Dec

13

It Must Be Said

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I haven’t talked about Glee yet because I haven’t known what to say.  I still don’t and I’ve watched 13 episodes.  (Whereas I could wax eloquent on The Shield for days.  Then again, I’m on Season 7 of that one.  Seriously, how do they make a character totally despicable but then when someone tries to expose him you recoil?  I am in awe.)

The one thing I can say for certain about Glee is that it is tragically inconsistent.  The best episodes (which, in my opinion, are pretty much the first and the last) manage to be light and dark, both bluntly joyful and sharply witty.  The others (all the ones in the middle, except for maybe the one where Kurt does Beyonce) tend to be overly sappy or have terrible musical numbers or have out-of-nowhere plots or have weird humor that doesn’t seem to hit its mark.  The character development is way way spotty–what do we know about Mr. Shue except that he’s a nice guy?–and tends to change when it’s convenient–every episode, Rachel has some new trait which completely defines her.

But all of that could be saved if the music was just good.  Or if it remotely resembled anything a show choir has ever done.  I have just decided that in the universe Glee is set in, choir is not “choir,” but a series of solos with a massive group of backup singers.  The songs are overproduced–they should fire their music producer–and often they pick really really horrible songs.  (Can you be more *yawn* than having a pregnant girl sing Papa, Don’t Preach?  It doesn’t matter if it’s a stripped down acoustic version.)  If the music was interesting, if they had cool arrangements, if they did something besides their endless mashups–who thinks they’re interesting, they’re just weird–if they decided to really showcase their talent it would be better.  I would love to hear Lea Michele actually sing more often instead of hearing it sound like she’s coming through an electronic filter.  And it would be nice to mix it up a little bit with the other cast members, who can obviously hold their own.

The highlights are so easy to pick out that the problems become more obvious.  The very best song they did all season was Artie’s Dancing With Myself.  It was sweet and bouncy, totally different than the Billy Idol original, which is brash and crass.  I loved seeing a song I knew in a really new and unexpectedly perfect way.  It made me wonder why they don’t do that more often.  Or why they don’t just simplify things, like the Don’t Stop Believing number from the pilot, which heaves with energy.  Sometimes they get things half right–the choreography for Proud Mary was awesome, the song was meh; Don’t Rain on My Parade was glorious, but missed the rest of the ensemble (but I will be downloading that track, I am so looking forward to seeing with it at the top of my lungs).  (Update: maybe Glee is more nefarious than I thought.  Having downloaded only 3 of the many tracks available, the first time I played them I was in a car accident mid-song.  Perhaps I should be nicer?)

Still, despite my myriad of complaints about Glee I continue to watch and I continue to be happy it’s on.  Because television is far too unforgiving of niche-y stuff and there are so many niches out there.  It’s true that Glee appeals to the same people who have seen Wicked 8 times (I haven’t seen it once, I find the songs to be mostly mediocre and that’s a fatal flaw for a musical that no longer has Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth currently starring in it) and maybe my tastes are not the same as theirs, but I get it.  I was a choir geek, I listen to show tunes, I know what’s playing on Broadway pretty much all the time (which is why I know who Lea Michele is, I have listened to Spring Awakening probably a million times) and I would rather people watch Glee than American Idol or the insane number of dance shows whose names shall not be mentioned.

As for the state of tv these days, at least there is one absolutely snappy new show: Modern Family is perhaps the best new sitcom I’ve seen since… I don’t actually know because sitcoms are not this good.  I don’t think I’ve enjoyed one this much this consistently since Arrested Development.  Its cutesy family image totally belies its wit, which is probably smart since AD did get canceled and all.

I am sad Mad Men is over, though I found Season 3 to be spotty.  The main flaw: Betty Draper.  She is boring.  And this season was mostly about her.  (And what was up with Don’s new and pointless affair?)  There was a shameful absence of Peggy and Pete and Harry and actual advertising.  The advertising is my favorite part of the show.  There were still high points, though.  The last episode was great–yay Joan is back!  And I was a big fan of the infamous lawnmower episode.  It was nuts but it worked.  The Kennedy assassination ep, though, was perhaps their worst.  It was good in the bare bones, but it was so saturated with footage that it was distracting and annoying.  Just give me more Peggy next season, please, and Joan should be in every episode according to her contract.

Dexter has been pretty dull, hard to believe it’s the same show as the first two seasons which were just plain manic in tone and nutty with plot twists.  House is boring me, it doesn’t help that they keep killing off the characters I like.  This needs to change.  They need to start killing off the ones I dislike… which is almost everyone left.  Definitely start with Foreman and 13.  Community is funny enough, though it should be funnier.  Mostly I chuckle, I don’t laugh enough.  30Rock has just barely started back up so I cannot judge yet, but I have enjoyed it thus far.  There is something comforting about it being on and knowing it will be so smartly written.  I am oh so excited for Lost and Big Love to come back.  IMDb tells me that Damages will be back in January–AND it will now have Campbell Scott as a regular.  If I were not married and it were legal to marry a tv show, I would marry you, Damages.  I have always liked Glenn Close, but now I lurrrrv her.  And you make Rose Byrne tolerable.  And you have Tate Donovan, who is one of my favorite rumpled-getting-older hunks.  And you had that guy from Deadwood who was so criminally underused for their last couple seasons.  And you had William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden and I think Ted Danson is back this season.  Seriously, could I love you anymore, Damages?  No, I do not think I could.  You are beautiful.  You must tide me over until Breaking Bad comes back in March.

Meanwhile, I will finish Season 7 of The Shield, which I now feel really bad for not watching when it was on.  I realized the other day that there is yet another way it is superior to The Wire: it has women.  The Shield has 3 main characters who are women and has brought in others as well.  (Like the awesome Glenn Close and the latina chick from Defying Gravity, who’s been on for a few seasons now.)  They are good characters, they are interesting.  They are often more interesting than the men.  And they have episodes written by women–unlike the male-infested writers of The Wire.  They actually serve a purpose other than being eye candy or wives who never do anything but complain.  (Okay, maybe Vic’s wife did that a little the first couple seasons, but it gets better.)

I know all this makes it sound like I watch too much television, but it doesn’t really add up to much since shows have such short seasons on cable and such long breaks between seasons.  You pretty much get a slow trickle throughout the week with occasional spurts now and then.  (This depends mostly on which reality tv shows are on that I actually watch.  It is a small percentage, and most of them sucked this year.  Can we talk about how totally mean the Top Chef finale was?  Make us the meal of your life, oh except you only get to pick one of the 4 courses.  Nice.  And it was a snooze-fest on The Amazing Race this year, it’s great that a nice team won, but wow they are just the blandest bunch ever.  I guess I really do miss all the obnoxious teams they used to have on despite the fact that I complain about them constantly when they’re on.)

All this is a bit moot now, since the holidays mean a bunch of repeats.  So expect a book-heavy post to follow.


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