Glee Puts A Ring On It

�Glee� is one of those rare gems that doesn’t come along every day. Fox hyped this puppy months before it’s premiere, even going so far as to debut the pilot episode a whole 3 months before the fall season started. It was apparent that the network had faith in the show, and with good reason � �Glee� is a triumph.The writer and creator of �Glee� is Ryan Murphy, who is also responsible for the equally quirky �Nip/Tuck�, and before that, �Popular.�

Anyone who has ever seen �Nip/Tuck� can attest to the fact that the show was frequently over the top, outlandish, and silly, yet it worked because it was rooted in character-driven drama. The same can be said for �Glee.� On paper, the idea of an entire football team breaking out into a choreographed dance routine to Beyonce’s Single Ladies in the middle of a football game might seem silly, but yet here it works. And it brings a smile to your face. What can I say � this show just makes me happy.For anyone who is just tuning into �Glee,� I recommend you get your hands on the first three episodes before jumping in, because there are a handful of subplots and characters being bandied about at almost lightning speed, so much so that if you aren’t sure who is who and what is what you’re going to be left in the dark.

I’ll try my best to touch upon all the plots from last night’s episode.First up, Will (Matthew Morrrison) decides that other members of the group need to be spotlighted, and so he offers the solo at Nationals to the stuttering Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), much to the chagrin of Rachael (Lea Michele). You see, Rachel knows she’s the best singer in the group, and she should be treated as such. The scheming cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) sees this crack in the foundation as her way to steal Glee Club’s star performer (by arranging a school production of Cabaret), so they won’t be able to compete at Nationals. Rachel falls for the ruse, expecting Will to cave and hand her the solo, but he sticks to his guns.

Meanwhile, on the home front, Will’s wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig) finally confides in her sister Kendra that she isn’t really pregnant. Kendra, convinced that lying is the food of a successful marriage, decides they need to get a baby, and fast (how very �Days of our Lives�!) Conveniently, cheerleader Quinn (Dianna Agron) has a bun in the oven herself, and she tearfully confesses so to boyfriend Finn (Cory Monteith.) Finn’s confused, because they never �did it,� but then Quinn reminds him of that one time in the hot tub when he �went early.� The heat helps the sperm swim faster apparently. Finn buys it hook, line, and sinker, but then we find out that the baby daddy is actually Finn’s best friend Puck (Mark Salling) who really did do it with Quinn (who is also, coincidentally, the leader of the Celibacy Club.) He doesn’t want to be a deadbeat like his own father and wants to help with the baby. Finn confides in Will for advice, and later Will tells Terri, who sees the opportunity as a solution to her own invisible baby problem. One of the best lines of the night came from Terri who, after stalking out Quinn and waiting for her in her car, offers the cheerleader some prenatal vitamins:

�Take these, or your baby will be ugly.�In another plot, flamboyant Kurt (Chris Colfer) lies to his father that he has joined the football team and then, realizing that his dad actually expects to come to a game, enlists Finn to get him a tryout with the football coach. The pint-sized crooner turns out to be an excellent kicker, and with one little field goal he’s on the team. After all, they’re on a losing streak and can’t really suck any more than they already are. Kurt convinces the coach that what the team really needs is some dancing moves to make them more agile on the field, and so they bring in Will to teach them some choreographed dance routines. They get to show off their moves during the last second of the football game, when they score a point and tie the game, leaving it to Kurt and his sassy field goal kick to win it all. This entire sequence just put a smile on my face, because despite being utterly ridiculous, it was completely charming and hysterical.

Never again will I be able to listen to Single Ladies without the image of padded football jocks motioning for someone to �Put a ring on it.� Truly epic.What followed the football game was also surprisingly heartfelt � Kurt coming out to his father. The humor comes from the fact that Kurt is so obviously gay that in reality he wouldn’t actually have to �come out� to anyone � everyone would simply know. So when he prepares to tell his distant, jock of a dad the news, we expect the guy to recoil in fear. Instead, his father calmly tells him he already knows. �I’ve known since you were three. For your birthday you asked for sensible heels.�

And with that he gives him a hug and tells him he couldn’t love him any less. It was a refreshing, touching scene, and it’s moments like these that make �Glee� so memorable.For those who have not yet defected to the Gleek Squad, I implore you � join now! Take it from me, I usually steer clear of hype machines like this, but this one is worth the good word of mouth. I am also not a devout TV follower (�True Blood,� �The Office,� �30 Rock,� and �The Simpsons� are on my short list of Must-See scripted TV) but I was instantly hooked on �Glee� and I couldn’t be more excited that it got picked up for a full season. If I had one complaint it would be that the storylines are moving a little too fast. I understand that Fox is notorious for canceling shows prematurely, and creator Ryan Murphy probably wanted to get as much material out early in case the show didn’t survive. But now that the show will have a full 22 episode season (plus, we can only assume if the popularity continues, a few more seasons after), I’d hate to see the show burn out and use up all it’s good storylines too early. Maybe now that they know they’ll be sticking around, they’ll slow down some of the stories a little.

By: Frank Bilotta

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