(S01E03) "I'm gay." - Kurt to Mercedes
We're three episodes into Glee, and we continue to learn more about the characters' angst, drama, dreams and passion. Kurt told Mercedes he'd never said those words out loud, but -- like the rest of us (excluding Mercedes) -- he must have realized he was gay. I mean, come on, the kid is clearly gay.
There were a lot of great lines in this episode, but Kurt had some of the best, including this one about his car: "My dad got it for me for my 16th birthday if I swore to stop wearing form-fitting sweaters that stop at the knee. What he doesn't know won't hurt him." (He's wearing a red form-fitting sweater that stops at the knee.)
I continue to love the show, and one reason is because that while there are definite stereotypes -- dorks, cheerleaders, jocks, etc. -- it goes behind the facade so we can see there's more to these characters than meets the eye. That includes the adults, too.
Suffering with confidence issues, Will decides to do something about it and form a glee club of his own -- The Acafellas -- with some other guys who all have their own issues. In short, they're just like the dorky glee club kids, only older. I loved the scene where the guys are sitting around the table talking about how pathetic their lives are, and Sandy says, "My life is a disaster with no creative outlet other than writing my Desperate Housewives fan fiction."
Will's wife, Terri, is super annoying. She makes me want to claw my eyes out, and I wish Will would leave her and go straight into the arms of lovely Emma. But that's what they call dramatic tension, so we'll have to see how it all plays out.
Coach Sylvester, on the other hand, is also super annoying but in a fun way, and all the credit for that goes to Jane Lynch. Her character is so completely smarmy, and Lynch knows she's tall and gangly and dorky, so she just goes for it and puts it all out there in the form of Coach Sylvester. In that way, Jane Lynch is a complete and total goddess. She also had some great lines in this episode, including this one where she's talking to her Cheerios spies: "I learned a lot in special forces. I was on the strike team in Panama when we extracted Noriega. We took out the shepherd and then we extracted the sheep."
Wow, Amber Riley has a fantastic voice. Mercedes' solo after breaking the window on Kurt's car was reminiscent of Jennifer Hudson's showstopper in Dreamgirls, "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," with some Rihanna thrown in there.
It sure didn't take the Acafellas long to throw a CD together. They're pretty entertaining, and I especially loved it when Will's dad said, "Son, this is huge. We sold all 17 copies of your CD!" And Will's mom said, "And I didn't even have to show any of them my bosoms!"
Other fun stuff and lines:
- Victor Garber!
- Rachel's "I'm Sorry Cookies."
- The kitschy 1960s filler music -- think The Graduate -- between scenes.
- Mohawk guy and his cougar love.
- "We are glee club. That means we are at the bottom of the social heap. The only thing that gets me by is the knowledge that we are superior to them." - Kurt
- "Josh [Groban] and I have become frequent pen pals since he accidentally friended me on MySpace. The blogs are all atwitter. They say he's looking for an opening act." - Sandy
- "We need to have a gay-vention. That's a gay intervention." - Rachel
- "Why don't you shut your face gash... " - Dakota Stanley to Rachel
- "What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with me is you're freakishly tall. I feel like a woodland creature. - Dakota Stanley to Finn
- "Where's this going, Yentl?" - Dakota Stanley to Rachel after saying she needs a nose job and she says everyone told Barbra Streisand that and she resisted.
- "I came here to tell you -- stop emailing me. Stop sending me nude photos. I don't know how you got my number after I changed it ..." - Josh Groban to Sandy
- "You made me realize it's never to late to grow a pair and go after your dream." - Will's dad to Will
- "I told Finnegan, you're going to have a school full of nancies unless you get some hot wood in those teenager's hands." - Sandy
- "You might wonder why a pop star like me would come talk to someone like you. But let me tell you, throngs of screaming teenagers don't do it for Josh Groban. No, Josh Groban loves a blousy alcoholic." - Josh Groban to Will's mom
- "I'm going to ask you to smell your armpits. That's the smell of failure, and it's stinking up my office. I'm revoking your tanning privileges for the entire semester." - Coach Sylvester to the Cheerios
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-17-2009 @ 3:46AM
shamon said...
