Thursday, September 30, 2010

"Hit Me Baby One More Time!"


For what was the most talked about episode for the ‘Gleeks’ in the off season, the Britney Spears episode of Glee Season 2 titled "Britney/Brittany" was aired on Tuesday night on Fox. Some of the experts felt that it was a bold move by the creators of the show as such a hyped episode could have kept the audience riveted till the end of the season. Another positive ASPECT that the fans can take from the airing of the episode is that the bigger surprises are yet to come in the show.
Not much of a plot the entire episode revolved around Britney Spears and her videos that the cast dreamt about in the dentist’s chair while under the effect of Anesthesia. With each of the cast members(Brittany, Santana, Rachel, Artie) having their own Britney Spears’ video where they imagined themselves as the pop icon or saw the diva herself, the audience were treated to some great pop music. Though not all the covers can be called up to the mark, the Britney Spears fans and the ‘Glee’ fans are sure satisfied by seeing their favorite pop icon in their favorite TV show.
The critics gave a mixed review to the episode with some feeling that the ‘Toxic’ star should have had more screen time. Apart from the music, there was also some drama in episode 2 of the second season of ‘Glee’. 
The best thing about this episode was how heavily it featured Brittany. It was the first time we’ve seen so much of her and Heather Morris killed it. That girl has impeccable comic timing, crazy-good dance skills, she can sing and she has a slammin’ bod. What more could you ask for?
The show began with Kurt petitioning Mr. Schue to allow them to sing some Britney music. Honestly, I’m shocked they hadn’t already covered her. The other glee kids agreed (loved Artie’s “Spears is fierce, yo!”) save for Brittany, who said because her name is Brittany Susan Pierce “I’ve lived my entire life in her shadow” and that “It’s been a hard road.” Seriously, Brittany had so many fantastic one-liners in this episode, I can’t possibly include them all.


Cut to Brittany at the dentist, getting put under to have some cavities filled just as Britney comes on the radio. In Brittany’s anesthesia induced fantasy she sang “I’m a Slave 4 U”, wore all the best Britney costumes – The snake! The red plastic jumpsuit! The sparkly body suit! – and nailed all the best Britney choreography. She came out of the fog of drugs and re-entered her own fog of reality and asked the dentist “Are you a cat?”



Hit Me Baby, One More Time…With That Anesthesia!








Brittany returned for more dental work and more drugs with best bud Santana, and the two had a synced fantasy where they performed “Me Against The Music” as Britney and Madonna – with a not-so-surprise appearance by Britney herself at the end. Brittany returned to glee rehearsal with a new love for Britney Spears and a new found confidence, demanding solos and saying “I’m more talented than all of you, I can see that clearly now.”


Rachel and Artie were up next at the dentist – Rachel reenacted the “Baby One More Time” video in her fantasy(which was the coolest), and Artie sang “Stronger” along with the football team in his. Sure, it sounds stupid. It was a silly episode. But that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.
Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman?






















                                       



                                                                          




Brittany wasn’t the only kid who found confidence in her Britney dreams. Rachel started dressing sexier and Artie officially joined the football team – along with Finn, who Coach Bieste reinstated. I loved how manipulative Rachel was this episode. Kudos to Lea Michele for not being afraid to play her as totally unlikable. Not only did she basically tell Finn (why don't their characters break-up, its clearly visible they have zero chemistry between them) that she was happy he’d been kicked off the football team because it made him less desirable and because “I want to be the only thing that makes you happy”, but she also convinced Quinn to proposition him as a test. So manipulative!


I’m not sure what will become of Artie on the football team, but whatever happens will be worth it because of Brittnay’s “Did you get a leg transplant?” line. For reals.










Sqeaky Clean


The other exciting thing this episode was the debut of John Stamos as Dr. Carl Howell. I love John Stamos. And weirdly enough, I didn’t watch a ton of Full House growing up – I love him from ER. Anyway, I really liked him on the show. If I didn’t want Will and Emma to be together I would totally dig him as her love interest. He’s helping her to get over her issues by making her mix up red grapes and green grapes in a bowl (I don’t think I could deal with that – I have WAY too much in common with Emma Pillsbury) which Emma described as “madness, sheer madness!”





Dirty Dancing


I loved the “Toxic” performance, and I loved it even more because Mr. Schue decided to take part. It was so inappropriate! And so hilarious! Had he not performed, it would have been too similar a performance to “Push It” last season – New Directions rebels and sings something sexy and cool? Old news. Mr. Schue up there writhing around with them? Awesomely awkward.


