Sunday, June 14

New Series: Glee


OK. I don't do movie/series reviews. Not exactly my forte. But I write whatever that moves me. And this pilot preview moved me indeed. Created by Ryan Murphy, who has Nip/Tuck under his belt (that didn't come out right, did it? ROFL!), this new show is a teenage comedy/musical set in a small town in Ohio. Another High School Musical, you ask? Maybe. But so far, in the 1-hour preview, they sing in a timely manner. None of that suddenly breaking out in a song during a basketball match. Yes, I did watch High School Musical 1 & 2. Sue me. It is a veritable cesspool (always wanted to use that term) of cliched and hackneyed backgrounds. There's a good-guy teacher who wants to relive his glory days of high school, while stuck with a job that has mediocre pay and benefits, who's struggling between living his passion and earning enough to support his wife and her (possible) pregnancy. Then there's the typical American-style high school caste system, where the jocks and cheerleaders are at the top of the food chain, and the freaks and losers are at the bottom. And then there's the Glee Club, at sub-basement level (taken from a line in the show). This is the first time I heard of a Glee Club, sorta like a musical/choir group, with some choreography. I think. Apparently some (in real life) are freaking good. Anyway, the jocks and cheers want nothing to do with this Glee Club. Or so it seems, at first. There's a star quarterback who's raised by a single mother, and dreams of making it big, making her proud. As it turns out, he also sings well. Yeah I know. Some people are born blessed it's unfair. There's a diva who's raised by a gay couple, and who's a queen herself. She's the best singer (a Broadway act in real life), but hated at school. Definitely a Carrie potential. There's a clean-freak teacher who's mad about that good-guy teacher, and a potential love interest. And the list goes on. However, instead of the story itself seeming cliched, it turned out amazing. One of the reviews stated that this show is a satire on current American society, down to its economic crisis effect on the common people. The main theme of this show is about belonging. And about following one's passion. The students who sign up for Glee Club are (talented) losers. But they don't want to be anonymous losers. They want to be something more, something special. Most of the cast are also regular TV acts. I may not know their names, but their faces are familiar. The dialogues are sharp and clever, and the soundtrack (the songs they sing) is dope. The perkiness of it all is uplifting. Conflict, man are there conflicts rife in this episode. Maybe not up the scale of New York exploding in the future and it's up to some unlikely Heroes to stop it, or finding the way out of one prison after another, but conflict nonetheless. If you're looking for a story with a hook, this is it. From the first episode, I'm hooked. Well, I also have a soft spot for musicals, but hey. Bad news is, I have to wait for the Fall season for this show to start its regular airing. I know, right? Cheers! PS: Yeah I downloaded the show, like many other shows. It takes forever for US series to land on our shores, and even then not all shows get through. Thanks to all those wonderful people who come up with and share P2P!