# Glee OAD 9/16/09 - "Acafellas" ** SPOILERS **



## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

Lots of great lines, and one fabulous performance by Amber Riley. Who knew Josh Groban loves a blousy alcoholic?

The only thing I really didn't quite get was why OCD is now seeing Ken.

Greg


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## Neenahboy (Apr 8, 2004)

gchance said:


> The only thing I really didn't quite get was why OCD is now seeing Ken.


That happened last episode when she found out that Will and Terri were close to buying a house. She realized that her pining for him wasn't healthy, and after Ken essentially told her that he was the best she'd be able to get in that hick town, she resigned herself to that fact.


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## Ruth (Jul 31, 2001)

This was by far my least favorite episode of this show. I just didn't care about the characters that were featured, and I didn't like any of the musical numbers.


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## MrGreg (May 2, 2003)

I didn't get why the main guy lost interest in the glee club so quickly in favor of his old-man boy-band.


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## TriBruin (Dec 10, 2003)

Ruth said:


> This was by far my least favorite episode of this show. I just didn't care about the characters that were featured, and I didn't like any of the musical numbers.


This



MrGreg said:


> I didn't get why the main guy lost interest in the glee club so quickly in favor of his old-man boy-band.


Exactly!

After the first two episodes, I was very excited the first two episodes, but I am starting to feel they are rushing the show along. It feels like they writers thought up every cliche an are running through them a fast as possible:

* Sweet but outcast falls in love with Football player - Check
* Football player is really talented, but is afraid to show it - Check
* Teacher is former glee club winner, wants to make glee club popular again - Check
* Teacher finds own career, but always comes back to Glee Club (TWICE!) - Check

Although I didn't enjoy the songs as much last night (not "iTunes" worthy as my wife said.), the songs are not enough to keep this show going. They need to get the plot line going soon.


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## cmaasfamily (Jan 26, 2006)

This thing should be headed for the textbooks - a brilliant concept, a great pilot, and then straight into the crapper.

Rather than fleshing out characters and tightening up the storyline after the pilot, it seems clear the direction was to 'get more of them #1 iTune hits!'

It has fallen from a STORY about a teacher and a Glee club to half-hearted, cliched sketches about high school which are interrupted by big production numbers, followed by commercials. Then it repeats. I fully expect one of the actors to drop character, look at the camera and say: "and now, our very special guest: Cher singing her #1 hit Half-Breed!"

Here's a tip: if the show sucks nobody is going to buy the songs on iTunes. Or watch the show.


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## jradford (Dec 28, 2004)

Oh well. I enjoyed it.


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

1st 2 episodes I thought the hour went by too quickly. Last night I kept looking at my watch, not a good sign. 

I did like the guy with no thumbs. Then getting the 2 thumbs up cake, and his mike taped to his hand so he could hold it.


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## cl8855 (Jan 2, 2009)

huh I liked it last night...I agree its still looking for its footing, but still fun.

really enjoyed the acafellas numbers of poision and i want to sex you up...so cheesy


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## Cainebj (Nov 11, 2006)

MrGreg said:


> I didn't get why the main guy lost interest in the glee club so quickly in favor of his old-man boy-band.


+1


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## FourFourSeven (Jan 3, 2003)

Liked the Acafellas numbers. There were also some funny lines here and there. But I agree it didn't really mesh - the story wasn't very good, the character development is lacking.

I'm also disappointed that they've gone away from the initial concept of a musical show that the entire family will enjoy together - this wasn't quite as sexual as the previous episode, but "I Wanna Sex You Up" sung by a group including two high school kids and a guy with an order to stay 50 feet away from kids? That's pushing it. I have nothing against an edgier show, but I was hoping this was one to watch with the kids, and it clearly isn't.

I'm not sure the home life aspect of the show is working (the whole non-baby subplot). The interaction between the teachers/coaches seems to work well - they need to play that up more.


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## LooseWiring (Jan 6, 2003)

I don't get it. When was this ever supposed to be a "musical show that the entire family will enjoy together"?

The pilot certainly wasn't family friendly.

Personally, I thought the episode was better than last weeks but not by much. I do agree that the jock wanting to leave Glee was a bit drastic as was Mr. Schuster basically ditching the kids in favor of Accafellas.


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## jradford (Dec 28, 2004)

LooseWiring said:


> I don't get it. When was this ever supposed to be a "musical show that the entire family will enjoy together"?
> 
> The pilot certainly wasn't family friendly.
> 
> Personally, I thought the episode was better than last weeks but not by much. I do agree that the jock wanting to leave Glee was a bit drastic as was Mr. Schuster basically ditching the kids in favor of Accafellas.


Didn't he ditch them after they basically ditched him, though, by wanting to bring in a new dance guy?

Maybe it didn't jive perfectly, but I bought the "disenchantment" he was feeling.


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## That Don Guy (Mar 13, 2003)

TriBruin said:


> After the first two episodes, I was very excited the first two episodes, but I am starting to feel they are rushing the show along. It feels like they writers thought up every cliche an are running through them a fast as possible:
> 
> * Sweet but outcast falls in love with Football player - Check
> * Football player is really talented, but is afraid to show it - Check
> ...


* Group hires a professional to lead them because they think it's the only way to become winners, only to discover that they had their leader all along - Check.

Now, all they need is:
* Group goes to regionals and finishes in the lowest qualifying spot for nationals;
* Group ends up winning nationals (despite the fact that there are other groups that, based on the actual performances, are 100 times better);
* "Villain" coach gets comeuppance (that was pretty much the entire plot of _The Karate Kid Part 3_, wasn't it?); I will be surprised if the last scene of the first season isn't somebody throwing some liquid onto her.

