'Glee', do I care...should I be caring about this? by whozit

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

'Glee', do I care...should I be caring about this?

POSTED BY: WHOZIT
UPDATED: Monday, May 10, 2010 12:47
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VIEWED: 5393
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Wednesday, April 14, 2010 12:10 PM

"Glee" is the next big thing that everyone is talking about, that's fine with me, go to all the entertainment sites. ( www.zap2it.com etc) I've seen one episode and thought it was OK but targeted to teenaged girls, I am neither. I'm sure high schools and will be flooded with teens wearing "Glee" T-shirts if they're not already. I am not going to jump on the "Glee" band wagon, if you love this show then I hope it runs for years.

Here's a gift for you. http://glee-fan.com http://www.fox.com/glee

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Wednesday, April 14, 2010 12:38 PM

ZEEK

No you shouldn't IMO. I've given it a fair shake. I've watched at least 5 episodes and it hasn't grown on me at all. The musical numbers aren't very catchy to me. The characters are too fake for me to handle. I mean I'm used to some extreme characters, but these ones just don't strike me as realistic in any way.

It just misses the mark for me. So, I vote no. You're not missing anything.

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Wednesday, April 14, 2010 12:44 PM

CYBERSNARK

The return episode was only mediocre, I'll admit, but it's actually a lot of fun. if Andy Hallett were still with us, this'd probably be his show.

Plus, you know Joss will be directing an ep this season, and NPH will be involved.

(Admittedly, a large branch of my family are choir geeks, so it's something to talk about when we get together.)

And then there's Kurt and Rachel's duet version of "Defying Gravity," which is one of the most awesome things in existence.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Wednesday, April 14, 2010 3:06 PM

OPTIMUS1998

The ONLY reason i watched it (at first), was because it is set in (albeit pretty much in name only ) my home town( i could start a whole new thread with the problems/differences between the real town and the show, but i won't). And when you are Lost In Middle America, how often does that happen.

i continue to watch it, cuz even though i am a completely hetero, rather large-ish man-shaped person, i apparently have the movie and tv tastes of a flaming homosexual. ( I loves me the so called "chick flicks",esp Romantic Comedies, and have a bit of a soft spot for musicals)I am apparently slightly "gayer" than my gay freind.

what ya gonna do?

Make Cartoons, Not War
- Sue Blu
Once, while having sex in a tractor-trailer, part of Chuck Norris' sperm escaped and got into the engine. We now know this truck as Optimus Prime.

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Wednesday, April 14, 2010 3:17 PM

GWEK

I agree with CS. Although the return episode this week was disappointing, the show is often quite entertaining. It's generally well-written for what it is, and is often usually very entertaining.

It's not as deep or dark as some other shows, but it's FUN, and that alone makes it worth considering!

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

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Wednesday, April 14, 2010 4:49 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

I'm not caring about this, yet, but it is THE thing which is being talked about - everywhere.

On facebook, on the radio, and now here....sheesh.

Summer Glau can simply walk into Mordor

Bones: "Don't 'rawr' her!"
Booth: "What? she'rawred' me first."

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Wednesday, April 14, 2010 8:09 PM

FILLYGIRL

Operative: "Its worse than you know..." Mal: "It usually is."

I don't see it! Some things are not for everyone and this is not for me. I won't rip it apart, but I find it boring and I can't get into anyone on there and it doen't matter if Joss is directing and NPH is on there,..it is nothing I like to watch. But I can't stand "The Office' either and I hear everyone rave about it,...not 'my cup of tea'.

Chaplain of the 76th Independant Battalion

Do not bother dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

...it's worse than you know...Operative
...it usually is.....Mal

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Wednesday, April 14, 2010 10:57 PM

BIGRICHARD

I watch it each week, since it's something to watch as a family (finding a show that both the guys and girls like is HARD!) and I quite enjoy parts, but I definitely DON'T understand the big deal about it.
Honestly, half of my interest in watching it is from a writing standpoint. Those who watch it might know what I'm talking about. I'll frequently watch it and think about the structure of an episode, and the structure of the season, and why certain events happened so early on in the season, before you could care, and why other events happened before you got to know characters well. Episode-wise, it's written fairly well, but the structure is just awful in my opinion. It looks the build-up and pay off that any good show should have, and that's what keeps me from loving it, I think.