This is really good and the music is great i hope it will stick around for another season .
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9-17-2009 @ 9:26AM
R-Bro said...
Okay, someone needs to come out and say this: Glee is highly, highly overrated. It's inconsistent, unfunny, downright creepy at times, and flat-out unbelievable. I mean, is it a show *about* musicals, or is it a musical? Was there ever any question Kurt is gay? I thought the whole point is that he's so obviously gay, it wasn't an issue. And exactly how many times did bland leading-man guy (whose name I can't even remember) hug his dad? Lost count.
And Jane Lynch? Painfully unfunny in every scene she's in -- criminal given how hilarious she can be.
My prediction: Glee will flame out faster than Heroes. Correction: It already has.
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9-17-2009 @ 9:36AM
Jeff said...
Have to disagree with you. Everything that you describe as awful is exactly why the show works. It's meant to be that bad. This is a classic example of train-wreck television, where you know it's going to be ugly and can't look away because you're dying to know just how ugly it's going to get before it's over.
9-17-2009 @ 10:01AM
Sarah said...
i totally agree with you. the first two episodes were pretty good in setting up the stereotypes, but this episode should have broken them down a little more, and it failed to do that. so, instead the storyline feels really shallow and tepid. and the music... gag! if you are going to do a rendition on Boyz II Men, it better not sound like a recording of Kids Bop. it was god-awful! i was waiting for Mercedes to do something with her solo, because she has the pipes, but alas i was disappointed again. the only good number was Mercy and the only really funny line of the night was "But he's lady fabulous!" i really wish they would give her more lines... she is the only character with some depth (a lesbian, punk-rock asian with a stutter who sings in glee club. that a comedic goldmine!).
9-17-2009 @ 10:43AM
Adam said...
Basically, every show is for different people. I hate "How I Met Your Mother", but it has an audience so I simply chalk it up to different strokes. While HIMYM is too unsophisticated for me, "Glee" is clearly way to sophisticated for you. Its okay that you don't get it, but don't try to convince other people your are somehow advanced for not getting something. The things they pull on this show are are so clever that its remarkable that they pull it past the Fox censors. Its like "Arrested Development" in that regard. Also like AD there's basically 2 different shows going on; the humor that's mild and on the surface, and the humor that comes a mile a minute that's very hard to get, but very rewarding if you do.
9-17-2009 @ 12:15PM
czaravm said...
i have to say that while last night's show was very funny, i was very dissapointed with the singing. for instance, jane, you praise the actress amber riley for a fantastic voice, when all i could hear during her solo was the blatent auto-tuning. i mean you really cannot miss it. im sorry for being that guy and pointing out the man behind the curtain, but i think it has to be done.
heres a link to hulu with the full episode if you are curious: http://www.hulu.com/watch/95842/glee-acafellas#s-p1-so-i0
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9-17-2009 @ 12:18PM
czaravm said...
here is a link to the actual song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0cJ2ZEGH2E
you can hear the computer kick in at about :30
9-17-2009 @ 4:29PM
shawn Jones said...
czaravm.....
Do you even know what "auto tuning is? That wasn't auto tune it was a pre-recorded song. When autotune is used you sound like T-Pain. the production of the song is computery (if that is a word) but she is singing!
9-17-2009 @ 6:56PM
King Skylark said...
Actually Shawn, autotune, when overused, sounds like t-pain. Many singers these days use autotune or melodyne to fix off-notes here and there. While the entirety of this song for Glee does not use autotune the way t-pain or kanye have in their albums, there is some obvious use of the program to help her pitch, and you can hear it quite easily if you give it a shot.
She is definitely singing, but to say they are not using autotune on her voice is ignorant of what the program actually does.
9-17-2009 @ 7:04PM
czaravm said...
@king skylark *high five*
thank you, that is exactly what i meant...
9-17-2009 @ 12:21PM
BL said...
