It's the Beat of Her Heart: The Promise of Smash and The Failure of Glee

It started out small. A breath, a tiny little line that struck a chord with a few hundred people in this world:

"Being a part of something special makes you special, right?"

When nearly four years ago, Rachel Berry earnestly said those words to Will Schuester, we all exhaled. It was here. It had been threatening for so long, the re-mainstreaming of musicals. We'd been hoping since Chicago, living through Camp, and High School Musical, and Dreamgirls and You're the One That I Want, and a dozen other misfires. But this, this little show, about a glee club in Ohio, this was the one we were waiting for.

How quickly we were proved wrong. Yes, Glee was plenty mainstream. And yes, some of it's elements do musicals proud, but it lost focus somewhere along the line and became instead of telling a coherent story aided by song and dance (and sometimes told through them) a convoluted mess of unresolved plots, inconsistent characters and uninspired pop covers.

Three seasons later I'm still watching, but I don't know why. I rarely enjoy it anymore, and end each Tuesday night at 9, frustrated that this promising baby, born of two genres I love, musicals and teen dramadey never delivered on it's promises.

Glee was a false savior. But I think it did a more important job, which was to provide television a platform for Smash.

If you haven't been watching, Smash is a brilliant new show on NBC about putting on a Broadway musical, starring among others, Debra Messing, Angelica Houston, the guy that played the Commodore in The Pirates of The Caribbean, and a stable of Broadway actors (Will Chase & Christian Borle to name two of them.)

But that's not the main event. The main event is the two female leads, played by American Idol runner up Katherine McPhee and Broadway vet Megan Hilty. They play two girls vying for the coveted role of Marilyn Monroe in Marilyn: The Musical. The two couldn't be more different. Hilty is a veteran chorus girl named Ivy Lynne, who has been working Broadway for ten years, and McPhee plays Karen Cartright, a fresh face new comer from Iowa who is seriously talented. You probably saw the endless promos featuring her singing Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful." That was a great moment but there have been endless amazing musical moments since then. I even don't hate Nick Jonas anymore because he was totally endearing singing "I Just Haven't Met You Yet" in episode 3.

All of the characters are compelling, the plot lines a wonderful and soapy, and apparently the logistics are absurdly realistic (if slightly heightened for dramatic effect.) Smash is doing amazing things, and I can't wait to see where it goes. Of course, six episodes in, there was still a lot of hope for Glee too.

But Glee didn't open their sixth episode with Bernadette Peters singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses." So point, Smash.

New Season Awards

OK, so now that I've gotten most of the new seasony stuff whittled down, here are some of the things that I have to say about it, a few "awards" if you will. Not all of them are positive

Best Pilot:

New Girl. Hands down, this show gets the award for best from moment one. I was a little skeptical, because it seemed a little too similar to a certain ignored TBS sitcom with the EXACT SAME PREMISE. (RIP My Boys...I will continue to sing your praises for all time.) But Zooey Deschanel is adorable, the guys are hilarious and really, can any of us really deny that we've been running around for the past two weeks singing, "Who's that girl? It's Jess!"

Best Comeback:

Glee. Let's face the facts, last season Glee was, umm, let's say it was distracted. Distracted is a good word. But it seems to be on it's way back. Who knew that all it would take was a breath of fresh air from Blaine, the return of Shelby Corcoran, and a new villain in the form of a tone deaf Vanessa Lengies, her character is named Sugar, but I'm just gonna call her Roxanne. Also, shifting the musical focus from top 40 regurgitation to interesting renditions of showtunes, classic pop/rock and standards. There have only been two episodes and we've already gotten six Broadway belts (Ding dong the witch is Dead, Hey Big Spender, Anything Goes/Anything You Can Do I can do Better, Somewhere and Something's Coming.)

Biggest Surprise
Ringer. I thought that Ringer was going to be awful. It isn't it's kind of wonderful in that guilty pleasure CW kind of way. Plus it's Buffy and Richard Alpert (Buffy and Lost related CSD is one crazy combo, and guarantees all kind of out there plot twists.)

Biggest Pilot Let Down
Free Agents. I wanted to love Free Agents. I really did. It has a phenomenal cast. I don't love Free Agents. I don't know how I feel about it. That kind of fits in really well with the spirit of that show though.

Biggest Post Pilot Let Down
Pan Am. I loved the pilot for Pan Am...I loved the concept. Mad Men, on a plane, with spies. But episode 2 was a mess. And Christina Ricci needs more attention. Her character is awesome. She's like, Joan Hollaway...but on a plane.

Best Comeback (Showrunner Edition)
Josh Schwartz. OK, so Chuck had a little bit to do with restoring my faith in Josh, but Hart of Dixie pushed it right on over the edge. If the adorable Rachel Bilson vehicle, and the spy comedy of all spy comedies have been where his focus have been, it explains so much of why Gossip Girl has been so sloppy and awful the past few seasons. And so Josh, I forgive you for Blair/Dan and Jenny/Chuck, so long as Zoe Hart sticks around.

So, that's what's happening in my head right now. What about some other thoughts on the new season?