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Thursday, April 15, 2010 12:42 AM

STINKINGROSE

While I understand that it has a certain pull for the gay community (portraying sexuality in a more realistic light) I completely failed to enjoy it.
Which is a shame because some of the cast have very strong voices.

It's a musical soap opera set in a high school.

It's set in a high school because that's probably the only place you might possibly believe the overly dramatic stories. Or rather the believable stories which are then made overly dramatic.

I'm just waiting for the amnesia or coma scene.

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Thursday, April 15, 2010 3:46 AM

ZEEK

Quote:
Originally posted by fillygirl:
I don't see it! Some things are not for everyone and this is not for me. I won't rip it apart, but I find it boring and I can't get into anyone on there and it doen't matter if Joss is directing and NPH is on there,..it is nothing I like to watch. But I can't stand "The Office' either and I hear everyone rave about it,...not 'my cup of tea'.

100% agree. The Office does nothing for me. To me the characters would work much better as cartoons. Cause they sure as heck don't act like real people. I felt the same way about Arrested Development. The characters are just too stupid to be human. I can't suspend that much disbelief.

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Thursday, April 15, 2010 5:13 AM

SHINYGOODGUY

Hey Big R, I kind of agree with your sentiment on the way eps (episodes) are set up. Seems a bit off at times. But, generally, I like the writing.

There was one example I'll allude to, and that's the one in Season 1 where Kurt and Mercedes first become friends and she mistakes his interest for something more than friendship. She sings a song about bashing in his car windows (a popular R&B song of the moment). There I felt I was being manipulated. Not the first time its happened, but for this show - yes. What I mean is that the set up, IMHO, was more about fitting the scene to the song rather than about the relationship between Kurt and Mercedes. That's what may turn off some folks, and, of course, the unrealistic charges.

As for the show's detractors:

Here's what I think folks may be missing: the show is a metaphor. I've heard many criticize it for not being realistic. Its a bunch of kids running around singing on a high school campus (no, its not HSM - High School Musical). The characters are too over-the-top, silly and unrealistic. Well duh, it's West Side Story in a mid-west high school. Then it hit me, this show is NOT HSM.

Disney's HSM is rather plastic (from what little I've seen of the show), a playland where the kids all seem to "behave" in a certain way. "Well, golly jeepers Mr. Smith, you say if I practice hard enough I could go out and win the big game. Swell."

Plus I think that Glee offers up, as best as they could write it, some insights, not only into the world of teenage angst, but into the general ups and downs of how to be human. The football ep where Kurt tries out for placekicker and does the whole Beyonce "Single Ladies" number. It tried, in its own way, to deal with the father having to accept that his son is gay and would more than likely not be the football hero that all dads dream about. This ep was about expectations and stereotypes. Then Kurt goes out and kicks the winning field goal.

Then there's Jane Sylvester. Do you recall what drives her? There was an ep that showed her softer side. The motivations of each character is explored and exposed for us to see. Sometimes the writing and set up get in the way, but more times than not it works.

So if you're looking for a show about kids singing "happy" songs while they deal with Disneyfied high school issues, go watch Disney's HSM.

Glee is more than that, if you look beyond the surface. It's fun.

SGG

Tawabawho?

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Thursday, April 15, 2010 5:31 AM

SHINYGOODGUY

I'll make this short and sweet. I totally agree with you and CS, the opener was weak, but I have high hopes for the rest of the season.

There is one thing though that this ep touched upon that I went through with my niece and her boyfriend. I told her to give herself some time alone after breaking up with her long-time boyfriend. She didn't listen and now she's paying the price.

I know, TV is not real life, but the sentiment is real. Sometimes you need to have some alone time, just to clear your head a bit is all.

SGG

Tawabawho?

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Thursday, April 15, 2010 5:42 AM

GWEK

Quote:
Originally posted by Zeek:
100% agree. The Office does nothing for me. To me the characters would work much better as cartoons. Cause they sure as heck don't act like real people. I felt the same way about Arrested Development. The characters are just too stupid to be human. I can't suspend that much disbelief.

Ironically, I love THE OFFICE because it reminds me of people I know from every job I've worked at. Not that they were as over-the-top (for the most part), but TV and movies are quite often life with the volume turned up to make it more entertaining.

And, for the record, I've worked with people who are far stupider than the characters on THE OFFICE. It's not a good feeling to look at your manager and wonder how he is able to dress himself every morning, and I've lived through that.

