Welcome to TV or Not TV where I am full of Glee.
Last week FOX did something very unusual by giving us a full episode preview of their fall show Glee. Originally I wasn’t going to watch this show because to me it seemed to be a show created to try to tap into to the High School Musical craze. I then remembered how I originally wrote off The Secret Life of the American Teenager due to pre-conceived notions without seeing a single moment of the show. Seeing as how I’m trying to at least be perceived as an actual TV critic I realized it was my duty to watch this show and actually make an educated decision.
First and foremost I would like to emphatically state that I thoroughly enjoyed Glee and think that the only major problem I had with the show after watching it was the fact that I was going to have to wait until the fall to see more of it. The show is about a former glee club member turned teacher Will Schuester (played by Matthew Morrison) who takes over the completely underfunded and underappreciated glee club for William McKinley High School (the same school name from Judd Apatow’s critically acclaimed and short lived Freaks & Geeks). From there the show begins to present to us the typical players of a high school drama with the popular quarterback Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) who hides his real passion in fear of ridicule, the over-achieving girl Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) who wants to be a star to the degree that it alienates her from the rest of the student body, the affeminite and fashionably conscious male Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), the shy asian girl Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), the powerful african-american singer Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), and the nerd (not just nerdy but also in a wheelchair… nice touch). We are also introduced to the pain that Schuester has to deal with competing for the rights of his glee club at a school where the cheerleading squad is a national competitor that gets the majority of the school funding. His pain also extends to the home with a very over-controlling and dependant wife (who clealry doesn’t appreciate him). The dynamic with is wife is further complicated by the clear adoration and support that he receives from germaphobe co-worker Emma Pillsbury (played by Jayma Mays).
This pilot episode had a lot to set up so I can’t fault them for going deeper into the background of Kurt, Tina and Mercedes. The fact that these characters still exist to be fleshed out helps give us more to look forward to as well. There is plenty to still be explored in the other characters that we’ve only seen briefly like Finn‘s chearleader girlfriend Quinn (Dianna Agron) and fellow football player Puck (Mark Salling). I’m also very interested to see more of the backstory to Emma Pillsbury and look forward to the guest stars that this show could undoubtedly pull in.
Of course the show couldn’t be a hit if the musical numbers aren’t good. The performance of Rehab by the competing high school’s glee club definitely was both entertaining as well as conflicting in the words vs. the clean cut presentation. When we see our main characters finally perform at the end of the show Journey will be stuck in your head for a few hours as you are left longing for more.
Now that I’ve expressed all of my glee about Glee let’s move on to what we can watch in the next 7.
MONDAY
Memorial Day is all about celebrating those that serve the U.S. military with their service and sacrifice. Nothing says that more than the tradition of the television marathon.
HIST: The history channel offers up an all-day marathon of MonsterQuest.
TLC: Just as they’ve done the entire weekend, Jon & Kate Plus 8 marathon’s up to the 9 PM premiere of the new season.
A&E: There’s nothing more uplifting than watching an entire day of Intervention.
TUESDAY
THECW – 8:00 PM: Sadly tonight is the final episode (probably ever) of Reaper. When the show was given the 13 episode pick-up last year the show’s producers said that this finale would give a certain level of satisfaction, so will Sam actually win his way out of his deal with the Devil? Either way I’m really going to miss Ray Wise as the Devil.
NBC – 8:00 PM: You have to ask if they NBC is really starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel with TV’s 50 Funniest Phrases. Yes, two hours of prime time dedicated to D’oh!, Where’s the Beef?, and Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout Willis?
FOX – 9:00 PM: I don’t know much about Mental, but it’s a new show so I’ll at least be checking it out. Is it the House of psychiatry? I’ll let you know.
WEDNESDAY
ABC – 8:00 PM: The painful smackfest that is Wipeout returns. It’s self-inflicted suffering at it’s finest.
CBS – 8:00 PM: George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert has Jamie Foxx (and a whole lot of others that make for more sense) some how paying tribute to George Strait. Can’t wait to see how this plays out.
ABC – 9:00 PM: ABC once again hopes to come up with an animation hit with The Goode Family. It’s by Mike Judge so I’m also trying to hold out hope, but sadly I don’t have much.
THURSDAY
ABC – 8:00 PM: Strap in for a night of thrills and excitement as Tom Bergeron hosts the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
DISCOVERY HEALTH – 8:00 PM: Oprah‘s personal trainer Bob Greene tries to break the yo-yo dieting cycle of three individuals in I’m Fat Again: A Best of Life Special. I’m sure he can help, it’s not like Oprah has that yo-yo dieting problem. Speaking of Oprah…
CNBC – 9:00 PM: CNBC takes a look at what happens when Oprah pimps a product for you. I wonder if Bob Greene will be on this too?
FRIDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM: Mark McGrath tries to help out Gary Dell’Abate win money for the charity LIFEBeat. Here’s hoping he does a lot better than that first pitch for the Mets! (Bababooey!)
ABC – 9:00 PM: Financial advisor Mellody Hobson talks to a bunch of rich people, including Will Smith and Samuel Jackson, about the basics of financial knowledge and management. Glad to see she’s taking a real Main Street perspective on this one.
SATURDAY
HIST – 2:00 PM: A 10 hour marathon of the first season of Ice Road Truckers might just get me to not leave the house today.
TBS – 7:00 PM: Apparently it’s bad Will Ferrell movie night on TBS with Kicking & Screaming followed by A Night at The Roxbury.
ABC – 10:00 PM: There are only 6 episodes left to the amazing yet cancelled show Pushing Daisies and it looks like the alphabet net is finally going to let us see them with tonight’s return of the show. Enjoy the Pie Maker with me as we kick off one last run will you?
SUNDAY
MTV – 8:00 PM: What will The Hills be after Laura Conrad leaves? I have no idea, I don’t watch.
TBS – 8:00 PM: As a fan of Clive Cussler novels I was excited to see Sahara. When it turned out it was another movie to feature Mathew McConaughey‘s chest? Not so muh.
MTV – 9:00 PM: This year Andy Samberg hosts the MTV Movie Awards. I might actually tune in for once.
– Will Wilkins now returns to his regularly scheduled broadcast.
Comments: 1 Comment
One Response to “TV Or Not TV: 5/25 – 5/31”Leave a Reply |
May 26th, 2009 at 12:01 am
Actually, tonight may very well NOT be the last Reaper episode. Industry insiders confirm Hollywood Reporter’s article that ABC Studios is actively trying to sell Reaper. Syndication is a very real possiblity right now, but EVERYONE is recommending writing your affiliates! Help out! All details here: http://community.livejournal.com/reaperdmv/46875.html
If we’re successful, we’re looking at a full season (22 – not 18 or 13!) and a possible start date in October.