By the way, I know Mr. Schue was going through a bit of an identity crisis with the singing of the Britney and the buying of the sports car, but did he have to return the sports car and take back that heap of junk he’d been driving? Why didn’t he return the sports car and take a nice Yaris or something instead? Why keep dricing the clunker? Happy mediums, Schue. Happy mediums.


I loved Sue’s reaction to the performance and the “Britney Spears sex riot” that ensued. She threatened to sue Will over her injured neck, made an awesome Gloria Allred reference and told him she’d take him for everything he has, including “your extensive collection of vests. Seriously, you wear more vests than the cast of Blossom.”


The Exception


I loved the episode, but with one exception was "The Only Exception". It just didn’t fit, and why does Rachel always have to close with a solo? I like Paramore and the song fit Lea Michele's voice than it did with Haley Williams, but that song did not suit the episode when it was basically about Britney Spears. And the Rachel/Finn drama was a subplot, so why close with her soliloquy about how she needs to let Finn fly? Was it so that we could hear Brittany ask “Finn can fly?”? Actually, if that was the reason then I can accept it. Otherwise, I thought it was a stupid ending. But let’s look at  the other stuff from the episode that had me cracking up”



  1. Everything Brittany said.
  2. Brittany having cavities in all her teeth because she was “pretty sure Dr. Pepper was a dentist”.
  3. “You dress like the bait girls on To Catch a Predator.” – Santana, on Rachel’s old look
  4. “Normally you dress like the fantasy of a Japanese businessman with a very dark and specific fetish.” – Santana, commenting on Rachel’s new look (Actually, Santana had a lot of great lines this week!)
  5. The return of Terri!
  6. Brittany informing everyone that she’ll now do all the solos, starting with a Ke$ha cover next week.



So, are you guys excited about next week episode "Grilled Cheese"evidently the most controversial episode for Glee, as it will focus on religion and what God means to the members of the glee club. 

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Saturday, September 25, 2010

"The Wolf's Out Of the Bag!"


'Vampires & Werewolves' too interconnected to imagine one without the other. When there are vampires, there will surely be werewolves. This is what happens on The Vampire Diaries Season 2 Episode 3 appropriately titled 'BAD MOON RISING'. This episode shows the possible end of the relationship between Elena & Damon (alright that i'm sure is not gonna happen Damon is a persistent character) and a start of another one between Katherine & Caroline(spooky).


As Stefan has proven, and as he tried to teach Caroline throughout the hour, a vampire can fight back against his most carnal desires. 

The Hot Uncle Mason seems to be a good looking guy with his shirt off, as he tried to chain himself in because he knew a full moon was on the way. 

Alas, the effort failed. If even the best-intentioned werewolf can come oh-so-close to taking a chunk out of a vampire's neck, just imagine what an angry werewolf would do. No wonder Stefan's face in the photo above is a whole lot more scared than his "hey, it's Tuesday" face, huh?



 On another note ELENA, ALARIC and DAMON's road trip to DUKE UNIVERSITY proves very beneficial as they find out that Katherine hails from Europe, her original last name was "Petrova," and Damon suddenly believes she has a lot more in common with Elena there mere looks. Do you really think Elena acted so manipulatively, though? Let's see...

... Damon tried to kill Jeremy, and Elena sort of guilt-tripped Damon into giving her a book on Katherine's life. Sorry, D, but those two aren't exactly even. Give Elena a break, and also remember what Katherine said on the premiere: hating someone can be the start of a relationship, not the end. 

For Alaric all it takes to move on from your ex-wife and finally make out with the sweet woman who crushes on you is for the former to become a vampire, for you to take a road trip to her alma mater and for her pretty graduate student to make you realize how nutty you must be to remain stuck on such a self-centered, supernatural being. Good to know. Best of luck, Alaric and Jenna.


Stefan was wrong about Caroline. He said her personality would be heightened, and we saw flashes of magnified insecurity and humorous whining... but, in the end, Caroline actually proved quite selfless, forcing Matt to dump her, for his own safety. Stefan even admitted this was a step he couldn't bring himself to take with Elena, even though he knew he should.


Overall, "Bad Moon Rising" was an action-packed episode that shed light on the Lockwoods and werewolves in general. I'd have been content with it even before Katherine showed up and told Caroline they were gonna have "so much fun together." I certainly don't like the sound of this supposed development (Caroline & Katherine) not one bit.