Just about the only other thing missing is a Fox announcement sometime in the spring: to fill the summer slot left open when _So You Think You Can Dance?_ moved to the fall, Fox is going to sponsor a National High School Glee Club Championship, with the final rounds to air _American Idol_-style over the summer.

(Oh, and take it from someone who has first-hand knowledge: in what high school is Glee Club considered "below" Mathletes?)

-- Don


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## TAsunder (Aug 6, 2003)

So... have they fixed the tone of this show by the 3rd episode? I didn't like the 1st episode at all exclusively because the tone was in no man's land between serious drama and parody of teen stupidity. In order for me to enjoy the show, it has to be very clearly in the "parody of teen stupidity" genre. Is it now? I can keep waiting if not...


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Count me as another who wasn't too thrilled with this episode. I think what I really liked about the pilot was that it had real music that was arranged for a show choir to sing and perform. There was more of that when we saw Vocal Adrenaline again in this episode. But most of the musical numbers from the last two episodes have really left me flat, because they simply weren't the types of music that I think a show choir would perform, so they just leave me saying "WTF?"

After the pilot, I was really excited for this show. After three episodes, I'm seriously considering giving it up if it doesn't improve.


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## Cindy1230 (Oct 31, 2003)

Definitely full of cliches...._yay they overcame another obstacle,_.. 
Thought this episode really sloooowed down the story line,... when is the big competition anyway?

And this was the first time they did an Ally McBeal/Eli Stone with Mercedes imagining her number.

Enjoyed all the Acafellas songs... all the early 90s hip songs I grew up with, brought back memories... I forgot I saw Color Me Badd at the Houston Rodeo (indeed, they used 2 d's),.. hmmm where are they now?


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## Frylock (Feb 13, 2002)

I agree that I don't get where people keep complaining that it is not a family show. It's Fox, and Fox likes edgy. And they said from the beginning it was NOT High School Musical on Fox. If you want a show that's family friendly, go watch High School Musical. Fox didn't want to do what had already been done.


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## tewcewl (Dec 18, 2004)

The wife and I enjoyed this episode, including the cameo by Josh Groban.

"Josh Groban likes a blousy alcoholic." 

And Victor Garber! In a bow-tie! So funny. I kept trying to reconcile the Garber I knew from Alias to this one.


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## Peter000 (Apr 15, 2002)

I liked it! I bought the story, and the reason for him abandoning the kids for Accafellas... it was all about Will feeling the self-esteem that his own performing brought him.

It was REALLY funny watching that group of teachers performing like a boy-band. And well! And Will's wife seeing the joy it brought her husband. It's the first time I really liked her character.


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## Jayjoans (Jan 23, 2003)

jradford said:


> Maybe it didn't jive perfectly, but I bought the "disenchantment" he was feeling.


FYI:
jibe 2 (jb)
intr.v. jibed, jib·ing, jibes Informal
To be in accord; agree: Your figures jibe with mine.

So far, this episode was the worst of the bunch.


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## SorenTodd (May 26, 2009)

Ruth said:


> This was by far my least favorite episode of this show. I just didn't care about the characters that were featured, and I didn't like any of the musical numbers.


I agree. Not enough Jane Lynch and too much of that guy who works at Sheets & Things.

But it was cool that Kurt finally admitted to Mercedes that he was gay. Not that we didn't know that already.


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## FourFourSeven (Jan 3, 2003)

LooseWiring said:


> I don't get it. When was this ever supposed to be a "musical show that the entire family will enjoy together"?


Link - here's the money quote from Ryan Murphy, the show's creator.



> "It's a 9 p.m. show, it's not designed for 8. But it is designed for families to watch together. It's sweet, but it will appeal to both kids and adults, it's written for both of them."


I have NO problem with edgy - my favorite show of all time is Arrested Development. And I'm fine with this show being edgy. But when I first saw the pilot, and saw the above quote from the creator, I thought "cool - a quirky show with music I can watch with the kids - they love music and dancing, I like quirky shows - we can enjoy it together."

Instead, a decision was apparantly made to make the show a bit more of a "typical" edgy show. Again, that's fine, but it's not what was originally planned, and I was looking forward to what was originally planned more than how it turned out.

Frankly, I think a quirky but (relatively) family-friendly musical would have been completely out there and a bit more original and, yes, edgy than another standard Fox "edgy is equated with sexual humor" show.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

Ruth said:


> This was by far my least favorite episode of this show. I just didn't care about the characters that were featured, and I didn't like any of the musical numbers.


I thought it was much better than the previous episode, which i think fell off course.

For me this feel back in line with the pilot with the same tone and the same quality of musical performances.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

SorenTodd said:


> I agree. Not enough Jane Lynch and too much of that guy who works at Sheets & Things.


I am a big Jane Lynch fan, but if I look at the 3 episodes so far, I think one of the reasons the second episode was so off track for me was she was too involved.


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## Keen (Aug 3, 2009)

Frylock said:


> I agree that I don't get where people keep complaining that it is not a family show.


Maybe the top left corner of their TVs are broken, so they can't see the rating?


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

SorenTodd said:


> I agree. Not enough Jane Lynch and too much of that guy who works at Sheets & Things.


Speaking of the guy who works at Sheets & Things (Howard), I was surprised by how good his voice was when they performed (if it was really his voice), and thought it was odd that the review in the newspaper apparently found his performance worthy of criticism.


