Glee is, above all, a completely unique pop artifact. When it burst onto the television and music scenes in 2009, it seemed like a truly terrible idea. Television musicals had been attempted before, of course, but never successfully, and it seemed as though Glee was just riding the waves of successful Disney Channel products like High …
Red Band Society began as a remake of Catalan television series called Polseres Vermelles, which is about a terminally ill group of mismatched teens that live in a pediatric ward and band together as friends. The series was picked up by Amblin Entertainment, who then developed it for American television with former Boardwalk Empire writer Margaret Nagle. As a child, Nagle had spent some time living in a pediatric ward alongside her comatose brother, which she has cited as the source of her inspiration when writing the treatment of the source material.
Glee’s “The Untitled Rachel Berry Project” feels more like a series finale than a season than a season finale. Even though there are 13 episodes left to go before the show’s real end, I’m sure most of that time will be spent tying up loose ends. As the New York crew is going there separate ways and there is a growing hole where that rambunctious glee club used to be.
Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return Written by Adam Balsam and Randi Barnes Directed by Will Finn and Daniel St. Pierre USA, 2014 Roughly a minute after the opening credits of Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return end, the Lion (no longer Cowardly) not-so-playfully threatens to give the Tin Man an “oil change.” Although this is but …
Chris Colfer, the actor responsible for everyone’s favorite countertenor Kurt Hummel, makes his television writing debut with Glee’s second to last episode of the season, “Old Dog, New Tricks”. While Colfer is new to writing TV scripts, he’s not new to writing. The actor turned author is responsible for two New York Time’s bestselling children’s novels and an screenplay for the award-winning film Struck By Lightning.
Glee season five is all about Rachel bouncing back and forth between legitimately nice and completely intolerable. Finally after years of scrapping for solos in Glee Club, her lifelong goal has come true. She starts on Broadway while just barely in college at her dream school, playing the lead role in an iconic revival. Oh and did we mention it’s the lead role, the title role, Fanny Brice, the Funny Girl herself? The character who is essentially Rachel Berry’s spirit animal? You guessed it, she gets bored after a month and attempts to throw the whole production under a giant bus.
Glee’s “Opening Night” is everything we didn’t know we wanted for Rachel Berry. Despite her faults, somehow we still find ourselves rooting for Rachel. Maybe it’s the fact that losing Finn seemed like more than any one person, or character, should have to bear. Whatever the reason, this episode is a welcome relief for the often frustrating character.
The somber opening to Glee’s “Bash” sets the tone for the episode and it’s a somber one. The acapella version of “No One is Alone”, originally from the musical Into the Woods, is haunting and beautiful. Somehow even the comedic relief, Sam Evans, is quiet and that speaks volumes to the seriousness of the issue being addressed.
It is always a treat to see Lea Michele or Darren Criss do a Broadway number. Despite Madame Tibaduex’s disapproval, it is especially nice to see them perform together, this time doing their own theatrical rendition of “Broadway Baby” from Follies. I’d imagine due to the close proximity between Michele and Criss’s characters’, Rachel and Blaine will probably be singing some more Broadway ditties in the future.
After failing to create any original story lines or legitimate interest with the newbies at McKinley High, the creators and writers of Glee made a game-changing decision last week. They cut their losses, crushed the underdogs with a fatal almost win at nationals, and set up a new base camp in New York, New York. This is a giant leap in the right direction and this episode is proof.
Good news, Glee fans. The Bermuda Triangle school year at McKinley is actually over. Seniors Artie, Sam, Tina, Blaine, Becky, and even Brittany, back from her imprisonment at MIT, have all flipped their tassel over to the other side. They are moving on, but not before leaving us with one more iconic moment. “Don’t Stop Believin'” was quite obviously the only song to end the Glee Club’s five year run and this version does an amazing job of pulling the original characters and the newbies together in a single, meaningful act. While Kurt, played by Chris Colfer, lends his voice as the male lead and shows off his vocal range in the process, “Don’t Stop Believin'” is missing something without Finn. The chemistry between Kurt and Rachel could never mimic the sparks between her and Finn; intentional or not, the missing piece is a bittersweet tribute to both Finn Hudson and fallen actor Cory Monteith.
Glee’s 100th episode, cleverly entitled “100”, is a reminder of what’s been missing since most the original New Direction members graduated. What could have been, in turns, a little too sweet and fake ends up being a fun episode with enough bite to keep most of the tears at bay. Seeing the gang back together in the choir room singing the classics is nostalgic and unsurprisingly, everyone is back to their high school antics.
