Not so Gleeful
Sep. 10th, 2009 12:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
weewarriorHaving now watched the second episode - after not finishing the pilot a few months ago - I'm still deeply hesitant about this show.
- First, and foremost, I've never watched anything else by Ryan Murphy, but are his adult female characters always this scathingly drawn? There is not one in the bunch who doesn't strike me as deeply obnoxious and that includes the love interest whom the audience is apparently meant to root for.
- In contrast, the adult male characters so far seem at worst weak-willed. I'm not entirely sure how sympathetic Will, the main character, is supposed to be - on the one hand, he seems to vaguely dote on the kids and his passion for the Glee Club is obviously an outlet for a suffocating creative spirit, which in TV land is usually a shorthand for our hero protagonist who is somehow "deeper" than the others, but on the other he's often obtuse to the feelings of people around him and commonly uses the club to relive his own glory days.
- The relationship between Terry and Will is one of the worst examples of a badly drawn triangle hypotenuse I've ever seen. I have no idea why Will would even want to stay with Terry, who simply has no redeeming qualities. It's like one of these by-the-numbers romantic comedies, where you don't get why the bland lead stays with his bitchy girlfriend instead of the equally bland cute and perky love interest, other than to fill 90 minutes of film.
- Despite these points, I actually like the kids, the singing is enjoyable, and I'm very fond of the principal. The visual aspects and production design are also deeply gorgeous. I'm just not sure that'll be enough to keep me watching.
- First, and foremost, I've never watched anything else by Ryan Murphy, but are his adult female characters always this scathingly drawn? There is not one in the bunch who doesn't strike me as deeply obnoxious and that includes the love interest whom the audience is apparently meant to root for.
- In contrast, the adult male characters so far seem at worst weak-willed. I'm not entirely sure how sympathetic Will, the main character, is supposed to be - on the one hand, he seems to vaguely dote on the kids and his passion for the Glee Club is obviously an outlet for a suffocating creative spirit, which in TV land is usually a shorthand for our hero protagonist who is somehow "deeper" than the others, but on the other he's often obtuse to the feelings of people around him and commonly uses the club to relive his own glory days.
- The relationship between Terry and Will is one of the worst examples of a badly drawn triangle hypotenuse I've ever seen. I have no idea why Will would even want to stay with Terry, who simply has no redeeming qualities. It's like one of these by-the-numbers romantic comedies, where you don't get why the bland lead stays with his bitchy girlfriend instead of the equally bland cute and perky love interest, other than to fill 90 minutes of film.
- Despite these points, I actually like the kids, the singing is enjoyable, and I'm very fond of the principal. The visual aspects and production design are also deeply gorgeous. I'm just not sure that'll be enough to keep me watching.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-10 07:58 pm (UTC)I was glad they slightly toned down her awfulness - after the pilot, I suspected she was completely faking the pregnancy, not mistaken herself about it, although that was a ridiculous plot twist. But the show isn't exactly realistic, so I can roll with it.
My main gripe was, I suppose, mainly with production values, which should have been expected. I remember hearing that the pilot had a large budget, much larger than each episode would have, but it really bothered me that it never seemed like they were actually singing when they were supposedly singing. I don't remember that being a problem in the pilot, although it has been months since I watched it. I was completely in love with the final number of the pilot - I have a not-so-secret soft spot for Journey, and I thought it was very well-done. I recall actually choking up a bit watching it, embarassingly enough. However, in this episode, it seemed like it was mostly lip-synching, which bothered me perhaps more than it should have.
I like Jane Lynch, but they really need to give her some kind of redeeming quality that would allow me to laugh with her (often quite funny) barbs rather than just feel uncomfortable with her character.
I wish we would see more of Will being like he was when he was dancing with the kids during Gold Digger. I think that was the first time we've actually seen him doing any dancing or singing, and not only was he fun to watch dance, and sort of hot for the first time, he didn't have that weak-willed thing that I agree is really annoying. But again, the fact that he obviously wasn't singing drew me out of the moment.
And I have to agree with you that the principal kicks ass.
I'll give it a couple more episodes, but if the characterization of the adults doesn't get a little better, I may just start skimming for the actual glee club scenes - which I think this episode could have used more of.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-10 08:03 pm (UTC)By the way, love your icon!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-10 09:14 pm (UTC)