Earlier this year, Fall aired a "sneak preview" episode of one of it's new Fall shows, Glee. The premise of the show is pretty interesting: bored high school teacher with a crazy wife decides to revive the Glee club at his school. There's potential for hilarity, great one liners, and timeless pop culture references in a show about a high school music club.
But when I watched the sneak peek episode, I was disappointed. Glee's great cast was enough to save it from all-too-recent pop culture references that dated the show rather than timeless references, and glib attempts at humor that weren't really funny at all.
The sneak peek episode was trying too hard to be so many things it wasn't. They had a lot of elements going on at once. It looked like they were trying to borrow from Arrested Development's witty one line snark style of comedy, but didn't quite hit the mark. And rather than combining classic references to pop culture that was, they stuck primarily with songs and references that only make sense to those in the know right now. Sure, they sang Journey, but that was their one attempt at timelessness.
I was also a little dismayed at some of the clips I saw for the upcoming season. The only black female student in Glee Club threw a rock and broke a boy's windshield because he broke her heart? Is FOX trying to say that women or crazy, or that black women are crazy? I don't know which is worse.
The pilot starts out with the kids singing a classic John Travolta 70s hit, but transitions quickly into Kanye West and other pop divas, rockers, and rappers take over. But my dismay was temporary, the pilot improved dramatically with every minute I watched.
There were some amusing flashback moments that play on classic stereotypes: the single guidance counselor crying to bad 80s music over the married love of her life. Plus, Jayma Mays is adorable with her classically cut outfits and quirky personality.
Glee's leading little lady, Rachel Barry, challenges the popular kids and their notions of abstinence. It gets even better: she gives them what they really want, but are too scared to do. Sex, sex, sex. Sure, it's a low blow on the show's part, and using sex isn't exactly new, but it plays well with the plot they've developed so far.
Put simply: Glee is off to a bit of a shaky start. It has an excellent premise, the potential for pure hilarity, and a great cast that can pull it off. It has a predictability factor, but that's to be expected with any show about high school students.
Only time will tell if Glee really lives up to its potential. It's worth watching, at the very least, because it's different than most other shows on television.
I mean, come on! When was the last time we had a television show that incorporated music and comedy, but wasn't a sketch comedy or late night show completely devoid of plot?