Weekly Round Up

American Idol - Season 12 Top 3: My feelings for several of the contestants changed dramatically throughout this season. I love Lazaro at his audition, and Angie after her original song performance, and Amber after My Funny Valentine the first time around. But that love continued to diminish as time went on. In my opinion, Lazaro and Amber weren't good enough to get to the spot they got to (especially Lazaro - the people who kept voting for him were just cruel to keep subjecting him to that kind of humiliation). And Angie's personality began to grate on me real quick.

On the other hand, I started out hating Kree. I thought she had a good voice, but was such a wet blanket. Her early songs didn't make me empathize, they made me roll my eyes. It was actually an exchange between her and Nicki Minaj (when Ms. Nicki first refered to Kree as her wife) that I finally saw a spark of life in Kree and it began to translate into her music for me. Her stage presence could still use some work; she kind of wanders aimlessly around the stage a lot, but her voice is flawless.

Candice is clearly the most talented in the bunch, but she doesn't excite very much in me. Put her up against favorites from seasons past and she would lose every time. My top two would have been Kree and Burnell (his tone was gorgeous), but since that was obviously never going to happen, I'm good with how things turned out.

New Girl 02x24 - Winston's Birthday: New Girl is one of those shows that when I'm not watching it I forget how much I love it, but then as soon as it's on I fall in love again.

Am I the only one who isn't wild about Jess and Nick together? Like, I feel their chemistry and I feel that putting them together was inevitable, but I'm actually much more excited about their potential as exes than as lovers. I think their more of an important stepping stone for each other.

Schmidt continues to be my favorite character on the show. I'm really torn by the introduction of his college girlfriend. I'm quickly falling for her, but I truly believe that Schmist and Cece are meant to be.

Psych 07x09-07x11 - Juliet Wears the Pantsuit-Office Space: I am a big fan of shows that can cleverly break the fourth wall and shout out to their fans. Glee, for example, has had some good ones, but is just as likely to try to say something clever but instead comes out a cringe-worthy (lesbian fan bloggers, anyone?). Psych on the other hand is almost always on point. Sean and Gus' hatred and mockery of both The Mentalist and Entertainment Weekly? Pretty funny. It's not too blatant, just a quick inside joke for those in the know. Santa Barbarian Candidate was no exception. I  started watching Psych partly because of my love of Charlie Young from The West Wing, so watching Sean tease Gus into saying "yes, Mr. President" and really that whole scene? Perfection.

I'm enjoying the way they're handling Juliette finding out about Sean's not-so-psychic ability. Sure, there's some angst and strain in their relationship. I mean, they broke up, can you have much more strain than that? But even with them wading through this untrusting, not dating but still in love territory, the show can keep it riotously funny. And keep the characters true to themselves. They're going to get back together eventually, but in the meantime I'm okay with this break.

Community - Season 4: Yeah, I watched basically the whole season this week. I think there might have been a few episodes I had watched before, but pretty much the whole thing this week.

Community is consistently one of my favorite shows. It's smart. It celebrates television. It's unconventional in it's use of convention. And each year builds into something new.

It's a sitcom with good continuity, something I really appreciate. It doesn't change the characters to fit a particular story it wants to tell. All the characters are well formed with well thought out flaws and foibles, and they're believable in their un-believability. If that makes sense.

I am curious to see how the show will re-invent itself for Season 5. Throught the four seasons, there has been growth in what aspects of the characters' outside lives we've been privy to, to the point where we can witness full episodes outside the school walls. The growth will have to come to a full fruition in Season 5 now that Jeff has graduated.

Glee 04x22 - All or Nothing: Glee has a lot of problems, but I still can't help it being one of my favorite shows. It has so much to offer, and is a show I can't help but view as more than television. Maybe because I'm more invested in the fandom of Glee than anything else, I seem to see the show and everything it brings with it, as more of a social commentary, a contemporary look at today's history.

I'm not going to say too much else, as I'm in the process of putting together a Season Four reaction post. Suffice it say, I didn't feel like this episode was a season finale. None of the season story arcs got resolved, and I think a big part of that was because the season ends in the middle of the school year. The season isn't finished.

Pretty Little Liars 02x04-02x07 - Blind Dates-Surface Tension: Love me some trashy TV and this is taking the cake right now. I know the show is about to start Season Four this summer, so I hope I can catch up in time.

I am slightly worried that nothing will ever get resolved. Are they going to hold onto the identity of Alison's killer until the very end? Because that could get pretty old pretty quick. I mean, there's a lot of potential for A's exploitation even after they know for sure who the killer is. So don't count that out.