Am I the only one who thinks they try to pack too many songs into each episode? Maybe if they took out a couple of songs and put in more plot or character development, it would quiet some of the critics. I know it is about a glee club, but there were at least 5 songs last night and I think 3 would have been enough. I like the show, but I just have to wonder.
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9-21-2009 @ 6:48PM
David Holtzinger said...
I really want to like Glee. I loved the first episode. What I loved was the live feeling of the music and how good the music was. In the last two episodes the music sounded canned with obvious lip-syncing. For example, take last nights musical performance by Mercedes. The music is obviously done in a studio, all tweaked and prodded by music engineers. If they can afford the extras to do the backup dancing in that number why not get a live band out there to do the music. Why not record her bit live. Then there was the Acafellas. All canned, no live feel to their performance, either in look or sound.
Now I like the characters, I like the comedy and the drama, but what drew me to this show was the liveliness of the music. If the show continues to use studio canned music, I will likely find something else to watch and Glee may just fall by the wayside.
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9-21-2009 @ 12:10PM
4beard said...
I too have been trying to like Glee after all the hoopla we are hearing about it but I just don't get it. It isn't funny and it is even trashier than One Tree Hill. I agree that shows appeal to different tastes but please don't insult anyone by saying that they are just "unsophisticated" to be able to enjoy Glee. Sophistication has nothing to do with it! Stop being a snob. I for one am giving up on Glee- gave it 3 episodes and have no desire to watch more.
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9-17-2009 @ 1:01PM
scott said...
i just can't get over how old the creepy kid from the beginning of jurassic park has gotten!
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9-17-2009 @ 2:50PM
MCW said...
And A Nightmare on Elm Street. He's always scary, but I didn't expect the "I feel like a woodland creature" line... that was hilarious.
9-17-2009 @ 1:19PM
Kristi said...
I really enjoy this show, the singing and performances are great, but hope the story-lines gel better together from episode to episode. Find out my Favorite Performance and Favorite Song.
http://www.orble.com/teevee-glee-ep-2/
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9-17-2009 @ 2:03PM
Nate said...
I like Glee and will continue to watch it, but the reviews since the pilot episode aired have been so wildly over the top in their praise that I have to agree with those who say it is overrated. Not because it isnt good, but because the reviews, after only three shows, have been a bit lavish. Its a good show now, and should get better as it goes along, but critics are going nuts over this show and its all a bit to unrealistic and premature, in my opinion.
My only real criticism of the show itself is that the coach of the Cheerios is too annoying and is featured to prominently in the first few episodes. If her character continues to be so central to each episode it will become a big turn off. Also, Wills' wife needs to be more refined as a character, rather than being so one dimensional and off putting, as she is now. But it is early in the shows run, so hopefully these things will shake out in the end.
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9-17-2009 @ 2:19PM
jDub said...
Bell Biv Devoe, not Boys II Men. I don't mind that the singing is prerecorded - it sounds great, when it might not live, especially with all of the dancing. Generally a really fun show - I just want to see Terry get what's coming to her . . .
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9-17-2009 @ 4:10PM
shawn Jones said...
czaravm.....
Do you even know what "auto tuning is? That wasn't auto tune it was a pre-recorded song. When autotune is used you sound like T-Pain. the production of the song is computery (if that is a word) but she is singing!
Reply
9-17-2009 @ 7:27PM
horsenbuggy said...
Didn't you say that you're composing an open letter to Ryan Murphy and that we could add bits to it?
I have a tiny thing to add. It's really not important, but it's one of those things that just bugs me. When I was in high school, I never left my locker without spinning my lock. The idea was that unless you spun your lock, someone could just come by and open it again since it was technically still "on" the right combination. No high school show ever gets this right. I have never seen any actor do this. But for me it's like watching old TV shows where actors get into cars and don't put on their seat belts (or worse, move the steering wheel back and forth from "9" to "3" when they're supposed to be driving straight).
I don't know, maybe lockers are more advanced now and will only open once per combination entry?
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