Glee
At first blush, this creation of producer Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck, Popular) appears to be a lampoon of Disney’s High School Musical movies and Fox’s own American Idol. But upon closer inspection, the musical dramedy Glee also shows signs of incorporating sleazy elements from Desperate Housewives and Two and a Half Men.
Spanish teacher Will Schuester longs to return William McKinley High School’s down-and-out glee club back to its former glory. But the show choir takes a back seat to … well, just about everything else at school, especially the competitive cheerleading squad. ("Cheerios," they’re called.) Schuester does everything he can—and I do mean everything—to bolster the club’s meager ranks and finally ends up landing the football team’s star quarterback, Finn, who has a penchant for ’80s ballads and singing in the shower. The resulting choir—from the wheelchair-bound nerd, Artie, to the perfectionist diva, Rachel—are an odd-looking gaggle of misfits, to be sure. But, boy, can they sing.
"The show is tapping into the cultural phenomenon that anybody can be a star overnight on MySpace or YouTube," Murphy told the Los Angeles Times. "There are all these different ways that you can be celebrated quickly and instantly now for your talent or lack thereof, and the show also deals with that."
Glee comedically spoofs those dreams of instant fame while earnestly encouraging viewers to seek out their passions in life. It stumbles—often—with crass gags and sometimes sleazy stereotypes, though.
Episode Reviews
September 23, 2009
TV Parental Guidelines Rating: tv14
Glee’s getting bolder, braver … and sleazier as the season slides sideways. Titled "Preggers," this episode focuses primarily on the glee club’s swishy tenor, Kurt. Gay stereotypes stack up as he gets caught dancing in a slinky unitard, deceives his dad about having a macho athletic motive and ends up trying out for the football team to cover his lie.
Subplots find diva Rachel threatening to bail on the club when Mr. Schuester gives her solo to a lesser talent; cheerleading coach, Sue, recruiting a new collaborator to help destroy Glee; and cheerleader Quinn convincing quarterback Finn that she’s carrying his baby after a make-out session in the hot tub—while wearing swimsuits. (We see their "premature" scene from above water level.)
On the musical front—which may be all this show will have going for it in about two weeks’ time—Rachel sings a short but stunning cover of a Celine Dion song, and the entire football team comically dances and sings to Beyoncé.
Those musical highlights and a tender expression of unconditional love between Kurt and his dad continue to make the show appealing in some respects. But Glee’s soap opera storylines unblushingly push social and sexual hot buttons and are sounding more and more like something you’d find in the Desperate Housewives neighborhood. That’s not music to discerning ears.
May 19, 2009
TV Parental Guidelines Rating: tvpg
Despite his principal’s taunting ("Do you want to captain the Titanic, too?"), Schuester decides to take over the glee club reins when its former leader is fired over allegations of inappropriately touching a student. His recruiting tactics involve begging, pleading, cajoling … and planting marijuana in a kid’s locker. Next stop? Blackmail.
Just as things get rolling, Schuester’s demanding wife reports that she’s pregnant and steers him toward getting a better-paying job. So he reluctantly moves to leave teaching and the glee club behind. "Being an adult is about making difficult choices … sometimes you have to give up the things you love," he says. And you really do get the idea that he’s not just jumping ship for the money. He’s doing it for his wife. (He changes his mind and decides to stick with the glee kids before the episode ends.)
Finn, meanwhile, comes to realize that in spite of pressure from fellow football players, he can’t turn his back on his love for music. And he sticks up for Artie even when it could cost him his friends and his social status.
The clear message here is to break from the crowd, stand up to the naysayers and follow your passions.
This pilot episode also veers into ugly territory: We see quite a bit of Finn while he’s singing in the shower. The story slams Christians (Finn’s hypocritical celibacy-touting girlfriend pauses during a heavy make out session to sanctimoniously pray beneath a picture of Jesus). It giggles about androgyny, homosexuality and pedophilia (among other things, Rachel talks about how cool it is to have two dads). And it grins at teachers using and selling illegal drugs.