Post by: Tom on August 05, 2012, 10:47:20 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/50/5039036045162.4f.jpg) | Glee: Season One (2009/United States) IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327801/) | Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glee_(TV_series))
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Plot:
Join the club and bring home the fun with Glee Karaoke and Glee Jukebox – available only on DVD and Bl-ray! A talented group of high school misfits transforms into a performing sensation with the help of a dedicated teacher. Through laughter, tears, irreverent humor and unforgettable music, they learn to follow their hearts and chase their dreams.
Glee
Season 1.01 Pilot
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ryan Murphy (Writer), Brad Falchuk (Writer), Ian Brennan (Writer)
Director: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Stephen Tobolowsky (Sandy Ryerson), Patrick Gallagher (Ken Tanaka), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Romy Rosemont (Carole Hudson), Ben Bledsoe (Hank Saunders), Justin Gaston (Football Player), Kent Avenido (Howard), Jane Galloway Heitz (Lillian Adler), Melanie Henderson (Barb), Aaron Hendry (Darren), Jerry Phillips (Young Finn), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez)
Next month season 3 of Glee is coming out on Blu-ray, so I thought I'd make a slow marathon out of it, Glee is a show I enjoy very much, especially the first two seasons. Season 3 was a bit of a let-down. I am curious how the fourth season will continue, as there probably will be a major shift in the show. Originally it was planned that after the characters graduate High School, they will introduce new characters and let the old characters leave. As it turns out, they decided to follow the old characters anyway, in addition to introducing new characters. This can fail horribly, but I am still hopeful, that they use the change in direction to get the show interesting again.
Even though I enjoy this show, I admit it has major flaws. I will try to mention the stuff which bothers me.
I will try something new this time around, to hopefully add more thoughts on an episode than a simple "I liked/didn't like it". I will use categories. I probably will add additional ones later on, or remove some.
Finncompetence:
Finn is the jock, who joins the Glee club. It is noticable, that the character is supposed to be the talented jock, who is the leader of the club. But he usually fails in many regards. He makes stupid decisions. Is acting completely clueless. Doesn't really sing well, in my opinion. And is the one in the cast who can't dance to save his life. A fact the producers only noticed when they started shooting. So I like to use this category to list some instances where Finn's incompetence to live up to what is expected of the character shows.
In the pilot, Rachel (the best singer in the Glee club with aspirations to star on Broadway) mentions that they need a male lead who can keep up with her vocally. And Mr. Schuester enlists Finn for this. Luckily for him the first major song they sing together is within his vocal range. He can do rock songs. It's the only type of songs I enjoy him doing.
Brittana:
Glee fans put together the name of two characters to build up names for couples. Brittana is short for Brittany/Santana. As you can guess, this is my favorite couple on the show. And it wasn't even planned, but the two characters just had so much great chemistry during the first season, that this couple just came to be. Huge part of this is due to the fact, that the two actresses playing these characters became best friends in real life, and that showed up on-screen. During the first season they were often (background) scene stealers because of their interaction.
The pilot doesn't have any of it yet, because Heather Morris, who plays Brittany was not cast yet. She was added to the cast with the second episode. Also Santana only has a few short scenes and doesn't say much yet.
Continuity:
Glee often has problems keeping their continuity in line. Mostly not that bothering, but I will mention some which bother me, when thinking more about it. The producers like to twist established facts to fit the current stories, or like to forget or mess up introduced storylines.
Two things I'd like to mention here regarding the pilot:
- The principal mentions that it costs $60 a month to keep Glee club alive. It is made clear throughout the season, that they do not have much of a budget. But still they often manage to have elaborate stage sets and clothes.
- A minor thing: Pictures of Rachel's dads are shown in this episode. But when the characters are finally shown for the first time in season three, they look completely different.
Notable music:
Not much yet. I like that the use two Journey songs here, which are again used in the season one finale. This brings a nice full circle to the season. One of the songs in not sung by the characters here, but will be in the finale. The other song is song here and is the signature song of Glee. It will be done again in the finale.
The song is "Don't Stop Believing", and always enjoyed it:
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 08, 2012, 11:41:23 PM
Season 1.02 Showmance
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ryan Murphy (Writer), Brad Falchuk (Writer), Ian Brennan (Writer)
Director: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Patrick Gallagher (Ken Tanaka), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Jennifer Aspen (Kendra Giardi), Romy Rosemont (Carole Hudson), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Ken Choi (Dr. Wu), Valorie Hubbard (Peggy), Ethan Freedman (Giardi Triplet #1), Aidan Freedman (Giardi Triplet #2), Ben Freedman (Giardi Triplet #3), Jacob Hashem (Amir), Michael Loeffelholz (Phil), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel)
Finncompetence:
I decided to write also about Mr. Shue in this category. He is often celebrating as being a great teacher (in-universe), but actually he is rather bad. Alone in this episode he is very oblivious to Kurt being bullied in front of his eyes. And he is completely disregarding any protests about his song choices by his students. At least the last one he acknowledges at the end of the episode and apologizes.
Annoying characters:
Mercedes is the first character which starts to annoy me here. Here "Hell to the No"-stick really annoys me.
Tina-Watch:
A category I probably will mention from time to time. Tina is one of the regular characters which gets neglected the most (they even acknowledge this in a third season episode). I don't remember her having any lines in this episode, for example.
Brittana:
First appearance of Brittany. Most notable scene is her and Santana singing background for Quinn's audition for the Glee club. All three of them join the club in this episode.
Continuity:
Sue is always coming up with ludicrious claims about herself. But they usually get discredited later in the series. Like here she claims that she "euthanised" her mother. Her mother appears in the second season though.
