This Week 9/27 to 10/2

WOW, last week.

I had no idea there were that many interweb-active Castle fans. For those who haven’t heard, last week’s Melted Brain review was a HUGE SUCCESS on Twitter. By “HUGE SUCCESS” I mean it has a Topsy.com page with twelve – count ’em, twelve! – tweets. Keep in mind exactly how ridiculously small-scale and amateur my effort here is and you should be AMAZED. I certainly am. Thanks, Castle fans!

Anyway.

No promises on what I’ll actually get done this week (because clearly those promises aren’t worth a whole lot). But you can probably count on seeing reviews for Castle and Glee and another installment of “Oh THAT Guy.”

MONDAY:
8pm – Chuck on NBC
8pm – House on FOX
9pm – The Event on NBC
9pm – Lone Star on FOX
10pm – Chase on FOX
10pm – Castle on ABC

Also, FX is airing 27 Dresses AGAIN. Seriously. They play that movie ALL THE TIME.

TUESDAY:
8pm – No Ordinary Family on ABC (series pilot!)
8pm – NCIS on CBS
8pm – Glee on FOX
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS
9pm – Raising Hope on FOX
9:30pm – Running Wilde on FOX
10pm – Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Undercovers on NBC
10pm – The Whole Truth on ABC
10pm – The Defenders on CBS
10pm – Terriers on FX

Fyi, this week’s episode of Terriers is entitled “Fustercluck.” Keepin’ it classy, FX.

THURSDAY:
8pm – My Generation on ABC
8pm – Bones on FOX
8pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW
8:30pm – Shit My Dad Says on CBS
9pm – Fringe on FOX
9pm – Nikita on the CW
9pm – Project Runway on Lifetime

FRIDAY:
8pm – Human Target on FOX (season premiere!)
9pm – The Good Guys on FOX
9pm – CSI: NY on CBS
10pm – Blue Bloods on CBS
10pm – Outlaw on NBC
10pm – Haven on SyFy

HUMAN TARGET! SO EXCITED!

SATURDAY:
11:30pm – Saturday Night Live (Bryan Cranston and Kanye West) on NBC

Enjoy your week!

Glee: “Audition”

When the second season premiere of Glee opened with Jacob Ben Israel, who is absolutely on my list of Top Ten Least Favorite Television Characters Ever (coming soon!), I was veeeeery worried. Like, terrified worried. The excellence of him saying to Will Schuester “There’s a forum on my blog that is begging you to stop rapping” aside, HE IS GROSS AND SHOULD NOT EVER HAPPEN.

The good news is, that was by far the worst thing that happened all episode. The rest was either excellent or just the standard sort of awful that lends Glee its (occasionally questionable) charm.

My first and foremost favorite thing about this new season is, according to the credits, Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, and Mike O’Malley are now part of the regular cast. This can only be a good thing.

In other casting news, there are some fantastic additions. Sam (Chord Overstreet…no, really) is my new absolute favorite. He is just so CUTE. And his storyline is destined for good, if somewhat predictable, things. (You can find out what those are by a) being clever or b) looking up spoilers. You cannot find out what those are by reading Melted Brain because I don’t do That Whole Spoiler Thing.)

Now she’s been shuffled off to Vocal Adrenaline, I don’t expect we’ll be seeing an enormous amount of Charice. But damn if she didn’t make an impression. I was rather skeptical, given her whole YouTube origin thing. But she is fantastic, adorable, and performed my very favorite song from Dreamgirls. The only downside to having “Listen” be the only number to give me genuine chills since Amber Riley’s “And I’m Telling You”? It’ll start being everyone’s favorite now. (Just remember, I LOVED IT FIRST.)

And of course there is the addition of “The Panther” Coach Beiste. Only Glee can get away with something that ridiculous and use it to make you cry. Of course in this case, the crying was not of the cannot-hold-back-my-emotional-pain variety but rather of the oh-god-my-soul-hurts kind. Because the simple truth is, storylines involving the adults of Glee must always make us feel slightly embarrassed for humankind. But to be entirely fair, Dot Jones is pretty damned hilarious – she may well prove to be a much better fit for Glee than Patrick Gallagher ever was (my enjoyment of Ken Tanaka aside). Plus, she’s even more physically intimidating than Jane Lynch which is hilarious. Speaking of which.