Glee’s “Trio” leaves fans asking question after question. This is clearly a filler episode with just a few little bits of foreshadowing sprinkled in. Perhaps the writers and producers are beginning to regret extending McKinley’s school year across multiple seasons. Here are just some of questions we’ve been asking ourselves:
Glee’s mid-season opener is friendly enough, with lots of drama and some truly impressive musical numbers, but despite the music, fans are once again finding these beloved characters falling back on bad habits and hysterics. Though it finally started to feel like Rachel was actually finding herself in New York, after four tumultuous years at McKinley and the loss of her first love, Finn Hudson, she’s hit a new low. Watching her slap Santana across the face prompts flashbacks to the time Rachel sent Sunshine Corazon to a crack house so she wouldn’t be able to audition for Glee. While Santana probably should have tempered Rachel by letting her know she planned to audition, one can’t really blame her for wanting to avoid Rachel’s wrath twice over and she is also in rare form this week, slinging every possible insult. Perhaps having those two tolerate each other really is too much to ask. Regardless, there is a lot of really funny dialogue between them.
Glee, Season 5, Episode 8, “Previously Unaired Christmas” Written by Ross Maxwell Directed by Wendey Stanzler Airs Thursday 9pm ET on Fox Glee‘s “Previously Unaired Christmas” should have stayed hidden in the archives. Overly contrived and without the show’s typical well-done music numbers to keep it afloat, this episode should never have seen the light …
Glee’s “Movin’ Out”, an homage to Billy Joel, is a surprisingly natural tribute which fits seamlessly into the lives of the characters. Unlike some past artists’ tributes like the drug/hallucination-driven Britney Spears episode, which have had to be forced into the plot, the songs chosen this week are shocking appropriate to the storyline.
Glee, Season 5, Episode 5, “The End of Twerk“ Written by Michael Hitchcock Directed by Wendey Stanzler Airs Thursday 9pm ET on Fox Glee’s “The End of Twerk” is a mess of story lines all tangled together without poise, a proverbial twerk wreck. The show’s desire to be in tune with the youth that makes …
Glee, Season 5, Episode 4, “A Katy or a Gaga” Written by Russel Friend and Garrett Lerner Directed by Ian Brennan Airs Thursdays 9pm ET on Fox After a month-long World Series induced hiatus, Glee is back pitting the Katys versus the Gagas in an episode which is crazy, fun, and a little bit …
Glee, Season 5, Episode 3, “The Quarterback“ Written by Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, and Lea Michele Directed by Brad Falchuk Airs Thursday 9pm ET on Fox Perhaps the most well-acted, well-written and well-executed episode of Glee to date, “The Quarterback” is a fitting tribute to both Finn Hudson and Cory Monteith, the actor …
Glee, Season 5, Episode 1, “Love, Love, Love ” Written by Brad Falchuk Directed by Bradley Buecker Airs Thursday 9pm ET on Fox Last season wore many Glee fans down. Blow after emotional blow, we watched the best and the brightest characters crumble under life’s pressures. The Rachel/Finn, aka Finchel, and Kurt/Blaine, aka Klaine, breakups …
Wreck-It Ralph Directed by Rich Moore Written by Jennifer Lee and Phil Johnston USA, 2012 If, as some theorists believe, there are alternate universes where the vast infinity of possibilities in life actually come true, there’s a world out there where The Princess and the Frog was Walt Disney Animation Studios’ biggest hit since The …
After Glee‘s tremendous success, many may have predicted a wave of musical TV series entering production as various networks tried to capitalize on Fox’s good fortune. None came. This week, Smash premiered on NBC to strong ratings, bringing the tally of network musicals up to two. Given the tremendous potential for gain, both in terms …
Community, Season 3, Episode 10 “Regional Holiday Music” Airs Thursdays, 8pm EST on NBC So Community is now benched and for how long we don’t yet know, but if they absolutely had to go out, this was the way to do it. It combined everything that I love. Christmas, musicals, and hating of Glee, all …
The Broadcast Television Journalists Association has just announced their nominations for the first Critics’ Choice Television Awards. Modern Family leads the comedoes with six nominations, while Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones and The Killing dominate the drama series. We’ve been focussing more and more on television here at Sound On Sight and …