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

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Thursday, April 15, 2010 7:38 AM

STORYMARK

People are complaining about a lack of reality in a MUSICAL? Seriously? Have y'all seen a musical? Reality is NOT a big concern in this genre.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Thursday, April 15, 2010 1:29 PM

BIGRICHARD

POST CONTAINS SPOILERS OF FIRST HALF OF SEASON.

Hey SGG, definitely agree, I do like the writing, overall, the dialogue etc, but I just find the structure/set up so distracting.
The Kurt/Mercedes episode you mention in particular, was kinda irritating for me. It was just so obvious. The whole thing about him being too shy to admit he was gay, etc. That whole episode, to me, was a waste. The episode with Kurt playing football, telling his dad, etc, I thought was great. It was definitely an interesting look at trying to conform for those you love, and trying to fit in, but still just doing it your way, and I like those parts of Glee.

The thing about Jane Sylvester is that, yeah, that episode where she looked after her sister or whatever was a very touching moment, and it showed her softer side, BUT THAT DOESN'T FIT WITHIN THE CHARACTER. Too often we see her picking on kids with disabilities and being overly cruel to anyone/everyone, and that side of her being really nice just hasn't altered her character. It was like an episode of the Simpsons, where that episode was brilliant, and then it was completely forgotten by the next.

I like the show, I do, it's fun, and it's an interesting depiction of the different high school groups, which I didn't leave TOO long ago. But it could really use some better structure. For instance, Will 'leaving' in the first episode. I didn't care at all. If that had've been halfway through the season or something, it could've been a brilliant, heartbreaking moment, and then have him come back the NEXT episode, but as it stood, I felt as if "well, why should I care?" And I find that with many things. The episode where Q confronted her parents was brilliant. That was a stand out moment, because it was so well prepared, and held off, until this brilliant moment, where you didn't really expect what happened.

My MAIN character problem though, has to be Will's wife. She's too irritating. I just can't comprehend how she was ever someone that he fell in love with, and stayed with, and that irritates me.

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Thursday, April 15, 2010 2:52 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

The basic answer is that if you feel the need to ask, then no, you shouldn't care. There's plenty of other shows to watch if you don't care for Glee, or read a book, go for a walk, spend time with your family. Please don't waste it on a show you're not sure about.

As for me, I've watched every episode, and I like quite a bit of it, but it's not anything I'll ever rewatch.

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Sunday, April 25, 2010 1:37 AM

CAMPBECC

It depends if you are a teenage girl then you should probably care otherwise I would say you shouldn't

Save Chuck go to http://savechucknow.wordpress.com/1-2/ to see how you can help

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Sunday, April 25, 2010 4:10 PM

BORIS

I love it...for the disfunctionality and interactions between the characters. I have to admit a big part of the appeal is that although i find the characters interesting, I'm not invested in any of them, so if the show dies it won't bother me. It's just entertaining on a purely fluffy level which we need sometimes.

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Monday, April 26, 2010 6:00 AM

SIMONWHO

I really like it and it was my girlfriend who introduced me to it so if I end up gay, totally her own fault.

Perhaps the easiest way is comparing it to Buffy - whereas slaying demons is the metaphor for various high school issues, they're represented in Glee by songs. The characters are brash and bold but all have their points of interest, with Sue Sylvester a particularly monstrous delight. Plus every song they sing makes a small fortune on iTunes - not many TV shows carry such easy merchandising these days so you can see the attraction.

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Monday, April 26, 2010 12:46 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Other than Will's hopefully soon to be ex-wife and her fake pregnancy storyline, the only other thing I don't like about the show is that all of the musical numbers (including the rehearsals) are too polished and orchestrated. A little more realism would help ground the show and make the characters more accessible, IMO.

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Monday, April 26, 2010 4:51 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Three good reasons to watch Glee tomorrow night.

Kristen Chenoweth returns! One good reason is that she can sing better than anyone else who has ever appeared on the show. I'll let you figure out the other two.

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Monday, April 26, 2010 9:19 PM

BIGRICHARD

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
Other than Will's hopefully soon to be ex-wife and her fake pregnancy storyline, the only other thing I don't like about the show is that all of the musical numbers (including the rehearsals) are too polished and orchestrated. A little more realism would help ground the show and make the characters more accessible, IMO.