Sue Sylvester Is Back, Bitches. It’s like the disastrous decrease in awesome from the end of S1 never even happened. Her one-liners are as outrageous as ever, her behavior is reaching new heights of diabolical-but-immature horrendousness, and she has yet to make any cracks about Will Schuester’s hair which can only be a good sign. As for Mr. Schu himself, it looks like we can expect more of the same. When he forays over to the Dark Side, it is hilarious and awesome. But then he’ll remember he’s a good guy and go all touchy-feely-good-guy. And probably very soon he’ll start moping and go into sad puppy mode. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Actually, that’s a theme that can be pretty well applied to everything that happened in this episode. Quinn is back on top of the world thanks to her own diabolical mastery, which Sue has no choice but to respect. Santana is back to second banana, although it looks like she’ll actually get some real storyline and respect out of it (I’m definitely questioning the whole boob job thing though. I mean really?). The cat fight that ensued from this clashing of the miniskirted titans* is one of the more epic fights of the series – Dianna Agron and Naya Rivera may have gone and outdone the Puck-and-Finn dukeouts. Way to go, ladies.

I’d say the most genuine surprise out of the whole episode was having Finn demoted from quarterback to nobody. That was an interesting choice and I look forward to seeing where it goes. Even more interestingly, Rachel is Even More Awful than before. Like genuinely she-sent-a-little-girl-to-a-crackhouse awful. I’m totally behind this, because the more reasons I have to hate Rachel the happier I am. But that doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable.

Not at all uncomfortable, though, was Lea Michele‘s rendition of “What I Did For Love” from A Chorus Line. That was absolutely beautiful, and my favorite solo song from her.**

All the music from this episode was good, actually. And there was a lot of it. We got a brief moment of Jenna Ushkowitz singing “Getting to Know You” (although that was mostly good not because of the singing but because of “Asian Camp” and Harry Shum, Jr.‘s abs). I’ve already shared my feelings on “Listen.” “Billionaire” was fantastic and had me pretty much in love with Sam by the end.

But the best number for me was the first one. It was well staged, simplistic, and fun. (Side note: I’m not sure the answer to backlash from Matthew Morrison rapping is to now have Cory Monteith and Mark Salling do it. That sort of makes my eyes burn. Anyway.) “New York City” showed off not only that Glee hasn’t totally lost its touch, but also that it can always keep growing. They’re doing some really great things with filming the musical numbers this year – taking some leaves on techniques out of the music video book and making the presentation appear more modern (read: less like a semi-dorky staged musical number). It is truly beautiful stuff.

…I gotta be honest, though. My favorite part of the whole episode was when the Rachel and Sunshine bathroom duet was interrupted by Sue storming in and screaming SHUT UP. That was classic.

In conclusion, way to go, Glee. You’ve done it again. Now keep it up! (And get even MORE Emmys next year!)

*Oh god I sound like every other blogger/reviewer in the world trying to be clever. I apologize so much.

** “I Dreamed A Dream” is better, but that has Idina Menzel so it doesn’t count in this instance.

Best Lines:

“Why so glum William? Cat crap in your coffee?”

“That’s a steer with six teets and no ‘oink.'” (“THAT MAKES NO SENSE.”)

“I woulda joined in with a kickass harmony…but the dude was naked.”

“Dude you’d be like a human cannonball. That’d be AWESOME.”

“Now take your juicy, vine-ripened chest-fruit and get the hell out of my office.”

and

“I don’t know. I’ve never had any balls in my mouth. Have you?”, only because it opens the door for so many tasteless and inappropriate ‘eating your words’ jokes. (I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I JUST COULDN’T HELP IT.)

This Week 9/20 to 9/26

DID YOU KNOW: It is a year later and Melted Brain still exists.

The fact that this month has kind of gotten away from me aside, THIS THING HAS STAYED ALIVE. FOR A YEAR. That is CRAZY.

All the more reason why this week, I am getting with the program and doing stuff! Come rain or shine or sleet or snow or thunder or nuclear holocaust!

Tonight:
8pm – House on FOX (season premiere!)
8pm – Chuck on NBC (season premiere!)
9pm – Lone Star on FOX (series pilot!)
9pm – The Event on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – Castle on ABC (season premiere!)
10pm – Chase on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS (series pilot!)

Don’t ask what I’m going to do. I really am not sure.

TUESDAY:
8pm – NCIS on CBS (season premiere!)
8pm – Glee on FOX (season premiere!)
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS (2-hour season premiere!)
9pm – Raising Hope on FOX (series pilot!)
9:30pm – Running Wilde on FOX (series pilot!)
10pm – Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC (series pilot!)