FourFourSeven said:


> Link - here's the money quote from Ryan Murphy, the show's creator.
> 
> I have NO problem with edgy - my favorite show of all time is Arrested Development. And I'm fine with this show being edgy. But when I first saw the pilot, and saw the above quote from the creator, I thought "cool - a quirky show with music I can watch with the kids - they love music and dancing, I like quirky shows - we can enjoy it together."
> 
> ...


I think a Hollywood TV producer's idea of a family show simply doesn't coincide with your idea of a family show. I watched one of the behind the scenes specials that was available free via Amazon On Demand (and I already mentioned this in one of the other Glee threads), but one of the producers (not Ryan Murphy) said that they were hoping for the kind of show where kids could watch with their parents, and there would be risque jokes that the parents would get but would go over the kids' heads. I paraphrased the quote, but that's basically what he was saying. So the producers' idea of a family show doesn't mean that it doesn't have edgy jokes. It simply means that they think it's OK to let your kids watch those edgy jokes because they probably won't get them.


tewcewl said:


> And Victor Garber! In a bow-tie! So funny. I kept trying to reconcile the Garber I knew from Alias to this one.


Victor Garber is actually quite a talented musical performer (see Eli Stone). I'm positive that his casting on this show simply means that he'll be involved in musical numbers in upcoming episodes.


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## Cindy1230 (Oct 31, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> Victor Garber is actually quite a talented musical performer (see Eli Stone). I'm positive that his casting on this show simply means that he'll be involved in musical numbers in upcoming episodes.


Thought that too... when was he going to sing,.. thought maybe he was going to join the Acafellas. He's done a lot of broadway too.


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## jradford (Dec 28, 2004)

Jayjoans said:


> FYI:
> jibe 2 (jb)
> intr.v. jibed, jib·ing, jibes Informal
> To be in accord; agree: Your figures jibe with mine.
> ...


Consider the subject matter. Referring to different parts of the plot as dancing well together works.


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## whitson77 (Nov 10, 2002)

How is this show doing in the ratings? I know quite a few people that love it. And Yes, I know I am being too lazy to not search on my own.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

whitson77 said:


> How is this show doing in the ratings? I know quite a few people that love it. And Yes, I know I am being too lazy to not search on my own.


It's a little too early to tell, since each of the first two episodes have not really had any competition from other networks. Next week, when all the networks are back to showing new content, will be the true test for some of these shows that premiered early.

But to answer your question with the data available from TV By The Numbers: 


> Meanwhile Glee pulled in 6.642 million viewers 3.1/8 with adults 18-49 and a 3.5/10 with adults 18-34, and a whopping 5.0/14 women 18-34!


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

whitson77 said:


> How is this show doing in the ratings? I know quite a few people that love it. And Yes, I know I am being too lazy to not search on my own.


Don't know about last night, but I remember looking up ratings after last week's episode and the show had 7+ million viewers that night, and Fox was expecting the number to go higher once they factored in DVR viewers at the end of the week.

I forget the pilot's numbers, but Fox was saying something like it was the highest ratings they've had in a few years for a scripted show's premiere. (but I forget if that claim was for the preview they had last Spring, or the recent September re-airing of it.)

EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glee_(TV_series)#U.S._ratings


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Jeeters said:


> Don't know about last night, but I remember looking up ratings after last week's episode and the show had 7+ million viewers that night, and Fox was expecting the number to go higher once they factored in DVR viewers at the end of the week.
> 
> I forget the pilot's numbers, but Fox was saying something like it was the highest ratings they've had in a few years for a scripted show's premiere. (but I forget if that claim was for the preview they had last Spring, or the recent September re-airing of it.)


They were talking about the original airing in May, and that was artificially inflated because it aired directly following one of the last few episodes of American Idol.


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## DreadPirateRob (Nov 12, 2002)

whitson77 said:


> How is this show doing in the ratings? I know quite a few people that love it. And Yes, I know I am being too lazy to not search on my own.


Pretty well, apparently, according to MediaWeek:



MediaWeek said:


> Elsewhere, week two of musical Fox dramedy Glee held up well, with a third-place 4.5/ 7 in the overnights from 9-10 p.m. While most new shows drop in the vicinity of 10 to 20 percent in week two, Glee was completely consistent and it built from the second half of lead-in So You Think You Can Dance (3.6/ 6) by 25 percent. That is a winning performance in my book.


That's exactly the same overnight that it drew last week, which is a good sign.


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> They were talking about the original airing in May, and that was artificially inflated because it aired directly following one of the last few episodes of American Idol.


Yeah, I see that after just checking the ratings for it on Wikipedia. Seems the September re-airing was only 4 million viewers. Maybe because many who'd seen it already didn't bother watching it again? One the other hand, that makes the 7 million viewers it got last week a (nearly 45% increase) pretty impressive.


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

Ehh, this episode wasn't good. The actions of the teacher make no sense. 

Victor Garber's character is studying to be a lawyer after the last two characters he played regularly on TV were lawyers.


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## Regina (Mar 30, 2003)

Peter000 said:


> I liked it! I bought the story, and the reason for him abandoning the kids for Accafellas... it was all about Will feeling the self-esteem that his own performing brought him.
> 
> It was REALLY funny watching that group of teachers performing like a boy-band. And well! And Will's wife seeing the joy it brought her husband. It's the first time I really liked her character.


I liked the look on Jane Lynch's character's face during "I wanna sex you up" -trying to look disgusted but failing!


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## FourFourSeven (Jan 3, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> I think a Hollywood TV producer's idea of a family show simply doesn't coincide with your idea of a family show. . . So the producers' idea of a family show doesn't mean that it doesn't have edgy jokes. It simply means that they think it's OK to let your kids watch those edgy jokes because they probably won't get them.