I completely agree with this post 100%.
EC is spot on, couldn't have said it better myself.
Nothing irks me more than seeing them sit down at a piano, start singing, and then we hear a full band come in, out of nowhere, and the voices start sounding all 'electronic' etc, yet it's supposed to be this intimate moment or something. Just bothers me.

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Sunday, May 9, 2010 3:44 PM

OPTIMUS1998

ok folks, i know things seem TOO polished, and well orchestrated on these type of shows,
but for good reason.
THEY ARE!
it's a tv show!
you must remember to kick-start your suspension of disbelief matrices!

that also helps in the real world sometimes...

Make Cartoons, Not War
- Sue Blu
I was a Lima loser for 29 years before "glee" introduced us to the term. -ME

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Sunday, May 9, 2010 11:11 PM

BIGRICHARD

optimus, i totally agree with you on other things, and I suspend my disbelief a LOT with this show, but it's not about suspension of disbelief, it's more just that it annoys me, because the style/scale which they perform the song in is what makes the moment, and often the scene/moment/emotion is ruined by the huge scale production of the song.

That's just me personally.

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Monday, May 10, 2010 1:04 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Not only was the last episode's opening number over-produced, I was wondering how many current high schoolers even know who Vanilla Ice was, much less know that song.

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Monday, May 10, 2010 8:50 AM

RUGBUG

Quote:
Originally posted by BigRichard:
optimus, i totally agree with you on other things, and I suspend my disbelief a LOT with this show, but it's not about suspension of disbelief, it's more just that it annoys me, because the style/scale which they perform the song in is what makes the moment, and often the scene/moment/emotion is ruined by the huge scale production of the song.

That's just me personally.

Total Gleek here...

I'm hoping that the first few eps of this half of season 1 were abnormal. I don't mind that the songs are so produced as I understand not wanting to record two different versions of each song, but I don't like the huge numbers that accompany. If there is a flimsy reason for a number, fine. But a fully produced, choreographed number during the middle of an ep for no apparent reason? I don't like that so much. Bad reputation got the balance right again...and I hope it continues.

They do also need to be aware of writing the show and finding the songs vs. finding the songs and then writing the show. It annoys me when you felt led on a story arc just because there is a song that works. As I didn't know the "Bust your Windows" song, I didn't feel like the song led that story. There have been a few times, however, that I was like 'oh, that's why we went down that path.' That's what I don't like.

What I love about the show is that it is so over the top, but it's grounded in true emotion. The scenarios can be far-fetched and overly dramatized, but the emotion behind them is always real. That's this show's schtick.

As for song choice, I don't care if it's appropriate for high-schoolers of that age. They probably don't know Vanilla Ice OR MC Hammer, but whatevs. I'm sure a lot don't know the show tunes they sing either. IMO, it's more important to pick good songs (songs with some familiarity for the audience over what these kids may or may not know. For the most part the song choices (and arrangements) have been great. I can tell you that I will gladly listen to some music that would NEVER touch my iPod in the original versions (any of the R&B stuff). I appreciate when they have some of the unrehearsed moments, but like I said earlier, I'm okay with the songs being produced once (meaning for immediate availability on iTunes). I can't imagine the production of this show is easy at any level. There's script, music, dance, etc, so if they have to take a shortcut by doing one version of the song, so be it.

***************
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw

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Monday, May 10, 2010 10:45 AM

STORYMARK

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
Other than Will's hopefully soon to be ex-wife and her fake pregnancy storyline, the only other thing I don't like about the show is that all of the musical numbers (including the rehearsals) are too polished and orchestrated. A little more realism would help ground the show and make the characters more accessible, IMO.

But sell fewer copies on iTunes - for which the show has become a total cash cow. Don't expect them to go for more realism.... ever.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Monday, May 10, 2010 12:47 PM

RUGBUG

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
A little more realism would help ground the show and make the characters more accessible, IMO.

The emotion is what grounds the show, IMO. I've rarely seen them get the emotion wrong so far.

I think they've done two unproduced numbers: the kids sitting around singing "Must be the Money" and something just recently...it was nice...but I realized I preferred the produced numbers. :D

As for Kristen Chenoweth? Blech. I think April Rhodes is sort of funny, but I could do without KC singing much of anything at all. I understand she has a great voice, it just doesn't appeal to me one iota. "Maybe this time" is one of the songs on the soundtracks that I skip over without thinking twice.

***************
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw

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