Lets see what do we have next on the horizon?


Its episode 4 "MEMORY LANE" which airs on 30th September coincidently thats my birthday, i'm pretty much excited about the episode cause Elena & Katherine come face-to-face because in this episode Isobel assistant tells them that Doppelgangers don't need to be related by blood but they also have an upper hand with the originals they copy. Wouldn't it be funny to see an angry and pissed-off Katherine?   






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Thursday, September 23, 2010

Glee Season 2 Episode 1 "Audition"


Here goes for nothing guys, the review i have been itching to write.


I like the show - there are times I downright love it - but Season 1 really was a narrative mess held together mostly by a very talented cast and some infectious musical numbers. Going into Season 2 I was very worried that the hype around the show would encourage the writers/producers to blindly indulge in their worst traits - the stunt casting, the gratuitous theme episodes, the sloppiness in characterization and storytelling, etc.


If the Season 2 premiere was any indication of what lies ahead, I should probably trot down to the butcher shop to see if they have any crow suitable for eating. That was a tight 60 minutes featuring some great character moments, some very funny scenes, some solid musical numbers, and what appears to be actual forward momentum. Did the showrunners actually take the notes, or did they just have time to sit down and give the show the planning and attention it needs? Who knows, but I hope they can keep it up. That episode was totally satsifying.


Some random thoughts:


-I liked all the new characters. I bitched before the season started that with 15 regulars, the cast was already overcrowded; the last thing this show needed was more characters to keep track of. But there have been some very strategic cuts to the cast that made a little room for some promising newbies. (Coach Tanaka is out, as is the one male member of the glee club whose name I still cannot remember; on the other hand, Will's ex-wife is still a part of the cast even though she has been utterly pointless since the mid-point of Season 1. What is that about?)


I loved the dynamic between Sue, Will, and the new female football coach, Bieste. Giving Sue an opponent that a) is not Will and b) actually comes from a position of power should keep things interesting, and prevent Sue from going stale and/or soft too soon (that's a very real risk, as we already saw during some of the worst moments of S1).


On that note, hilariously named Filipino transfer student Sunshine Corazon brings out the worst/best in Rachel (more on that in a moment) and adds a different flavor to the New Directions gang. I think the producers realized fairly early on last season that Tina (or rather, the actress playing her, Jenna Ushkowitz) was never going to be able to pull off singing lead, meaning Rachel and Mercedes - and occasionally Quinn - kept having to do all the heavy vocal lifting. Sunshine adds another powerful female voice to the mix. I know, she got pilfered by Vocal Adrenaline at the end of the episode, but she's a recurring character, and I'm sure she'll be back at McKinley at some point. At least I hope so; that girl can sing. (Although the actress playing her, Charice, is TERRIBLE at lip synching. She really needs to work on that.)


Lastly, new quarterback and inevitable Finn rival Sam provides some twink eye candy and another decent male voice although i hate that Bieber hair-do(I don't think there was any Autotuning on Chord Overstreet's take on "Billionaire"). The only downside is that, as pointed out in the episode, the boy really does have a distractingly gigantic mouth. There was a thick gay subtext whenever his character was on screen. Is he going to end up being Kurt's promised love interest?


-I loved the self-referential humor. How best to deal with all the online criticism from respected critics, bored hausfraus, and obnoxious bloggers like yours truly? Incorporate it into the show. Opening the season with that horribly stereotypical high-school reporter confronting the various members of the glee club with some of the nastiest real-life online comments allowed the show to address some of the issues head on, as well as provide a snappy, quick-paced recap. I'm sure some people will find it cutesy and insipid, but I appreciated the candor, and the acknowledgement that, yes, the people who make the show actually do listen to what people say, and seem to take at least some of it seriously.


-I'm a little concerned about the alluded new direction for the musical numbers. Here's where I'm worried that the showrunners listened to "the people" a little too much. In the beginning of the episode Mr. Schu addresses the criticism that last season's musical numbers read like a drag queen's playlist, and tasked the club to do something current. And the majority of the songs from the episode ended up being current (at least, from the last year or so) pop songs from the likes of Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Travie McCoy, etc.


