Before I criticize Glee, I need to admit something right off the bat: I don’t like musicals. Or at least I don’t like happy-time musicals. If someone is singing and dancing with a huge smile on his or her face, it wipes the smile right off mine. My parents used to take me to a lot of musicals when I was a kid, and instead of raptly wishing I was up there, a-hoofin’ and a-tappin’ with the ensemble, I often found myself intently staring at the Playbill, mentally ticking off the listed songs to gauge just how many more I had left before we could all go home.
This might explain why, when I saw the big musical number set to Amy Winehouse’s "Rehab," I wished for the quiet relief of a heroin coma. The ironic juxtaposition of dark song to happy dancing somehow just made it worse.
Maybe it’s not fair of me to judge this show, since it’s predicated on the love for a genre of which I had been blissfully unaware: show chorus, which is glee club, but with jazz feet in addition to jazz hands. They found a way to make something that annoyed me even more annoying. It’s as if a scientist found a way to make a mosquito laugh like Fran Drescher.
I tried to judge the show on its own merits, I really did. I enjoyed the take on high school politics, but it got demerits for being done against a chorus of horribly derivative characters. The glee club included a Tracy Flick type; a brassy Jennifer-Hudson-in-Dreamgirls type who is telling you she’s not singing backup; a gay prima donna who loves fashion; a reluctant singing superjock who looks, acts, and, I assume, smells like American Pie’s Chris Klein; and a hybrid nerd: He’s not just a dweeb, he’s also in a wheelchair! (Why didn’t they put tape on his glasses to complete the hat trick?) The last member of the troupe, however, was an Asian punk, which is new—It must have taken all the restraint in the world not to make her a member of the Math Team.
And stomping around on the outskirts was the ever-employed Jane Lynch, doing her usual tough-talking, overconfident-boob shtick. Don’t get me wrong, I love Lynch and her shtick. I don’t need to see her stretch, in the same way I never want to see Fred Willard doing anything but Fred Willard. But she is omnipresent these days, so seeing her do her thing here only underscored the fact that I’d seen everything before. And heard everything: “Don’t Stop Believing?” Really? This song is to movies and TV now what "Walking on Sunshine" was about ten years ago.
The reviews for this show have been glowing, and my indifference to it puts me in a very small minority at EW. But while I admired the show’s energy, and smiled at a few lines ("Isn’t that kind of dangerous?" jock Finn asks when his fellow footballers are going to flip over a porta potty with the nerd inside. "He’s already in a wheelchair," says another), I didn’t find anything revelatory about the show. It was just the Breakfast Glee Club.
The most pressing problem I have with this show is, What’s going to happen in episode 7? Hell, what’s going to happen in episode 2? Will the series follow their quest to win Nationals, giving them a big number a week and learning a little bit about themselves along the way? And please tell me there won’t be a "I’m gonna make it out of this town!" subplot for everyone. Will’s speech about how only half of the school will go to college, and "maybe two will leave the state to do it" was incredibly bizarre—this town looked like Sherman Oaks, but suddenly he’s acting like it’s Dillon, Texas. Or is this one of those Dust Bowl glee clubs?
But what do you think? Is my strong aversion to singin’ and dancin’ clouding my judgment? If I had only learned to love Oklahoma, would I be counting the days until Glee resumes in the fall?
Before I open the argument gates (which I do by unlocking the contretemps lock and then flipping the kerfuffle latch), let me give next week’s assignment: I hate to go back-to-back Fox on you, but let’s watch Mental, the new series about a "radically unorthodox" psychiatrist; it airs on Tuesday at 9, but will be available on Fox.com after that. I’ve seen it, and have some strong opinions, but won’t bias you ahead of time. But just remember: he’s radically unorthodox! Only watch if you can handle radical unorthodoxy! By which I mean, if you watch House, Eleventh Hour, Lie to Me, The Mentalist…
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I know, the first ep was meant to set up characters, plot lines, etc. I wanted more music. I think anyone who appreciates the hour-long comedy format, and Election/Arrested Development-style writing can appreciate this show. But for those of us who LIVED it in high school, it takes on a whole new level of appreciation and recognition.
It’s nice to see someone NOT kissing this shows ass! Thanks for the awesome article Josh, ICAM!
I love musicals, i’m the gal who’s in the audience wishing she wasn’t toned death :p so the exact opposite of you. And I really really like the pilot despite all the problems with it, first among them very similar to High School Musical.
I4ll be there for the 7th episode. It’s Ryan Murphy, he did popular which was a great show with great musical pieces as well. He’ll hold the line i’m sure !
I enjoyed it, but I agree that it seems like it’s going to rely too heavily on tired stereotypes. I thought the comedic moments were edited well and shot well to catch the proper timing. For instance, I loved when the teacher was framing the jock and the camera suddenly zoomed towards the wall where there was an article with the headline, “The #1 Priority is to Help Your Students” or something very similar to that. There were a few moments like that that made me laugh.
