For all those Gleeks who have waited (what seemed like ages) for the new season of Glee to kickstart, the season opener left little interest to tune in tomorrow. According to reports from AZcentral, Zap2, and Seattle Post Intelligencer (SPI) Glee rose from being a mere cult show to entering the "Big Show" bracket by gathering 13.6 million viewers this past Tuesday. SPI noted that the amount of viewers that Glee amassed on Tuesday was 78% of the total viewing audience for American Idol (a show that continues to hold the throne). What I am questioning is if the opening episode of Glee gave enough reason for the audience (especially fans) to revisit the show the next week. The highest rating that Glee experienced last season was around 9.8 million viewers so the jump to 13.6 million means that during the break word spread, DVDs were bought, and 3.8 million new viewers tuned in. Did the first episode succeed in locking in the new viewers?
The new episode of Glee picked up pretty much the next day from where the show had left off last season, and gives little promises of variation. What seemed like a dream come true for us Gleeks only lasted but a few short minutes before things seem to turn "soap- operaesque." What I felt reminded me of that iconic Tootsie-Pop commercial where the animated boy has the promises of a delicious lollipop, but his curiosity over how many licks it takes to get to the middle of a Tootsie-Pop (rather than being commended) is punished when the Owl leaves him with no answer and no delicious lollipop (the owl eats the pop in no creative manner). Within minutes Sue Returns (a suspiciously short suspension which I don't mind because Jane Lynch gives the bulk of Glee's weight), Finn breaks up with Rachel, and Emma's virginity is classified as a "problem." Gleeks were dangled the promises of seeing in full effect what we had waited for all of last season, but all of it went downhill before we could even say, "I love Glee!." Yes I know that what i just described is the basis of almost every television show ever created in which they "set up" what will be the problems for the whole season, but what I question here is the style and creativity in which is was done. This episode left nothing but a formulaic after-taste in my mouth. I mean, all that time off and this is what you bring us?
Then we get into the music aspect of the episode which I can sum up in one word, boring. When I look back at the pilot episode of Glee I cannot help remembering the feeling I had at the show's ending when New Directions sang "Can't Stop Believin'" The song gave me chills and made me beg for more. The new "Hell-O" episode gave me the opposite effect. I felt indifferent to the songs chosen and the songs picked did not give the thrill that I am sure many Gleeks (old and new) were expecting. This brings me back to the whole formula versus creativity. My theory is that because Glee started with very little projections of success (a guinea pig to be exact) it just went out there and "tried out." It hit a home-run. Once the six initial episodes were consistently bringing in viewers, Fox asked for the remaining episodes and in the crunch of time Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuck and Ian Brennan had creative juices flowing and finished the first season strong. So one would think that more time would equal better results, but from the new episode this was not proven to be a fact.
I am a strong Gleek and love the quality that Ryan Murphy brings to the table, but the beginning of the new season is suppose to excite the viewer's anticipation and the episode did not do it for me. Rather than creatively establishing the problems for the season in two or three episodes, everything is dumped on the viewer with no pizazz. The music picked out was sub-par, and lastly the recycling of last season's plot was a turnoff. I am not writing Glee off (definitely not), but as a fellow Gleek, I am really hoping that these negatives don't affect Glee that much and allow it to continue strong. It is just a shame that during the break Glee goes from requisite to exquisite, and that this new episode might jeopardize Glee's new standing. Only today''s show will expose the future of Glee and whether or not Ryan Murphy has lost that extra 3.8 million viewers he acquired over the break. The Madonna episode promises excitement, here's one Gleek who is crossing his fingers for that possibility to become a reality.
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