Glee [** US Pace, SPOILERS **]

Also Starring LeVar Burton

The Pilot for a possible new show next season "Glee" airs next Tuesday (19/5) on Fox. It's from the guy who created "Nip/Tuck" and "Popular" and the trailer and early reviews look promising.

What's good about it?: It looks like a cross between "Freaks and Geeks" and "Popular" with a bit of "High School Musical" thrown in for fun.

What's bad about it?: It's been picked up by Fox, who tend to ruin every good show they get their hands on with the exception of "House" and "24".

Anyway, here's the trailer for the Pilot;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNU0KoBIIdE&feature=channel_page

And check it out next week, it seems like it could be a good one.

Richard Dower

I will be watching it, the pilot has received positive reviews...i quite liked Popular and F&G.

Mr E

I saw "High school Musical" and thought "Naah...", but the trailer changed my mind. Doesn't look bad at all, and Jane Lynch is great. Could be worth a look.

But yeah. Fox.

kippy

When I spotted the title of this post, I thought the post was about George Lee.
Kippy

JP Liz

Jessalyn Gilsig and Jane Lynch in the cast - two very underrated actresses - def will watch

My only worry is that its on Fox

DerekD Goldfish

CaptainNegative wrote: »

The Pilot for a possible new show next season "Glee" airs next Tuesday (19/5) on Fox. It's from the guy who created "Nip/Tuck" and "Popular" and the trailer and early reviews look promising.

What's good about it?: It looks like a cross between "Freaks and Geeks" and "Popular" with a bit of "High School Musical" thrown in for fun.

What's bad about it?: It's been picked up by Fox, who tend to ruin every good show they get their hands on with the exception of "House" and "24".

Anyway, here's the trailer for the Pilot;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNU0KoBIIdE&feature=channel_page

And check it out next week, it seems like it could be a good one.

24 has been terrible since season 3

Mr E

DerekD Goldfish wrote: »

24 has been terrible since season 3

Season 5 was brilliant, and Season 7 has been consistently great (with a few small blips)

Lobelia Overhill

CaptainNegative wrote: »

Anyway, here's the trailer for the Pilot;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNU0KoBIIdE&feature=channel_page

that looks surprisingly good. I liked Freaks & Geeks on the odd time I managed to watch it, but I hate Nip/Tuck ...

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Fox has already picked this up for a 13 episode season in September. They're airing the pilot right after American Idol on Tuesday, so hopefully this will result in good ratings. If it's a good pilot and enough people watch, good ratings should continue when the season begins in September, so it should be getting off on a good foot. Sure we'll know by Wednesday whether it'll be worth the watch or not.

lostexpectation

seems too soppy and repeat of get over it.

Richard Dower

But is it The OC meets HSM?

lostexpectation

no its sarkier then that im sure, but i can only do so much sop for sarkieness.

Basq

I'm torn...

It has Jane Lynch... but it also looks painfully camp!

iguana

Why are people favourably comparing the awful Popular to the wonderful Freeks and Geeks?

Richard Dower

Well Popular DID have the gorgeous Carly Pope and Leslie Bibb :-)

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I just watched the pilot episode which aired on Fox...

I really liked it. I think the show has a lot of potential and can definitely be very successful. There's some very funny characters in it - Jessalyn Gylsig's character had some great lines and she delivered them very well. The music was great. The whole popular vs. unpopular thing works well and the fact that we'll be focusing mostly on the unpopular is great.
There's even characters already coming out as people we're gonna love to hate - main example would be the gay kid in the Glee club (think his name is Kurt) who is incredibly irritating.

Overall, I thought it was great, but I'd be wary as to whether people will actually understand the comedy. It comes across as very over the top, but ultimately that is the idea of the show and the funny part is that it is so over the top. If people start looking at it as a drama that tries to be funny, which is likely because it's an hour long show - which traditionally will be drama or dramedy, and comedies are traditionally a half hour. I don't think that this show can be described as dramedy - it's a comedy and shouldn't be taken seriously as anything else.

I'd really like to hear what other people thought, so hopefully a few people will watch it and comment.

EDIT:
I may have underestimated people getting that this was a comedy - Glee has already established a huge fanbase on both Twitter and Facebook, which can only mean it went down well.

Richard Dower

I enjoyed it also, my fave character is Rachel...she's a little wannabe fame monger, but in a nice way. Maybe that's a bit harsh....she's very ambitious and knows she's good and isin't afraid to tell people.

That may come across as arogance though, fave musical number was the Grease tune :-)
BUT....i fear they might tone down the songs and dance numbers for a more conventional teen high school type show. The production seems kind of expensive as it requires recording songs, rehearsals and putting on dance numbers with alot of extras.

I fear with the current round of budget cuts from all networks they might cut this back.But overall i liked what i saw and see the potential, but i don't see a long running series, 2-3 seasons tops.

So thumbs up and awaits the next 13 episodes.