That's a very good point. However, I still think the "edgy" stuff in the pilot was a bit more masked and less obvious than the two more recent episodes (things like the guy with the restraining order singing "I Wanna Sex You Up.")

No big deal for me personally, we'll still watch and give the show a chance - it just isn't what I expected from the pilot and the stuff I read about it, and it won't be a show we watch with the kids (which would have been kind of fun).


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

MrGreg said:


> I didn't get why the main guy lost interest in the glee club so quickly in favor of his old-man boy-band.


How about because he had to scrap and claw to convince them to be in the thing to begin with, and then they ignored him and performed a number at the assembly that got them censured, and then they told him he sucked as a choreographer and they needed to hire someone else. Meanwhile he finds a bunch of guys who actually listen to him and fulfill his jones to perform, which is a major reason he was interested in running glee to begin with. Why not lose interest?


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## atrac (Feb 27, 2002)

Wow....I'm sorry to see so many negative reactions to this episode...and surprised to boot. I thought it was much stronger than last week's outing, and a lot closer in feel to the pilot.

An astounding A+ for adding Victor Garber to the cast. Love him to death and I do hope he is given a chance to perform!

My favorite line from the show though was delivered by the Nazi-ish choreographer Dakota Stanley after Vocal Adrenaline performed their terrific number -- "Get off my stage!!!" Hilarious!!


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## Ment (Mar 27, 2008)

This EP was good for about 5 minutes. The dancing cheerleaders part.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

Okay all I want to know is do these cheerleaders wear their cheer uniform to school EVERY damn day? And the ponytails? Really? I don't know why it bugs me but it was enough to make me want to turn the channel.


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## cheerdude (Feb 27, 2001)

I wish that Fox had all of the musical numbers on iTunes. I would have purchased the Acafella ones and the "Leaving on a Jet Plane" from the Director's Cut of the Pilot episode.


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

photoshopgrl said:


> Okay all I want to know is do these cheerleaders wear their cheer uniform to school EVERY damn day? And the ponytails? Really? I don't know why it bugs me but it was enough to make me want to turn the channel.


Cheerleader skirts and ponytails? Makes me *not* turn the channel.


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## Cainebj (Nov 11, 2006)

DevdogAZ said:


> Victor Garber is actually quite a talented musical performer (see Eli Stone). I'm positive that his casting on this show simply means that he'll be involved in musical numbers in upcoming episodes.


Victor Garber is one of those actors that shows up in a TV show and gives me indigestion - but - let's not forget the movie version of GODSPELL. Mr. Garber played Jesus.


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

MrGreg said:


> I didn't get why the main guy lost interest in the glee club so quickly in favor of his old-man boy-band.


It's because his football teammates made fun of him for glee club.

But being in a boy band with teachers, well that's just cool. 

EDIT: actually, perhaps the other popular football player joining Acafellas and saying it was to go Cougar hunting might have made the other football players back off, but it certainly wasn't presented that way.


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

Speaking of cliches, how far will they take this "I'm pretending to be pregnant" thing.

Please make it stop.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

Jeeters said:


> Cheerleader skirts and ponytails? Makes me *not* turn the channel.


Well okay I get your point but I wonder if they do laundry every night or are just skanky. Ick. LOL


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## zordude (Sep 23, 2003)

uncdrew said:


> Speaking of cliches, how far will they take this "I'm pretending to be pregnant" thing.
> 
> Please make it stop.


I agree... PLEASE.

ugh.

Z


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## cl8855 (Jan 2, 2009)

zordude said:


> I agree... PLEASE.
> 
> ugh.
> 
> Z


At least another week or more, as in the scenes, you see her talking to her friend/sister/someone about it and being told to keep hiding it.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

Jeeters said:


> Cheerleader skirts and ponytails? Makes me *not* turn the channel.


word!!

I didn't like the Acafellas story line. Need more focus on the Glee Club kids developing their stuff. The hiring of the choreographer was a throw away plot point. They didn't even use him at all. At least have him arrange one crazy dance thing that the kids just can't do. Then fire him.


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

Oh, and who else kept wondering when dude would tie the bowtie on his tux?

What is that look? The "I rented a tux and wanted to look nice but couldn't quite finish getting dressed"?


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

cheerdude said:


> I wish that Fox had all of the musical numbers on iTunes. I would have purchased the Acafella ones and the "Leaving on a Jet Plane" from the Director's Cut of the Pilot episode.


They've already said that they'll be releasing an album of Glee songs, but I think it won't be out until November. I thought that some of the musical numbers were already on iTunes.


uncdrew said:


> It's because his football teammates made fun of him for glee club.
> 
> But being in a boy band with teachers, well that's just cool.
> 
> EDIT: actually, perhaps the other popular football player joining Acafellas and saying it was to go Cougar hunting might have made the other football players back off, but it certainly wasn't presented that way.


The post you were replying to wasn't talking about the football playing student. It was talking about why the teacher (Mr. Schuester) basically quit coaching the Glee Club in favor of the Acafellas.


photoshopgrl said:


> Well okay I get your point but I wonder if they do laundry every night or are just skanky. Ick. LOL


You apparently have a different understanding of the word "skanky" than I do. I don't think it has anything to do with whether their clothes are clean.


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## dolcevita (Jan 1, 2004)

photoshopgrl said:


> Okay all I want to know is do these cheerleaders wear their cheer uniform to school EVERY damn day?


I took that as a recurring joke about the cheerleader characters, particularly since they wore their cheerleading skirts with matching bikini tops during the car wash scene....


