two will go out of state (hey! Ohio actually has some decent in-state schools. . .) and that he's going to do the only thing that has made him happy in his whole life. (does it bug anyone else when teenagers make sweeping statements like that?).

The New Directions (say it out loud) kids decide to take matters into their own hands once they learn that Will is leaving WMHS and take over glee club, each taking a different responsibility.

Emma, meanwhile, has dug up archive footage (which we don't actually get to see) of Will in glee club in '93, right before they won nationals and comments about how happy he looks. She talks him into staying and showing his future baby that happiness isn't money but following your passions.

New Directions (have you said it out loud yet?) is practicing their new number: Don't Stop Believing (coincidentally they're wearing the same costumes we had in high school dance class when we did a number to Ragtime. . .a musical which featured. . .Lea Michele who plays Rachel. Full circle, folks!) it's amazing and Will comes in to see them. He's impressed and lets them know that he's staying and to take it from the top! awww.

Reaction: This show has that quirky feel, reminiscent of the movie Election. The characters are more likable though, and it will be interesting to see how they find themselves by joining something that nobody in the school seems to want to exist. You kinda know the season will end with them winning states or nationals or something. . .but that's ok. The musical numbers keep it fun and interesting. . .although I think this show could do better as a 30 minute show, rather than 60. I've been following Lea Michele's Broadway career for some time, so it's great to see her on this show, especially since she'll be singing! Matthew Morrison (Will) is also a Broadway alum, and had a small role in one of my favorite RomComs - Music & Lyrics! It will be a fun, breezy addition to my tv sched - can't wait for it to come back!

Competing against in my DVR schedule (remember, only two slots!): Law and Order SVU
Added to schedule?: um, i don't think a show has been more up my alley.

Renewed for a 2nd season prediction: Well, technically it premiered late last Spring, and given the following it already has, I think it will be around for a while.

Hey! It's _Lea Michele________ from _the replacement cast of Les Miz I saw on Broadway in 1996!________ !


closer to the age of her glee character than she is now. . .