I'm not sure that's a change for the better, and it seems like a kneejerk reaction from a network suit who held some teen focus group or something. Some of the best songs from Season 1 were older songs that the show resuscitated and put a totally different spin on - I'm thinking "Don't Stop Believing," "Jump," and even "Burning Up," just for starters. Most of the modern songs featured in this episode were more or less note-for-note remakes of contemporary pop songs. Why would someone download a cover of a Jay-Z song that sounds exactly like the Jay-Z song, just with more people singing it? Especially when said Jay-Z song is still in the iTunes Top 100? (Of course, as I write this, the "Glee" versions of all of those songs are zooming up the charts, so what the hell do I know?)


For my money, the best numbers of the night were the two Broadway songs, "Listen" by Charice and "What I Did For Love" by Lea Michele. They weren't huge departures from the originals, but they sounded different enough to make me want to buy both of them instead of the originals. And they're not songs I hear a million times on the radio on any given day. I just hope the show isn't going too far in its attempt to keep the tween audience engaged by only doing covers of songs by, like, Justin Bieber or whatever act is hot at the moment. There are so many amazing classic songs begging for a new spin and a new audience.


-I desperately hope they continue the offbeat characterization for some of the leads. Rachel is at her best when she is being awful, and she was in fine form this episode, sending some poor immigrant girl to a crack house so as to not lose even a sliver of her spotlight. Yes! That is exactly what that character would do in real life, because she has a pathological need to be the center of attention. I find it refreshing when the show allows its arguable heroine to behave in really contemptuous ways, and it drives me nuts when it goes all sappy and has the "Rachel Learns a Lesson" plotlines. She got the message that what she did was shitty this episode, but there wasn't a predictable kumbaya moment. And that's awesome, because that's exactly how real life works. I hope they keep up the insufferable moments with her, and I also hope they split up her and Finn, because seriously, the two of them have zero chemistry and don't even make sense together (what would she see in such a lunkhead?).




On that same tip, Sue was an unrepentant shit this week, escalating her war with Bieste to the point where she baked poop cookies and coerced a student to make false molestation claims. That is the Sue Sylvester I know, love, and admire. I understand that there have to be some moments of humanity, otherwise she turns into a caricature. And I think they've done that with her relationships with the mentally handicapped. But last season you could see where they were trying to de-claw her at points, and I'm not interested in that in the slightest. Sue Sylvester is the goddamned Darth Vader of high school. Remember how lame Vader got after we found out he was a pasty, wheezing fat guy? Please don't make Sue a pasty, wheezing fat guy, show.


I was also pleased to see a hint or two that Quinn is back to her old, manipulative ways now that the ill-considered pregnancy storyline is done. I actually thought Quinn was one of the best-developed, most well-rounded characters of the first season, but she was dethroned as Queen Bee awfully fast. She took back her crown this episode in a wonderfully vicious scene with Santana. (Does anyone know if the breast implant thing was based in real life? Did Naya Rivera get a boob job, and this was the show's way of addressing it?) I am eager to see how she interacts with Rachel, Mercedes, Finn, and Puck, as that will really tell us whether the bitch is back or not.


Next episode: It's Britney And Brittany. Expect lots of snakes, hair whipping, naughty schoolgirl outfits, and for the ol' Autotune to get quite a workout. 


Better stock up on Cheetos and Red Bull now, y'all.

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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

ITS SHOW TIME!!


Guys look at the calender and tell me the date.


Quick its very important.


If you all still haven't guessed at the date its 21st September folks, GLEE season 2 starts today.


I don't know about you guys but I for one am very much excited about the return of the show, have been excited since the end of season 1.


But what is Glee? 


To all the non-Glee readers, the word 'glee' literally means happiness or joy.Glee is a musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States. It focuses on a high school show choir (a modern glee club) called "New Directions", at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. The pilot episode of the show was broadcast after American Idol on May 19, 2009, and the first season began airing on September 9, 2009. On September 21, 2009, Fox officially gave the series a full-season pick-up. Glee aired its mid-season finale on December 9, 2009 and returned from a four-month hiatus on April 13, 2010, picking up the remaining nine episodes of the season. The spring premiere had an estimated 13.7 million viewers, nearly doubling in followers on its return. It was renewed for a second season, which is scheduled to begin on September 21, 2010(i.e., today), and will feature three new cast members. 


The show's creators, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, first conceived Glee as a film. Murphy selects the series' music, aiming to maintain a balance between show tunes and chart hits. Songs covered in the show are released through the iTunes Store during the week of broadcast, and a series of Glee albums has been initiated by Columbia Records, beginning with Glee: The Music, Volume 1, which was released on November 2, 2009. The music of Glee has been a commercial success, with over seven million digital sales.