What is an error though is the source of Emma's OCD. The one stated here is different to the one we learn in later seasons (as far as I remember).
Stupid Storylines:
The first stupid storyline starts in this episode: Terri's (Will Shuester's wife) fake pregnancy.
Notable music:
This episode focuses a little on rap music. The first season is infamous among fans for the raps done by the teacher, Mr. Shue. I am not really a fan of rap, so I cannot tell if he is really that bad. His song in this episode is "Gold Digger". It was okay to listen to but this song is not on my Glee playlist.
What I enjoyed though was the club's rendition of "Push It".
My favorite song of this episode though is "Take a Bow". The video shows how the songs are often incoporated into an episode. As a general rule, a song in Glee is either done on stage, in the Glee club room, or it is in the head of the singer. It often is a mixture of those.
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 16, 2012, 09:51:07 PM
Season 1.03 Acafellas
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ryan Murphy (Writer)
Director: John Scott
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Josh Groban (Himself), Stephen Tobolowsky (Sandy Ryerson), Patrick Gallagher (Ken Tanaka), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Debra Monk (Will's Mother), John Lloyd Young (Henri St. Pierre), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Whit Hertford (Dakota Stanley), Clint Culp (Teamster), Victor Garber (Will's Father), Kent Avenido (Howard Bamboo), Marie Caldare (Mrs. Holloway), Maxine English (Mrs. Robinson), Gregory Hinton (Flex, the Bodyguard), Brooke Newton (Leggy Blonde), Vivian Nixon (Andrea), Shelby Rabara (Shoshandra)
This episode is one of my least favorite of the first season. I found it a little strange that Mercedes didn't catch on at all that Kurt is gay.
Notable music: None.
Theme in this episode is hip hop. Not one of the songs in this episode managed to get on my playlist. Mr. Shuster is neglecting his students to be in a boy band called Acafellas with some fellow teachers.
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 16, 2012, 09:51:30 PM
Season 1.04 Preggers
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Writer)
Director: Brad Falchuk
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Stephen Tobolowsky (Sandy Ryerson), Patrick Gallagher (Ken Tanaka), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Jennifer Aspen (Kendra Giardi), Kurt Fuller (Mr. McClung), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Earlene Davis (Andrea Carmichael), Hisonni Johnson (Nick), Bill A. Jones (Rod Remington), Frank Pacheco (Jerky Player)
This episode was a turning point for me for this series. Before this I thought it was nice, but not really great. But this episode surprised me. Especially the ending. It has shown me for the first time that Glee can have great moments, which makes it worth to watch even if it often has stupid moments.
Heather Morris, who plays Brittany, was first hired because of this episode. Her only job originally was to instruct the actors to do the Single Ladies dance, as she herself was dancing it with Beyoncé on her tour. Though then she was also hired as an actor as there was still an opening for a cheerleader character.
This episode also introduces "Sue's Corner". A segment on the local news TV program hosted by the Glee club's rival, the cheerleader coach Sue Sylvester played by Jane Lynch. The segments are hilariously politically incorrect.
In this episode Kurt's father Burt is introduced. At first he appears to be the stereotypical redneck, who would never be able to accept a gay son. When at the end Kurt started to come out to his father, the first time I watched the episode I expected a huge backlash. But then the episode surprised. The reaction of Burt was a simple "I know".
And that he still loves him. He will turn out to be one of the best characters of the entire series. How he constantly supports his son against bullying and other discriminations, even though he himself is not 100% percent comfortable yet that his son his gay.
Another character which gets some depths is Puck. Introduced as the series bad boy, he shows his good side here when he tries to be supportive when he learns that Quinn is pregnant with his baby.
Tina-Watch:
Tina has a storyline here. Which will be dropped soon after. Mr. Shue tries to get her into a more vital role in the Glee club. He seems to drop this agenda after this episode and Tina is doomed to be a background character.
Finncompetent:
He really believes Quinn story, that he got Quinn pregnant even though they never had intercourse, only because there were in a hot tub together making out, where he then ejaculated.
Notable music:
This episode hardly contains music. It includes Single Ladies from Beyoncé, but it is not sung by the cast. Only danced to by Kurt, Tina and Brittany and later the football players. There is only a few seconds of a songs sung by cast members. One of them is Rachel is singing a Celine Dion song ("Taking Chances") for a musical audition. I liked it.
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 16, 2012, 09:51:54 PM
Season 1.05 The Rodes Not Taken
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ian Brennan (Writer)
Director: John Scott
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Kristin Chenoweth (April Rhodes), Stephen Tobolowsky (Sandy Ryerson), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Jayson Blair (Chris), Susan Leslie (Sandra), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), Larry Udy (Barry the Bartender)
The best episode up to this point. It guest stars Kristin Chenoweth as April Rhodes, who I know from Pushing Daisies. She has quite a few songs here. Before this I didn't know that she is also a Broadway star. She starred in Wicked, together with Idina Menzel (who will also have a recurring role later in this season).
Will Schuester and Emma Pillsbury (the school's guidance counselor) have some really great scenes in this episode.
Finncompetence:
Believe it or not, Finn has to tell Will Schuester how to do his job.
Notable music:
Quite a few which I enjoyed. Like Will and April's "Alone" is quite good. I also liked her performance of "Last Name" she did with the rest of the Glee club.
Also a great moment is the Glee club's performance of Queen's "Somebody to Love". I especially love Emma's reaction when she sees that Rachel has rejoined the Glee club. They had a falling out the previous episode. The weak part of this song is of course Finn, who almost ruins the song for me.