West Side Stor-Glee

OK, so I spent a good chunk of my life and I don't mean recently, I mean in my entire 23 years, analyzing, over thinking and casting and recasting West Side Story. So now that Glee is embracing this, the greatest of all musicals. (Seriously, it's THE BEST MUSICAL EVER)

So, here's my New Directions Casting of West Side Story (regardless of whatever maimed version Murphy, Falchuck and the other guy decided)

Tony: Blaine (the ONLY choice
Maria: Rachel (again)
Riff: Puck
Bernardo: Mike Chang (did you know that in the show Bernardo doesn't sing, but he has to dance like a Mofo?)
Anita: Santana
Action: Artie (I know he's directing the show, but really? Could it be anyone else in that club singing Officer Krupke?)
Rosalia: Mercedes
Anybodys: Tina
Baby John: Kurt
A-Rab: Finn
Graziella: Brittney
Chino: Ok, look there is no clear choice for Chino in New Directions and we're out of boys.
Velma: Quinn
The Shark Girls: The Cheerios
The Jet Boys: The Warblers

So yeah, that's how it should happen.

It probably won't.

Edit By Big Bro Mike: Finn as Riff and a random warbler as A-Rab solves a few problems. It allows Puck to play Bernardo and them you can shift Mike Chang to Chino. There DONE!

What I'm loving so far

So, the new TV season is off and running, even if all the racers aren't in yet. Here's some of the stuff I like so far...

1. The new Sheriff on Sons of Anarchy and his no nonsense dealings with the club, and that dick US Attorney.
   
2. The return of Lea Michelle's bangs.
3. Two Broke Girls. Everything about Two Broke Girls. (Yes, even the horse and the bad puns.)
   
4. The cast of Up All Night, even if the pilot didn't totally rock.
5. That Dharma and Greg toured Charlie Harper's house on the Two and A Half Men premier.
6. Quinn Fabray's Gwen Stefani hair.
7. The impending domination of Fox and then the planet by the Deschanel sisters.
8. The impending domination of all of TV and then the less quirky parts of the planet by the cast of Buffy.
9. Speaking of Buffy, Ringer doesn't suck. So that's kind of cool.
10. Terry O'Quinn's character on Hawaii Five-0 is basically John Locke.
11. This season Robin is going to be chasing Barney, not the other way around.
12. Oh and Victoria is back on How I Met Your Mother. VICTORIA people! This going to be classic Mosby.
13. Finding out that Juice is half black and that the reason why he lied about it is the Sons don't accept black members. (Also, Juice gets a storyline, this almost makes up for the loss of Half-Sack...almost)
    
14. New Directions is putting on West Side Story.
15. Beercules.
16. Vanessa Lengies on Glee. (She can dance to one of Quinn's Donna Summer songs)

So, that's the beginning. After the rest of the week (through Sunday) I'll make another list. Excluding the shows I listed here.

Pop Goes the Prom

Tonight is the most epic night in the history of nights.

That's right, it's Glee's Prom Night episode. I try not to read spoilers, because I love to be surprised but I do know a few things.

Quinn is going to smack Rachel in her pouty little face.

and

JESSE ST JAMES is going to be back.

I won't even get into how much I love Jonathan Groff, (described by my sister Mary as "The Straightest Gay Man Alive") because this post isn't about how Groff has been playing dreamy broody teen boys for almost a decade now while living happily out of the closet, it's about the best proms in the history of pop culture (of which this will surely be one.)

10. Sunnydale Senior Prom, Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Why it ranks:
Because of the hellhounds that were unleashed, causing panic. Because it began the Anya/Xander relationship. Because Wesley kissed Cordelia and it was awful, but hilarious. Because Angel came, danced with Buffy and gave her the "one normal high school moment" she had been craving. Because the (at this point) adorable Jonathan presented Buffy with the "class protector" superlative. And it was awesome!

How Glee can beat it:
It can't...move on.

9. The Anti-Prom: Dawson's Creek


Why it ranks:
Because it was the height of Dawson's self righteous, "I'm the nice guy so Joey should love me" phase. Because Jack learned what a douche that guy he was dating was. Because it allowed for "Leary's Fresh Fish" to be shoehorned into the plot ONE LAST TIME before season 3 ended. Because Jen took Henry and they were adorable. Because it was the moment when Joey realized she loved Pacey. Because it finally removed the random and useless Nelly from any and all plot lines in the future.

How Glee can beat it:
Burt Hummel, who makes Mitch Leary look like a father who neglects his kid except when he hits him, so John Whitter, makes sure that Kurt can bring Blaine, thus allowing Brittney to bring Santana, or Brittney and Artie get back together.

8. Manny and Paige Showdown: Degrassi: The Next Generation



Why it ranks:
Because Paige and Manny showed up in the same dress and Paige arranged to have her win prom queen only to humiliate her. Because it was the first time Jimmy was back at Degrassi since he was shot. Because JT and Liberty were still a couple. Because I'm pretty sure Emma still had gonorrhea of the throat. Because Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes were there for no explicable reason (except that they were filming a movie at Degrassi.) Because Downtown Sasquatch played.

