GLEEWind - Episode 1.21 "Theatricality"

(PROGRAMMING NOTE:  This episode was chronologically filmed AFTER next week's episode "Funk", but the programming decision was made to exchange the order - thus the reason for my misnumbering)

QUICKIE OVERVIEW

After Figgins threatens Tina with expulsion due to her goth-style dress, Mr. Schu assigns the class to show theatricality through performance of Lady Gaga...however the boys, minus Kurt, have different plans.   Finn and his mom move in with Kurt and his dad.  Rachel figures out that Shelby Corcoran, Vocal Adrenaline's director, is her biological mother.

WHAT I LIKED

• Did they just do an entire episode without one peep out of Sue Sylvester? Really?
  
• Figgins is afraid of vampires.  That was amusing.
  
• Lea Michele did some very nice, subtle acting in this episode.  Her realization that Shelby was her mother played out on her face as Shelby sang on stage, and the emotional issues from both sides through the show felt real, if a bit rushed.
  
• You know who has the best shot at an Emmy?   Mike O'Malley as Burt Hummel.  The scene in the bedroom was intense, powerful stuff that should leave no doubt in anyone's mind that Burt Hummel loves his son, no matter what.  Even if he doesn't understand what his son is going through, he understands pain and someone being hurtful, and he took no quarter with Finn in that situation.   Although the setup was a bit forced (more later), Mike's work in this series should at least give him consideration for Best Supporting in a series.
  
• Will's scene with Shelby.   The unspoken subtext is that there is a respect between them as educators that can become a friendship over time if the writers allow it.  And Will demonstrates that he's definitely looking out for the kids as students before singers.
• Puck's musical apology...I liked that it wasn't a plea to keep the baby, which would have been too http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1353013062898353221much...but just to be a part of the birth of his son.   I was touched...as was Quinn, I'm sure.
  
• The boys as KISS - fantastic. 
• Tina's rant on Principal Figgins...she's funny when she gets worked up enough to go off on someone.  Wonder if that's going to be a standard "quirk" of hers.
  
• The end scene in the hallway.  Both the show of compassion towards Kurt from Finn, and the togetherness of Glee...remember, there's three other guys that this could have repercussions for that are on the football team...I really dug it.  And I hope its the start of Kurt and Finn finding a middle ground.

WHAT I WAS 'MEH' ABOUT

• Well, that was a quick wrapup of the Rachel's Mom sitch.   I know, Idina isn't a regular, but the plot felt forced, and I think it would have been more effective leaving it more open and asking Idina back for next season.  Also, it's kind of jarring to go from that scene in the rain with Jesse of Shelby really wanting to reconnect to wanting to DISCONNECT.   Not sure how I feel about that yet.
• As I read the "big scene", much of Finn's anger was about Kurt's romantic advances moreso than about Kurt as a person.   Add to that that Finn was basically backslapped into this situation (I'm sorry, this is a discussion mom and son should have had on their own, not the way they did it here), and I get Finn's frustration.   What Burt saw as pure homophobia was Finn deliberately using those words to get his point across to Kurt...which is the completely wrong way to do it, but I at least understand Finn's anger, and I don't think the situation is as black and white as it was portrayed here.
• Where was Jesse?   I think the producers missed this when they swapped episodes, which tells me Jesse rejoins VA next week.
• OK, they got the GaGa out of the way, and the scene with Rachel and the stuffies was kinda funny, but again, a little too gimmicky.

WHAT I HATED

• Nothing, really.

LINE OF THE NIGHT


"My mom won't even let me watch Twilight. She says she thinks Kristen Stewart seems like a bitch" - Tina.  PREACH ON SISTER!!!!!

(HONORABLE MENTION:  "She changes her look faster than Britt changes sexual partners." - Kurt.  "It's true." - Brittany)

THE MUSIC

"Funny Girl" really showcased Idina Menzel well even though the song itself didn't really fit the story much, to my ears.  "Bad Romance" (Which I had bet would have closed the show on a normal week) worked, and it was neat to see the performance come off as a bunch of high school kids paying tribute to Gaga rather than it being really polished, which was nice.  "Shout It Out Loud" was the most fun song of the night to me (editors note, I can't stand Lady Gaga, so that's probably affecting my outlook), watching everyone in Kiss regalia.  "Beth" was really nice with Mark Salling on the lead (with Cory taking a snippet of the lead to reference his situation a bit with Kurt).   And I've heard a lot of folks question "Poker Face" as the duet between Lea and Idina, but for me it worked.  It took the tension out of what they were going through emotionally, and both relaxed into a really nice musical moment that gave both of them, in a way, a sense of closure.

All told, not their strongest episode musically, but nothing was overly bad.



MY FINAL THOUGHT

The memory of this episode was the Kurt/Burt/Finn scene, in much the same way as Will discovering Terri's lie was the memory of that episode...intense, uncomfortable, and hard-hitting in what you're left with.  I think that this isn't the end of the tension between Kurt and Finn, but I do think Finn realized he spoke too soon in anger and is legitimately trying to be better.

I'm not sure how I feel about Rachel/Shelby wrapping so quickly...both know, yet both realize that it's too late to get what both wants out of a relationship...so they decide to just go seperate ways?  I hope that this isn't the last time this is referenced.

