You won’t even get through the first 60 seconds without the token gay geek hoping he doesn’t get beat up — because he’s wearing the new Marc Jacobs line. And it’s not five minutes before we’re straight into musical auditions. And not eight minutes before we’re talking about a family with two gay dads! And not 20 minutes before there’s a locker room shower scene!
So how successful is Fox’s new show Glee — which we’re obsessing over — at updating high school musical stereotypes to reap comedic gold? We’ll let you watch for yourself right here, since last night’s preview won’t hit Hulu for another day, and the season doesn’t start until the fall. And that’s just hateful!
dgz
i watched while feverishly voting for idol. music was good, show… meh. overhyped, oddly edited. i think the writers need to make up their minds; it was narrated sometimes, by various characters; it was half-serious, half slapstick; and the plot developed so fast i thought i had overdosed on meth. lots of potential, though.
Gigglingfool
it was good for a pilot, needs to be re edited. Some of the dialogue was really awkward and i agree about the lets-narrate-oh-wait-just-kidding comment, make up your minds.Some glitches, but I have hope for this show !!!!
Ben
The first half was a dumbed down reversion of Alexander Payne’s Election, from the characters to the narration style to the misanthropic point of view; then it turned around 180º degrees towards a “Yes, we can” approach that was incoherent with the setup. But for a non HBO show it was enjoyable.
Michelle Brooke
Such a good show! Loved it!
ask ena
I laughed outloud.
And the background segue music…a capella Debussy? BRILLIANT!!
Matt
I thought it was enjoyable, camp fun, but definitely very cheezy. Hmm, kinda like a musical! I enjoyed the nontraditional editing and construction, personally, though I felt they could have toned down the absurdity of the plot a little bit.
stevenelliot
It reminded me a lot of the show “popular” but with music and song mixed in. I liked it. The lead female singer has two gay dads
emjayay
Yeah, it had some problems but lots of potential, and it was the pilot. For example, the teacher’s recruiting speech to the jocks was inexplicably lame. What bothered me the most, and I don’t expect this will change, is that the chorus members are all insanely talented, like the best of a performing arts high school, which is unrealistic to a degree that it takes the viewer (well, me) out of some suspension of disbelief. And what’s much worse is that when they perform together suddenly they are obviusly lip syncing to what sounds like professional studio singers. There is no aural indication at all that they are running around the stage doing choreography while they sing. And even worse, they ignore the mics except for once in a while when they don’t. All this doesn’t fit in with the semi realistic tone of the show overall. But, it’s pretty gay. But not quite as gay as the gayest thing ever on network TV, Ugly Betty!
David
I also watched while voting for Idol haha. I really enjoyed it. Yes, it had some moments where I was just like “What!?! Seriously?” But It made me laugh quite a bit too. For a Pilot I thought it was really good. Does anyone know how it did as far as ratings go?
I liked the music a lot. I gave in an bought their version of Don’t Stop Believin’ from itunes.
lessthan
I kinda found it a bit homophobic. The last Glee club teacher was ousted because he was touching the boys and the girl with the two gay dads is psychotic.
I was also really annoyed with the singing. It sounded great, but the magic background singers really got to me, especially on that last number. There is no way five people put out that much sound.
Geoff
Just watched it thanks to the link Queerty. Perfect show? No. Fun? Absofreakinlutely. A little retooling and this should/could be a must watch. The cynic in me doesn’t want to get too attached since shows tend to get axed so quickly.
Mattie
Watched it and liked it. But, the gay kid. Umm, why does he have to be EXACTLY what straight America thinks a gay kid is? He was totally unlikeable. And of course, into fashion and being delicate.
Cam
I have to say I hated the fact that one of the teachers was feeling up a male student and got fired for it. They can have another student talk about her “Two Gay Dads” all they want, but they presented the gay teacher as a drug dealing guy who feels up his male students. Not a great first impression.
kevin (not that one)
@ask ena: “And the background segue music…a capella Debussy? BRILLIANT!!”
No. That was Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
I’m revoking your gay membership!!!!
🙂
slider
I loved Glee and with some refining it will be great.I just hope it lasts more then few episodes..the male hunky teacher and Jane Lynch and the cheerleader coach is cool..she is such a great comedienne…plus one of us..so her snarky humor always adds to a show..I love her as Charlie’s psychiatrist on “Two and half Men”
Now, I hope they add a jock that is Gay and has talent and joins Glee..the show has a lot of possibilities….
I also hope that it is in a decent time slot and not in one where it loses big time….
Gigglingfool
@lessthan: honestly i think your searching. I do hope they show some positive gay role models or use they gay characters they’ve already presented to act positively, but I’m not against having gay characters of questionable behavior. I have had teachers like that, lets not deny their existence because we want to look good for the straights.
And the daughter of the two gay dads (Rachael by the way) wasn’t psychotic, she was just ridiculously self confident, and my opinion a very admirable character
I do hope they dont continue to define the gay-fashion-boy (name escapes me) with stereotypes as they already have started, lets throw some real character development under that Marc Jacobs!
The_Latino
@kevin (not that one):”No. That was Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata”
Moonlight Sonata was there but also Debussy’s “Golliwogs Cakewalk”.
Strepsi
@The_Latino:
Oooh, snap!
—
I loved it.
Ryan Murphy (gay creator of Popular, Nip/Tuck) always straddles the homoerotic / homophobic line, and he has a shower fetish — which has given us Robert Gant, Julian McMahon and Mario Lopes each in the shower, as well as this new boy — so I guess that goes in the PRO column!
scott ny'er
i just saw it. (yeah, i’m late to the game). It was meh. I used to watch Fame religiously, so it’s got some big shoes to fill. :p
i didn’t think the male jock can really sing. He’s just ok. The black chick, the overzealous white chick and the very stereotyped gay dude, they can sing.
I’d prefer to see more minorities and less while bread, lead singers. and more dudes who can really sing.
it was a little like the movie “camp”
Marco
I also find Glee a little homophobic. They have the token gay student act completely feminine (ok, that is fine), while the guys who spend a lot of time on their bodies are straight (it’s true, the guys who can pass as they used to say would not be out in high school, but a little innuendo goes a long way).
But do they have to tell the Mercedes character (another stereotype) that she can do better than dating the gay guy? And the choreographer that they so desperately want drives a corvette and is pointedly hetero because he has a blond girl hanging on him (I guess this is a little bone thrown to the 5% of male choreographers who are straight…ok, equal opportunity, I am all for that).
And then we have the former glee club teacher, the resident pedophile queen who the guys won’t let into their a cappella group because he is well, I guess a queen…and they want to dispel the myth that singing is gay because they are very very straight and women love to see them perform….what?
This show could be pretty good…if it was made in Australia.