How Glee can beat it:
Downtown Sasquatch plays. Except that I think if Jonathan Groff and Jake Epstein are on film together it will rip a hole in the space time continuum, also Aubrey Graham is a little busy. But a kick ass surprise celebrity guest star wouldn't go amiss.

7. "You said you couldn't be with someone who didn't believe in you": Pretty in Pink


Why it ranks:
Because it's the only time John Hughes took on the prom, which means it must be the most epic prom of all time. Because after it all, Andie and Blane kiss in the rain by his car. Because Duckie wears a bolo tie.

How Glee can beat it:
Kiss in the rain. Anyone can kiss in the rain.

6. Two proms, one crazier than the last: One Tree Hill



Why it ranks:
Because at one of them, Peyton didn't show because Psycho Derek tied her up in her basement and tortured her with autotuned versions of her own podcasts. Because at the first one, Peyton had painted "whore" on Brooke's dress prompting Brooke to go rescue her from Psycho Derek. Because the second one was in the town that one the "best OTH fans contest." Because at the second one the whole cast dressed up in 70s clothes. Because at the second one Chris Keller was there. Because Haley was pregnant at both proms and no one blinked.

How Glee can beat it:
Terry kidnaps and tortures Emma by throwing dirt on her, and Will saves her. New Directions gets hired to sing at the Dalton prom, thus creating an epic "second prom" scenario for Glee, which I have already discussed is the same show as OTH.

5. "I just wanted her to have the perfect night": Gossip Girl

Why it ranks:
Because Serena and Dan went "as friends" which is always hilarious. Because Nate and Blair broke up amicably, in the first and only case of lower drama making for a better episode in GG history. Because the B storyline was a failed pilot for a spin off about Lily in the 80s. Because Blair was elected prom queen. Because it turned out the whole night was an elaborate manipulation of Chuck's to make sure that Blair had the perfect prom night. (And I cried and cried)

How Glee can beat it:
Rachel does the same for Finn. Or Finn arranged for Jesse to come to bring Rachel so she can have the perfect prom night.

4. "Dad, I'm going to the prom!" "Very funny sweetie!": 10 Things I Hate About You
Why it ranks:
Because Save Ferris and Letters to Cleo performed. Because Bianca punched Joey in the face. Because even though Kat and Patrick get into that fight you know he feels really bad about it. Because Bianca's prom dress is the most epically 90s prom dress ever. (Bright pink satin and her midrift is bared)

How Glee can beat it:
I think they might, because it looks like Quinn is going to punch Rachel in the face. Good for you Glee!

3. Donna Throws up in the bathroom and gets suspended: Beverly Hills 90210

Why it ranks:
Really? I need to lay this one out? OK, um, Because Donna got drunk, threw up in the bathroom, and got suspended. This paved the way for the epic "Donna Martin Graduates!" storyline. And some half assed message about underage drinking.

How Glee can beat it:
Much like Buffy, this one is just too epic and iconic. Nothing Glee does will touch it.

2. "Is that all I am to you Zach? Am I a bet? Am I a F*@#KING bet?": She's All That


Why it ranks:
Because half the student body knew a choreographed dance number. Because rather than bring another girl than the one he loved, Freddie Prinze Jr. brought his little sister (Anna Paquin). Because Paul Walker brings Rachel Leigh Cook to screw with Freddie Prinze Jr. (That is the most 90s sentence ever written.) Because the "cool hot girl" who was no where near as hot as Rachel Leigh Cook wore the second most 90s prom dress ever. Because Usher DJ'd the party.

How Glee can beat it:
Usher.

1. "Is this a party or what? LET'S DANCE!" - Footloose

Why it ranks:



Because of that.

How Glee can beat it:
Finn sings "Footloose." Also maybe Kevin Bacon shows up? I don't know. It's a thought.

So there you have it folks.

Titans or Ravens...Does it matter?

OK, so Katherine and I (soon, oh so soon, I will do an entire post about Katherine and how she is totally the genius behind all of my hilarity, because she is) have spent literally hours talking about the ways that Glee compares to the most generic (and awesome) show in television history, One Tree Hill. And trust me, it totally does.

Once upon a time there was a boy, and this boy was pure of heart and well intentioned and respected his lovely girlfriends, both the blonde and brunette and that Hispanic one that might have been a lesbian that time, and he was kind and good and heroic and everyone loved him, except that he kept doing terrible things so that we could be constantly reminded that he was in fact a teen age boy, and therefore awful. And what was that boy's name? Why it was Lucas Scott! It was also Finn Hudson.

There was once a sassy brunette girl in a high school, she was the leader of her clique. She had a super nice guy boyfriend. She was far too talented for the small town she grew up in. She realized at a certain point that she needed to get over her super nice guy boyfriend and find herself and develop her talent. She planned to go off to New York to pursue her dreams. That girl's name was Brooke Davis, it was also Rachel Berry.

There was a blonde girl, who was very pretty. She was kind of bitchy, but this was all to mask her terrible insecurities. She was truly deep and wounded and no one understood her except for super nice guy, and sometimes the brunette girl, when they weren't fighting with each other over super nice guy. Her name was Peyton Sawyer and also Quinn Fabray.

