Don't Stop Believing

Glee!  Before I get into it, here's my thing about Glee.  First, it's a musical.  And for better or for worse, the show puts music first, story second.  Sometimes it's awesome.  Sometimes it seems like it's on crack.  Second, this show is for all the losers out there.  This is a show for anyone who is or was in HS and was seen as an outsider, outcast, or just didn't plain fit in.  I like that aspect.  Sometimes, the writers carry it too far, but it means well.  (most of the time.)

A friend of mine gave me the first 13 episodes after I was going through a rough time.  (*ahembeingdumpedahem*) The first season was divided in half, and they put out the first 13 on DVD before the second half of the season started.  For some people, the Front 13 are considered special.  I don't personally find them better or worse than anything that has come after it.  It's just different.  Because it was written and produced in a bubble, before fans could pick everything a part, before the writers gave into self indulgence, before guest stars, tribute episodes, and lesbian hookups, the Front 13 was at least consistent.  I'm gonna be upfront, nothing else has been consistent, so enjoy it while it lasts.  

The story starts off being about this guy ------------------->  
Will Schuester (or Mr. Schue), a man who's life is about as sad as any of the kids he teaches.  He's a (bad) Spanish teacher at the high school he graduated from (William McKinley HS, in lovely (sarcasm) Lima, Ohio) and spends time between classes staring at the old trophy case, reminding him of the good ole days in the early 90's when he used to sing in glee club.  Because that was the last time he was actually cool.  (or felt cool?  I'm not sure how cool Will was back in the day)

Side note: Will is played by the talented, yet underused or sometimes badly used Matthew Morrison.  It's a shame that a character who starts off as quite likable, and one to root for, and originally the star of the show, becomes a dick and a half later on, because Morrison has skill, is a fantastic musician, and can do some great acting when allowed.  Oh Glee, and your notorious crappy plotlines.  Anyway, I'm amused that Morrison is only 5 years older than I am.  It makes me feel old.

Anyway, Will gets his chance to form a glee club when the old director Sandy...
is accused of feeling up boys during practice.  Btw, have I mentioned that this show is completely gay?  And I mean that in both the happy and homosexual way.  It's deliciously and wonderfully so, and after the songs, my favorite reason for watching.  But here, it's creepy, because teachers really shouldn't be feeling up students during class.  That's just gross.

Moving on, Principal Figgins (who plays a decent role throughout the series, and completely embodies the easily swayed, douchey school administrator) lets Will have the glee club.  Only Will has to raise money or win a competition or something in order to keep it.  I can't remember the exact plot point, but it's reoccuring during the first season because Will is always on the brink of having the glee club shut down.

There are two people not really happy about the new glee club:

1. Sue Sylvester-------------------->  
Sue is the coach of the Cheerios (The Cheerleading Squad).  And she's known for having the most elaborate, insane routines for her group and being one of the meanest people on the planet.  Seriously, Sue is a cartoon supervillian in the most entertaining of ways.  She yells a lot.  She treats people like crap.  She has the most insane dialogue.  She comes up with the most outrageous diabolical plans.  And she has the most amazing one-liners about Will's hair.  Anyway, she doesn't like that Will's club has cut into her budget and will do anything to get rid of the glee club.  I think here, she only threatens, but obviously as time goes on, her words get set into motion.

And I have to take a second to wax poetics about Jane Lynch.  She's one of those actresses you know you've seen in a million things, but don't really remember from where.  But man, she's good.  Again, it's a shame that the writing lags so much, because you can give anything to Jane Lynch and she'll make it gold.

