Review: Glee
If there was anything to be learned from the High School Musical franchise it was that cute, underdressed tweens prancing about full of the joys of adolescence and singing incessantly attract money like Zack Efron attracts hysteria. So far, the only attempt to capitalise on this fact in the UK was the stupendously banal and consequently short-lived Brittania High. However, a new figuring of the concept has exploded onto stateside screens courtesy of writer Ryan Murphy, known best for his work on Nip/Tuck. Spanish teacher, Will Schuester, volunteers to coach William McKinley High school show choir (apparently they’re known as glee clubs) after their mentor is fired for lewdness. The choir, New Beginnings, encompasses the standard stereotypic array of outsiders and misfits whose competition takes the shape of the hyper-successful cheerleading team, led by the despotic coach Sue Sylvester. The pilot sees a procession of social outcasts auditioning for roles in the choir, whilst the personal life of Will is introduced and it is revealed that he is married to a high-maintenance bed sheet store employee. The characters in the choir are for the greater part endearing and talented, but our interest is soon diverted by the brilliantly caricatured hell-hag that is Sue Sylvester. She is nothing short of hilarious, and one of the first lines in the pilot is ‘Your resentment is delicious’.
Glee has its own brand of wit, chiefly through the irony it more than hints at in the first episode with the wheel-chair bound Artie singing the lead of ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat’. Furthermore, Glee is richly textured and reeks of potential for a second season, and the individual episodes sustain the overall plot at a steady pace whilst standing alone as entertaining enough for it not to matter if you miss an episode. Issues of mental illness, race, alcoholism, bulimia, drug use and a faux-pregnancy are typical script strategies in Season One. This may sound heavy-going but the show’s deft application of irony to any topic keeps things sunshine bright and optimistic. Any musical-haters will be surprised at how entertaining Glee is, there are only about two or three musical numbers in each episode, and they are presented in a similar fashion to a music video, with high production values, modern tracks and talented, talented singers, which means in Glee, there really isn’t a dull moment.
Here in the UK, the Glee pilot will air on E4 on 15 December 2009, with a full series launch in January 2010.
By Kirsty Leckie-Palmer
If there was anything to be learned from the High School Musical franchise it was that cute, underdressed tweens prancing about full of the joys of adolescence and singing incessantly attract money like Zack Efron attracts hysteria. So far, the only attempt to capitalise on this fact in the UK was the stupendously banal and consequently short-lived Brittania High. However, a new figuring of the concept has exploded onto stateside screens courtesy of writer Ryan Murphy, known best for his work on Nip/Tuck. Spanish teacher, Will Schuester, volunteers to coach William McKinley High school show choir (apparently they’re known as glee clubs) after their mentor is fired for lewdness. The choir, New Beginnings, encompasses the standard stereotypic array of outsiders and misfits whose competition takes the shape of the hyper-successful cheerleading team, led by the despotic coach Sue Sylvester. The pilot sees a procession of social outcasts auditioning for roles in the choir, whilst the personal life of Will is introduced and it is revealed that he is married to a high-maintenance bed sheet store employee. The characters in the choir are for the greater part endearing and talented, but our interest is soon diverted by the brilliantly caricatured hell-hag that is Sue Sylvester. She is nothing short of hilarious, and one of the first lines in the pilot is ‘Your resentment is delicious’.
Glee has its own brand of wit, chiefly through the irony it more than hints at in the first episode with the wheel-chair bound Artie singing the lead of ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat’. Furthermore, Glee is richly textured and reeks of potential for a second season, and the individual episodes sustain the overall plot at a steady pace whilst standing alone as entertaining enough for it not to matter if you miss an episode. Issues of mental illness, race, alcoholism, bulimia, drug use and a faux-pregnancy are typical script strategies in Season One. This may sound heavy-going but the show’s deft application of irony to any topic keeps things sunshine bright and optimistic. Any musical-haters will be surprised at how entertaining Glee is, there are only about two or three musical numbers in each episode, and they are presented in a similar fashion to a music video, with high production values, modern tracks and talented, talented singers, which means in Glee, there really isn’t a dull moment.
Here in the UK, the Glee pilot will air on E4 on 15 December 2009, with a full series launch in January 2010.
By Kirsty Leckie-Palmer