Variety trashes first two hours of Glee season - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

R.jsheedy · 09-06-2009, 01:22 PM

FROM VARIETY (I COMPLETLY DISAGREE WITH THEM!)

Talk about one-hit wonders. The promise and energy associated with the debut of "Glee" last spring largely evaporates in previewing two additional hours, where the musical numbers -- generally less infectious and buoyant than the first time out -- can’t compensate for overly broad characterizations and absurdly soapy situations. A few genuinely human moments emerge, but the series too often undermines the likability quotient of its cast, leaving the audience relatively little to latch onto. Put simply, "Glee" strikes too many sour notes for a series with precious little margin for error.

Producer Ryan Murphy’s look at romance and longing through a high-school glee club -- divided between the hormone-hyped teenagers and their equally dazed and confused teachers -- keeps coming back to awkward triangular relationships. Misfit singer Rachel (the wildly talented Lea Michele) pines for star quarterback Finn (Cory Monteith), who has joined the celibacy club because of his cheerleader girlfriend Quinn (Dianna Agron). Meanwhile, glee club teacher Will (Matthew Morrison) keeps engaging in lingering stares with colleague Emma (Jayma Mays) while trying to mollify his nut-bag shrew of a wife (Jessalyn Gilsig).

Will also finds his show-choir program under siege from the tyrannical cheer squad counselor played by Jane Lynch, who chews through her material so relentlessly as to be fitfully funny but usually just plain annoying. Before long, issues of pregnancy will assail both generations, giving birth to subplots that become so credulity-straining it’s hard not to yearn for another song to relieve them.

"Glee" occasionally bursts to life thanks to the occasional incandescent moment, such as the gay kid (Chris Colfer, another wonderful discovery) who wrestles with cruel teasing, an emerging identity and a gruff dad; and pretty much every time Michele unleashes her soaring Broadway belt. Yet those interludes simply reinforce the sense that a whole lot of talent, both behind and in front of the cameras, is being squandered by the show’s jokey, cartoonish, wildly uneven tone.

Given its merits and unique attributes, there’s a strong desire to root for "Glee" in spite of its failings. But the bottom line is that to survive, given its high costs and the nagging doubts about whether network audiences will buy into a musical -- a genre with a shaky TV track record -- the show’s going to have to croon a tune a helluva lot better than this.

Variety is striving to present the most thorough review database. To report inaccuracies in review credits, please click here. We do not currently list below-the-line credits, although we hope to include them in the future. Please note we may not respond to every suggestion. Your assistance is appreciated.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117...&cs=1&nid=2562

Brian Damage · 09-06-2009, 02:06 PM

Something tells me Glee is going to be a hit.

R.jsheedy · 09-06-2009, 06:31 PM

Well, i saw the pilot episode and it's much more than i evar expected it to be. Altough, after every time the pilot aired it lost viewers. It had a good almost 10 million in may, it had not evan 5 million on wednesday, and it only had about 2 million viewers on Friday. I know people have already saw the pilot in may but it haveing 5 million in it's home spot is not a good sine. But i think with FOX decideing not to air Obama's Spech will give Glee a great boost on Wednesday's season premire.

browneyes106 · 09-07-2009, 11:17 AM

I have watched the pilot three times and I think the show will be good. I'm glad that a show like Glee is going to be on TV. There are way too many shows about cops, doctors and lawyers.

09-06-2009, 01:22 PM	#1
R.jsheedy Member Senior Member Join Date: Nov 06, 2008 Posts: 1,035	Variety trashes first two hours of Glee season FROM VARIETY (I COMPLETLY DISAGREE WITH THEM!) Talk about one-hit wonders. The promise and energy associated with the debut of "Glee" last spring largely evaporates in previewing two additional hours, where the musical numbers -- generally less infectious and buoyant than the first time out -- can’t compensate for overly broad characterizations and absurdly soapy situations. A few genuinely human moments emerge, but the series too often undermines the likability quotient of its cast, leaving the audience relatively little to latch onto. Put simply, "Glee" strikes too many sour notes for a series with precious little margin for error. Producer Ryan Murphy’s look at romance and longing through a high-school glee club -- divided between the hormone-hyped teenagers and their equally dazed and confused teachers -- keeps coming back to awkward triangular relationships. Misfit singer Rachel (the wildly talented Lea Michele) pines for star quarterback Finn (Cory Monteith), who has joined the celibacy club because of his cheerleader girlfriend Quinn (Dianna Agron). Meanwhile, glee club teacher Will (Matthew Morrison) keeps engaging in lingering stares with colleague Emma (Jayma Mays) while trying to mollify his nut-bag shrew of a wife (Jessalyn Gilsig). Will also finds his show-choir program under siege from the tyrannical cheer squad counselor played by Jane Lynch, who chews through her material so relentlessly as to be fitfully funny but usually just plain annoying. Before long, issues of pregnancy will assail both generations, giving birth to subplots that become so credulity-straining it’s hard not to yearn for another song to relieve them. "Glee" occasionally bursts to life thanks to the occasional incandescent moment, such as the gay kid (Chris Colfer, another wonderful discovery) who wrestles with cruel teasing, an emerging identity and a gruff dad; and pretty much every time Michele unleashes her soaring Broadway belt. Yet those interludes simply reinforce the sense that a whole lot of talent, both behind and in front of the cameras, is being squandered by the show’s jokey, cartoonish, wildly uneven tone. Given its merits and unique attributes, there’s a strong desire to root for "Glee" in spite of its failings. But the bottom line is that to survive, given its high costs and the nagging doubts about whether network audiences will buy into a musical -- a genre with a shaky TV track record -- the show’s going to have to croon a tune a helluva lot better than this. Variety is striving to present the most thorough review database. To report inaccuracies in review credits, please click here. We do not currently list below-the-line credits, although we hope to include them in the future. Please note we may not respond to every suggestion. Your assistance is appreciated. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117...&cs=1&nid=2562

09-06-2009, 02:06 PM	#2
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Something tells me Glee is going to be a hit.
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09-06-2009, 06:31 PM	#3
R.jsheedy Member Senior Member Join Date: Nov 06, 2008 Posts: 1,035	Well, i saw the pilot episode and it's much more than i evar expected it to be. Altough, after every time the pilot aired it lost viewers. It had a good almost 10 million in may, it had not evan 5 million on wednesday, and it only had about 2 million viewers on Friday. I know people have already saw the pilot in may but it haveing 5 million in it's home spot is not a good sine. But i think with FOX decideing not to air Obama's Spech will give Glee a great boost on Wednesday's season premire.

09-07-2009, 11:17 AM	#4
browneyes106 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 01, 2008 Posts: 6,097	I have watched the pilot three times and I think the show will be good. I'm glad that a show like Glee is going to be on TV. There are way too many shows about cops, doctors and lawyers.