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 16, 2012, 11:09:41 PM
Season 1.06 Vitamin D
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ryan Murphy (Writer)
Director: Elodie Keene
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Patrick Gallagher (Ken Tanaka), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Kent Avenido (Howard Bamboo), Joe Hursley (Joe)
A good episode. Sue is becoming quite the adversary for the glee club.
Notable music:
This is the first time that they are doing so-called Mash-Ups: Taking two songs and mixing them and make one new song. Here there are doing it in form of a competition between the girls and the guys of the glee club. Each have to do one mash-up song. Though I enjoyed the one the girls did ("Walking on Sunshine/Halo"), I enjoyed the boys' song more ("It's My Life/Confessions").
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 27, 2012, 02:01:45 PM
Season 1.07 Throwdown
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Writer)
Director: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Jennifer Aspen (Kendra Giardi), Amy Hill (Dr. Chin), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Kenneth Choi (Dr. Wu), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), Ethan Freedman (Giardi Triplet #1), Aidan Freedman (Giardi Triplet #2), Ben Freedman (Giardi Triplet #3), Jennifer Jean Snyder (Reporter)
Finncompetent:
Finn wants to name his baby "Drizzle".
This episode acknowledges the first time that Finn has two left feet.
Brittana:
They hug in the background when they have to go to their separate group.
Favorite moments:
I really like the scene where Rachel confronts Quinn.
Notable music:
I really like the scene, where the actors are goofing off singing a song. The only time we can see them singing without it being a studio recording:
Also otherwise this episode has some good songs. I like best the Avril Lavigne cover of "Keep Holding On".
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 27, 2012, 02:04:06 PM
Season 1.08 Mash-Up
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ian Brennan (Writer)
Director: Elodie Keene
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Patrick Gallagher (Ken Tanaka), Bill A. Jones (Rod Remington), Gina Hecht (Mrs. Puckerman), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Max Adler (Dave Karofsky), Earlene Davis (Andrea Carmichael), James Earl (Azimio), Zack Lively (Lipoff)
This episode introduces Karofsky, one of the biggest bullies of the school, who will get an important storyline in the second season.
Notable music:
Will Schuster is rapping twice. Nothing special.
This episode has also Puck's first solo song. He is clearly a much better singer than Finn.
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 27, 2012, 02:13:57 PM
Season 1.09 Wheels
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ryan Murphy (Writer)
Director: Paris Barclay
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Stephen Tobolowsky (Sandy Ryerson), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), Cheryl Francis Harrington (Nurse), Aaron Fotheringham (Artie's Wheel Chair Double), Jeff Lewis (Manager), Lauren Potter (Becky Jackson), Robin Trocki (Jean)
A great episode. The first time there is any focus on Artie, the kid in the wheelchair. This episode also has some great moments between Kurt and his father.
This episode also shows the human side of Sue Sylvester, the cheerleader coach and the rival of the Glee club. Will thinks she is up to something when she allows Becky, a girl with Down Syndrome, to be on the cheerleading team. But it turns out, that she does so, because her older sister has also Down. There is a nice scene at the end with Sue and her sister.
Tina-Watch:
This episode is the start of Tina's doom as a character. Her only character trademark they had introduced so far was, that she studders. But in this episode she admits that she was faking it. It's like the producers realized that it was not a good idea and now they do not have any idea what to do with her character.
Notable music:
There is a great diva-off between Rachel and Kurt where they compete/audition to sing the song "Defying Gravity" from the musical Wicked:
Kurt is throwing the note at the end on purpose. It has something to do with his storyline with his father.
This episode also has the first solo of Artie. He sings a cover of Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself". I really liked it.
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 27, 2012, 08:15:08 PM
Season 1.10 Ballad
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Writer)
Director: Brad Falchuk
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Gregg Henry (Russell Fabray), Charlotte Ross (Judy Fabray), Romy Rosemont (Carole Hudson), Sarah Drew (Suzy Pepper), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang)
A fun episode. Even though I think the storyline, that Rachel is crushing on Mr. Schuester is stupid, I like how it plays. Lea Michele does it great job making this storyline funny.
Finncompetent:
Finn is singing "You're Having My Baby" to Quinn in front of her parents and thus telling them about the baby. Quinn is thrown out of the house after this. Even if Finn does a really stupid thing, I like how it plays. The reaction of the parents are funny. How first they find it strange that he starts to sing. Then they are getting into it until they realize what the song is telling them. Also the scene following this with Quinn fighting with her parents is played very well.
Brittana:
The reaction of both when Santana draws Brittany as her singing partner
Stupid moments:
Tina drawing up Mike as singing partner with "Other Asian" given as name on the paper. This is not something Mr. Shuester would do (it is something Sue Sylvester would do). I hate it when a joke is set up in a way which conflicts how a character would do it otherwise.
Notable music:
The mash-up of "Young Girl" and "Don't Stand So Close To Me", which Mr. Shuester is singing to Rachel to discourage her feelings for him, is fun. I especially enjoy the reactions of Emma to this song (and also Rachel's reaction to Emma's reactions).
The Glee club is singing "Lean On Me" to Quinn and Finn, which I enjoyed.