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

Is it me or do the teenage kids get the beneift of just a little Autotune (_Don't Stop Believin'_ in the pilot, _I Bust the Windows Out Your Car_ in Ep 3)? Compare the vocal quality in those numbers to the audition numbers at the start of the pilot...


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## Shakhari (Jan 2, 2005)

photoshopgrl said:


> Well okay I get your point but I wonder if they do laundry every night or are just skanky. Ick. LOL


According to the principal, they use dry cleaners in Europe


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Well last night was my first episode of Glee. I will go back for more, but am not sold on it. Yes, way too many cliches. Almost like they took a movie and cut it up into segments.


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## campbellleo (Oct 1, 2007)

One thing I hate about this show is when during musical numbers there is clearly more voices in the music than singers on the stage... I begrudgingly accept that FOX is too lazy to find (shock horror) someone who can act _and_ sing, but couldn't they at least match the number of artists in the dubbed songs to the ones on screen? And work a _leeetle_ on the lip-syncing?

Blablabla I love this show anyway (mainly because of Irma or whatever cute OCD chick's name is).


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

photoshopgrl said:


> Okay all I want to know is do these cheerleaders wear their cheer uniform to school EVERY damn day? And the ponytails? Really? I don't know why it bugs me but it was enough to make me want to turn the channel.


The same reason Claire on Heroes wears hers every day. 



jsmeeker said:


> I didn't like the Acafellas story line. Need more focus on the Glee Club kids developing their stuff. The hiring of the choreographer was a throw away plot point. They didn't even use him at all. At least have him arrange one crazy dance thing that the kids just can't do. Then fire him.


They're going to focus on the adults as much as they do the kids, so my guess is episode to episode they'll go back & forth.



uncdrew said:


> Oh, and who else kept wondering when dude would tie the bowtie on his tux?


It's like "tuxedo casual". "I just got home from my formal function, I just loosened my tie, now let's... SING!"



campbellleo said:


> One thing I hate about this show is when during musical numbers there is clearly more voices in the music than singers on the stage... I begrudgingly accept that FOX is too lazy to find (shock horror) someone who can act _and_ sing, but couldn't they at least match the number of artists in the dubbed songs to the ones on screen? And work a _leeetle_ on the lip-syncing?


Why do so many people have a problem with this? It's a stylized version of what they'd be singing, I really enjoy it. Maybe they sound like more people than are really singing for the same reason the cheerleaders were dancing when Mercedes sang, "Broke the Windows Out Your Car" at the carwash and the carwash magically turned into a stage.

Greg


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## Kamakzie (Jan 8, 2004)

Jeeters said:


> Cheerleader skirts and ponytails? Makes me *not* turn the channel.


Plus the girl that plays Quinn (Dianna Agron) is a major hottie, at least I think so.


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

Is it obvious to everyone that Quinn and Puck are going to wind up being genuinely enthusiastic members of Glee Club? I mean, that's a time-honored plot "twist," right?


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

tewcewl said:


> And Victor Garber! In a bow-tie! So funny. I kept trying to reconcile the Garber I knew from Alias to this one.


I kept expecting him to break into song! I'm pretty sure they intended that.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

uncdrew said:


> Speaking of cliches, how far will they take this "I'm pretending to be pregnant" thing.


At least she's a little more conflicted than the cliche would suggest. She looked horrified when whatshisname told his parents because it got her in even deeper.



Shakhari said:


> According to the principal, they use dry cleaners in Europe


Well they USED to.



gchance said:


> It's like "tuxedo casual". "I just got home from my formal function, I just loosened my tie, now let's... SING!"


This. It's sort of like the carefully sculpted 5 o'clock shadow, or moused into place tousled hair.



> Why do so many people have a problem with this? It's a stylized version of what they'd be singing, I really enjoy it. Maybe they sound like more people than are really singing for the same reason the cheerleaders were dancing when Mercedes sang, "Broke the Windows Out Your Car" at the carwash and the carwash magically turned into a stage.


I can't quite explain it, but it pulls me out of the story in a way that the carwash turning into a stage doesn't.



Graymalkin said:


> Is it obvious to everyone that Quinn and Puck are going to wind up being genuinely enthusiastic members of Glee Club? I mean, that's a time-honored plot "twist," right?


We already saw that this week when Quinn thanked Lynch for teaching her a lesson--I can't remember exactly how it went down but I'm pretty sure it was a slam on the coach.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

Have they ever made clear what grades these students are in? I'm just thinking that, should Glee do well in the ratings, the characters have at best 3-4 years before either they're ousted from the series, or the writers go to great effort to find some convoluted reason for them to stick around as non-students.


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## Shakhari (Jan 2, 2005)

Kamakzie said:


> Plus the girl that plays Quinn (Dianna Agron) is a major hottie, at least I think so.


Wasn't she also a cheerleader on the first season of Heroes?


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

Shakhari said:


> Wasn't she also a cheerleader on the first season of Heroes?


Who can tell, they all look alike.


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## Kamakzie (Jan 8, 2004)

Nah that would be Hayden Pantierre.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

Shakhari said:


> Wasn't she also a cheerleader on the first season of Heroes?


According to IMDB, she was in second season of Heroes... not sure if she played a cheerleader there as well, but it's possible.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

campbellleo said:


> One thing I hate about this show is when during musical numbers there is clearly more voices in the music than singers on the stage... I begrudgingly accept that FOX is too lazy to find (shock horror) someone who can act _and_ sing, but couldn't they at least match the number of artists in the dubbed songs to the ones on screen? And work a _leeetle_ on the lip-syncing?
> 
> Blablabla I love this show anyway (mainly because of Irma or whatever cute OCD chick's name is).