Basq

This is a tough one... I think it has the potential to be extremely successful (with both young and old audiences) but needs to consider a number of things:

• Don't make your leads so stereotypical - the African American "ah hell naw" girl, the "oh-so-fruity" gay guy, the torn jock, the drama queen.
• I really don't see how it'll work weekly - I don't know if there's enough storylines to go around this glee club scenario that'll remain fresh, even after 5 - 6 episodes.
• Make use of the fantastic Jane Lynch
• Make use of the fantastic Stephen Tobolowsky.. though it's the last we'll see of him more than likely.
• Get rid of the choir interlude themes - they're out of place, overloud and irritating!

It has definite potential.. and could be huge. Wasn't a big fan of it though.. some of the reasons I quoted above just seem to grate on me more and more as the pilot went on.

But I'll stick with a few more episodes as you should never judge something by a poor pilot alone ('Heroes', 'True Blood' etc).

EDIT: One thing I did notice was the school in 'Glee' is called McKinley High.. which was also the name of the high school in 'Freaks And Geeks'

Richard Dower

Yeah the Glee club kids were very stereotopic...is that a real word?, that gay dude could be funny it seems. But i get the feeling it'll turn into a Mean Girls dramedy, cheerleaders dissing the Glee club geeks. Who bets they'll recruit a few cheerleaders along the way?

Will Quinn be the evil bitchy cheerleader who turns to the good side?....not dissing the show but i agree with Basq that if Ryan Murphy caves into Fox and tailors the show and story lines to suit what Fox thinks the show should be about it could fall flat on it's arse.

It has to be different, all singing all dancing is great but will wear thin unless the music is really good and consistent.

Richard Dower

Ratings, note it's lead-in was the 25+ million DWTS:

9:00
FOX Glee (preview) 5.0 13 4.0 12 12.518

9:30
FOX Glee (preview) 3.7 9 3.1 9 8.971



Good or bad?...i was right about one thing, the pilot was apparently one of the most expensive ever made. The cost of licensing, re-recording songs, rehearsals, costumes, filiming in the auditorium, lots of extras and dancers make for an expensive week to week show to make.

As such you can see why my observations and reservations are relevent, if it dosen't perform very well and be commercially viable it will be cancelled rather soon.

ixoy

In Popular you started out with the stereotypes but, to a good degree, these were subverted as they went along. I wonder if this is what'll happen here?

Richard Dower

Did any download the cast tunes from Itunes?....they are really good!

Richard Dower

Know what?...i've been read alot of reviews and blogs, and they all seem to raving about the show!....thinking about it i can see why Fox are heavily promoting this and the "big picture", consider that they are tieing this very much into American Idol, which is in essence the basic principle of Glee.

For Fox the real potential could extend far beyond a TV show, consider it becomes a huge hit...we'll see albums and sinlges, and if they hit will push the show more. Extend this to Glee live tours, a Broadway show and so on!

So can see where the potential extends, this could be as big as Idol!!!!

Richard Dower

OMG!...i've watched the pilot 4 times now....love it!! :-)
I also download that great bubble gum pop song by Annie "Chewing Gum"...twas playing during the cheerleader/jock makeout scene :-)

FYI...the broadcast pilot was edited, twas originally 15 mins longer then broadcast, maybe on the DVD.

iguana

I'm a bit undecided on this one. I enjoyed and it made me chuckle at times, the song and dance numbers were all well done. But I also wonder about how far there is to go with the story and the stereotypes were over done. The bone headed jocks who were so boneheaded they were willing to lock a paraplegic in a port-a-potty and tip it over, especially grated.

Richard Dower

"FYI, this screener has a running time of 55 minutes.
The broadcast version was edited down to 43 minutes.
I'm not sure what was cut. The unedited version featured four music scenes (On My Own (show's lead girl), Leavin' On A Jet Plane (teacher), Rehab (group from another highschool) & Don't Stop Believing (glee club kids).
Don't Stop Believing was released to iTunes as a single. The show will air on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. following So You Think You Dance this Fall."

iguana

I think the missing material was noticeable. There was definitely a choppy feel to the narrative at times.

Did anyone else watch the show thinking that Neil Patrick Harris would have made a great Mr Schuester?

Richard Dower

^ dunno...i have the original 55m07s unedited pilot now....gonna watch it soon and report.

:-)

Also Starring LeVar Burton

iguana wrote: »

I think the missing material was noticeable. There was definitely a choppy feel to the narrative at times.

There's a east 5 minutes missing from the very start that gives us background to Will's time in the Glee club when he was in high school and more info on what happened with the previous glee teacher. Saw that online, but haven't seen the whole unedited pilot yet.

Just flicking through the songs for the third time tonight and I'm really loving them. The show for me is one of those unashamedly joyous 42 minutes of television whcih I fell could be somethign that no matter what mood I'm in would cheer me up, a bit like Chuck.