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 27, 2012, 08:18:43 PM
Season 1.11 Hairography
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ian Brennan (Writer)
Director: Bill D'Elia
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Eve (Grace Hitchens), Jennifer Aspen (Kendra Giardi), Michael Hitchcock (Dalton Rumba), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Michael Loeffelholz (Phil Giardi), John Autry (Deaf Choir Soloist), Ethan Freedman (Giardi Triplet #1), Aidan Freedman (Giardi Triplet #2), Ben Freedman (Giardi Triplet #3), Dawn Noel Pignuola (Jayelle), Telisha Shaw (Aphasia), Lexi Marman (Deaf Choir #1), Nilson Avalos (Deaf Choir #2), Joshua Segovia (Deaf Choir #3), Maj Lesti (Deaf Choir #4), Weston Mueller (Deaf Choir #5), Tommy Korn (Deaf Choir #6), Gianni Manganelli (Deaf Choir #7), Jade Fowler (Deaf Choir #8), Emilee Wallace (Deaf Choir #9), Marco Duarte (Deaf Choir #10), Treshelle Edmond (Deaf Choir #11)
An okay episode with some funny moments.
Notable music:
"Imagine" sung by the deaf choir together with the Glee kids is a very nice moment.
I also enjoyed the last song in this episode: "True Colors". And Tina gets to sing it. A rare occation.
Rating:
Post by: DJ Doena on August 28, 2012, 09:18:36 AM
I like it btw. :)
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on August 28, 2012, 10:05:08 AM
I wonder what Pete's making of this thread. :tease:
He adds it to his Horror-Marathon :laugh:
Post by: Tom on August 28, 2012, 06:18:02 PM
Season 1.12 Mattress
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ryan Murphy (Writer)
Director: Elodie Keene
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Patrick Gallagher (Ken Tanaka), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), John Ross Bowie (Dennis), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Bill A. Jones (Rod Remington), Chuck Spitler (Randy Cusperberg), Max Adler (Dave Karofsky), Earlene Davis (Andrea Carmichael), James Earl (Azimio), Lauren Potter (Becky Jackson)
In this episode Will finally finds out that his wife is faking a pregrancy, which puts a stop to this stupid storyline. And as he leaves her because of this, this means we will see less of her from now on.
Notable music:
I enjoyed the Van Halen cover of "Jump":
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 28, 2012, 06:44:24 PM
Season 1.13 Sectionals
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Writer)
Director: Brad Falchuk
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Eve (Grace Hitchens), Patrick Gallagher (Ken Tanaka), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Anna Camp (Candace Dystra), Patricia Forte (Donna Landries), Michael Hitchcock (Dalton Rumba), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Bill A. Jones (Rod Remington), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), Peter Choi (Emcee), Thomasina Gross (Perfect Engleberger)
This episode was supposed to be the season finale. At first only 13 episode were produced for the season. But because of the success of the series, another 8 episodes were ordered to make it a full season.
And it is very noticable that this is written like a season finale. They have their first competition here.
Brittana:
This is the episode, in which a throwaway line started to plant the idea of a Brittana relationship:
During a telephone conference call with half of the Glee club:
Santana: Sex isn't dating.
Brittany (oblivious to what she is revealing): If it were, Santana and I would be dating.
Finncompetent:
Finn, having have found out, that he is not the real father of Quinn's baby, leaves the Glee club just before there first competition. And everybody is thinking, that without him, they have no chance. Really?! Hard to believe. In my opinion he is dragging down their performance. As later seen, when he comes back just in time for their performance. For me it doesn't look like he is contributing something essential (except if we did not get to their whole performance).
Favorite moments:
Santana admitting that Glee is her favorite part of the school day and she wouldn't have told Sue their setlist so that she could sabotage their performance. I like it, because it seems true. Even though she is more of a background character up to this point, it always looked like she is really enjoying it, when they sing and dance.
Notable music:
I like Rachel singing "Don't Rain on My Parade":
I also really like their choreography to "My Life Would Suck Without You". It solely consits of callbacks to other song choregraphies they have done up to this point. It's the last song of the episode and with that one it is really obvious, that it was supposed to be the season finale:
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 28, 2012, 06:54:49 PM
Season 1.14 Hell-O
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ian Brennan (Writer)
Director: Brad Falchuk
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James), Idina Menzel (Shelby Corcoran), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Patrick Gallagher (Ken Tanaka), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), James Earl (Azimio), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), Max Adler (Dave Karofsky), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Jeanine Anderson (Waitress), Ayla Rose Barreau (Dottie Westerton), Ashley Fink (Lauren Zizes), Hayley Holmes (Liz Schneider)
The first episode after the season got extended to a full season. As these episodes were produced later, they already knew what the fans liked and what not. There is a slight shift in the editing style now. Also the roles of Santana and Brittany is enlarged.
Brittana:
They can be seen pinkie holding. Also they go to a date together with Finn (ordered by Sue so that they try to get him to break up with Rachel) and it is funny how they make fun of him in front of him.
Notable music:
The theme of the episode is songs with "Hello" in the title. There are some nice song performances. But I like Rachel's "Gives You Hell" best (she was pissed of and chose a song which only had the first syllable of "Hello" in the title). I hate it that it suddenly so hard to find Glee clips on YouTube. Either they are badly cropped (so that YouTube's auto-detectors do not find them so easily), or it is only audio. I found only the audio-only version of this song:
Rating:
Post by: Tom on August 30, 2012, 12:20:03 PM
Season 1.15 The Power of Madonna
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ryan Murphy (Writer)
Director: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Lauren Potter (Becky Jackson), Jose Cueva (Stilt World/Cheerleader #1), Rob Crites (Stilt World/Cheerleader #2), Tonya Kay (Stilt World/Cheerleader #3), Trey Knight (Stilt World/Cheerleader #4), Carin Noland (Stilt World/Cheerleader #5), Michael Nunez (Stilt World/Cheerleader #6), Brooke Olsen (Stilt World/Cheerleader #7), Darin Sanone (Stilt World/Cheerleader #8), Danielle Towne (Stilt World/Cheerleader #9), Erica Weindruch (Stilt World/Cheerleader #10)
A Madonna tribute episode. I am not really a fan of hers, but I enjoyed this episode.