They have gone to great lengths to find actors who are what they call a "triple threat" - those that can act, sing and dance. But part of the allure of a show like this is the great music, and that's not going to be the case if they just have 5-6 people singing some song? They way they arranged and performed "Don't Stop Believin'" in the pilot was brilliant, and even though it was unrealistic, the music was great and was big part of the reason I enjoyed the show and wanted to come back for more. I don't think people would have been nearly as excited about this show if that final number in the pilot had been produced to sound like it really would have with 6 moderately talented high school kids that had 2-3 days to practice.


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## Maui (Apr 22, 2000)

Add me to those who think that each episode thus far has gotten progressively less interesting.


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## atrac (Feb 27, 2002)

Shakhari said:


> Wasn't she also a cheerleader on the first season of Heroes?


She vaguely keeps reminding me of Jennifer Garner.


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## verdugan (Sep 9, 2003)

photoshopgrl said:


> Well okay I get your point but I wonder if they do laundry every night or are just skanky. Ick. LOL


I'm sure they have a couple of outfits since I doubt dry cleaner's in Europe have same day service


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## martinp13 (Mar 19, 2001)

I just live for the Cheerios coach's one-liners. Her delivery is awesome... I actually believe she's that slimy.


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## writdenied (Sep 2, 2003)

pdhenry said:


> Is it me or do the teenage kids get the beneift of just a little Autotune (_Don't Stop Believin'_ in the pilot, _I Bust the Windows Out Your Car_ in Ep 3)?


I heard exactly the same thing, on exactly the same songs. I don't know if it's there for pitch correction (although I assume they attempted to mostly cast actors who could genuinely sing), or whether it's a nod to the fact that the radio-listening public seems to like hearing Autotune consciously used for effect.

As for my opinions on the show, I watched the pilot and this episode ... and I won't be watching again. With few exceptions, the characters are either completely lifted from prior teen movies (e.g. the "football player reluctantly joins choir, falls for nerdy choir girl, receives ribbing from teammates" must be from pages that fell out of someone's "American Pie" script; the actress playing the lead girl in the glee club apparently studied Reese Witherspoon in "Election" for her character's delivery), or written so poorly that calling them 1-dimensional would be crediting them with too much depth (gay kid is gay, and apparently nothing else; wheelchair kid's disability appears to be a chronic atrophying of his personality).

The major plot arc is nonsensical -- they appear to be competing against a rival "school," whose glee club consists of 5x the membership (who appear to be terrible students, as they're clearly in their late-20s and early-30s but still in high school) and 10x the budget, who only rehease in full dress/lighting/etc., but happily allow their rivals to sit in the audience and watch and hire their choreographer. And even the minor plotlines are preposterous -- it just so happens that there are four teachers on staff that can sing well enough to spontaneously join an acapella group, they rehearse and manage to cut a demo album, then half of them quit, are replaced, more rehearshing, and a show at a local club, all within a couple of days?

The director's already been caught out in a lie -- in interviews, he's insisted that this won't be like Broadway, where a character will just stop in the middle of a dramatic scene and sing about how they're feeling (he promised that all musical numbers would arise organically -- as performances, rehearsals, auditions, etc.) And yet by episode 3, we already have a fantasy production number. And I'll echo what others have said about the music -- we're supposed to be hearing four characters sing a song, but the soundtrack is composed of the entire Vienna Boys Choir, with the Mormon Tabernacle helping out on the beatboxing.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

writdenied said:


> The director's already been caught out in a lie -- in interviews, he's insisted that this won't be like Broadway, where a character will just stop in the middle of a dramatic scene and sing about how they're feeling (he promised that all musical numbers would arise organically -- as performances, rehearsals, auditions, etc.) And yet by episode 3, we already have a fantasy production number. And I'll echo what others have said about the music -- we're supposed to be hearing four characters sing a song, but the soundtrack is composed of the entire Vienna Boys Choir, with the Mormon Tabernacle helping out on the beatboxing.


I haven't been following any of the PR for this show.

I like the idea of the kids performing these songs when they are rehersing acts or actually performing acts for an audience (either as an exhibition or an actual contest). In fact, the only thing that made me want to set a SP for the show after seeing the pilot a few months ago was their "Don't Stop Believin'" thing. Sure, it was over produced for the number of people on stage, but it worked in that context of them actually putting together a number for their group.

They break out into song and dance at a car wash. Why? This isn't supposed to be like "Grease". They should sing like that as an actual glee club performance. If they actually stick to keeping the music in that context, I'll be ok with it.


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

writdenied said:


> And I'll echo what others have said about the music -- we're supposed to be hearing four characters sing a song, but the soundtrack is composed of the entire Vienna Boys Choir, with the Mormon Tabernacle helping out on the beatboxing.


I thought it was just a lot of reverb being added to a few performers.


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## aindik (Jan 23, 2002)

This is the first episode I've watched all the way through. I tried the Pilot but didn't get through it.

I liked it well enough.

On the performances, are these all supposed to be a capella? The beats do not sound like human beat-boxing at all.


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## jradford (Dec 28, 2004)

jsmeeker said:


> They break out into song and dance at a car wash. Why? This isn't supposed to be like "Grease". They should sing like that as an actual glee club performance. If they actually stick to keeping the music in that context, I'll be ok with it.


I actually disagree. I think it absolutely has a Grease feel to it. I guess that's why the over-production doesn't bother me, (although I do agree that some of that over-production can be done better.)


