After we finished up most of our regular season television programming, Brooke and I decided it was about time to see what this whole “Glee” thing was all about. The first season has been up on Netflix Instant Queue for awhile, and will hopefully be followed by the second season once it releases.
For the uninitiated, “Glee” follows a ragtag group of high school students from Ohio as they attempt to get first place at the otherwise nondescript “Regionals.” As it is a show focusing on high school, it tends to alternate focus between characters, looking at their lives, troubles and growth as individuals, and as a singing group. The difference from other high school dramas, however, is that each episode is marked by musical numbers from a variety of sources, including Broadway and classic and modern pop. The show has also featured guest stars, from Olivia Newton-John to Josh Groban to Neil Patrick Harris.
I think Brooke likes the show a bit more than I do, which is somewhat counter-intuitive in that I tend to like musicals more than she does. For me, I think my main problem comes from the somewhat “rough-shot” execution of the whole endeavor. For example, some of the kids do a much better job lip syncing than others, and it’s really obvious to the point of distraction. Also, the background story thread about budget cuts constantly threatening to shut down the glee club flies in the face of the elaborate musical numbers utilizing huge sets, expensive lighting and professional-grade sound systems. Some episodes feature an inner-monologue a la “Scrubs,” yet others don’t use one at all. The perspective in each episode could be third-person, or it could become first-person mid-episode, only to switch around again 5 minutes later. Finally, musical numbers tend to feature either a guy on a piano, or the school’s apparently awesome jazz band…yet you can pick out solos and effects in the music that the instrumentation presented are incapable of producing.
These are all complaints that Brooke can move past, as she will continually remind me that “it’s fictional.” I dunno. I watch a good deal of science fiction and I can get past some things, but for some reason, I think it’s the lack of consistency episode to episode that annoys me most.
That all said, the music is pretty good. I do enjoy hearing different versions of familiar songs performed in context with the story outlined in the show. You find yourself pulling for them as they deal with their disparate struggles throughout the season, despite the fact that the story really isn’t all that complex or revolutionary. I guess I’d just like some of those rough edges trimmed a bit, not necessarily to make it more believable, but at least make it consistent from episode to episode.
We’ll watch the second season once it releases on Netflix streaming. Not sure we’ll get it done in time for the third season to start on live TV, but we’ll try. Until then, we have “Mad Men” premiering on Netflix Instant this Wednesday, so we’re excited to finally jump on that train a few years late as well.
Oh, and speaking of shows we’re just now getting to, we rented “Modern Family” and watched its first season, as well. Here’s an example of a show that is unbelievable, yet is consistent enough that I don’t pay attention to it. 5 stars for that one, folks. Hope the second season is as good as the first one.
You’re just jealous because you can’t sing as well as Finn or Chris Colfer’s character who I can’t think of his name right now!! I agree with Brooke, obviously, that it’s a fictional tv show that is supposed to be ENTERTAINING. You should not expect it to represent reality.
I totally agree that the storyline is sometimes silly. However, I do really enjoy the musical numbers and how they blend the music with the theme of the show. Similar to “Mama Mia”, they take songs and make them ‘fit’ to help tell the story. AND occasionally they do an excellent job in communicating a lesson in tolerance and social justice which is beneficial to their target audience (of which I am certain YOU are not a part of).
Well, to be fair, mother, I don’t know if I sing better than them or not because their voices are so over-produced, you can’t hear their real voices. 😛
But yeah, it is an entertaining show. I’ll still watch that second season. I guess I just don’t think it’s as deserving of its “phenom” status as some do.
I think Brooke and I agree that this will be a show that doesn’t age well. A show like “Cheers” or “M*A*S*H,” or even “E.R.,” will age over the decades and still be watchable. “Glee,” however, seems to be such a product of its time (i.e. song selection, pop culture references, etc.) that I can’t see it appearing on Nick at Nite…um…ever.