Fun fact:
Brittany can clearly been seen talking to Artie in the background and having fun with him. Early in season 2 though Artie says, that she never talked to him before.
Notable music:
Glee's first tribute episode. This time, it's for Madonna. I have never been a fan of hers. But I enjoyed some of the songs in this episode.
For example the mash-up of "Borderline" and "Open Your Heart". Sadly I didn't find a clip on YouTube.
Another one I liked is "4 Minutes":
I also really enjoyed "Like A Prayer". I also found no clip from the show, but this live performance is really close to it:
Rating:
Post by: Tom on September 15, 2012, 06:52:09 PM
Season 1.16 Home
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Writer)
Director: Paris Barclay
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James), Kristin Chenoweth (April Rhodes), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Romy Rosemont (Carole Hudson), Michael Benjamin Washington (Tracy Pendergrass), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Noel Arthur (Guy), Earnestine Phillips (Nurse), Lauren Potter (Becky Jackson)
In this episode, April returns. And I am already tired of her character. First time around she was fun, now she is just grading.
There is a scene in this episode, where Quinn and Mercedes talk about weight and being home in their bodies. Generally the message they are conveying in this dialogue is great, but I think it is unfortunate, because in my opinion Mercedes should loose some weight to be healthy.
Brittana:
Santana putting her head on Brittany's shoulder during Kurt's song.
Favorite Scenes:
The scenes with Kurt's dad are again the highlight of an episode. The Kurt/Burt/Finn/Carol storyline is the saving grace of the episode.
Notable Songs:
No notable songs. Glee club plays second fiddle to April.
Rating:
Post by: Tom on September 15, 2012, 07:10:25 PM
Season 1.17 Bad Reputation
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ian Brennan (Writer)
Director: Elodie Keene
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James), Molly Shannon (Brenda Castle), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Patrick Gallagher (Ken Tanaka), Stephen Tobolowsky (Sandy Ryerson), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), James Earl (Azimio), Max Adler (Dave Karofsky), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Olivia Newton-John (Herself), Mary Jo Catlett (Mrs. Carlisle), Jean Sincere (Ancient Librarian), Robin Trocki (Jean Sylvester)
This is a fun episode. Glee club gets their hands on a video where Sue does aerobic to "Let's Get Physical" and posts it on YouTube. This attracts the real Olivia Newton-John to do a remake of the old music video of this song together with Sue.
Finncompetence:
This episode shows that Rachel has much more chemistry with other characters than with Finn. In this case with Puck (or Puckleberry how their romance was known in school and to fans). Even the fandom's name of the pairing sounds stupid: Finchel.
Brittana:
Brittany and Santana play angels in Rachel's music video.
Notable music:
There are some fun songs in this episode.
Will is rapping again, but this time around I enjoyed it. He did "Ice Ice Baby".
Another funny music scene is when some of the Glee club members are trying to be badass by singing "You Can't Touch This" in the school's library. But it backfires.
Another funny music scene is Rachel's video to "Run Joey Run".
My favorite song in this episode though is "Total Eclipse of the Heart", but I may be partial to it. Since I saw the musical "Tanz der Vampire" where this song was covered, I am a fan of this song.
Rating:
Post by: Tom on September 15, 2012, 07:26:07 PM
Season 1.18 Laryngitis
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ryan Murphy (Writer)
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Zack Weinstein (Sean Fretthold), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Eve Gordon (Mrs. Fretthold), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), Rizwan Manji (Dr. Gidwani), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Ashley Fink (Lauren Zizes)
This is a really great episode with a lot of really funny scenes. I especially like the reactions when Puck had his mohawk shaved and the scene where Rachel looses her voice without noticing it herself.
Or the storyline where Kurt behaves more "country" to try to appear less gay. This episode again has some great scenes between Kurt and his dad.
Glee continuity:
Rachel promises the paralized Sean singing lessons by coming by his house once a week. But he has never been mentioned again.
Notable song:
This episode is full of great songs.
One of the few Finn songs I enjoy: Jessie's girl
Really fun was Kurt singing country. Also his "Rose's Turn" was nice to watch.
Another great song in this episode is U2's "One".
Rating:
Post by: Tom on September 18, 2012, 08:57:07 PM
Season 1.19 Dream On
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Writer)
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Neil Patrick Harris (Bryan Ryan), Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James), Idina Menzel (Shelby Corcoran), Molly Shannon (Brenda Castle), John Michael Higgins (Russell), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Paul Vogt (Herb Duncan), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Molly McCook (Sophomore Singer), Wendy Worthington (Woman Auditioning)
Brian, an old rival of Will's, shows up, played by Neill Patrick Harris. I enjoyed this episode.
Also in this episode Rachel finds out, that Shelby (the coach of the rival Glee club) is her biological mother. This storyline has been chosen by the producers because fans have been saying that Idina Menzel (Shelby) and Lea Michele (Rachel) look a lot alike. They were not wrong as you can see in one of the music clips below. Menzel has starred in "Wicked" on Broadway. I only knew her from the movie version of "Rent" before this.
Tina-Watch:
She has some great scenes with Artie.
Notable music:
There was a short rendition of "Piano Man" sung by Brian and Will, which I enjoyed.
Another song I enjoyed was "Safety Dance", a dream sequence in which we see Artie out of his wheelchair for the first time. Before this I wasn't aware that the actor playing Artie wasn't paralized in real life:
Another song I really enjoyed in this episode is Brian (Neill Patrick Harris) and Will singing Aerosmith's "Dream On". And I also enjoyed Artie singing "Deam a Little Dream of Me".