They had a dippy blonde sometimes friend (Bevin/Brittney), a teacher who was far too involved in their everyday lives (Mr Schu/Coach Whitey), a black sidekick friend, (Mercedes/Skills) and ridiculous things kept happening to them, involving ill timed pregnancies and lies and betrayal.

But tonight everything just got weirder! It turns out before she transferred to McKinley, Quinn was named Lucy and was chubby and had a different nose. I won't spoil how we got to this information, and I'm only revealing it here, because well, we've seen this before.

In season 3 of OTH we learned that bitchy new girl, Rachel Gatina had previously been a chubby outcast, at her last school. Then, after lipo, a nose job and boob job, she transferred to Tree Hill High, became the bane of Brooke and Haley's existence and made the best guy ever Mouth fall in love with her.

So, OK, I know I said that Quinn was Peyton before, but that's just for the case of the love triangle, in this case she's Rachel, and it's a really strange storyline to recycle.

If someone's emotionally abusive father comes back and shoots their uncle in the hallway, then we'll know something's really up....

Pop-cabulary

I realized earlier today that when I said used one of my favorite made up words that my friends and I use to describe things in pop culture, or life in a pop culture context. So here's a quick index of some of those words:

Jimandpam- verb When a TV couple isn't even on again off again, simply will they or won't they. Derived from The Office, who went 4 seasons Jimandpamming us all over the place, with Jim and Pam.

Used in a sentence:
"I'm getting fed up with Glee and how they keep jimandpamming Will and Emma."

Entering OTH Territory - verb, meaning when a show leaves behind all pretenses of being grounded in reality, or at all original. Derived from the way One Tree Hill did around the middle of season 2, when Nathan had that dream where he and Lucas switched places.

Used in a sentence:
"When Liz Lemmon dumped Matt Damon on the plane 30 Rock totally entered OTH Territory."

McLaren's - noun, any bar that is located underneath a residence. Derived from the bar where they hang out on How I Met Your Mother, which is located under Ted's apartment.

Used in a sentence:
"Remember when Katie had that apartment in Hoboken and we went to McLaren's?"

Character Separation Disorder (CSD) - noun, A difficult personality disorder in which a pop culture addict cannot separate an actor from the iconic roles they have played. Derived from something that I do frequently, also when my brother suggested that Martin Sheen could get elected president, because people in this country are that stupid and oblivious.

Used in a sentence:
-My favorite part of He's Just Not That Into You is when Rachel Greene marries Holden McNeil. It's so nice that he's not a neurotic paleontologist, and she's not a lesbian.
-The thing is, in that example, you're not suffering from CSD, that's just how lazy the characterization in that movie was.

The Jacob - noun, the third, usually more awesome tip of a love triangle who for some reason the main person in the triangle doesn't choose. Derived from Twilight, and Bella Swann's inexcusable stupidity of choosing Edward Cullen over Jacob Black, particularly in the movie versions, where she is choosing Robert Pattinson over Taylor Lautner and it makes no sense at all what so ever

Used in a sentence:
In this whole forced, QuinnFinnRachel triangle Rachel is totally the Jacob. But in the PuckQuinnFinn triangle, it's Puck and in the FinnRachelJesse triangle, it's Jesse. (Glee works well for this one, because like Twilight, it's protagonists are really stupid and whine a lot.)

Those are a few examples, any others?

Built on Their Shoulders

Glee was fantastic tonight and not just because the two original songs New Directions did at regionals were actually good. Which they were. Also Kurt and Blaine finally got together and had a super long boy on boy kiss which I'm pretty sure included tongue. My friends and I got REALLY excited about it. But let's not forget that Blaine and Kurt didn't get there by themselves. There are a few specific examples of characters that in my opinion paved the way for our two favorite blazered acappella guys:

Jack McFee: Dawson's Creek

In Season 2, after Joey and Dawson's romance totally imploded, she started dating mysterious new guy Jack McFee. About three episodes later, Jack wrote a revealing poem about his feelings and yelled at his dad about how he was gay. He then moved out of his family's house and in with Jen and Grams creating possibly the most functional family unit on that show. (Yeah, I know!)

After he came out Jack could get kind of preachy, and occasionally annoying...but um, well, if you've seen any of Dawson's, you know he wasn't alone there. They all got that way occasionally. But Jack was also a star wide receiver for the Capeside Minute Men, went through a douchey frat guy phase, and eventually settled in to life as a teacher, living with Pacey's older brother Doug, and the couple raised Jen's baby after she died. (CRY FOREVER! One of the best finales ever)

Marco Del Rossi: Degrassi: The Next Generation

Sure, it's a Canadian basic cable import, but Marco's storylines were always the best on Degrassi...with the possible exception of the EPIC Ash/Craig/Manny triangle, or that time Shawn and Peter were street racing, or when Emma got gonorrhea from going down on Jay in that van...anyway, Marco came out in season 2, but just to Ellie who then pretended to be his girlfriend for a while. Then in the season 3 premier Spinner figured it out, and they got into a big fight and Marco got beat up.

Then he dated Paige's brother for a long time, then he was a hustler in one episode. Also that time that Darcy's mean Christian friends tried to take him down and he shoved his cross in their face and talked about going to Mass every Sunday was awesome. And Marco wasn't the only gay teen on Degrassi, there was also Paige and Alex, but they just weren't as ground breaking.