Now lets see a bit of history behind GLEE, as to how the show was conceived.



Ian Brennan conceived Glee based on his own experience as a member of the Prospect High School show choir in Mount Prospect, Illinois. He initially envisioned Glee as a film, rather than a television series, and wrote the first draft in August 2005 with the aid of Screenwriting for Dummies. He completed the script in 2005, but could not generate interest in the project for several years. Mike Novick, a television producer and a friend of Brennan's from Los Angeles, was a member of the same gym as Ryan Murphy, and gave him a copy of Brennan's script. Murphy had been in a show choir in college, and felt he could relate to the script. Murphy and his Nip/Tuck colleague Falchuk suggested that Glee be produced as a television show. The script was entirely rewritten, and was picked up by Fox within 15 hours of being received. Murphy attributed that, in part, to the network's success with American Idol. "It made sense for the network with the biggest hit in TV, which is a musical, to do something in that vein", he said. Murphy and Falchuk became the show's executive producers and showrunners, while Brennan is a co-executive producer and Novick is a producer. Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy write all of the show's episodes.

Lea Michele
Jane Lynch
Glee is set in Lima, Ohio. Murphy chose a Midwest setting as he himself grew up in Indiana, and recalled childhood visits to Ohio to the Kings Island theme park. Although set in Lima, the show is filmed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. Murphy has said that he has never seen a High School Musical film, to which Glee has been compared, and that his interest lay in creating a "postmodern musical," rather than "doing a show where people burst into song," drawing more heavily on the format of Chicago. Murphy intended the show to be a form of escapism. "There's so much on the air right now about people with guns, or sci-fi, or lawyers running around. This is a different genre, there's nothing like it on the air at the networks and cable. Everything's so dark in the world right now, that's why Idol worked. It's pure escapism," he said. Murphy intended to make a family show to appeal to adults as well as children, with adult characters starring equally alongside the teenage leads. Murphy has mapped out plans for the series covering a three years of broadcast.

Glee Season 2 premiere photoshoot
But What is Glee exactly about? 

Optimistic teacher Will Schuester tries to inspire a group of ragtag performers to restore McKinley High School's glee club to its former glory and take part in a national competition. Of course, it would be an easier task if it weren't for the current stars of the choir: a nerdy soprano, a diva-in-training who refuses to sing back-up, a geeky guitar player and an awkward girl who struggles to suppress her stutter. Still, with two real talents in his sights, Will and fellow teacher Emma Pillsbury are determined to do whatever they can to prove all naysayers wrong and make the show choir great again. GLEE is an uplifting musical comedy series with biting humor that features a soundtrack of hit music from past to present!

The first season of Glee consists of 22 episodes. The pilot episode was broadcast on May 19, 2009. The series returned on September 9, 2009, airing on Wednesdays in the 9:00 p.m. timeslot until December 9, 2009 for a total of thirteen episodes. On September 21, 2009, nine more episodes were ordered for the first season by Fox, with the first of these episodes airing on April 13, 2010. These episodes aired on Tuesday evenings at 9:00 p.m. On January 11, 2010, it was announced that Fox had commissioned a second season of the show. The second season began production in June 2010. Season two is scheduled to begin on September 21, 2010, initially airing in the 8 p.m. time slot on Tuesdays, then moving to the 9 time slot on Wednesdays after a special episode following the 2011 Super Bowl. A third season was ordered by Fox on May 23, 2010. The early renewal of the show will allow the production team to cut costs and to plan ahead when writing scripts.In June 2010, it was announced that Oxygen would host a reality series set to air in June 2011, featuring performers competing for a spot on Glee.



The first season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee originally aired on Fox in the United States. The pilot episode was broadcast as an advanced preview of the series on May 19, 2009, with the remainder of the season airing between September 9, 2009 and June 8, 2010. The season consisted of 22 episodes; the first 13 aired on Wednesdays at 9 pm (ET) and the final 9 aired on Tuesdays at 9 pm (ET). The series was executive produced by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Dante Di Loreto; Murphy's production company helped co-produce the series alongside 20th Century Fox.