My favorite song in this episode is sung by Shelby and Rachel. "I Dreamed a Dream" from LesMis. Sadly I only found a clip for it where the spoken parts are dubbed in Spanish:
Rating:
Post by: Tom on September 18, 2012, 09:10:10 PM
Season 1.20 Theatricality
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ryan Murphy (Writer)
Director: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Idina Menzel (Shelby Corcoran), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Romy Rosemont (Carole Hudson), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Max Adler (Dave Karofsky), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), James Earl (Azimio), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Ashley Fink (Lauren Zizes), Hayley Holmes (Liz Schneider)
I enjoyed this episode.
Burt the man:
I think I have to make it its own category. Burt (Kurt's father) again steals the show. The scene were he is dressing down Finn to defend his son is great.
Notable music:
In this episode they did Lady Gaga and Kiss songs.
I never saw the appeal of Lady Gaga. I never really got into her music. But since I saw some song of hers covered on Glee, I began to appreciate them more. Though I still haven't gone out to buy her music.
But I have to say, that I really love the cover of "Poker Face" in this episode. I enjoy it a lot more than the original song. It is sung here by Rachel and Shelby:
"Bad Romance" was also okay:
Rating:
Post by: Tom on September 18, 2012, 09:15:16 PM
Post by: Tom on September 22, 2012, 01:05:18 PM
Season 1.21 Funk
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ian Brennan (Writer)
Director: Elodie Keene
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James), Idina Menzel (Shelby Corcoran), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Stephen Tobolowsky (Sandy Ryerson), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Kent Avenido (Howard Bamboo), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), Keisuke Hoashi (Peter Gow), Brian McGovern (Brett Paxton), Tonita Castro (Imelda), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Jeanine Anderson (Waitress), Taisha Monique Clark (Giselle)
One of my least favorite episodes in the first season.
Stupid storylines:
Will seducing Sue is a stupid storyline. And that it even worked, goes against the character of Sue.
Continuity:
The close friendship between Quinn and Mercedes established in this episode lasts for a whole of two episodes. It is forgotten like it never happened with the start of season two.
Notable music:
"Another One Bites the Dust" performed by rival Glee club Vocal Adreniline is okay, but nothing special.
The song which works best in this episode is Beck's "Loser":
I didn't really case about the other songs.
Rating:
Post by: Tom on September 22, 2012, 01:30:36 PM
Season 1.22 Journey to Regionals
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Writer)
Director: Brad Falchuk
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Josh Groban (Himself), Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James), Idina Menzel (Shelby Corcoran), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Charlotte Ross (Judy Fabray), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Bill A. Jones (Rod Remington), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Olivia Newton-John (Herself), Carole Gutierrez (Nurse #1), Jennifer Saygan (Nurse #2)
The season one finale. I enjoyed it and it was a great conclusion for this season.
I liked that they lost the competition and only get another chance for a second year because Sue had a change of heart and shows compassion for the Glee club.
Brittana:
Linking pinkies during Will's performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
Notable music:
Vocal Adreneline's performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" was good, but cannot beat Queen's original. They just don't have any heart to it (which may be the point).
I enjoyed the Journey medley they perform at the competition. Especially their redux of "Don't Stop Believing" which they first sang in the first episode:
Another good song was the last one in this episode when Will is singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" to the kids.
Rating:
Post by: samuelrichardscott on September 23, 2012, 06:26:12 PM
Post by: Tom on September 23, 2012, 06:38:30 PM
And don't worry about losing extras. Sadly the Glee sets do not really have any noteworthy. Except that you are able to play all songs in order, but I am guessing that your set will have this feature as well.
I am still unsure about continuing this thread. There are a few possible ways to go:
1) I am continuing as originally planned with season 2 (my favorite season so far) and follow it up with season 3
2) I am taking a break from this marathon and watch season 3 without reviewing it now. But continue this marathon at a later point by rewatching season 2 and 3
3) Completely abandon this marathon
Depends on the interest here and my mood. Currently I am taking a short break from this marathon and am watching my "Big Bang Theory: Season 5" set (almost finished with that). Also "The Office: Season 8" is on the way, so I might also watch that one next.
Post by: samuelrichardscott on September 23, 2012, 06:44:08 PM
Post by: DJ Doena on September 23, 2012, 07:12:09 PM
Post by: Tom on September 23, 2012, 07:14:59 PM
As season 2 is my favorite, it wouldn't seem like a burden just to get to my new season 3 Blu-ray.
I regularily come into this thread - sometime just to pick a song and listen to it again. :)I do this sometimes with YouTube, even though I own the Blu-rays which have direct access to the songs.
Post by: samuelrichardscott on September 25, 2012, 10:03:01 AM
Post by: Tom on September 30, 2012, 08:43:42 PM
| (http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/50/5039036047890.4f.jpg) | Glee: Season Two (2010/United States) IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327801/) | Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glee_(TV_series))
|
Plot:
Bring home the complete second season of TV's most exhilarating series! Despite their loss at Regionals, the kids in New Directions are more motivated than ever. And whether it's Will doing a sexy tango with a substitute teacher, Sue joing the Glee Club or everyone catching Bieber fever, the excitement at William McKinley High School is keeping everyone on their toes. With more incredible musical numbers, hugely popular guest stars like John Stamos, Carol Burnett and Kristen Chenoweth, and lots of behind-the-scenes special features, Glee Season 2 hits all the right notes.