Richard Dower

I just watched the unedited pilot....it certainly has a different feel to it, a couple musical numbers were edited out. It fleshes things out more, especially the Glee teachers reasons for wanting to run the Glee club, more backstory and a big performance sequence at the start not seen in what was broadcast.

One thing i noticed, the original Glee teacher...his reason for leaving was put into much more clear context that i didn't quite pick up on, as in Rachel went to the principle and set him up!!

"i'm not even gay" he proclaims...i must have not watched the aired pilot well enough as i didn't pick up on this, but the unaired pilot has this story much more fleshed out. There was also a BIG performance with Will the new Glee teacher singing "leaving on a jet plane" that was totally cut.

The sequence of shots changed, he moved things around, another sequence cut with the football coach confronting the new glee teacher about stealing his head jock and also him being rejected by that redhead in the school parking lot, dark humour here...this sequence was quite funny.

To my mind these edits changed the whole tone of the show, with the cuts made it made it more friendly, if you get what i mean. The original cut was more "Popular" in it's style, quirkyness and humour...the humour was darker.

When you see it you'll understand and maybe you'll have a different perspective, for me i think what was broadcast was better, but i still think the original was great.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Just watched the pilot again for the second time and the second viewing made everything fit better - I've gotten used to the style and I think it really works. All the performances are top notch and I think this show is gonna make glee clubs and school choirs cool again. The kid in the wheelchair is great - I hope they use the character more as the season progresses. Obviously the pilot needed to focus mainly on Will, Rachel and Finn, so understandable that the rest of the cast faded into the background.
One thing I noticed is that Finn is about a foot taller than Rachel - which is slightly strange when the two of them stand next to each other.
Also, Rachel is extremely hot. Don't think I really noticed during the first viewing how hot she actually is.

Can't find the unaired pilot anywhere, unfortunately, but the aired pilot should keep me going until September - will probably be able to recite every line in the pilot by then.

Richard Dower

Rachel i'd say is super cute, not quite sure about hot...she's very talented, Lea Michele...broadway star et al. Did y'all see the preview for the upcoming episodes??....bloody great!, they do a rocking cover of Gold Digger :-)

Also Kristen Chenoweth is gonna be staring, she's very very good...loads more stage stars are gonna be appearing. It seems that the arc will be about the jocks and the cheerleaders tryna defeat the gllee club.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Richard Dower wrote: »

Rachel i'd say is super cute, not quite sure about hot...she's very talented, Lea Michele...broadway star et al. Did y'all see the preview for the upcoming episodes??....bloody great!, they do a rocking cover of Gold Digger :-)

Also Kristen Chenoweth is gonna be staring, she's very very good...loads more stage stars are gonna be appearing. It seems that the arc will be about the jocks and the cheerleaders tryna defeat the gllee club.

Link for preview?

Basq

CaptainNegative wrote: »

Link for preview?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3SgIijw-nU

Elmo

CaptainNegative wrote: »

What's good about it?: It looks like a cross between "Freaks and Geeks" and "Popular" with a bit of "High School Musical" thrown in for fun.

Freaks and Geeks in the same sentence as Popular and High School Musical , you should be banned just for that!:eek:

Richard Dower

"did it fall out" ....genius! :-)

Richard Dower

http://www.gleeforum.com/

Richard Dower

More song previews: http://www.gleeforum.com/Two-Song-Previews-Itand39s-My-Life-and-Halo-t242.html

Basq

"Glee: Richard's new 'Dollhouse'!"

iguana

basquille wrote: »

"Glee: Richard's new 'Dollhouse'!"

And he wondered why I thought he was an incredibly enthusiastic person.:cool:

Richard Dower

Think it's more about sharing info/links with others who watch the show then being an uber obsessive.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Watched the extended pilot - it's quite different from the one that aired. I felt the aired version was quite choppy when I first watched and now I know why. It doesn't do much except add a few extra musical numbers and pads out the story a bit better, but worth watching all the same.
Fox intend to air the full 55 minute pilot as the season opener in September.

Tazzer

Loved this - I think it has great potential, funny and sometimes a little twee.

Just watched the aired pilot and going to watch the unedited version in a while. looking forward to seeing the bits that were cut.

yurmothrintites

I watched the pilot there and I really enjoyed it. The background music is glee music and really works in the theme of the show. The characters are very stereotypical but a bit too high school musically for me especially the main jock guy.

It has potential to be very popular, it will be interesting to see how the show pans out.

Richard Dower

Seems everyone who has posted thus far liked it, encouraging :-)
Hopefully more FM will give it a shot :-)

JP Liz

American Idol finalist Adam Lambert has just filmed a cameo for Glee

Just finished watching the pilot and I really enjoyed it. Really hope they keep doing musical numbers and that it just wasn't something for the pilot.

Richard Dower

^ they recorded over 40 songs and they plan CDs etc. it's not a one off...songs and musical numbers are central to the show. They are doing a huge promo push over the Summer :-)

Richard Dower

When is the series launching?

Basq

Richard Dower wrote: »

When is the series launching?

September 16th.