Let's Talk About Glee

Last night's post-superbowl episode of Glee was the show's most viewed episode in its limited history, and oh boy was it a train wreck. That might be a little harsh. But only a little.

First of all, it has often been my criticism of Glee that the show refuses to pick a genre and stick to it. Last night's episode/commercial/series of stunts/elaborate dream sequence illustrates this point better than ever before. At points in the episode, Glee seems like a ridiculous parody of the formulaic Disney dramas that it sprang out of (High School Musical, anyone?). See as examples any time that there is almost a "feel-good-everyone-has-learned-a-lesson" moment only to be undercut at the last moment by somebody's unwillingness to change. Karofsky comes to mind on several occasions in this one episode alone.

At other times, it just borders on the ridiculously absurd for comedy's sake. For example, see Sue Sylvester's double rampage on the set reminiscent of something out of a 1960's monster movie. Or the deadly human cannon that apparently isn't illegal in all 50 states. Or the cheerleaders routine involving stunt cyclists and sparkler bras. Really anything involved with Sue Sylvester.

At still other times, it takes itself incredibly seriously, missing obvious spoof opportunities. Anything with Kurt tends to fit this description, as it wouldn't be very PC to poke fun at homosexuality. Why were he and the Warblers in this episode anyway? Another terribly obvious overly dramatic, but not comedically acknowledged moment would be the ending of the football game. Now, granted, I never played football in high school, but I'm willing to bet that something as simple as a chant from the stands wouldn't cause me to blatantly ignore the snap I had just called for. It actually would have been more believable if the crowd hadn't joined in with the creepy looking football players. Yet Glee makes no attempt to tip their hat in mockery to the terribly contrived ending they came up with.

And don't even get me started on the complexities of the sets and lighting designs that these kids use for "rehearsal" purposes in their high school auditorium, or their constant budget issues and ever changing matching outfits and fx makeup.

Then there's the issue of the Glee/Chevy crossover commercial mixed into the middle of the episode. First of all, it re-used a plot line central to an earlier episode involving the glee club making a commercial, getting paid in mattresses, and almost getting disqualified from competition. To make it worse, the commercial was a two-part beast that played like a mini-episode of Glee with even more stilted dialogue. I point you to Sue's voiceover exposition in the first part ("little do they know that by performing in an ad they'll lose their amateur status and be barred from competition forever") and Rachel's "but wait" moment at the end of the second. Here was another missed opportunity for the writers. How easy would it have been for Glee to poke fun at itself by changing Rachel's final line from "Wait! Won't appearing in a commercial revoke our amateur status and make us ineligible for Glee Club Competition?" to "Wait, didn't we already use this plot line?" or if we wanted to maintain Glee's foolish insistence on not breaking the fourth wall, "Wait, didn't Sue already try this last year?" Either one would have at least acknowledged that Glee was reusing old material intentionally for the commercial.

Glee could be an excellent parody, but it takes itself too seriously. It could be an excellent drama, but it relies too much on the absurd. It could be an excellent straight comedy, but they insist on maintaining the Disney-esque feel-good family message. Glee tries to put its foot in too many categories, and, as a result, masters none of them.

That said, I still watch it every week, so what does that say about me?