The show features the fictional high school show choir New Directions competing for the first time on the show choir circuit, while its members deal with relationship, sexuality and social issues. The central characters are glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), Will's wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig), guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays), and glee club members Rachel (Lea Michele), Finn (Cory Monteith), Artie (Kevin McHale), Kurt (Chris Colfer), Mercedes (Amber Riley), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Puck (Mark Salling) and Quinn (Dianna Agron).

Lea Michele & Jonathan Groff at Glee Concert singing HELLO by Lionel Ritchie
The series features numerous musical cover versions performed on-screen by the characters. At the beginning of the season, Murphy intended for the performances to remain reality-based, as opposed to having the characters spontaneously burst into song. As the season progressed, however, Glee began to utilize fantasy sequences, with paraplegic character Artie imagining himself dancing to "The Safety Dance", and six separate characters performing a fantasy version of "Like a Virgin". The first thirteen episodes of the season averaged five songs per episode. For the final nine episodes, the number of performances increased to eight. Murphy believes that many of the songs were "really fun and successful", however the production team intend to return to five songs per episode for Glee's second season, in order to return focus to the characters.

Jonathan Groff & Lea Michele on stage performing in the coming-off  musical  THE SPRING AWAKENINGS. Playing the roles of Melchior Gabor and Wendla.
When seeking to attain the rights to songs, early in the season Murphy was often requested to send out advanced scripts, but refused, not wanting to set a precedent for record labels having creative involvement in the show. Singer Rihanna offered her single "Take a Bow" for use at a reduced licensing rate. Madonna granted the show rights to her entire catalogue, and the tribute episode "The Power of Madonna" features Madonna performances exclusively.

Glee cast done Madonna's MATERIAL GIRL look
The season had a cast of twelve actors who received star billing. Matthew Morrison played Will Schuester, director of the McKinley High glee club. Jane Lynch played Sue Sylvester, head coach of the cheerleading squad and the glee club's arch-nemesis. Jayma Mays portrayed Emma Pillsbury, a mysophobic guidance counselor with romantic feelings for Will. Jessalyn Gilsig played Terri Schuester, Will's wife of five years. Lea Michele played Rachel Berry, the star of the glee club. Cory Monteith portrayed Finn Hudson, star quarterback of the school's football team, blackmailed into joining the club. Also playing club members were Amber Riley as Mercedes Jones, Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel, Kevin McHale as Artie Abrams, and Jenna Ushkowitz as Tina Cohen-Chang. Mark Salling played Noah "Puck" Puckerman, a football player and bully who later joined the club, while Dianna Agron portrayed Quinn Fabray, Finn's girlfriend, who became pregnant with Puck's baby.

At the Tony Awards 2010
A number of secondary characters were also portrayed throughout the season, including Patrick Gallagher as Ken Tanaka, coach of the football team, Iqbal Theba as Principal Figgins, and Stephen Tobolowsky as former glee club director Sandy Ryerson. Mike O'Malley appeared as Kurt's father Burt Hummel, and Romy Rosemont played Finn's mother Carole Hudson. Naya Rivera and Heather Morris played Santana Lopez and Brittany, cheerleaders who joined the glee club with Quinn. Harry Shum, Jr. and Dijon Talton were initially hired for a single episode as football players Mike Chang and Matt Rutherford, but remained on the show as supporting members of the glee club.

Guest stars from musical backgrounds were often featured on the show, including John Lloyd Young as wood shop teacher Henri St. Pierre, and Victor Garber and Debra Monk as Will's parents. Josh Groban appeared playing an "ignorant asshole" version of himself, while Olivia Newton-John portrayed the "dark side" of herself; a "mixture of mean and diva". Kristin Chenoweth played April Rhodes, a former member of the glee club who never finished high school and ended up hitting rock bottom. Jonathan Groff played Jesse St. James, the male lead of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline, and Idina Menzel appeared as Vocal Adrenaline director Shelby Corcoran, who is revealed in "Dream On" to be Rachel's biological mother. Fans had originally lobbied for Menzel to be cast as Rachel's mother due to the strong physical resemblance between Menzel and Michele. Eve played the Jane Addams Girls Choir director Grace Hitchens, having been cast after Whitney Houston declined to appear. Michael Hitchcock appeared as the Haverbrook School for the Deaf choir director Dalton Rumba.