I’ll give it this: I appreciated how they named the fired music teacher Sandy Ryerson, which I assume was an homage to Stephen Tobolowsky’s “Groundhog Day” character, Ned Ryerson. So there’s that.
I thought “good reviewers” are supposed rise above their bias against films and appreciate something on it’s own merit. Stereotypical student characters seems to be the major complaint. I find it funny considering 99.9% of high school students are stereotypes cause we don’t know any better because we’re immature and act like stereotypes…it’s when we get older and develop personality do we become interesting.
I guess that’s the thing, though. What some people see as stereotypes, I see as people I KNEW and can relate to. I just hope this show can find an audience. Or that Fox will decide that the best idea is to air it ONLY online, to save it from having to compete ratings-wise.
I thought there were some fun moments and some average moments. The speech about the future of all students at the school was a little melodramatic, and if it had been two hours long it could have been a great ABC family movie (at the end they would have come in second at nationals – so close; but learned so much about each other). I do wonder where the show can go – is it inevitably headed toward nationals? and then what after? How long can they draw that out?
That being said…. I still loved it and will try to make room for it in the fall, if nothing else because of the silly (and catchy) performances of pop-musical tunes (Rehab?! Hilarious) to jazzy arrangements.
We didn’t have glee club/show choir when I was in high school, and I was a cheerleader – but I think I would have enjoyed watching these experiences just as much then as now.
I liked the show and will watch in the fall but I certainly wasn’t wowed by the pilot like I’ve heard from other people. Lost? That wowed me! I also hope they develop the characters with thought instead of keeping them as stereotypes. Also, I didn’t really get the connection between the main character teacher and the OCD woman teacher. I get why she was into him but didn’t understand him being into her.
Looking forward to Mental because it’s not something I would have watched otherwise.
?????, I think people want to watch a comedy show to simply laugh though. It doesn’t have to reflect real life. If people wanted to laugh at real high schoolers, they’d set up secret cameras in school locker rooms. Just don’t expect that excuse to hold up in a court of law.
Is the level of bullying on that show actually typical of American High School? Throwing Slushees in a girl’s face? Tossing the gay kid in a dumpster? Locking a kid in a wheelchair in a port-o-potty with the intent to tip it?
I’m in Ontario, and the police would be called in if such situations occurred here.
What scares me is that such antics are actually encouraged by shows like this. There are no consequences to the bullies, mere acceptance from the victims.
josh isn’t reviewing the show, he’s discussing it with the club. he’s allowed to have an opinion.
i work with high school students and though they might seem to be stereotypes, they really aren’t. there’s a lot more to people than what they present to the world and a tv show should be able to explore that other side of people.
Well a) it was Finn the jock who gave that little speech about their podunk town, not Will the teacher.
And b) I think that if you despise musicals you’re not going to like this show, though I would hate for anyone to write it off based solely on their perceived dislike of jazz hands. Clearly Fox is going after the HSM demo but they’re also doing it in such a way that it will appeal to people like me who didn’t like HSM (apparently I was under the impression they would actually be putting on a high school musical, color me disappointed). My criticism is probably the exact opposite of yours… I want MORE singing and dancing.
Ok, first of all, the show was actually good. The speech about getting out of two and going on to college, well, that is TRUE! This is based in a very small town in OHIO (Lima, OH to be exact) and being from the area myself, I can say that what “the jock” was talking about is true. Also, the stereo typing is also true. Sad as it is, that is what high school is all about. Trying to fit in, but being in a stereo type, and yet trying to find yourself along the way. I think too many of the veiwers on this page and for the show forgot that because they have been out of school for at least 10 years….
Yep. I liked it, but I think it was basically because I was thoroughly intoxicated by the “Don’t Stop” number from the promos. And since they were smart enough to end the episode with that number, I still finished it feeling high. Otherwise I couldn’t believe how much I didn’t like the characters and didn’t really laugh either.
This is definitely a niche show, and I think the problem with the glowing reviews (and the show’s marketing strategies) is they’re all acting like it’s gonna be guaranteed fun for all. I love musicals; I knew it wouldn’t take much for Glee to win me over. That said, I was impressed with the pacing and depth of the characters and plot. I felt they took the tried-and-not-so-true high school angst formula and worked really creatively within it.
For a pilot, it was surprisingly well established. However, I would still never lose sight of the fact that people are spontaneously breaking into song. No matter how good Glee is, fans of 24 probably won’t hop on board.
It was a pilot folks. As it finds its feet it will hopefully go so many different directions that we may not even see.
Honestly, if you don’t like a genre of a show, why even choose it. Going into something predisposed against it doesn’t seem incredibly fair.
I for one enjoyed it as a pilot. It wasn’t perfect, and true, some of the characters and HS plots were cliche, but I think it’s laying solid groundwork for a strong series. Plus I LOVE the acapella covers of songs.