Calvin Owens and Heath: Greek

I've been rewatching Greek, and really, Cal's awesome. A bit insecure when he first gets to CRU, he hooks up with closeted KT bro Heath. Then he dates TA Michael, but he's still got feelings for Heath, who's coming out remains one of my favorite moments on the show. Heath takes a deep breath and says he has something serious to discuss with pledge brothers Cappie, Beaver and Wade, and reveals his sexuality. The trio exhales, relieved, because they thought this conversation was about Beaver's hitting on Heath's 15 year old sister (Heather, who became a mini Rebecca, but that's a completely different story) at a family event. The brother's are supportive.

Additionally, when Cal gets past his initial insecurities, he comes out to best friends Rusty and Ashleigh, and his brothers at Omege Chi are mostly OK with it too, until he starts dating that douchey other gay Omega Chi, who's name I don't remember. But then he got back together with Heath, thank God!

So yes, Blaine and Kurt are exciting, but let's not forget that they didn't get there overnight.

Relations

One of the things that I've been noticing a lot lately are the stock characters that populate me favorite TV shows. So I've assembled some of my favorite sets here.

*NOTE* I decided to only go with shows that are currently on the air. If I wanted to fish back into the cancellation zone, this list would be far too epically long.

Andy Dwyer (Parks and Recreation), Finn Hudson (Glee), and Marshall Erickson (How I Met Your Mother)

These three have truly been cut from the same midwestern doofus cloth. Sure, Marshall has risen above the other two, after all he's a top corporate lawyer in New York. And while Finn is still in high school, let's be honest, he's probably not going to get past mid level insurance agent. And Andy is a shoe shine boy at a tiny city hall. But there's something that all three of them have in common, they're adorable, funny, and unfailingly sweet. OK, Finn not so much lately, what with the whole stealing Quinn from Sam thing, but generally, super sweet.

Chuck Bass (Gossip Girl), Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother), and Ari Gold (Entourage)

Where to begin? The "I am so above you attitude?" Check. The catch phrases? "Let's Hug it Out Bitch?" "Legen...wait for it..." "I'm Chuck Bass!" "DARY!" Check. The deep seeded insecurity that creates the bravado that masks a heart of gold? Check and check! Honestly, this one is what got me thinking about these connections, when my friend Crystan proposed the theory that Bart Bass was Barney's father, and that there should be an epic cross over between GG and HIMYM. (Other storylines include a Serena/Ted hookup, because he reminds her of Dan, but maybe someday I'll outline the entire plot in a post!) Ari comes in for two reasons, like Chuck he is a ruthless business man, and like Barney, he's a pig, but oblivious to it, and therefore still kind of lovable. Also, the suits. Which are really important.

Rebecca Logan (Greek) and Alice Verdura (Hellcats)


These two are quite literally the exact same character. They even look the same. They manipulate their respective systems to stay on top. (Bex the Cyprus Rhodes Greek system and Alice the Hellcats) But when it comes down to it, Rebecca would do anything for ZBZ and Alice would do anything for the squad. That's why we don't want them to go away. That's also why Santana Lopez (Glee) wasn't included on this list. Because as much as I love her, she'd probably sell New Directions down the river if they got too much on her bad side.

Mac (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Brendan (My Boys)


Aside from the looks again, these two have a few other key characteristics in common. An affinity for tee shirts, they both own bars, they both get caught up in oh so many hijinks. Plus they both have strong sexual tension with their best friend/roommate. Of course it's slightly less dysfunctional in Brendan's case, mostly because PJ is not a sociopath and Dennis is.

Andy Bernard (The Office) and Rajesh Kuthrapali (The Big Bang Theory)



Both men add an element of innocence and happiness to their respective groups. Both are socially awkward and unaware and both belong to distinct social groups. (Geek and Prep) Both are probably my favorite part of both of their shows.

Brooke Davis (One Tree Hill), Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl) and Rachel Berry (Glee)

Can't win for trying these girls. Although Brooke finally got married and Rachel finally realized that she needs to focus on her career and well, OK I stopped paying attention to Gossip Girl because it got terrible, but I'm sure Blair will get it together. Last I watched she had just started Columbia. Also, Rachel will never ever be happy until she realizes that she and Puck need to get together unless she ends up with Jesse St. James.

Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory) and Commander Steve McGarret (Hawaii Five-O)



At first sight, maybe not. But then when you think about it, they're both socially awkward, incredibly good at their jobs and dependent on a group of people who are less effecient than them to do their jobs. Which of course leads right into:

Leonard Hoffsteader (The Big Bang Theory) and Danny "Danno" Williams (Hawaii Five-O)


They spend most of their time correcting their brilliant counterpart, in the snarkyest way possible and dedicated to a pretty blond girl. Sure, Leonard it's his ex girlfriend Penny, and Danno it's his daughter Grace, but the idea is the same.

So, those are mine, any to add?

Best and The Worst

So, Glee is over for the year. And here is my list of my ten favorite, and least favorite musical moments from the show this season.