Sarah Drew played Suzy Pepper, a senior with "an insane, absurd, psychotic crush on Mr. Schuester". Drew described Suzy as "kind of stalkerish and creepy", but ultimately redeemable. Gregg Henry and Charlotte Ross appeared as Quinn's parents, Russell and Judy Fabray, and Molly Shannon played Brenda Castle, an alcoholic astronomy teacher and badminton coach who clashed with Sue. Neil Patrick Harris guest starred as Bryan Ryan, Will's former glee club rival, now a school board member bent on vengeance against the club. Murphy created the role particularly for Harris, who received clearance from CBS to appear on Fox for the episode.

The twelve main cast members from season one will return for season two: Matthew Morrison as glee club director Will Schuester, Jane Lynch as cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, Jayma Mays as guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury, Jessalyn Gilsig as Will's now ex-wife Terri Schuester and Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz as glee club members Quinn Fabray, Kurt Hummel, Artie Abrams, Rachel Berry, Finn Hudson,Mercedes Jones, Noah "Puck" Puckerman and Tina Cohen-Chang. Heather Morris has confirmed to TV Guide's William Keck that she and Naya Rivera, who portray the currently recurring roles of Brittany and Santana Lopez respectively, will be promoted to series regulars. Mike O'Malley, who plays Burt Hummel will also become a series regular in season two.

Lea Michele performing "Don't rain on my parade" at Tony Awards 2010
Supporting cast member Harry Shum, Jr. will have an increased role as glee club member Mike Chang, dating Tina, who breaks up with Artie due to his careless attitude. Dijon Talton will, however, not return to the role of Matt Rutherford. He will be written off as having transferred. Guest stars Jonathan Groff, Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel will return as Jesse St. James(take a double HURRAY!! i'm biased towards Groff & Michele pairing), April Rhodes and Shelby Corcoran respectively, and Murphy is hopeful that Neil Patrick Harris will return as Will's high school rival Bryan Ryan. Kurt will get his first boyfriend and they will become a school power-couple, and Charice will play a foreign exchange student named Sunshine Corazon from the Philippines and rival to Rachel. On June 8, 2010, it was announced that John Stamos, who was derided by Emma in "Acafellas" as having "more certainty than talent", has been cast as her new love interest. Susan Boyle will guest-star in the Christmas episode as a cafeteria worker, and Javier Bardem will guest-star during the second half of the season as an ex love interest of Sue. Dot Jones will appear as football coach Shannon Beiste, replacing Patrick Gallagher as Ken Tanaka. Chord Overstreet will play Sam Evans, a transferring student athlete who befriends Finn at first, but ends up becoming his rival. Cheyenne Jackson will play Vocal Adrenaline's new coach, replacing the role previously played by Menzel. Sue Sylvester's mother will also be introduced this season, to be played by stage and screen legend Carol Burnett. Meat Loaf and Barry Bostwick, who both starred in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, will appear in Glee's Halloween Rocky Horrortribute episode. On September 20, 2010, Kristin Dos Santos of E! Online reported that Gwyneth Paltrow will also appear as a substitute teacher who takes over for (and catches the interest of) an ailing Will for two episodes in November.

In January 2010, it was announced that open auditions would be held for three new roles to be introduced in Glee's second season. They were open to amateurs and professionals aged 16 to 26, and were intended to be the subject of a multi-part television special, set to air in the lead-in to the second season premiere in fall 2010, with the new cast members revealed in the first episode. Murphy commented: "Anybody and everybody now has a chance to be on a show about talented underdogs. We want to be the first interactive musical comedy on television." On June 22, 2010, Josef Adalian of New York magazine revealed that the reality show would not go ahead, due to Murphy's desire to concentrate on the main series, and fear that the distraction of the reality show may damage Glee. Adalian reported that the production team would still choose several winners from the entrants and invite them to appear on Glee for at least one episode.

Such a popular show should also have a huge fandom right!

Here they are fans of Glee are commonly referred to as "gleeks" (i'm one myself), a portmanteau of "glee" and "geek". Fox ran a "Biggest GLEEK" competition, measuring fans' Glee-related activity on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace, and found that the growth of the fanbase outpaced the network's science-fiction shows. The cast's Hot Topic tour was titled "The Gleek Tour". Glee is one of the most tweeted about TV shows. Fans have recreated many of its musical numbers in tribute to the show, sharing them on YouTube. Based on this trend, show producers included instrumental versions of some songs on the show's soundtracks.