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

jradford said:


> I actually disagree. I think it absolutely has a Grease feel to it. I guess that's why the over-production doesn't bother me, (although I do agree that some of that over-production can be done better.)


I guess I should clarify. I meant to say it SHOULDN'T be like "Grease". The pilot didn't really have that feel to it. But now the show does. And I am not liking it.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

I know others have mentioned it too, but I don't get why people were so confused about him 'abandoning' glee club... it seemed fairly obvious in the plot to me..

Though there have been other times in other shows when I've missed something "obvious" (and usually I realize it was supposed to be obvious).


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## jneugeba (Jan 20, 2004)

Robin said:


> I kept expecting him to break into song! I'm pretty sure they intended that.


Me too, except I keep thinking he will kill someone with his bare hands while doing that song!


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## aRKade (May 22, 2002)

jsmeeker said:


> The hiring of the choreographer was a throw away plot point. They didn't even use him at all. At least have him arrange one crazy dance thing that the kids just can't do. Then fire him.


The hiring of the choreographer is a plot point to allow Quinn to become a real member of glee club instead of a spy. The choreographer was a taskmaster and very negative, like Jane Lynch's character. Quinn assumed the glee club members were weak, couldn't handle it and would quit. Instead they ended up banding together, standing up for each other and firing the choreographer. Quinn noticed the friendship/bond/strength the glee club has. Then, toward the end of the show when Jane Lynch (don't remember her character name) takes away their tanning privileges because they failed her Quinn "thanks" her for showing her that weak people rely of putting others down. Thus the start of her transition.


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## aRKade (May 22, 2002)

Graymalkin said:


> Is it obvious to everyone that Quinn and Puck are going to wind up being genuinely enthusiastic members of Glee Club? I mean, that's a time-honored plot "twist," right?


Not so sure about Puck but definitely Quinn. See previous post.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

aRKade said:


> The hiring of the choreographer is a plot point to allow Quinn to become a real member of glee club instead of a spy. The choreographer was a taskmaster and very negative, like Jane Lynch's character. Quinn assumed the glee club members were weak, couldn't handle it and would quit. Instead they ended up banding together, standing up for each other and firing the choreographer. Quinn noticed the friendship/bond/strength the glee club has. Then, toward the end of the show when Jane Lynch (don't remember her character name) takes away their tanning privileges because they failed her Quinn "thanks" her for showing her that weak people rely of putting others down. Thus the start of her transition.


Hmm.. I had not thought of it that way... But you are right.. She did make that off hand comment to the cheerleader coach at the very end of the episode.


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

I really expected to see her in the next scene which feature the other Glee club members.


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## TriBruin (Dec 10, 2003)

aRKade said:


> The hiring of the choreographer is a plot point to allow Quinn to become a real member of glee club instead of a spy. The choreographer was a taskmaster and very negative, like Jane Lynch's character. Quinn assumed the glee club members were weak, couldn't handle it and would quit. Instead they ended up banding together, standing up for each other and firing the choreographer. Quinn noticed the friendship/bond/strength the glee club has. Then, toward the end of the show when Jane Lynch (don't remember her character name) takes away their tanning privileges because they failed her Quinn "thanks" her for showing her that weak people rely of putting others down. Thus the start of her transition.


But again, this seems to be a theme about this show. They are acting like this is limited run series and rushing through every plot line. Quinn could have easily been a "spy" for a set of episode. Yet, we are already seeing her change.

At the rate they are going, they won't have much to do the 2nd half the season.


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## Shakhari (Jan 2, 2005)

LoadStar said:


> According to IMDB, she was in second season of Heroes... not sure if she played a cheerleader there as well, but it's possible.


Huh ... I was thinking that she was the girl from the first season who got killed by Sylar. Guess not ...


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

LoadStar said:


> According to IMDB, she was in second season of Heroes... not sure if she played a cheerleader there as well, but it's possible.


Yup. Cheerleader.

http://heroeswiki.com/Debbie_Marshall

_"Debbie Marshall is a mean cheerleader who taunts Claire at their high school ... Debbie picks on Martha in gym class, and Claire stands up for her. Debbie challenges her to do a cheerleading stunt well within Claire's ability, but Claire does not do it because she is trying to stay out of the spotlight..."_


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

Here's my issue with the over production of the songs. Why bother hiring actors who can sing if they are just going to go into a studio and record the songs, then play them and have the characters lip synche? You could do that with actors that can't sing.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

WhiskeyTango said:


> Here's my issue with the over production of the songs. Why bother hiring actors who can sing if they are just going to go into a studio and record the songs, then play them and have the characters lip synche? You could do that with actors that can't sing.


No you couldn't. It's the same actors singing. They are lip synching to their own voices.

And there's nothing wrong with them recording the songs in the studio. It's the only way to do it properly. They're not going to get a good sound by recording the actors just singing on a huge, empty soundstage.

The problem is that they are not editing in any ambient noise to make the singing in the halls/classroom/car wash, etc. seem more realistic. If they want to keep a clean copy for selling via iTunes, that's great, but for the versions that are included in the show, they should have some extra background noise added in to make the singing seem more organic and less like High School Musical.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

DevdogAZ said:


> The problem is that they are not editing in any ambient noise to make the singing in the halls/classroom/car wash, etc. seem more realistic. If they want to keep a clean copy for selling via iTunes, that's great, but for the versions that are included in the show, they should have some extra background noise added in to make the singing seem more organic and less like High School Musical.


That's what I'd like to see. Keep a clean copy, if you want, for itunes, but edit in some ambient noise for the show. The lack of it really pulls me out of the show in a way all the other stuff people pick on does not.