Best:

10. "Highway To Hell" Episode 14: Hell-o

We'd already been introduced to the hilariously dramatic Jesse St. James, played with soulless intensity by Jonathan Groff a few moments before when he sang Lionel Richie's "Hello" with Rachel, but this was the real world's true intro to Groff (this performance matched the intensity of his Spring Awakening stuff) and it actually sort of made me root for him and Rachel to be together, since we'd already been subjected to the awful/awkward version of "Hello I Love You" from Finn in this same episode.

9. "Don't Stand So Close to Me/Young Girl" Episode 10: Ballad

Anytime Mr. Schu gets his performance on it's special. But this particular mash up, which was meant to warn Rachel off of her crush on him, was that perfect mix of energy and charisma. And of course it failed miserably, because if Matthew Morrison sang to you, would you stop having a crush on him?

8. "The Lady Is A Tramp" Episode 18: Laryngitis

OK, so here's the deal. I love Puck. I love everything about him. I love the stupid things he says, I loved his mohawk. But I especially love that for some reason, no one on the show has acknowledged what a superior performer he is to Finn, except for the producers, who gave him this number (Sammy Davis Jr's version, "He was a back Jew, you know.") to help Puck win Mercedes affection. Why? Because we will not rest until Puck has at least made out with every girl in Glee club!

7. "Don't Stop Believing" Episode 1: Pilot

You never forget your first time. While yes, there were other glimmers of greatness in the pilot, it was in this rousing version of everyone's favorite power ballad that I knew I had found my new favorite show. Plus it introduced us to some New Directions choreographic staples, moving lines, walking with purpose...uhh, Artie sitting off to the side and bopping.

6. "Alone" Episode 5: The Rhodes Not Taken

Link Larkin and Galinda are singing a duet! Let me repeat, LINK LARKIN AND GALINDA ARE SINGING A DUET! So there was that. Also, just amazing.

5. "Set Me Free" Episode 7: Throwdown

In an episode full of great musical moments, it also included the pitch perfect ballad "Keep Holding On" (my sister's favorite moment all season) I had to pick Quinn's breakout moment as my favorite. It might just be because I LOVE Quinn, but it really was a great performance.

4. "Dream on" Episode 19: Dream On

NPH, Matt Morrison, Joss Whedon, Aerosmith, a community theatre production of Les Mis. Nothing about this moment was wrong. It was pure Joss, and pure Glee at the same time. (Which just further proves that they are a match created by the TV gods!)

3. "To Sir With Love" Episode 22: Journey

Maybe it's because I love the song. Or maybe it's because it was just lovely, especially compared to the club's winter finale tribute to Mr. Schue, Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You." The moment preceding the actual song, where they all talked about how Glee changed them, who could help from crying.

2. "Dancing With Myself" Episode 9: Wheels

Glee does reclaiming the 80s better than most things, and this song was not an exception. Artie's jazzy aucoustic interpretation of the song, which turned out to be his way of expressing his crush on Tina, was lovely, touching and just perky enough to keep us from doing more than just welling up.

1. "Don't Rain on My Parade" & "You can't always get what you want" Episode 13: Sectionals

For me, this was the definitive Glee moment. While a few months later their regionals performance would also be good, nothing will ever beat New Directions first competitive set, Rachel's exciting run down the aisle (which Lea Michele then repeated at the Tonys this past weekend) and the tears in Will's eyes as Emma held up a cell phone so he could hear his kids was so beautiful.

And now to the worst (some are just awesomely bad, but still)

10. "Run Joey Run" Episode 17: Bad Reputation

OK, so it was supposed to be bad. Rachel's bizarre music video to this terrible song was ridonkulously awful. And that was the point. But I had to mention it, just because after the episode aired, I had the song stuck in my head for 48 hours.

9. "Like A Virgin" Episode 15: The Power of Madonna

The performance was really good, actually I really like the version of the song, and I'm totally on board whenever Santana sings, but I was so uncomfortable during this montage of the shows three virgins, Emma, Rachel and Finn, singing to their possible first times, with Will, Jesse and Santana respectively (Only Finn and Santana actually did the deed) as they all writhed around on beds in era inappropriate nighties that I had to mention the spot.

8. "Hello, I Love You" Episode 14: Hell-o

Again, I don't mind the version of the song, but it was just so heavy handed, the "Gosh Mr. Schu, I guess I can learn something about myself and do my Glee assignment" lead in, Finn singing while dribbling a basketball (Love him but he is not the Zefron) staring at Rachel, Santana and Brittney and then stalking Quinn down the hall. It was weird, and not good.

7. "Bohemian Rhapsody" Episode 22: Journey

I loved the song. I think it was a perfect fit for Jesse and Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals. But doing the WHOLE song? Not necessarily the most time effective idea. And splicing it in with Quinn's labor? Just BAD. Both scenes would have been great on their own, but they did not work together.

6. "No Air" Episode 7: Throwdown

Probably the only time I've been out and out bored during a number on Glee. And the wind blowing Finn and Rachel's hair as they walked down the hallway didn't help matters much.

5. "Pink Houses" Episode 18: Laryngitis

Again, it was kind of supposed to suck, and it was kind of funny. But just no.

