YAB Review: ‘Glee’
Posted by meredith on 05-20-2009
Today’s Ypulse Youth Advisory Board post is a TV review from Megan Reid who tuned in for Fox’s special sneak preview of “Glee.” As always, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment below.
YAB Review: ‘Glee’
What was the biggest draw?
I liked the show’s premise of a more “adult” take on the “High School Musical” phenomenon. It definitely delivered on that, with more risque jokes and general snark, but with the same feel-good “we-can-all-get-along-as-long-as-we-have-dance-routines”-type message. Because of that mix of darker comedy (hepatitis jokes; teachers blackmailing students with pot) and sweet tongue-in-cheek homage, I think “Glee” will appeal to a wide audience of teens, and maybe parents, too. Once I found out that the show is helmed by Ryan Murphy, who created “Nip/Tuck,” that combination made more sense. In terms of celebs, the only cast member I’ve heard of was Miley Cyrus’ boyfriend, Justin Gaston, but I didn’t recognize him in his short cameo until a friend clued me in.
What did you expect going in? How much did you know beforehand?
I hadn’t really heard anything about the show before tuning in on Tuesday night. I had seen a few ads on sites like TV Guide and Facebook but didn’t click on them, and I’d skimmed an article online. The show sounded like something I’d like, but nothing I couldn’t catch online later. It wasn’t until I saw at least a dozen friends’ status updates on Facebook and Twitter that I decided to watch. I tuned in five minutes late, but I don’t think I missed too much character or plot development. Evidently, though, the first line was a joke about waterboarding, which I later saw re-tweeted more than a few times.
How did you tune in? Did you watch commercials?
I tuned in to Fox at the normal time. I watched most of the commercials…and got very excited about the Harry Potter 6 trailer.
Sum it up
The show follows a teacher named Will who runs an Ohio high school Glee club. Not surprisingly, the members are stereotypical high school losers, including a kid in a wheelchair, a girl with a stutter, and the star-in-training, Rachel (“I won my first dance competition when I was like three months old”). Still, Will believes he can get this team, which even the teachers mock, to Glee Club Nationals. Of course, nothing is simple. Will is forced to choose between doing what he loves and getting a high-powered job to support his pregnant wife Terri’s shopaholic lifestyle. And new Glee club recruit Finn, a popular football player, is getting paintballed by his teammates for singing with these misfits. By the end of the episode, and after an inspiring rendition of a classic rock hit, Will has decided there’s no way he’ll let his group of singers move on without him, despite the drama that’s sure to come.
Did you spot any brands?
Not yet. But after the credits, an ad played letting viewers know that the covers of “Don’t Stop Believing” and Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” that were featured in the episode are available for download on iTunes. I don’t think I’d pay to download them (as embarrassingly catchy as they are), but I might re-watch those portions of the pilot on Fox.com.
So, what did you think?
The pilot definitely drew me in. I can tell there will be lots of drama in the episodes to come — there are at least two love triangles already, and some clique rivalries that I’d like to see unfold. Plus, the singing is actually better than “High School Musical,” in my opinion, and as a former chorus member and theatre club kid, I found the whole concept really fun. As the episode wrapped up, I caught myself thinking that, after all the season finales of the past week, I’d finally found my summer show. I somehow blanked on the fact that this was just a preview, and that the rest of the episodes don’t start until fall. Lame. Besides my personal disappointment, I’m not sure if the buzz “Glee” is generating on Twitter and Facebook from eager teens and twenty-somethings will last until then. Since I’d definitely recommend “Glee”, here’s hoping!
About Meg
Megan is a college student, freelancer and hardcore bookworm. She began writing fashion articles for her hometown newspaper at age 15, and her work has since appeared in publications like Boston magazine, Mountain Living and CosmoGirl. Meg also loves theatre and the arts, and when she’s not sending postcards, devouring YA novels, or reading up on 19th-century cultural studies, she’s probably dragging someone along on a late-night ice cream/Starbucks run. Meg has lived in three (soon to be four) countries and five states, though she currently resides in Arizona.
Categorized under: TV, Youth Advisory Board
May 20th, 2009 at 9:30 am
I watched the show with my 10 year old and we loved it! I agree, it wasn’t as “babyish” as HSM – it felt like a nice blend of 90210 (without the BJs) and HSM. We both were singing our way to bed, while we brushed our teeth. And I have to get Journey on my Pandora.com music because I forgot how much I like singing (loudly) to their music. We were so bummed to see we have to wait for fall to watch the show. It would have made an excellent summer series!
May 20th, 2009 at 10:53 am
As a parent of teens, I absolutely loved it also. I can’t imagine anyone of any age not liking Glee. It had comedy for tweens and up and fantastic music from the past and now. The cast was incredible. My only complaint is that we now have to wait until September to see new episodes.