Sorry if I come off as cranky, but whenenever I hear someone say something like “I don’t like musicals”, my initial reaction is something like “I don’t like people who COMPLETELY write off an entire genre.” Obviously, this isn’t unique to musicals. I hear this with “I don’t like horror movies”, “I don’t like romantic comedies”, “I don’t like country music.”
The problem with this line of thinking is that it suggests every entry in a given genre is the same and fundamentally interchangeable. To do this is to ignore the level of (Lord help me for channeling Kara DioGuardi) the level of artistry that goes into each individual work, and that’s just a shame. For example, “Singin’ in the Rain” operates at a totally higher level than “The Producers” movie. Same for “The Exorcist” over “My Bloody Valentine.”
Personally, I believe if you’re not into this show, it should be because you don’t like the characters or because it’s not well-made. Not because you don’t like musicals.
All that being said, I kind of have to agree with Derek: it’s nice to see at least one EW staffer not completely kissing the show’s ass.
What we’ve seen is just the pilot. It’s a cute, charming show, but let’s not go on and on like it’s the second coming.
So refreshing to read this! Josh I knew you wouldn’t let me down when I saw the title of this article. I felt the same way you did but was confused by all of the insanely positive reviews. Thanks for making me not feel so much like I’m in the minority.
I got a real kick out of the show, but then I am a big fan of the musical theatre (I don’t have the talent, but appreciate those who do). I laughed out loud a few times, and really enjoy Jane Lynch. And hey, I’m a big fan of 24 too, so call me a renaissance gal. Did anyone else get an Idina Menzel vibe from the glee club “star”?
Couple things: first, for people concerned that I’m not doing an objective “review,” I don’t really see this as being the place for that. I’d like to think of the Pop Culture Club as a place where we can have a good time bandying about our personal impressions, as you would in a book club.
As for not liking musicals, Ceballos (IF THAT IS YOUR REAL NAME!), it’s true, I don’t have an aversion to all musicals. I loved The Producers on stage, and Sweeney Todd, and many others. It’s the big-smile, “Wheeee, I’m dancing!” upbeat ones that bug me, the ones that are like award-show musical numbers. Happy happy happy time, which is what the Glee numbers are like.
i really liked it, but i can understand how someone might not like it, especially if they don’t like/appreciate show choir… i will definitely only recommend it to certain people…
and i definitely agree with the statement about not really knowing where it can go… i’ll still watch, but i’m skeptical about the plot progression.
As an actual bona-fide musical theatre fan, what drew me to the show was its placement in my own world, but I stayed for the oddly bleak presentation, these sad people pursuing their joys in a world clearly presented as a very depressing place. When Will sees the video and says “That was the greatest moment of my life”, it’s really very sad, but incredibly moving, especially set against all that (baseless) optimism. It’s remarkable and has a lot of potential to be something very different.
YES, you’re letting your dislike bias you. having BEEN like the kids in the show, i thought it very apt and accurate. and i like the juxtaposition of the kids and the teachers..i WANT to know what’s going to happen to the teacher & his crazy wife, and the kids. and given how the arts are slowly being wiped out in our public schools while athletics are being pimped out, i think the show’s very timely, as well.
YAAY, GLEE!
Glad to find some like minds. I liked the premiere in a small way – there were some cute lines, but agree that it didn’t leave itself with much to do in future episodes. And I really didn’t find it to be as great as so many of the previewing critics made it out to be. I’d give the premiere a B-; passing, but nothing to get excited about.
Any review that uses the words contretemps and kerfuffle is worth the read. I liked the show – despite the musical numbers – more for the adult relationships at this point. I thought that sweet Emma ruthlessly pursuing a married man with a pbj was priceless.
I think anyone can enjoy Glee, but to truly appreciate it, I think you have to have gone to a school that had show choir. It makes the song and dance numbers funnier because they really are not exaggerated. Rehab was a perfect exact replica of true high school show choir. I really hope that enough people get Glee that it stays on air. It is almost too quirky for network, but I think it would work.
I think that Fox is banking on big numbers for this show and it’s not going to get them. Definitely a niche show and has the makings to become a cult show as well. I’d guess that ratings will be middling at best but the viewers will be rabid and vocal.
I’m all about Glee. The pacing was off in the pilot…slow to get going and very chaotic in the end. This pilot could have been broken down into another 3 or 4 episodes. That said, I found the show to be refreshing. Loved the musical numbers. Can’t wait til it comes back in the fall.
Hey, nobody appreciates more than I do the fact that high school food chains never change. I’m sure if you go back to Roman times, there will be a student gladiator giving a student philosopher a toga wedgie. I think on the eighth day, God created cliques: It is the great tragedy of adolescence that you are powerless to change these immutable pecking orders. I’m just asking that creator Ryan Murphy not select the same caricatures that every other high-school comedy does.