Blaine's dark side

I admit, the first time I watched the performance of My Dark Side I wasn't thinking too much about the meaning of the lyrics or how they pertained to Blaine's situation particularly. I was too busy being excited over Blaine singing with the Warblers again (in his blazer!!!) and swooning over Warbler Jeff (who I affectionately refer to as Cutie-Blondie Warbler, and who I realize is far too young for 27 year-old me to be swooning over). The second time I watched it I began listening to lyrics more and decided I didn't think it quite fit. My sister's boyfriend summed it up when he asked, "Why is Blaine asking the Warblers to stay?" And I had to think about that. Why was he asking the Warblers to stay? They're the ones who are always trying to lure him back to Dalton. They're the ones who want him. Did he think they wouldn't like who he'd become during his time at McKinley? Did he think they wouldn't be his friend without his talent? Was he worried they would judge him for what he had done to Kurt? I didn't really get it.

It was until the third time I watched the performance that it clicked. Blaine wasn't singing to the Warblers. And he wasn't singing to New Directions. No, Blaine was singing to himself. The place he knows that isn't so pretty, that hardly anyone ever goes? That's McKinley. And he's asking himself if he's going to stay, even if it hurts. He went there to be with Kurt. That was his only reason for transferring. And so yes, everything McKinley hurts now that Kurt is gone; gone from the halls, gone from his life. Going back to Dalton would be running away. Running to a place where he can go back to LBKPRBW (Life Before Katy Perry Rocked Blaine's World) and pretend this horrible thing that he did never happened. He's not asking if the Warblers really love him or if New Directions ever really accepted him. He's asking himself for forgiveness.

I'm finding Blaine's cheating storyline to be very interestingly handled. Let's be for real, cheating is hardly untouched ground for Glee. If I am remembering correctly Quinn, Puck, Finn, Rachel, Tina, Brittany, Sam, and Mercedes have all cheated on their respective love people. Puck, Finn, Rachel, Mike, Santana, and Sam have all been the "other" in a cheating scenario. Most of these other cheating storylines took place over an episode. Why have we had four episodes in row that have dealt with either the act itself or the aftermath? What makes Blaine's experience any different? In my opinion, I find it interesting that he's the first person to take any kind of ownership or responsibility for what he did. Blaine is devastated and does nothing but blame and berate himself. He's tortured with the guilt of hurting Kurt. In contrast, in season 2 Tina almost gleefully told Artie she had cheated with Mike and was leaving for him, Rachel tried to excuse her behavior by comparing it to Finn's past with Santana, Sam started dating Santana before breaking up with Quinn for revenge, and Brittany (bless her) still probably has no idea she cheated on Artie. To be completely fair, Mercedes also took ownership of actions and told Shane immediately after cheating with Sam, but since her and Shane's relationship was something basically no one was interested in (partially because Shane had no personality whatsoever, not to mention dude couldn't act his way out of a paper bag), it didn't need more than a quick side arc over two episodes.

I'm interested to see where they take Blaine from this. He's had so little character development outside of his relationship with Kurt, that I'd like this to be the beginning of him really finding himself (as he mentions in the song!!) as a person and not part of a couple. Even though I maybe didn't get it right away (again, I'm blaming Cutie Blondie Warbler's adorableness) My Dark Side turned out to be a fairly brilliant song choice for Blaine and sets the stage nicely for things to come. 

In fact, for the first time in a while, I feel like every song this episode was expertly chosen to both fit the theme AND the characters singing. Sure, if I so choose I could read too much into the differences in song choices between the two male duos and the female duet (such as why were both boy songs about being heroes while the girl song was about needing a hero?), but instead I'm choosing to reinterpret Holding Out for a Hero as Marley not choosing between her Mega-Studs, but needing to accept herself, warts and all, and be her own hero (just like Blaine has to accept himself as someone who made a mistake and hurt someone he loved). Because in the end, if they keep going with her bulimia story, she really is the one who'll have to save herself.

A new direction for New Directions?

Glee is easily one of, if not my number one, favorite show on the air right now. I have no problem looking past its (multiple) flaws and failures and instead throwing myself whole-heartedly into an episode by episode deep over-analysis of its literary merits and cultural significance. I can lose myself in its superficial candy coated shenanery and revel in its excellence when it digs deeper and gets things right.

Throughout Seasons 1 and 2, Glee found a pretty solid formula: in each episode, no matter what someone was going through, all problems could be solved with a song. That formula was compounded by a core group of virtually unchangeable misfits. Sure, they swapped out the virtually non-existent Matt for the delightfully doofy Sam. And yes, Lauren (who I just loved with Puck) briefly filled the void left by Kurt until she was unceremoniously dumped from the cast. But the core eleven stayed the same. More than that, they dove deep enough into some of those characters who were originally brought in as little more than background scenery (like Santana, Brittany, and Mike) to the point where almost everyone had enough to make them a character rather than an archetype, a person in their own right that an audience would be invested in.

It wasn't until Season 3 that the problem of making every single character fleshed out and beloved was realized. In that very first episode back in May 2009, Rachel had in no uncertain terms declared herself a sophomore. This was now senior year. This was the last year these kids would all be together. How was the show supposed to continue without these characters we'd become so attached to and still remain true to its original premise? How could the show follow all these beloved characters on to their lives throughout the country without becoming so fractured that it eventually just broke? Season 3 had to recognize that they were quickly coming to a cross-road.