4. "Tell Me Something Good" Episode 21: Funk

It was UNCOMFORTABLE and BAD and put pictures in my head that will NOT GO AWAY AND I WISH THEY WOULD!

3. "Poker Face" Episode 20: Theatricality

You have Lea Michele and Idina Menzel staring at eachother and they're singing an acoustic version of Lady Gaga? Really? That's where you went? And who would sing Lady Gaga with their mom? I mean, really?

2. "Last Name" Episode 5: The Rhodes Not Taken

I should have loved this number. It was Kristin Chenoweth singing Carrie Underwood. I should have loved this number. I didn't. Again, it was just awkward.

1. "This is a Man's World" Episode 21: Funk

OK, we get it. Quinn's pregnant. She's a good girl who made a mistake and got pregnant. We get it. Did she have to do pregnant ballet? It was weird. It would have really been enough to have her sing the song. As Artie put it, "This is just, inappropriate."

So, those are mine, anybody have any different opinions?

A Glimpse of the Future

This week's Glee definitely took the show to a place it hasn't gone before, and I place I'm pretty sure it will go again, if it wants to transcend itself at any level.

While I love Glee for the music, the laughs and the quasi surreal aspects. But even me, the queen of Sunshine and Butterflies television, was getting frustrated with how clean everything was coming off (and I don't mean clean, like sexless clean, I mean clean, everything wraps up neatly at the end of the episode clean.) but this week Glee went to what my creative non fiction professor refers to as "The Dark Place." (Hi Dr. Krauss!) I used to pull my hair out trying to get there, because I didn't understand what he meant. It's the kind of thing you don't know until you see it. And this week, we saw it.

Will found out that Terry was lying about the pregnancy and we saw not only a side of Will that we've never seen but I side I wasn't sure Morrison had. OK, I'll admit it, Musical Acting is mostly smiles and nodding. There, I said it! So excuse me for thinking that's all Mr. Link Larkin had in him. He doesn't. The scene where he found out was so crazy intense I got what I call the Schindler's giggles (When watching Schindler's List for the first time my body had no way to release how uncomfortable I was watching some of the scenes, namely the one where they march everyone out of the ghetto and the Nazis pull randoms out of line to shoot them, and I got a severe case of the giggles.)

The episode was also about yearbook photos. Principal Figgins decided not to include the glee club, because the picture always gets vandalized. After a lot of hemming and hawing, Quinn manages to blackmail Sue into giving up one of the Cherrio's pages for glee. However the final scene of the show was of the football players drawing all over the page.

Why am I sure that the show will go there again? Well because of this man silly:

(That's Joss Whedon!)

"Big Wheels Keep on Turning"

I've been hoping for a few things from Glee and I got them this week.

I really wanted to look more deeply into Artie and Tina. I was getting frustrated by the lack of exploration into characters with potential. I like that we've gotten to know Puck and Quinn, but I as feeling jipped out of getting to know the characters we met in the pilot.

The episode focused on Will deciding to get the kids to empathize with him by having them all ride around in whellchairs at least 3 hours a day. And then a romance between Artie and Tina. I nearly fell over I was so happy. Tina admitted that she's only been pretending to have a stutter because as a shy child she didn't want to talk to people. Upset that they no longer had their need to overcome something in common Artie walked (or rolled) away. It was extremely touching, and Chris Colfer's rendition of "Dancing With Myself" was beautiful.

There were two other smaller stories happening, including Kurt and Rachel trying for the same solo, "Defying Gravity" from Wicked. Because my mom and I have been calling Lea Michelle "Little Idina" since the show began, I was extremely amused. There is a resemblance between her and Idina Menzel. A big one.

Anyway, this storyline wouldn't have been much if it hadn't been for the interaction with Kurt's dad, played by one of my personal favorites, Mike O'Malley. O'Malley starred in one of my favorite shows, the much maligned Yes Dear, and would you know it, he can actually act. I love the way they're showing that although he's still trying to understand his son's sexuality, he loves the kid and is going to do what he can to help his son. Also, it reminded me of my dad, trying to understand glee club in terms of sports...he still calls intermission "half time" because he knows it bugs me and my brother and sister.

The third story had me crying. We got a deeper glimpse into Sue's life. Principal Figgins ordered her to hold open tryouts to fill Quinn's spot on Cheerios, and ended up giving the spot to a girl who has Down's Syndrome. Will, and I'm sure the audience were all trying to figure out what her angle was. As it turned out, she didn't have one. In a big reveal Sue has an older sister with Down's, who she goes to visit and read to on a regular basis. I was crying really hard. Down's has impacted my life in very personally, one of my cousins is Downs and I've said many times that he is the best part of our family. He's our heart, and I loved the portrayal that this was the case for Sue too, and it made me weepy.

The final number was "Proud Mary," you know, "Big Wheels Keep on Turning!" Which was a really great song choice, considering the fact that the whole show was about both wheelchairs and being out and proud ("Proud Mary" hi, really easy to make that connection thanks!)

Plus the episode gets bonus points for repeated use of the word, "handicapable" which is the most ridiculous PC term ever and one of my favorites."

