In the beginning, Glee was an amazing show. While there have been musical shows before, there hadn't been anything quite like Glee in my tv viewing history. The show featured a group of stereotypes who were singing real songs that conveyed their feelings and suited the situations. It was a great musical. While the characters weren't overly deep, the show was still new, and the potential for character growth was there. Yeah, some songs were just songs, with no real deeper meaning, but the amount of emotion and plot development in many of the songs was great. It was exactly what a musical is supposed to be.
Unfortunately, this only lasted for approximately the first half of the first season. What changed? It seems to me that you could argue that success is to blame. See, there was a lot of positive word of mouth regarding those first thirteen episodes, which drew in more and more people. Mark and I didn't originally watch it when it was on. We watched it on DVD from Blockbuster before they aired additional episodes, and we fell in love with it. Imagine how let down we were when the show started making decisions that just didn't seem to work.
Obviously, one of the best parts of Glee is the music. Hearing good versions of songs I already love is fun, but I get even more excited when the show introduces me to a song I don't know, especially one I wouldn't have discovered otherwise. I had never heard any music from Wicked, and I immediately loved Defying Gravity when I heard it. I already thought Dancing With Myself was a good song, but the way Glee did it was different but still good. It's these musical choices, coupled with the story being told, that showed Glee could be amazing.
The first of many mistakes seems to be the theme episodes. When an episode centers around a particular musician, such as Madonna, the show is no longer about the songs fitting the story or the characters. It becomes about cramming in as many songs by said artist as possible. This undermines what the early episodes achieved.
It seems, as time goes on, that more and more songs take place either on the stage or in the music room. The early episodes don't avoid this quite as much as I remember, but the best musical numbers expand or avoid these places altogether. Always having the musical numbers in these two locations quickly grows stale. Throughout the series, there are excellent numbers performed in other places that stand out. Even though it is not from the early episodes, Loser is performed at the bed and bath store. While they write it off as a daydream, it still means more than the generic music room pieces.
Perhaps it is these glimmers of hope that are the worst part of Glee. I am currently caught up on Glee, save one episode, I believe. I missed a couple through this season that were no longer on Glee, but I watched multiple episodes in a row that showed me Glee isn't as great as it could have been. The kicker is those songs that are well done and actually mean something. Last season, when Quinn and Rachel did I Feel Pretty/Unpretty, it was moving. The songs blended well; the singers worked nicely together; and the song served to give you a glimpse into the characters. I actually felt something. It's these moments that keep me catching up to Glee periodically. The next paragraph is going to discuss a spoiler for one of the recent episodes. If you are not caught up on Glee and care, don't read it. I don't usually include spoilers, but it serves to illustrate my points.
**SPOILER** Recently, we learned that Coach Beiste had been struck by her husband.* She shows up at school with a black eye, where a couple of the Glee kids make a joke about her man striking her to let him be on top. She, of course, claims she had an accident at the gym. Sue and Roz immediately punish the four girls, making a big deal about how abuse is no laughing matter. Now, I agree that hitting people isn't generally a good idea, but the way they present it is ham-fisted and seems false. I audibly scoffed at their initial handling of the matter.** Now, I don't recall how it fell out, as I know the arc takes more than one episode. Beiste admits that she is being abused, and I felt for her. A later episode featured her finally realizing she could leave Cooter. What finally helps her realize that? Circumstances surrounding Puck lead Beiste to come to her own realizations, which are spurred by their duet of Mean. I'm not proud to admit it, but I cried during that episode. Glee can go from poorly executing a patronizing message to actually making that message mean something. The most moving way for them to do that is through songs that actually mean something to the plot. When the show-runners realize that, they create wonderful and moving pieces, rather than generic music videos.
**END SPOILERS**
Glee is lucky enough to have decent singers and dancers. The characters have the potential to be moving and wonderful. The show is lucky enough to have some talented actors. Upon reflection, a lot of the music that involves Coach Beiste, played by Dot Jones, is great. It may just be that she is a good actresses that seems more real than the others. I recall being unimpressed by the first kiss plot line with her, but she has come to be one of my favorite characters.***
At this point in time, it's too late for many of the characters; many of them are graduating this season which will make them less prominent in the future.**** Glee still has the potential to be great. If they learn from past mistakes and make the show about the characters, not shoehorning in certain songs, we'll see the show become watchable. Until then, I'll make no real effort to watch it, merely putting it on as background noise on days that I'm cleaning house or messing around online.
* On a side note, I don't recall them getting married, but I did miss a couple episodes.
** Which creeped out the cat. I then discussed with him at length how poorly done it seemed.
*** Fun fact: Dot Jones was the woman in The Boondock Saints who explains the rule of thumb and subsequently gets into a fight with the brothers.
****Supposedly.
<< I try to keep my unfounded complaints out of the reviews themselves, but I absolutely hated their choice for a slowed down version of Poker Face to be the song Rachel sings with her mom. Whose idea was that?? Also, how did they not do a good version of Rolling in the Deep by Adele? I know not everyone is capable of doing the song justice, but it seemed like they didn't even try. I know they could have done better by it, as the Rumor Has It/Someone Like You mash up was great.>>
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