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## Cainebj (Nov 11, 2006)

Suspend disbelief. :up:


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## IndyJones1023 (Apr 1, 2002)

The weakest episode of the three. I, too, didn't get Mr. Shu's disintrest so quickly. But my boys are now Gleeks, too. We're really liking this show.


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## campbellleo (Oct 1, 2007)

DevdogAZ said:


> They have gone to great lengths to find actors who are what they call a "triple threat" - those that can act, sing and dance. But part of the allure of a show like this is the great music, and that's not going to be the case if they just have 5-6 people singing some song? They way they arranged and performed "Don't Stop Believin'" in the pilot was brilliant, and even though it was unrealistic, the music was great and was big part of the reason I enjoyed the show and wanted to come back for more. I don't think people would have been nearly as excited about this show if that final number in the pilot had been produced to sound like it really would have with 6 moderately talented high school kids that had 2-3 days to practice.


I see your point about recording while they act, but I still think it is ridiculous and unnecessarily jarring to the realism of the show to have that big a disparity between the performers on screen and those in the audio recording. And obviously part of the show's allure is the fantastic music: but I don't think the show would be _less_ entertaining if they sacrificed some of the quality and clean sound of the recordings to make the numbers seem much more realistic: I mean, I have heard live performances of groups of high school kids that were _very_ impressive.

And does the advertising in America seem to be composed of basically clips of Jane Lynch's one-liners? That's basically it here in Australia... although, IMO they are the best part of the show


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## modnar (Oct 15, 2000)

I think the show is great, including this episode.


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## That Don Guy (Mar 13, 2003)

Robin said:


> That's what I'd like to see. Keep a clean copy, if you want, for itunes, but edit in some ambient noise for the show.


Far too many viewers would complain that they can't hear the entire song because the background noise is distracting.

(On the other hand, I am surprised they don't include ambient noise for the sole purpose of preventing people from making a "clean" copy of the song and then making it available through their Peer-to-Peer network of choice, so they would have to go through iTunes to get a copy.)

-- Don


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## That Don Guy (Mar 13, 2003)

campbellleo said:


> And does the advertising in America seem to be composed of basically clips of Jane Lynch's one-liners? That's basically it here in Australia... although, IMO they are the best part of the show


That, and brief clips of the music.

I think there's something I call "Dan Fielding Syndrome" going on here - Dan Fielding was John Larroquette's character on _Night Court_, and he was pretty much the only actor on the show to win Emmys (multiple times, too), apparently because (supposedly) it's harder to do a convincing "character you love to hate" (and remember that only actors decide who wins Emmys for acting - there is no "open vote of the Academy" like there is with Oscars), so it's possible the producers and/or Fox think (correctly, if you ask me) that Lynch is the most likely Emmy winner from this series.
(Almost certainly, none of the "kids" will be nominated - none of them really stand out. Every song is a cover, and the "outstanding music and lyrics" Emmy is for original songs, so that's out. The music composition Emmy is for "dramatic underscore", so the production numbers pretty much get ignored for this one. Choreography is a "maybe", but it has the disadvantage of not only competing against _So You Think You Can Dance?_, but (at least in 2010) competing against two seasons of that show. I suppose there's always Costume Design and Technical Direction, if they really emphasize the production numbers.)

-- Don


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

That Don Guy said:


> Far too many viewers would complain that they can't hear the entire song because the background noise is distracting.


Well, it's not strictly adding background noise... in fact, that's not really it at all. It's more making the quality of the sound match the room. I'm sure there's a technical term for it.... but basically, adding effects and tweaking the frequencies to match the natural characteristics of the room.

Obviously they are recording the songs in a sound booth, which is designed to capture as "pure" of a sound as possible. On the other hand, a recent episode portrayed the club singing in stuff like a band room that has cinder block walls, drop ceiling, and tile floor, which will have a significant amount of reverb and which would affect the frequencies a listener in the room would hear. A good sound engineer could apply some effects to the sound booth recorded music to more accurately match the room.


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

DevdogAZ said:


> No you couldn't. It's the same actors singing. They are lip synching to their own voices.


I know it's the same actors singing, that was my whole point. They could hire actors that can't sing and have someone else that can sing do the music. Then just have the actors lip synch to the other persons music.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

WhiskeyTango said:


> I know it's the same actors singing, that was my whole point. They could hire actors that can't sing and have someone else that can sing do the music. Then just have the actors lip synch to the other persons music.


And what would be the advantage of that?


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

WhiskeyTango said:


> I know it's the same actors singing, that was my whole point. They could hire actors that can't sing and have someone else that can sing do the music. Then just have the actors lip synch to the other persons music.


At which point people would complain, "There's NO WAY that's them singing!" Think Ralph Macchio in Crossroads, or Lou Diamond Phillips in La Bamba. It was obvious that Macchio didn't play guitar (even with Steve Vai's coaching), and Phillips did not sing. Compare that to Val Kilmer in The Doors, who not only did a great job, but sounded like Jim Morrison, too.

Greg


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

DevdogAZ said:


> And what would be the advantage of that?


I don't know, they do it in Hollywood all the time, ask them why. What's the advantage of the current situation? The producers made sure to make the fact known that the actors were great singers. Whether they can sing or not is irrelevant since it's all done off-stage in a studio.



gchance said:


> At which point people would complain, "There's NO WAY that's them singing!"
> 
> Greg


Hasn't this already been brought up about Glee in one of the threads, the kid in the wheelchair maybe? Also the mentions of it being obvious that there are more people singing than just the 5 or so Gleeks on stage.


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