Glee

Frayed Knot
Sep 10 2009 09:14 PM

I don't seem to be as gooey-nostalgic as many peeps out there are for movies & TV shows that simultaneously play-up and parody both the glories and horrors of High-School - but this one's got potential.

A Boy Named Seo
Sep 11 2009 02:56 AM
Re: Glee

Love it so far. I'm scared it could get too cheesy & gay & "High School Muscal-y" in a hurry, but I'll be on board til then. I've already watched the pilot 3 times, so maybe I'm the cheesy, gay one.

metirish
Sep 11 2009 04:49 AM
Re: Glee

Didn't see the pilot way back when but tuned in the other night , throughly enjoyed it.

themetfairy
Sep 11 2009 06:38 AM
Re: Glee

I'll watch anything with Jane Lynch in it - she's hysterical, but in a subtle way.

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Sep 11 2009 07:01 AM
Re: Glee

I missed the other night. I was watching the Mets! Was it the same episode as the pilot last spring?

metirish
Sep 11 2009 07:06 AM
Re: Glee

[quote="John Cougar Lunchbucket":2egpp9lp]I missed the other night. I was watching the Mets! Was it the same episode as the pilot last spring?[/quote:2egpp9lp] No , this was the season premiere I believe.

Frayed Knot
Sep 11 2009 07:10 AM
Re: Glee

[quote="John Cougar Lunchbucket":3e3fbtwz]Was it the same episode as the pilot last spring?[/quote:3e3fbtwz] I'm not sure, but FOX is re-airing Wednesday night's episode tonight at 9:00 (by which point the Mets will already be down by a touchdown plus maybe a field goal so you won't be missing anything). If last spring's deal was a kind of pre-pilot (and not just an earlier run of this "first" show) it didn't do anything that you can't catch up on with this one.

metirish
Sep 11 2009 07:23 AM
Re: Glee

David Hinckley in the Daily News thinks Glee has a little bit of Porky's in it. On 'Glee,' sex is the keynote at musical high school in Ohio
GLEE Wednesday night at 9, FOX The new musical-comedy drama "Glee" dresses like "High School Musical" and has the heart of "Porky's." That's a compliment. For those under 28, which is most of the target audience for "Glee," "Porky's" was a low-budget, early-'80s teen classic that seemed to sell raunch, but whose real appeal was suggesting outsiders with good hearts could beat all the jerks who had none. There's a lot of that in "Glee," which premieres tonight after a sneak preview in May. There's also angst and humiliation. Mainly, there's a continuing obsession with sex, the most obvious way by which "Glee" distances itself from "High School Musical." The makers of "Glee" clearly want that distance, perhaps because many prospective viewers are likely to assume "Glee" is just an "HSM" knockoff. While it's true "Glee" probably wouldn't be here if Disney and Nickelodeon hadn't been cleaning up with teen music productions, it's equally true the absurdly wholesome world of "HSM" has zero street cred with actual high school students. So a show built around the Glee Club at McKinley High School has to quickly establish that things here are different. Take the scene where singer Rachel (Lea Michele) tells guidance counselor Emma (Jayma Mays) she tried to become bulimic, but "I have no gag reflex." The prim-looking counselor nonchalantly replies that will be an advantage later. Toto, we're not in "High School Musical" anymore. We are in a world with a strong cast of characters whose stories seem unusually nuanced for a comedy-drama. Matthew Morrison plays Will Schuester, a teacher obsessed with revitalizing Glee Club because he thinks he can help others achieve the musical dreams that eluded him. His obstacles include Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), the cheerleading coach who wants Glee Club gone. It almost is. All Will can recruit is the ambitious Rachel, a couple of outcasts and hunky star quarterback Finn (Cory Monteith). He can't build a winner overnight, but that's not the point. The point is the twists and turns in everyone's life, including Will's, and the humor with which "Glee" integrates them. Like "Porky's," it's not all subtle. One gag is the Chastity Club, run by a comely cheerleaders whose mantra is "It's about the teasing, not the pleasing." "Glee" presumably won't have the legendary "Porky's" shower scene. But anyone who remembers that scene remembers the key antagonist: Miss Beulah Balbricker, Amazonian gym teacher. Sue Sylvester is Beulah. "Glee" could have a hard time sustaining what it has set up. But the opening number gives us a rousing good show. dhinckley@nydailynews.com

Frayed Knot
Sep 11 2009 07:37 AM
Re: Glee

I hadn't thought of Porky's, but there are definite elements of 'Heathers', 'Fast Times', maybe 'Election' (a lesser-seen but good movie with R. Witherspoon & M. Broderick). My 9 y/o niece is into HSM and this one is definitely not aiming at that age group.

metirish
Sep 11 2009 07:43 AM
Re: Glee

I'm reminded of "Freaks & Geeks" a little with Glee. I really hope this show doesn't go the same way though , media darling, cult following but not enough of a following for the suits to keep the show.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Sep 11 2009 08:16 AM
Re: Glee

Definitely a little of the subversive in "Glee," whatever name you want to give to it (and "Election," "Heathers" and "F&G" are all fine reference points). That it nails that spirit (so far) while also capturing the stupid-fun of repurposed pop fluff is what'll give this one legs. And hell, it's already gotten more network support before the first ep than "F&G" did during its entire all-too-short run. I dug it a little more than I care to admit.

metirish
Sep 11 2009 08:21 AM
Re: Glee

I just discorved that in both Glee and Freaks & Geeks the high school is named William McKinley , it's got to be a nod towards F&G?

Edgy DC
Sep 11 2009 08:24 AM
Re: Glee

You're all going to hate this show sooner than you realize.

TransMonk
Sep 11 2009 08:25 AM
Re: Glee

[quote="Edgy DC":3f6bnclv]You're all going to hate this show sooner than you realize.[/quote:3f6bnclv] Yup.

Frayed Knot
Sep 11 2009 08:33 AM
Re: Glee

'Freaks and Geeks' is the one the critics are all referencing - although I'm apparently the only person in existence who never saw it. In fact F&G is one of those supposed cultural touchstones (one of several actually) that my generation lived vicariously through even though I never even heard of it until it was several years in the grave and the nostalgia for it began in full force.

Frayed Knot
Sep 11 2009 08:52 AM
Re: Glee

[quote="Edgy DC":2fsdejal]You're all going to hate this show sooner than you realize.[/quote:2fsdejal] Or we could pre-hate it sight unseen and avoid the rush.

John Cougar Lunchbucket
Sep 24 2009 07:56 AM
Re: Glee

[quote="TransMonk":281i608i][quote="Edgy DC":281i608i]You're all going to hate this show sooner than you realize.[/quote:281i608i] Yup.[/quote:281i608i] Yup.

metirish
Sep 24 2009 08:00 AM
Re: Glee

I tuned in last night for ten minutes then tuned out , I can't stand the Cheer Leading coach.

Frayed Knot
Sep 24 2009 09:14 AM
Re: Glee

I like that character. Sure she's ridiculously over the top (as is half the show) but probably the funniest one there. The show has some very funny moments as well as some really stupid ones. I'll probably hang with for a bit longer anyway and see where it goes.