2. Terri Schuester ------------------>  
Unlike the hilariously entertaining Sue, Terri is just awful.  Terri is Will's wife.  You see, in a love story for the ages, Will and Terri were high school sweethearts (her being a cheerleader, homecoming queen, prom queen, etc, etc,) and got married, even though they probably shouldn't have done that.  Terri is selfish, manipulative, mean, and just plain stupid.  She doesn't seem to really love Will, although she seems to love to control him, and get him to do whatever she wants.  Oh man, I can't express how much I hate this character.  Anyway, Terri wants Will to quit being a teacher in general, so that he can become an accountant, grow up (which he probably should), and move on to making more money so "they" (she) can be happy.  She's also pissed that glee club takes time away from his continual adoration of her.  I pretty much hate this character more than any other in the entire show, and because she plays such a big part in the Front 13, it's one reason I can't claim that the original episodes were the BEST EVER!!!

Despite all the crap he's getting, Will is excited about starting the glee club, and comes up with the name New Directions.  Because, you know, his life is going in a "new direction".  And it's a "new direction" for the kids in the club.  Clever, Mr. Schue, clever.  Anyway, the original participants of New Directions:

   <-------------------------------------------------- Mercedes Jones
The black diva, and everything that implies.  She does runs.  She does sass.  And she will not be put in the background.  (played by Amber Riley, who can, oh man, sing wonderfully, but acting wise, um, well, she has her moments.

  <-------------------------------------------------- Tina Cohen-Chang
She's Asian.  And stutters for about an episode and a half.  And Asian.  And sometimes dresses goth-like.  And did I mention she's Asian?  Okay, I'm gonna be honest, I know little about her character.  But truth be told, there isn't much to actually know.  She's really one of the most shafted characters on the show.  (Played by Jenna Ushkowitz, whom I know even less about.  Sorry Jenna.  I should probably at some point brush up on you.  I'm sorry your character is so shafted.)

  <---------------------------------------------------  Artie Abrams
Unfortunately, we don't get to see his audition, which I find a shame.  You can't tell in this photo, but he's a cripple--has a wheelchair.  He seems like he should be really nerdy with the glasses and the suspenders, but he's not really so.  He also plays the guitar, and is part of the jazz band, but that plot point gets dropped along the way.  (played by Kevin McHale.  You may remember him from that one office episode, you know, where Michael locks the pizza boy in the conference room?  Yeah, he was the pizza boy.  Also, ironically, McHale is one of the best dancers on the show. Obviously, not seen very often.)


   <---------------------------------------------------- Kurt Hummel
There are three things to know about Kurt.  He's a fashionista.  He has a high voice.  And he's gay.  And put those things together, you could get one really awful stereotype.  But we don't.  Because he's played by the brilliant Chris Colfer.  And I could gush endlessly about Chris Colfer, but I'll spare you for now.  Just note that Kurt (and Chris) is one of a very few things keeping me tuned into this cracked out show.

  <------------------------------------------------------ Rachel Berry
Rachel is going to eventually take over Will's position of the star of the show.  And rightfully so.  But at the beginning, she's this irritating, fame driven, crazy girl, who has an amazing voice, but lacks any social skills.  We learn backstory on her.  She has two gay dads.  Was raised in every kind of talent show imaginable.  And spends all of her free time practicing so that she can some day be a star.  She also puts a gold star by her name whenever she signs it.  She's hilariously over the top.  (And Lea Michelle is quite the talent.  The girl can sign like none other, and brings a vulnerability to Rachel that saves the character from being so annoying you just want to turn off your tv.)

Together, they're a merry band of misfits.  Did we miss any minorities here?  Latino?  Don't worry, Santana will be here soon.  Anyway, they suck, even though they don't really (because the cast is quite amazing).  And they all feel like outcasts (running theme alert), but at least when band together, they feel like they're apart of something, even if they don't all get along.

And while I get that the show was originally supposed to be somewhat satirical in nature, (which it is), and while, yes I was hooked after the pilot, going back, I wish there was more focus on the kids from the start.  They were/are far more interesting. The adult focus is, dare I say, kinda boring, especially when you know what happens.

So, yeah, they aren't all that great a club, especially since they don't have enough people to compete.  They spend their time dancing (badly) around Artie while ironically singing "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat".