Glee: They would 10/21/09

I've decided that every Thursday I'm going to write about Glee in a special way. I may start doing it for some other shows too, but for now let's stick with Glee. It's called Glee: They Would

Quinn would refer to the hockey players as "brain dead puckheads."

Rachel would continue to dress like what a middle class Ohio girl can approximate of Blair Waldorf, and tell a boy she couldn't "give herself to him."

Emma and Will would have the same favorite song, being all perfect for each other and all.

Kurt would start wearing a clear plastic trench to school to protect himself from Slushy warfare.

Puck would totally think having a sexy dream about Rachel was a Moses-esque message from Yahweh to seduce her. And I love that the way he and his family practice their Judaism is eating Chinese food and watching Schindler's List. Perfect way to connect the disconnect between true religion and American society, also TOTALLY funny.

The Glee kids would all have their own personal choreography to "Sweet Caroline" and would sing the "ba ba baa's" but they would also chant "So good, so good, so good!"

Sue would get a female Zoot Suit to wear to a swing competition, and be in favor of human/animal marriage.

Finn's ideas of visionary leaders would be Thomas Jefferson and John Connor, whose name he can't remember.

OK, so there are some other things going on here, that I want to see and we haven't. More Tina and Artie, I think that they're characters with serious potential that isn't yet explained. Also I really think that Rachel and Puck make kind of a sweet little couple. It's a relationship with Naley-esque possibilities, if Nathan's issues were less prominent and Haley was a total whacko.

Passion or Guts?

Glee seems to have a recurring theme going on, and that is that it's more important to find who you are, really, and stick with it, than to do something that you don't want to do to please others.

In their continue mission to destroy New Directions, Quinn, Sue Sylvester and Quinn's lackeys implement a plan to drive a wedge in between the Glee kids. In the episode they plant two seeds. They tell Rachel they think she should request hiring a choreographer, who the cheerleaders know is a tyrant and will crush the undisciplened gleers.

Rachel's request saddens Will, until he creates his side project, "The Accafellas," a boy band made up of the male teachers in the school.

Finn finds Glee almost unbearable without Will, and confronts Rachel about what she did. She retorts by saying that Finn is in denial about what happened between them in the auditorium, and at least she's confident enough to say that that was real.

Eventually two of the teachers have to drop out of Accafellas, and Will and Ken, both relying on it, Will as his new creative outlet without Glee, and Ken because it seems Emma likes singers, so they recruit Finn and that kid with the Faux hawk, Puck.

The second wedge the cheerleaders place is by telling Mercedes that they think Kurt has a crush on her. When Kurt is clearly gay and just loves Mercedes for her big black fabulouscity. He comes out to her at the end, stating that she's the first person he's ever told. It seems Jenny and Erik have a challenger to the current teen fag and hag crown. Hooray!

Obviously in the end they all got it back together. Will's father (played by the amazing Victor Garber, who I hope returns and gets a song) tells him he's inspired him to go back to school and become a lawyer as he's always wanted to. Oh, and it turns out that Sandy, the old Glee teacher has been stalking Josh Groban, and Josh shows at the Accafellas concert to serve a restraining order.

You've got to admire the fact that this cast is so vocally talented that they can afford a guest spot from Josh Groban without a song. Kind of amazing.

"You Can't Always Be The Star"

Last night kicked off the season of Glee, for real this time. The episode centered on Will's inability to connect his ideas about Glee with the kids. Specifically his focus on a disco number for them to perform at a school assembly. Finn is especially disturbed, since his girlfriend, head cheerleader and celibacy club prez Quinn Fabray is getting upset with him. Will meanwhile is trying to get more money because his wife is insisting that they buy a house for the new baby.

Meanwhile, Rachael attempts and fails at bulimia and talks to Emma about hopeless crushes. She then joins the celibacy club, and sabotages the assembly by switching the harmless "That's The Way I Like It" with "Push It." Her ploy works, sort of. The principal agrees to keep Glee going. But while they're rehearsing Finn and Rachael kiss a little bit.

Sure that something is happening between her boyfriend and that freaky girl, Quinn and her two lackey's audition for the Glee club. She's good, so Will not only takes her in but gives her Rachael's solo in "Don't Stop Believing" which as it turns out is the reason Finn was attracted to her. She's heartbroken and pours her sorrow out in a ballad.

I liked the episode and where the show seems to be going, but I was disappointed in the Rachael/Finn/Quinn triangle being cemented. I was hoping for at least a few episodes it would be a triangle only in Rachael's head, because girls like that thrive on self created drama. I've hung with a few of them in my time.

Being a part of something special makes you special...right?

Last night Fox aired a special director's cut of Glee. While the new scenes didn't really add anything to the show, which I loved anyway, there was one thing that actually made me cry (in the good way)

After Will Schuster announces that he's leaving his teaching post to become an accountant there was a lovely montage, with Matthew Morrison, who plats Will, singing Bob Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane." It was insanely gorgeous. Morrison is an amazingly accomplished singer, he originated the role of Link Larkin in Hairspray. (A role perfected by this guy: That's Constantine Rousouli. He closed the role on Broadway, we hung out in high school, but I digress)

My one big beef with the original pilot was that Morrison didn't sing. Now he does. I can't wait for the show to start up regularly next week!