Get your gleek on
Now I’m no TV critic, but I know what I like. And I’m loving Glee.
Maybe I’m biased. I was such a gleek in school. But somehow, this highly-touted series hadn’t registered on my radar. I don’t recall any pre-series hype, and I think I just stumbled across it one night while channel-surfing.
After one ep, I was hooked.
And that’s something, given I’m not so keen on musicals. I know, what sort of self-respecting queen am I, right? I guess there’s something that just always seems cheesy and lame about characters bursting into song at the drop of a hat. But Glee manages to tick all the boxes.
It’s fiendish, politically incorrect, and camp as Christmas. It appeals to the underdog in all of us, with deftly crafted storylines, colourful characters and jazz hands galore. But Glee’s secret weapon is the vibrant musical numbers that often resemble contemporary video clips, rather than the histrionic tedium sometimes associated with musicals.
In fact, the music is released on iTunes immediately after each episode. Yup, it’s marketing genius. But the show hangs on to its cred with wicked humour and self-deprecating style, uber-camp performances, and a playful piss-take on the trials and tribulations of teenage life.
Glee follows hopeful high school teacher Will Schuester as he attempts to restore McKinley High’s once-acclaimed glee club. And it’s a veritable mish-mash that makes up this vocal ensemble — hot jocks, prima donna cheerleaders, quirky cranks — you name it, it’s there. Peppered with snappy dialogue, slamming sound bites, and satirical nuance, there really is something for everyone.
But for me, the show stealer is the tyrannical and scathing cheerleader coach, Sue Sylvester, played by openly gay Jane Lynch. This resident villain is hellbent on the demise of glee. And with lines like “you think this is hard, I’m living with hepatitis, that’s hard” and “I always thought the desire to procreate showed deep personal weakness,” Lynch’s character rocks. In fact, I think she may be my new role model.
Kurt came out to his father last week, in a scene that managed to stay fresh and funny and not reek of the soppy, politically correct subtext found in so many coming-out scenes. But I think the Beyonce chorey from Single Ladies did it for me. “Wo-oh-ooh, oh-oh-ooh, oh-oh-ooh, oh-oh-oh.”
If only we had glee club when I was at school.
Meh, no worries .. quite the brouhaha, LOL.
But yep, speaking of Glee – looking forward to this week – the teasers are awesome.
I guess with musicals, it’s not so much a case of believability with the transition from dialogue to song. But it doesn’t always work well in a realistic medium like movies or television, like Phil says – and it’s stuff like this I sometimes just find a bit cheesy or awkward.
In saying that though, always been a fan of live theatre & musicals – electric atmosphere, when done right. Been a gleek in a few myself, LOL.
I think if I was making a point at all, it’d just be that Glee seems to have given on-screen musicals a bit of a facelift & innovated the craft somewhat, which may explain its epic popularity.
Then I’ve always ached for some snappy dialogue, and the Sue Sylvester character is gold. She’s that one-of-a-kind comic personality – like Kramer or Denny Crane – even has a Facebook fan page! LOL.
Thanks for the comments everyone, Phil included.
Cheers xxd
Damien, I’m terribly sorry about this. Mea culpa. I owe you one.
The only thing second-rate about my day would be if I had to:
(a) wade through another of your columns Phil, where you apply antiquated and myopic definitions to whole sections of the community.
(b) wade through another of your columns Phil, where you recycle some other columnist’s piece from the week before with your own spin on it.
(c) wade through your extensive commentary on your colleagues’ pieces where you undermine the integrity of the colleague by correcting them or undermine the integrity of the piece by turning it into the ‘Phil Scott show’ (which seems to degenerate into name calling and insults when someone disagrees with you).
Thankfully due to your ‘Protocol rules!’ line above, I won’t have to worry about point c.
P.S. Apologies to Damien for my part in this commentary turning into the ‘Phil Scott show’ – just exercising my right of reply. Now back to the topic at hand… “Glee”
A person who says they are not patronising finishing a comment like that ? Nasty. Back to the actual topic, Glee ticks all the boxes for me and musicals are not usually my bag either…… Full of cuties and side splitting lines it has got to be about the best thing on TV !
Maybe you’re right. There is such a thing as overkill. But I have taken part in some interesting discussions, and enjoyed it. I certainly don’t comment on “every single article”, and while I can be waspish I don’t have a patronising bone in my body- unless it’s patronising to write good English. Some people take that as a personal insult. Of course, I in my turn am patronised too (see above) and so the world goes round.
But I’ll only respond to comments on my own pieces from now on. Protocol rules!
Alita and Rodney, I hope you both have a truly second-rate day.
Well said Rodney. I mean Phil, don’t you already get paid to opine in your own column without adding your bit to every single article on here? There is such thing as overkill and more often than not you come across as patronising.
Phil Smart, eh? I don’t hate it. As Gulliver said to the Liliputians: we can’t all be Small.
PS: I am not gen Y or X but I enjoy this column as I sometimes do Mr Scotts and others. If only we could peruse these forums without Phil Scotts sarcastic commentary on just about everything!! Another enjoyable read Damien. You can pay me later lol
Phil Smart strikes again!!
Why must you aspire to be the expert on everything Phil? I believe Mr XYU touches on a perfectly valid point and I find subtle put downs of your colleages to be patronising and unprofessional to say the least!!
Oh, and the boy with the mohawk is hot, hot, hot.
Editor’s Note: Um Hello!!!! HOT is an understatement!
Lea Michele was the female lead in the Broadway musical ‘Spring Awakening’. The Sydney Theatre Co are doing a production of that musical early next year.
Oops, Damien: i mentioned musicals. But now that I have, I’m sorry to see you trotting out that tired Gen X cliche of ‘there’s something wrong when people burst into song for no reason’. It’s no sillier than someone crashing a car at high speed, rolling it then stepping out and running away without a scratch. And what about all those guys who skip across tree tops and run up walls in Chinese action movies? That’s believable?
People sing in musicals not out of the blue for no reason, but because their inner thoughts and feelings can no longer be expressed through dialogue. It’s a theatrical form and doesn’t always work well in a realistic medium like movies or television, which is why shows like Glee have to create situations where people would sing and dance anyway. But even then it’s not real. How can those kids devise, choreograph, learn and rehearse two or three major new routines every week? Who writes the arrangements, who finds the musicians, who works out the rehearsal schedule? These things take months, and they take money. In reality, this group would be using downloaded tracks, and half of them wouldn’t know the words.
I do like the lesbian actress, and the Glee club kids. The teacher’s a bit dreary, and all the other adults are trying too hard to be funny.
I should confess I am addicted too. How hilarious was the blonde character tonight!!
Editor’s Note: Afraid the SSO staff are fast turning into Gleeks as well. Keep an eye out for an interview with Lea Michele (who plays the precocious Rachel Berry) and Cory Monteith (sweet, dopey jock Finn Hudson) in a future issue of SSO!