Glee and Other TV Programs

When Glee premiered a couple of weeks ago, I had my worries about the series, but luckily over the past two weeks the show has gotten better, and my conern has been easing. The pacing has started to slow down, giving a more even tone to the episodes. The plotline over Terri faking a pregnancy, while still soapy and ridiculous, has actually become less of a problem, with the character becoming more simpathetic. And while I never took issue with Jane Lynch's hilariously demented cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, I'm enjoying the fact the character is being better fleshed out. Last night's episode provided a better understanding of Sue's thinking, and she actually gave some good advice at the end of the episode - Even if the crowd is booing you, act as if they are cheering you. The biggest surprise over the last few episodes, however, is the male cast members becoming the stand outs. I'm seriously loving Chris Colfer's and Cory Monteith's performances as the Kurt and Finn. The biggest concern I have about the program now, is the continuation of Stephen Tobolowsky's character Sandy. The performance, while funny in a bit part in the pilot, is now really annoying. The character should definitely be written off, and since Tobolowsky isn't a regular cast member, it shouldn't be that hard.

Elsewhere on the television, The Good Wife and Eastwick made their premieres. Both had entertaining, if not great, starts, but of the two I'd consider The Good Wife as the program most likely to get better over time. Julianna Margulies gave a promising performance, and she's surrounded by interesting actors including Christine Baranski, Josh Charles and Chris Noth. I that even though it is a law drama, it focuses on the defendents rather than the prosecution, and the trial parts seem more realistic. Hopefully the series goes in the direction of becoming a workplace drama, rather than another boring crime procedural. Eastwick, on the other hand, seems like it could quickly fizzle, even though it has the benefit of being able to go in any number of directions. I just worry it will become a stale copy of Desperate Housewives, with some magic thrown in every once in a while. I will, however, always enjoy the presense of Rebecca Romijn.

On My Television Screen

The new television season began this week with a few premieres. On Tuesday I caught the series premiere of the new Melrose Place. It was an alright debut, but much of the new cast seemed unable to grasp the tone of the nightime soap. Katie Cassidy, as publicist Ella Simms, was the obvious stand out, understanding the over-the-top nature of her character and the series. If the show doesn't work out, let's hope she still has a long television career. On Wednesday was the season premiere of the high school set comedy/musical Glee. The premiere of Glee has me worried for the series, as the pacing was even faster than the pilot episode, which I found too rapid. At the rate it's going, the series could burn out rather quickly. I also take issue with the series' depiction of Will's wife Terri, who became an even bigger monstrosity in the premiere rather than becoming a more fully developed character. The show already has a great one-dimensional villian in Jane Lynch's cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, so the use of Terri seems arbitrary and almost cruel, but if you've seen creator Ryan Murphy's other series Nip/Tuck, you can tell he has a problem with female characters, often turning them into grotesques. Let's hope the series balances itself out as it continues.

"Don't Stop Believing!"

Oh, I can't wait until Glee premiers next Wednesday. I found myself watching the Director's Cut of the pilot episode last night, and I have to admit the slightly expanded episode had better pacing than the original. I'm not dissing the original pilot, which I though was great to begin with. It's just my biggest problem with it was its sometimes overly frantic pacing, and the Director's Cut seemed to lessen it, making the episode even better.

Sunday Blessings - Matthew Morrison

In honor of this past week's preview of Glee, today's edition of Sunday Blessings is focused on star Matthew Morrison. On the series, Morrison plays a high school Spanish teacher who decides to take over the school's glee club in hopes of making it a success. The preview, which aired Tuesday night, showed definite promise for next season. Overall, the acting was well done, with stands out being Jane Lynch (though isn't she always the stand out), as an overbearing cheerleading coach and Lea Michele, as a Tracy Flick-like member of the glee club. Morrison plays his part well, the smiling optimism and innocence on display in almost every scene, but on the downside, he didn't get to sing in the premiere episode. Hopefully this will be rectified once the series returns, because the man has a great voice, as evidenced in any of his Broadway performances. I believe The Light in the Piazza to be Morrison's best work (seriously, buy the cast album - you won't be disappointed). There really would be no reason to higher a Broadway actor for a musical television series, unless he was to sing at some point. Other Broadway actors including Kristin Chenoweth, Cheyenne Jackson, and Victor Garber are to join the cast with recurring/guest roles, so they best be singing as well. However, I ponder how a series set in high school would be able to incorporate so many adult singing roles. I guess we'll see - at least I hope. An expensive, quirky, musical television series just seems rife for an early cancellation. On a completely superficial note, which this post is actually meant to be, the series provided a shirtless scene of Morrison in bed. I enjoyed the shot, and would fully support more of the same in upcoming episodes. Maybe have him shirtless in the shower, or shirtless at the breakfast table, or shirtless at the gym, or... well, you get the picture. Amen.