Glee
Season 2.01 Audition
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ian Brennan (Writer)
Director: Brad Falchuk
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Cheyenne Jackson (Dustin Goolsby), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Dot Jones (Shannon Beiste), Charice (Sunshine Corazon), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Chord Overstreet (Sam Evans), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), Dustin Ingram (Pizza Guy), James Earl (Azimio), Max Adler (Karofsky), Lauren Potter (Becky Jackson)
A good start into a new season.
This is also the beginning of the traditional recap of the previous season where Glee pokes a little fun at itself. They mention some stuff in character which the audiences where complaining about the season before. Like Will's rapping and song choices. There also some new characters. I think Shanon Beiste, the new football coach, is a great addition.
Finn-competent:
Finn gets kicked from the football team and now tries out for the cheerleading team, because he needs something to keep him in the popular crowd. Besides that he cannot dance to save his life, he is bracking about his (non-existing) leadership skills.
Tina-Watch:
Over the summer, Tina broke up with Artie and is dating Mike now. This dooms here character to being Mike's girlfriend instead of a character of her own. And Mike is only a secondary character who only had a few lines in the first season.
Notable songs:
I enjoyed the songs in this episode. I liked "Telephone", sung by Rachel and Sunshine (an exchange student), best:
Rating:
Post by: Tom on October 27, 2012, 05:16:27 PM
Season 2.02 Britney/Brittany
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ryan Murphy (Writer)
Director: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), John Stamos (Dr. Carl Howell), Britney Spears (Herself), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Dot Jones (Shannon Beiste), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), Max Adler (Karofsky), James Earl (Azimio), Ashley Fink (Lauren Zizes), Lauren Potter (Becky Jackson)
Most of the music performed in this episode happen during halucinations. I am not sure I like that. For one thing they have a chance to copy the style of the original music video of those Britney Spears songs. On the other hand it doesn't really fit into what Glee has established so far.
We have a new regular guest star for the early part of the second season: John Stamos as the new love interest for Emma. He does a good job.
Brittana:
The "Me Against the Music" cover, of course. Brittany plays Britney's part. Santana Madonna's part.
Notable music:
This episode is a Britney Spears tribute, so most of the songs here are hers.
I'm a Slave to You:
This is the first solo by Brittany. As it is a dream sequence, the actress can really show of her dancing skills.
Video (http://vimeo.com/42947382)
Me Against the Music:
The Brittana song in this episode. Even though I am not a fan of this music, I like this rendition.
Video (http://vimeo.com/42947383)
Baby One More Time:
Of course this song has to be in a Britney tribute episode. Sung here by Rachel. For some reason it just doesn't offer much.
Video (http://vimeo.com/42947384)
Stronger:
Artie's performance is a nice take on it.
Video (http://vimeo.com/42947385)
Toxic:
My favorite song in this episode and one of the few which isn't a fantasy.
Video (http://vimeo.com/42947386)
Rating:
Post by: Tom on October 31, 2012, 10:13:46 PM
Season 2.03 Grilled Cheesus
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Writer)
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Romy Rosemont (Carole Hudson), Dot Jones (Shannon Beiste), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Chord Overstreet (Sam Evans), James Earl (Azimio), Brent Jennings, Anthony Brandon Wong (Dr. Lee), Adam Kolkin (Young Kurt), Teddy Lane, Jr. (Trainer), Sharon Muthu (Sikh), Al Pugliese (Customer), Robin Trocki (Jean Sylvester)
When I had first seen this episode, I was a little pissed off at it. It may be because I am not American and find it sometimes offensive how they are pushing religions. Or at least how the media portrays it.
In this episode Kurt's father has an heart attack. And everyone just came up to Kurt wanting to pray and pushing religions. When he said he doesn't believe in god and they should stop pushing it, I cheered for him.
I liked his "I appreciate your thoughts. But I don't want your prayers."
But one visit to a church with the stereotypical big black girl who is singing in a gospel choir in a church, he suddenly has a change of heart and is more welcoming of the prayers.
Also the reactions of the others, when he told them that he doesn't believe in god was like "Wait! What?!"
Is it really that bad in the US, or at least in the bible belt? The show plays in Ohio.
Finncompetent:
Finn starts praying to a grilled cheese sandwhich after the burn marks look like Jesus to him. At the end of the episode he lost faith and starts eating the some days old sandwich.
Notable music:
I really liked Kurt singing "I Want to Hold Your Hand":
Video (http://vimeo.com/43429942)
Loosing My Religion. Sung by Finn. It was one of his better songs.
Video (http://vimeo.com/43429943)
"One of Us". I always liked this song and also this version is nice listening to.
Video (http://vimeo.com/43429944)
Rating:
Post by: Tom on November 28, 2012, 11:52:54 PM
Season 2.04 Duets
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ian Brennan (Writer)
Director: Eric Stoltz
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Chord Overstreet (Sam Evans), James Earl (Azimio), Max Adler (Karofsky), Jean Sincere (Ancient Librarian), Jonathan Wolf (Random Guy)
A good episode which I always enjoyed.
Brittana:
This episode marks the official storyline about the Brittany/Santana relationship. They can be seen making out (very harmless). Santana gets scared when a remark by Brittany puts their hooking up in a relationship territory and rejects Brittany. Brittany starts going out with Artie. Initially to get Santana jealous.
Notable music:
I like the Sam & Quinn duet "Lucky" the best.
