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Glee slows down, but still hits a triple

glee-josh grobin

After hitting home runs with the first two episodes, Glee has maybe only hit a triple this week. No, I’m not a hater — yet — but I am skeptical now as to whether or not they can keep up the quality of the premiere episodes throughout this season.

I didn’t like the songs this week. There was nothing fun or special about the performances, and they seemed forced, whereas they fit so nicely into the storylines in the previous episodes. I also found that the episode dragged a bit, so I hope that this is just an “off” episode and not a new pattern.

That said, there was so much fun to celebrate with this episode — great guest stars, quotables, moments, facial expressions and amputations … did I really just write that?

My favorite moments from tonight’s episode:

  • Victor Garber as Will’s dad was a fun bit of casting and I hope we see more of him.
  • After Will’s mom compliments Terri on her cooking: “It’s just a hamburger casserole. Watch out for bones.” – Terri
  • Let this be a lesson to you: cough medicine and wood shop just don’t mix. But maybe you’ll have an accident and get a really inappropriate cake.
  • Sandy writes Desperate Housewives fan fiction.
  • Acafellas. That’s all.
  • Terri, when she’s disturbed by Acafellas’ rehearsing: “If I don’t get some sleep, I could miscarry.”
  • Sandy: “[Josh Groban] is an angel sent from heaven to deliver platinum records unto us.”
  • Puck is a Cougar hunter.
  • Finn, aka “Frankenteen,” which just happens to be Cory Monteith’s Twitter handle.
  • Jane Lynch doesn’t need to say a word — her face during Puck’s performance was priceless.
  • Josh Groban speaks of himself in the third person: “Throngs of screaming teenagers don’t do it for Josh Groban. Josh Groban loves a blowsy alcoholic.”

And now, Debbie McDuffee is off to bed.

Photo Credit: FOX

Categories: | Episode Reviews | General | Glee | TV Shows |

11 Responses to “Glee slows down, but still hits a triple”

September 17, 2009 at 3:19 AM

I love Deb, I absolutely do… But it seems we always have different opinions.

I actually thought this was a stronger episode than the second. I liked the music, but I think its because I was (am a) fan of 3/4 of the songs in general (The Montel Jordan, BBD, and Color Me Badd ones, in case someone is keeping count). In fact, was way disappointed none of them were on iTunes yet :)

I think that the show can’t always be about the kids singing, and was really impressed with how well the rest of the cast sounded.

Having Victor Garber on this show and not have him perform vocally is a crime. And Groban was very funny (hitting on George’s mom (If my HTML skills were a little better, I’d link the word George to our Grey’s Anatomy posts… But, alas, I’ve got no coding skills)).

September 17, 2009 at 8:17 AM

Well, I’m glad at least someone likes the music, hopefully it is just my intense hatred for all things boy band. Usually there’s something for everyone; not so last night. But really, even you’ve got to admit, those musical numbers were a far cry from “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

Good point about Victor Garber, but I assumed they’d bring him back — hopefully with singing involved!

I’ve seen the next episode and the music is better, and parts of the story are super, super cute! I’m definitely not giving up yet!

September 17, 2009 at 12:27 PM

See, I don’t know, I’ll give you Color Me Badd, but Bel Biv Devoe and Montel Jordan aren’t ones I would necessarily call boy bands.

September 17, 2009 at 3:57 PM

So then now I guess we have to address my hatred for almost anything “pop” that would actually hit a chart of any kind in the 21st century. And just to cover my admitted ignorance for anything in the realm of pop music, that goes for anything in the late, late 20th century as well.

But I said almost — I’m not a total hater. But if it was written after the ’70s, I’m usually way more choosy. I know, I’m retro girl.

September 17, 2009 at 10:58 PM

:)

I’m certainly not a music connoisseur, but I do know what I like, even if its not very good.

September 17, 2009 at 11:01 PM

Well, I’m no connoisseur, the opposite in fact, but what I liked about the beginning episodes was that they really did have something for everyone.

September 17, 2009 at 11:50 AM

I almost changed the channel when there was a musical number in the parking lot.

The show used to be a drama about a musical club, it then became a lame ass musical like Westside Story.

September 17, 2009 at 12:05 PM

That particular performance was all in Mercedes’ head; the show’s not quite that surreal.

I also found this episode more enjoyable than the second one, although I’m not a fan of the music. My thought was that the disjointed pacing was meant to mirror Will’s loss of direction and purpose, so I expect a more connected show next week.

September 17, 2009 at 12:24 PM

The fully choreographed and lit end sequence at the end of the pilot started the idea.

I would have actually liked it better if they stayed in the parking lot instead of shifting the stylized, staged number.

September 17, 2009 at 6:04 PM

Josh Groban was a great guest star. I like it when stars be their caricatures in comedies (i.e. Adam West in Family Guy, William Shatner in almost everything). He was really funny.

Jane Lynch is a comedy goddess, shrines will be built in her honor. I think Matthew Morrison (or his character) is the weakest link in the show. He was fine in the pilot, but in the other two, he seemed out of place.

I like the somewhat surreal musical idea, reminds me of the Blues Brothers. I didn’t like the music bits this week either but they weren’t that bad. Don’t stop believing number was a very high mark, they will struggle to come close to that again. And of course there was the Rehab bit, which was also great.

After Gilmore Girls ended, I couldn’t find a guilty pleasure, until now…

September 18, 2009 at 10:57 PM

I’m liking the show but so many things felt off about this episode:

The musical number with the cheerleaders at the car wash reminded me of Cop Rock. Steven Bochco was ahead of his time. Rags to Riches was another fun TV show on which characters spontaneously broke into song and dance.

Something I find strange on TV shows the feature high schools: Why do cheerleaders wear their uniforms outside of cheerleading events? What’s the point of wearing them to class? Don’t the uniforms get sweaty? Cheerleading is physically demanding. Why would these girls want to wear their uniform to class?

I’ve never been to a school that had cheerleaders but I’m guessing that this is only something done on TV and I realize that on TV it’s an indicator of social status. Still, it’s not like changing the outfit would make them unrecognizable.

Coach makes fun of glee club kids but then joins the a Capella group? That seems inconsistent. Isn’t singing for wusses?

How is Terri still able to hide the fact that she’s not pregnant? Will’s narration indicated a number of weeks had passed in the episode. Wouldn’t she have a period? Doctor’s appointments or not? A lack of baby bump?

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