With two episodes left until Regionals (and with this having originally meant to be the penultimate episode), I really don't know what to expect yet for the finale...which is cool, being kept guessing isn't a bad thing.   Next week looks interesting...Will and SUE?!?  Uhhhhh...

Until next time, don't stop believin'.

GLEEWind - Episode 1.19 "Dream On"

QUICKIE OVERVIEW

An old high school rival of Mr. Schu, embittered about his failures in the music business after being 'the man' in Glee Club back in the day, is threatening to cut Glee from the school budget in his role as member of the school board.  Tina tries to help Artie with his handicap.  Rachel and Jesse attempt to find out who Rachel's birth mother is.

WHAT I LIKED

• The duets were spectacular.  More on that in "The Music".
  
• Granted, it took a daydream sequence to do it, but Kevin McHale (Artie) tore it up, and the dance scene in the mall was a LOT of fun to watch.
  
• It was nice to see the Artie/Tina relationship get some significant screen time, as well as some growth.  The show now needs to give Tina slightly more backstory to flesh this out a bit more.
  
• With NEIL PATRICK F'N HARRIS on board this week, they backgrounded Sue, but the one scene they did have against each other was the definition of a small dose really packing a wallop.
  
• Wait a minute, Terri Schuester still exists?  I wasn't sure until the bar scene.
   
• I knew another shoe was going to drop with Jesse being in New Directions, and they finally dropped it, but I was glad they didn't go with the obvious "spy" route.
  
• With one simple touch of the shoulder, the writers have convinced me that Quinn has palpably changed in outlook and personality.   Now watch them screw with me in the finale (where it's been confirmed that Quinn has the baby in that episode).
  
• The community theater director is the Stewart's obnoxious neighbor on early seasons of "Hannah Montana".   I know that because I have a seven year old daughter, but I like this particular character actor, so that's cool.   And at least it wasn't Sandy Ryerson, that would have been too obvious.

WHAT I WAS 'MEH' ABOUT

•   The overall story involving Bryan Ryan was OK, but I'm not clamoring for a character return anytime soon.  Yes, NPH can sing, and that was his best contribution for the show, but the rest was just "a'ight".
  
• Well, they went there with Rachel's mom.  I'm sure many, many Gleeks are in a quivering joyful puddle over this, especially the Broadway babies.   I'm feeling like I wish the producers had the guts to NOT go that direction with it.  Yes, I'm positive I'm in the minority with this one.
  
• The de-emphasization of much of the Glee kids this episode didn't seem a fair tradeoff for the glory of NPH in this episode, but again, with such a large cast, folks can't be front and center every week.
  
• Gaga next week.  *sigh*

WHAT I HATED

• OK, I'm convinced the writers are trying to make Emma unlikeable.   I'm sorry, but there's no guidance counselor on this planet that would have crushed Artie like that.   Yes, it's TRUE...but it could have been a lot more tactful than that.   And knowing the spoilers about what...or in this case, who...is coming up in Emma's life, I wonder if the writers aren't trying to get fans to realize that Emma Pillsbury isn't the white fluffy cloud she's seemed to be all season. 

LINE OF THE NIGHT

"I have a secret room upstairs.  Like Letterman" - Sue  (Thanks for that image of NPH and Jane Lynch doing the dirty.   Newsweek guy can kiss it about gay actors not playing straight very well...)

THE MUSIC

This episode had two of the best duets yet - Will and Bryan on "Dream On" and Rachel and Shelby on "I Dreamed a Dream".  Both blended really well together and were "moments" for the show overall.   "Safety Dance" was more for the group dance than the number, but Artie did it capably (and the group dance was pretty sweet, especially the differing camera angles).  "Dream a Little Dream of Me" was downright sad despite its lilt, and while not the best performance on the show ever, it drove the point it was supposed to drive.   


MY FINAL THOUGHT

This was as much an "event show" as the Madonna show earlier this season, but there's some plotty goodness in the mix that still managed to find its way out.  As much as the "poor Artie" episodes tend to run towards the mauldin, Kevin McHale makes the best of his Afterschool Special material and is consistently entertaining in what he does.  And his romance with Jenna Ushkowitz's Tina is sweet and, as a counterpoint to most relationships in this show, relatively stable.  And the revelations with Rachel's mom will no doubt impact Regionals, when it comes, in some fashion.

However, just like "Home" seemed to wedge Kristen Chenoweth into an excuse to be on the show and sing, this felt somewhat like they did the same with NPH.  Yes, his singing was fantastic, and him and Matt Morrison really need to do a Broadway show together (revival of "City of Angels" anyone?).  But the character didn't make me want to see him *back* at some point, and I just feel like he was there to get the non-Gleeks to peek in and see what the fuss is about. 

But all in all, it gave the Gleeks what they wanted in spades, and with the viewing numbers the show is getting right now, that's what they're looking for.  Three shows left in the season...and I'm wondering how they're getting to Regionals given that they've barely addressed it to this point in the season.  

Until next time, don't stop believin'.

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Welcome to my blog.   The purpose of this blog is to talk about...well, whatever's on my mind at the time.  Mostly, though, it will be about music and pop culture and how they affect my thoughts and life.

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