Video (http://vimeo.com/43431297)
Tina & Mike's "Sing!" is also really interesting:
Video (http://vimeo.com/43431296)
Santana & Mercedes's "River Deep, Mountain High" is also good:
Video (http://vimeo.com/43431295)
Rating:
Post by: Tom on November 29, 2012, 12:03:10 AM
Season 2.05 The Rocky Horror Glee Show
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ryan Murphy (Screenwriter), Ryan Murphy (Story By), Tim Wollaston (Story By), Richard O'Brien (Original Material By)
Director: Adam Shankman
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), John Stamos (Dr Carl Howell), Meat Loaf (Barry Jeffries), Barry Bostwick (Tim Stanwick), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Chord Overstreet (Sam Evans), James Earl (Azimio), Max Adler (Karofsky), Bill A. Jones (Rod Remington), Earlene Davis (Andrea Carmichael), Lauren Potter (Becky Jackson)
Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of my favorite musicals. And I love the soundtrack. So on one hand I was excited by Glee doing their version. On the other hand they can never get close to the original.
Mr. Shue is just really inappropriate for putting on Rocky Horror as a school musical.
To the characters they have assigned:
Kurt is a great Riff-Raff. Very fitting.
Mercedes is a odd choice for Frankenfurter but it is an interesting take on the character.
Brittana:
They play Magenta and Columbia. Most notable in the Touch-a-touch-me song scene.
Notable music:
All the songs are great of course. But I don't like how they botched up some of the lyrics because the original is just to risky for the network.
Especially Touch-a-touch-a-touch-me has horrible lyric replacements:
Video (http://vimeo.com/43433246)
John Stamos did a great Eddie in "Hot Patootie":
Video (http://vimeo.com/43431301)
Far away from Tim Curry's performance, but an interesting take on "Sweet Transvestite":
Video (http://vimeo.com/43433244)
"Time Warp" is also a fun number:
Video (http://vimeo.com/43433244)
Rating:
Post by: samuelrichardscott on December 04, 2012, 06:58:13 PM
Post by: Tom on December 04, 2012, 07:10:21 PM
Post by: Tom on January 20, 2013, 09:10:13 PM
Season 2.06 Never Been Kissed
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Writer)
Director: Bradley Buecker
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Dot Jones (Shannon Beiste), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Chord Overstreet (Sam Evans), Max Adler (Dave Karofsky), Darren Criss (Blaine Anderson), Michael Hyatt (Joan Martin), Josh Sussman (Jacob Ben Israel), Telly Leung (Wes), Jeanine Anderson (Waitress), Ashley Fink (Lauren Zizes), Titus Makin, Jr. (David), Lauren Potter (Becky Jackson)
This episode is the start of the bullying storyline focusing on Kurt. And we also find out, why Karowski keeps bullying him. Also in this episode Kurt meets Blaine for the first time, when scouting out another school.
Notable music:
I liked Puck and Artie's "One Love" performance:
Video (http://vimeo.com/43433250)
And we get introduced to the Warblers with their version of "Teenage Dream":
Video (http://vimeo.com/43433253)
Rating:
Post by: Tom on April 07, 2013, 10:18:33 PM
Season 2.07 The Substitute
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Ian Brennan (Writer)
Director: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Gwyneth Paltrow (Holly Holliday), Iqbal Theba (Principal Figgins), Dot Jones (Shannon Beiste), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Chord Overstreet (Sam Evans), Max Adler (Karofsky), Darren Criss (Blaine Anderson), Lindsey Sims-Lewis (Cameo), Loanne Bishop (Waitress), Ashley Fink (Lauren Zizes), Ryan Heinke (Brett), Lauren Potter (Becky Jackson), Alexys Alonzo (Toddler Santana), Lauren Boles (Toddler Rachel), Loryn Shay Charbonnier (Toddler Brittany), Jada Harris (Toddler Mercedes), Evan Kishiyama (Toddler Mike), Matthew Lepper (Toddler Puck)
It has been awhile. Mainly because the current season is so bad, that it put me off the mood to continue with this marathon. It made me forget how much I enjoyed Glee. Especially during the first two seasons.
This is the first episode in which Gwyneth Paltrow guest stars as the substitute teacher Holly. She did a good job here.
Funny moments:
Will seeing the Glee club kids as toddlers. Very funny. Would have liked to seen more of this.
Or when we see flashback of Will wondering, which Journey song they haven't done yet.
Stupid storylines:
It is portrayed as a bad thing, that Sue bans unhealthy food (in this case "potato tots") replacing them with a more healthy alternative. And it is a very unlucky choice to have Mercedes to one protesting this. The only one in the club which would benefit from a more healthy diat.
Notable music:
I liked the first song that Gwyneth Paltrow sang: "Forget You"
I also enjoyed Will's dream performing "Make 'em Laugh" from "Singing in the Rain". And giving Mike the opportunity to shine with his dancing.
And also the Glee club's mash-up of "Singing in the Rain" and "Umbrella". Though that performance breaks the illusion, that the Glee club has no budget, in a big way. How can they afford setting the stage under water? And that even for just-for-fun performance.
Rating:
Post by: Tom on April 15, 2013, 07:44:19 PM
It has been awhile. Mainly because the current season is so bad, that it put me off the mood to continue with this marathon. It made me forget how much I enjoyed Glee. Especially during the first two seasons.
Now that I already had written Glee off thinking it will never get better again, they did an episode last week which was really great in my opinion. That episode was about school shooting. It started off like any other current Glee episode. But suddenly there are some shots and we see how they handle it when they have to hide, not knowing what's happening outside the choir room. I think it had good direction and good acting. And it was very dramatic and suspenseful. Although I saw the twist coming who was the actual "shooter".
Post by: Tom on July 17, 2013, 09:10:44 PM
It may be for the best, because season three and four would have meant more and more Finn-bashing. And in light of the recent passing of the actor, it may have felt a little improper.