Will sets out to get more people but only really gets one (in this episode):
  <---------------------------------------------------------------  Finn Hudson
Okay, so basically, Will hears Finn singing in the showers of the locker room.  (uh...)  And then decides to blackmail him by planting pot on him and stating that if he doesn't join glee, he'll tell the authorities that the kid had drugs on him.  (double uh...)  So, Finn reluctantly joins the glee club.  And has lots of issues because he's having a hard time being captain of the football team AND on glee club.  He has pressure from his best friend, Puck and gf cheerleader Quinn, to quit because glee is so uncool.  (more on them later).

But, in a somewhat random flashback for Finn, we learn that he was raised by his single mom, his dad died, and that he loves to sing because some guy his mom had a thing for would sign old rock songs while doing the landscaping.  So, he decides to stay.

Also side note, Finn is played by Corey Monteith, who is one of those dudes in their late-20s trying to play a 16 year old.  And really, most of the time it doesn't work for me on TV shoes.  But I have to give Monteith a lot of credit because Finn does come off as more teenager than almost anyone else on the show.  

Also, there's this: 

This photo is from another episode, but it pretty much describes the relationship between Finn and Rachel (or Finchel as even the show calls them).  Rachel has a huge crush on Finn.  Finn doesn't know how to handle it, like he doesn't really know how to handle anything else in his life.

In a lame attempt to raise their spirits, or at least their competitive mode, Will takes the kids to see another high school's glee club:

 Vocal Adrenaline:
A super flashy, show choir, which has become the super villain of glee clubs in Ohio.

Also, rounding out the introductions:

Emma Pillsbury ------------------------------------------------------------->  
She's the school councilor.  She has extreme OCD and a huge crush on Will.  (And is played by the very beautiful Jayma Mays)  When Will decides to quit to become an accountant, she's the one that reminds him that he should follow his dreams and not to give up on the kids.  It's incredibly sweet, and it's a shame they make Will such a tool at times because at the beginning, the romance between Will and Emma is so sweet.  And I still love Emma's character to this day.

Ken Tanaka --------------------------------------------------------------------> 
He's the football coach and is (sorta?) friends with Will.  He has a crush on Emma.  Yes, that's right, we're already looking at a love square here.  That's what Glee does, weird love combinations.  One of these days, I should make a love chart.  Anyway, he's kinda a tool himself, and only slightly more interesting than Terri. He doesn't serve much of a purpose here except to give foil to Will.  Reason #12394 that I'm just not sold on the idea that the Front 13 are the BEST EPISODES EVER!!!

So, yeah, that's the pilot.  It's solid.  There isn't much more plot than Will starting the glee club despite certain protests, and the kids are misfits, except for Finn who is just plain confused.  But it works, especially as dark/satirical writing.   I do get the comparisons to High School Musical, though I'm not sure I agree.  HSM seems to be a) more geared towards kids, where Glee has a more universal appeal and b) the kids in it are a bit too squeaky clean.

A few quotes:
Sue Sylvester: [at cheerleading practice] You think this is hard? Try being waterboarded, *that's* hard! 

Finn Hudson: Look, I owe you guys an apology. I never should have quit. I don't want to be the guy that just drives around throwing eggs at people! 
Rachel Berry: That was you? 
Kurt Hummel: You and your friends threw pee balloons at me. 
Finn Hudson: I know. 
Kurt Hummel: You nailed all my lawn furniture to my roof. 
Finn Hudson: I wasn't actually there for that, but I'm really sorry. 

Principal Figgins: Sue, the dry cleaners here are just as good as the ones in Europe. 

Anyway, the musical aspect I found fascinating, even if the characters didn't captivate me from the start.  But what really sold me was the final performance of "Don't Stop Believing".  And apparently, it's what sold the show for a lot of people.  It's a bit magical, and the first time I saw it, I got goosebumps.  So, here it is, in it's entirety.