Glee has received generally favorable reviews, with a Metacritic score of 77 out of 100, based on 18 critic reviews. It was praised by critics in several round-up reviews of 2009 in television. James Poniewozik of Time ranked it the eighth best television show of the year, commenting: "when Glee works — which is often — it is transcendent, tear-jerking and thrilling like nothing else on TV." Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker ranked it ninth, calling it "Hands down the year's most novel show [and] also its least likely success", Lisa Respers France of CNN wrote that while ordinarily Glee's premise would have been "a recipe for disaster", the show has "such quirky charm and bravado that it is impossible not to get swept up".









After the episode "Showmance", the Parents Television Council named Glee the 'Worst Show of the Week', calling it "an edgy, sexually-charged adult series that is inappropriate for teenagers". Nancy Gibbs of Time magazine wrote that she had heard the series described as "anti-Christian" by a youth minister, and commented: "It is easy to see his point, if you look at the specifics. [...] The students lie, they cheat, they steal, they lust, they lace the bake-sale cupcakes with pot in order to give the student body a severe case of the munchies. Nearly all the Ten Commandments get violated at one point or another, while the audience is invited to laugh at people's pain and folly and humiliation". However, Gibbs continues to mention: "It insults kids to suggest that simply watching Characters Behaving Badly onscreen means they'll take that as permission to do the same themselves. [...] And it's set in high school, meaning it's about a journey not just to college and career but to identity and conviction, the price of popularity, the compromises we must make between what we want and what we need."

Variety's Brian Lowry was critical of the show's early episodes, highlighting acting and characterization issues and deeming the adult cast "over-the-top buffoons", with the exception of Mays' Emma, who he felt offered "modest redemption". Though he praised Colfer and Michele's performances, Lowry wrote that the show's talent was squandered by its "jokey, cartoonish, wildly uneven tone", deeming the series a "one-hit wonder". Following the show's mid-season finale, Lowry wrote that while Glee"remains a frustrating mess at times", its "vibrant musical numbers and talented cast have consistently kept it on [his] TiVo must list" conceding that "even with its flaws, TV would be poorer without Glee."

As Glee's initial success pulled in a large audience, John Doyle, Globe & Mail, wrote that the early shows "felt fresh, mainly because the motley crew of kids had a kind of square naïveté." Doyle notes that the early success took Glee away from its original characters and plot, focusing more on celebrity guests. 'The gaiety is gone from Glee. You should have set it in its prime, mere months ago".

Glee has received a number of awards and nominations. In 2009, the series won five Satellite Awards: "Best Musical or Comedy TV Series", "Best Actor" and "Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV Series" for Morrison and Michele, "Best Supporting Actress" for Lynch and "Special Achievement for Outstanding Guest Star" for Kristin Chenoweth. In 2010, the show won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy". Morrison, Michele and Lynch also received acting nominations. The series was nominated for two Writers Guild of America Awards, with screenplays nominated in the "Comedy Series" and "New Series" categories. The Glee cast won the "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" award at the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Paris Barclay and Ryan Murphy both received nominations for "Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series" at the Directors Guild of America Awards for their work on Glee. In July 2010, Gleereceived 19 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including "Outstanding Comedy Series", "Outstanding Lead Actor – Comedy Series" for Morrison and "Outstanding Lead Actress – Comedy Series" for Michele. It ended up winning 4, incuding Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Jane Lynch and Outstanding Guest Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for Neil Patrick Harris.

Not only America but the whole world is a fan of GLEE.

Glee has been syndicated for broadcast in several countries worldwide, including Australia, where cast members visited to promote the show prior to its September 2009 debut. In Australia it is shown on Network Ten and FOX8. Season 2 will premiere in Australia on 22 September 2010, four hours after the North American premiere . It also airs in Canada, Latin America, Puerto Rico, Slovenia on TV3 Slovenia, Brazil on Fox Brasil, New Zealand, and Fiji. It is broadcast in South Africa, where Fox beams the episodes directly to the M-Net broadcast center in Johannesburg rather than delivering the tapes. In Europe, episodes of Glee premiere 20 hours after their US broadcast in Ireland. It also airs in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Turkey, France, the Netherlands, Georgia, and the Czech Republic. In Asia, it airs in the Philippines,Japan, Southeast Asia, India (Star World), Malaysia, Singapore and in Israel on yes stars Next.

So, with a slew of stars, lists of some of the best songs and a whole lot of high school drama GLEE has become a runaway success, now returning for the next season of the musical drama. So guys "ITS SHOW TIME!!" 

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