And so Season 3 became one of transition. But...sneakily. Yes, we still had those core 11 and they continued on with the formula that had served them so well for the past two years. But at the same time, Season 3 slowly but surely moved towards new directions beginnings.

First up, the transfer of Blaine. A smart move, he was already an established character and half of a couple with an extremely devoted (and sometimes demonic) fanbase. His addition wasn't much of a shock. He was familiar, he was comfortable. There might have been some controversy over his newly revealed age and grade level, but his presence at McKinley was to be expected. Then we welcomed Sam back from his brief departure. His financial situation was still the same, we were reminded of his relationships with both Quinn and Santana, and his declaration of love for Mercedes was a reprieve for a previously dropped storyline. Again, familiar and comfortable. And another junior.

Throughout the year, we were introduced to Sugar, Rory, and Joe, interspersed enough to make each new addition unique and to not dump too much new on the audience at one time. For me, Sugar and Joe were especially welcome additions as their characters were so vastly different from anyone else in New Directions (whereas I felt Rory was just another Finn or Sam, kind of dorky and clueless). Of the three, Joe was my favorite as he was directly responsible for two of my favorite conversations during Season 3 (the God Squad's discussion of homosexuality was hilarious, and Joe and Sam's heart to heart on how to balance a sexual relationship with Quinn and a relationship with God I found to be a very honest look at that particular struggle without being remotely mocking towards Christians or preachy towards non-Christians).

Another very smart move made in Season 3? "Hold Onto Sixteen" gave us a Sectionals competition that was completely Rachel-free. The New Directions were also missing Santana and Mercedes, their two other power house female voices (though we did see them compete as members of the Troubletones). Instead Tina sang lead, Blaine and Artie had a duet, and basically everyone had a solo somewhere. Take note of who those three featured students were. All juniors. Those three will ease us in to Life After Rachel. And tell the truth, i found it to be one of my favorite competition episodes of the whole series (with my absolute least favorite costumes, both New Directions and Troubletones). Maybe more spotlight sharing will continue into Season 4?

All of these moves during Season 3, not to mention letting the audience cling to Tina and Artie (and a lesser extent, Blaine and Sam) as juniors, and Brittany as a super-senior, eased the shock that could have been Season 4.

I have some thoughts on the first episode back: the new characters and certain people or storylines I'd like to see more fully explored, but that will have to wait until tomorrow...

Glee: Props/Nationals

Things I Liked About Last Night's Glee

1. Coach Bieste's continuing storyline with Cooter: Having it take time for her to decide to leave was much more realistic than wrapping it up in one episode. I'm glad that this was something that took several episodes and we got to see her thought process, her justifications for staying and the reasons for her breaking point.

2. Brittany's throw-away line regarding her bisexuality: Bisexuals have not gotten the greatest rap on Glee (see Kurt and Santana's rants against Blaine's and Brittany's sexuality struggles from Season 2), so it's nice to remind everyone that someone actually is bisexual on the show. Yes, she's with Santana now (a couple I'm still not 100% on bored with, but that's a discussion for another time), but she really did love Artie, too.

3. Unique: Girlfriend was bitchin. Seriously, can I be her friend?

4. Coach Bieste and Puck: I think she may give Mr. Schue a run for his money on Teacher of the Year. Schue was way less douchey than he was last year, but he hasn't quite made it back to his Season 1 glory.

5. The redemption of Jesse St. James: And Carmen Thibedeaux remembering his audition from two years ago (I would seriously LOVE to hear Jesse St. James sing Giants in the Sky.)

6. Sue's character development: I really like what Sue has become. She's still ridiculous and destructive and outrageous to the point of being past offensive, but then there are moments when her humanity shines through (like when she hugged Beiste or when she took care of sick Mercedes). Her crazy is still all there, but it's more fun seeing her as an ambiguity rather than a straight villain. I like complexity.

7. Blaine and Kurt's Halloween costumes: I can never un-see Blaine as The Situation. I realize Kurt was in drag, but for me it was Blaine that was just hilarious. He's always so put together! My favorite Blaine moments are always the ones where he's a little weird or flustered.

My only real complaint: I wish the character switch had been a little longer. Everyone was so funny in the background doing their impressions of each other (and Finn and Puck were so sweet as Kurt and Blaine!). It would have been better to see more of it. Plus, I think Tina needed a little more time to see how hard it is to be Rachel, how much effort and work she puts into what she does, hoe much pressure everyone else puts on her, and how effortlessly she makes it look for her. They touched on that a little, but I think they needed to go into just a touch more.

All in all, this was one of the best two episodes of the whole season. Glee has a lot of flaws, but I just love it anyway. Yea Glee!