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Undercovers on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – The Whole Truth on ABC (series pilot!)
10pm – The Defenders on CBS (series pilot!)
10pm – Terriers on FX

I didn’t realize that The Whole Truth and The Defenders were time-slot buddies. That’s interesting.

THURSDAY:
8pm – My Generation on ABC (series pilot!)
8pm – Bones on FOX (season premiere!)
8pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW
8:30pm – Shit My Dad Says on CBS (series pilot!)
9pm – Nikita on the CW
9pm – Fringe on FOX (season premiere!)
9pm – Project Runway on Lifetime

FRIDAY:
9pm – CSI: NY on CBS (season premiere!)
9pm – The Good Guys on FOX (midseason return!)
1opm – Outlaw on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – Blue Bloods on CBS (series pilot!)
10pm – Haven on SyFy

SATURDAY:
11:30pm – Saturday Night Live (Amy Poehler & Katy Perry) on NBC (season premiere!)

SUNDAY:
9pm – Rubicon on AMC

Now that I’m looking at this schedule, it is really scary.

Working my ass off, ho!

Enjoy your week.

Stuff is happening soon!

Hey guys, it’s the Fall Premiere Date Calendar! Exciting!

As always, please note these are just the premieres that I care about (read: shows I already watch/intend to watch plus new series). If you’re looking for something else, may I direct you to SideReel.

Thursday September 9:
8pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW
9pm – Nikita on the CW (pilot!)

Wednesday September 15:
10pm – Outlaw on NBC (pilot/special preview!)

Friday September 17:
10pm – Outlaw on NBC (timeslot premiere)

Monday September 20:
8pm – House on FOX
8pm – Chuck on NBC
9pm – Lonestar on FOX (pilot!)
9pm – The Event on NBC (pilot!)
10pm – Castle on ABC
10pm – Chase on NBC (pilot!)
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS (pilot!)

Tuesday September 21:
8pm – Glee on FOX
8pm – NCIS on CBS
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS
9pm – Raising Hope on FOX (pilot!)
9:30pm – Running Wilde on FOX (pilot!)
10pm – Detroit 187 on ABC (pilot!)

Wednesday September 22:
8pm – Undercovers on NBC (pilot!)
10pm – The Whole Truth on ABC (pilot!)
10pm – The Defenders on CBS (pilot!)

Thursday September 23:
8pm – My Generation on ABC (pilot!)
8pm – Bones on FOX
8:30pm – $#*! My Dad Says on CBS (pilot!)
9pm – Fringe on FOX

Friday September 24:
9pm – CSI: NY on CBS
9pm – The Good Guys on FOX
10pm – Blue Bloods on CBS (pilot!)

Tuesday September 28:
8pm – No Ordinary Family on ABC (pilot!)

Wednesday September 29:
10pm – Law & Order: Los Angeles on NBC (pilot!)

Wednesday November 10:
8pm – Lie to Me on FOX

Wow. There are a couple days on here that are going to be the death of me. I foresee Mondays being a major pain in my reviewing ass. Because of course I’ll have one again by them. Looking back at what’s new, this might be the year I get converted to legal-themed shows. Maybe. The only one I’m actively interested in is The Defenders, but who knows: maybe it’ll turn out to be a gateway show. Anyway, lots of cop shows, lots of spy shows, and it looks like I may need to suck it up and actually deign to watch the CW this year (“suck it up”? Vampire Diaries? Wait pun what? No.).

Coming up next: the new Fall shows I am excited for! …or at least morbidly curious about.

Emmy Winners 2010

Yeah, I kinda missed the ball on this one. But hey. This is the only way I manage to check for myself, and besides: this year was kind of exciting. As in, 30 Rock didn’t win everything, which is fantastic. (Clearly I am not a devotee.)

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Jim Parsons as “Sheldon Cooper” in The Big Bang Theory
YES, YES, A BILLION POUNDS OF YES! I really could not be more excited or delighted by any other outcome (yes, including a Matt Morrison win).

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Edie Falco as “Jackie Peyton” in Nurse Jackie
Didn’t really have too much care about this category this year. But Tina Fey didn’t win, so that’s fun and different.

Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Bryan Cranston as “Walter White” in Breaking Bad
I was rooting for Matthew Fox or (as usual) Michael C. Hall. But this is juuuuuust fine too.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Kyra Sedgwick as “Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson” in The Closer
Congratulations! (I really didn’t care about this category this year…)

Comedy Series: Modern Family
Glee didn’t win?! OUTRAGE! SCANDAL! …just kidding. Modern Family is definitely deserving. Grudgingly as I admit it. Maybe next year.

Drama Series: Mad Men
God DAMN it. STOP.

Reality Competition Series: Top Chef
Huh.

Variety/Music/Comedy Series: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Aw YEAH. Eight years in a row!

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Eric Stonestreet as “Cameron Tucker” in Modern Family
Um, yay for you. I wanted Chris Colfer or NPH.

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Jane Lynch as “Sue Sylvester” in Glee
BAM, BITCHES!

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Aaron Paul as “Jesse Pinkman” in Breaking Bad
Twas a good night for the Breaking Bad men.

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Archie Panjabi as “Kalinda Sharma” in The Good Wife
Yay!

Writing for a Comedy Series: Modern Family
Oh please don’t mean that now Modern Family (instead of 30 Rock) is just going to sweep the comedy series Emmys and leave destruction in its wake.

Writing for a Drama Series: Mad Men
STOP. IT.

Writing for a Variety/Music/Comedy Series: The Colbert Report
Works for me. Not my favorite episode of the season, but there was a lot of really good writing this year so yay.

Creative Arts Emmys 2010!

Goooooooooooooood stuff happened at these this year! Not everything I desperately wanted. But still, good times!

Writing for Comedy/Variety/Musical: The Colbert Report
Usually I’m less a fan of The Report than I am of The Daily Show. But some of the writing this year was outstanding, so this is well-deserved.

Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Neil Patrick Harris (Bryan Ryan) on Glee
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NPH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really did want Mike O’Malley, but NPH got the Emmy and gave him a shout-out, so I’m still a happy girl.

Guest Actor in a Drama Series: John Lithgow (Arthur Mitchell) on Dexter
A million pounds of YESSS!

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Betty White (host) on Saturday Night Live
Again with the YESSS!

Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Ann-Margaret (Rita Wills) on Law & Order: SVU
What I wanted? No. But anything that gets Ann-Margaret a much-deserved Emmy? Totally okay.

Choreography: Mia Michaels for “Gravity/Addiction, Koop Island Blues, One” on SYTYCD

Casting for a Drama Series: Mad Men

Casting for a Comedy Series: Modern Family

Commercial: THE OLD SPICE MAN!!!
FTW!!!

PLUS:
Awards for Lost, Ken Burns, Jamie Oliver, Modern Family, Robot Chicken, CSI, The Pacific, Glee, 24, the SYTYCD costumers, && Gavin Purcell.

Emmy Noms! Go Glee!

So the Emmy nominations for this year are out.

And  you may or may not have heard this yet but, GLEE GOT THE MOST NOMINATIONS! NINETEEN! THAT’S MORE THAN MAD MEN! IT’S CRAZYAWESOME!

YEAH!

Anyway, here are the categories whose results I sort of care about:

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:
Larry David of Curb Your Enthusiasm
Tony Shaloub of Monk
Steve Carell of The Office
Matthew Morrison of Glee
Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory
Alec Baldwin of 30 Rock

I’d be really pleased if Alec Baldwin did not win and the award went to Jim Parsons or Matthew Morrison (although his best performing was not the comedic parts of Glee) instead. But I don’t expect that will happen.

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Amy Poehler of Parks and Recreation
Edie Falco of Nurse Jackie
Julia Louis-Dreyfus of The New Adventures of Old Christine
Lea Michele of Glee
Toni Collette of United States of Tara
Tina Fey of 30 Rock

I’ve pretty much only seen Lea Michele’s performance, so I can’t speak to the chances of anyone else beating out Tina Fey and/or this year’s Golden Globe winner Toni Collette.

Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jon Hamm of Mad Men
Kyle Chandler of Friday Night Lights
Hugh Laurie of House
Michael C. Hall of Dexter
Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad
Matthew Fox of Lost

It’d be pretty cool if Matthew Fox won, but he’d have to beat out all these other heavy-hitters. This one could go in pretty much any direction (although the inclusion of Kyle Chandler is certainly interesting).

Lead Actress in a Drama Series
January Jones of Mad Men
Kyra Sedgwick of The Closer
Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: SVU
Glenn Close of Damages
Julianna Margulies of The Good Wife
Connie Britton of Friday Night Lights

Again with the FNL inclusion. Huh. Anyway, I’m really hoping Julianna Margulies’ll beat out the cable ladies on this one.

Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Modern Family
The Office
30 Rock
Nurse Jackie
Glee

GLEE GLEE GLEE GLEE GLEE GLEE GLEE!! GLEEEEEEE!! Seriously. It needs to happen.

Drama Series
True Blood
Dexter
Mad Men
The Good Wife
Breaking Bad
Lost

Just not True Blood or Mad Men and I’ll be pleased enough.

Reality Series
American Idol
Dancing with the Stars
The Amazing Race
Project Runway
Top Chef

I don’t actually care about this category. I just wanted the opportunity to mention that the fact that So You Think You Can Dance never gets nominated for this is CRAP.

Variety/Music/Comedy Series
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
Saturday Night Live
Real Time with Bill Maher

Does the world explode if The Daily Show doesn’t win? Because, well, what with the whole Conan nonsense this year, it could happen…maybe…

Casting for a Comedy Series
Glee
Nurse Jackie
Modern Family
30 Rock
United States of Tara

GLEEEEEEEE!

Casting for a Drama Series
Mad Men
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
True Blood
The Good Wife

Is FNL ending? Is that why it is suddenly showing up all over the place?

Outstanding Choreography
Mia Michaels (So You Think You Can Dance) for “Gravity,” “Koop Island Blues,” and “One”
Chelsie Hightower and Derek Hough (Dancing with the Stars) for “Paso Doble/Malaquena”
Adam Shankman for the Oscars
Stacey Tookey (So You Think You Can Dance) for “Fear”
Derek Hough (Dancing with the Stars) for “Futuristic Paso Doble/Living on Video” and “Quickstep/Anything Goes”

I love these Mia Michaels routines so I want her to win. And I love Chelsie Hightower so I want her to win. And I love love love Adam Shankman so I really want him to win. But I saw that first Derek Hough routine (pretty much the only DwtS I’ve ever seen) and it was fucking brilliant. So…sorry Stacey Tookie? (Unless you win.)

Outstanding Commercial

All you need to know is, the Old Spice Man has been nominated and HE NEEDS TO WIN.

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Jesse Tyler of Modern Family
Chris Colfer of Glee
Jon Cryer of Two and a Half Men
Ty Burrell of Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet of Modern Family
Neil Patrick Harris of How I Met Your Mother

OH. MY. GOD. CHRIS COLFER NEEDS TO WIN. NEEDS.

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
John Slattery of Mad Men
Martin Short of Damages
Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad
Terry O’Quinn of Lost
Michael Emerson of Lost
Andre Braugher of Men of a Certain Age

Obviously I’m supporting the Lost men – either/both of them – in this category.

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Jane Lynch of Glee
Jane Krakowski of 30 Rock
Kristen Wiig of Saturday Night Live
Sofia Vergara of Modern Family
Julie Bowen of Modern Family
Holland Taylor of Two and a Half Men

JANE. LYNCH.

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Christina Hendricks of Mad Men
Rose Byrne of Damages
Archie Panjabi of The Good Wife
Sharon Gless of Burn Notice
Elisabeth Moss of Mad Men
Christine Baranski of The Good Wife

It would be awesome if Sharon Gless got this. She is hilarious on that show.

Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Mike O’Malley (Burt Hummel) on Glee
Fred Willard (Frank Dunphy) on Modern Family
Eli Wallach (Bernard Zimberg) on Nurse Jackie
Jon Hamm (Dr. Drew Baird) on 30 Rock
Neil Patrick Harris (Bryan Ryan) on Glee
Will Arnett (Devin Banks) on 30 Rock

I am not going to go crazy with caps lock here. I am just going to say, Mike O’Malley earned the hell out of this Emmy nomination.

Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Robert Morse (Bertram Cooper) on Mad Men
Alan Cumming (Eli Gold) on The Good Wife
John Lithgow (Arthur Mitchell) on Dexter
Ted Danson (Arthur Frobisher) on Damages
Gregory Itzin (Presiden Charles Logan) on 24
Dylan Baker (Colin Sweeney) on The Good Wife
Beau Bridges (Detective George Andrews) on The Closer

I am definitely rooting for Gregory Itzin on this one because he is phenomenal in that role, but John Lithgow would also be an acceptable choice.

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristin Chenoweth (April Rhodes) on Glee
Tina Fey (Host) on Saturday Night Live
Jane Lynch (Dr. Linda Freeman) on Two and a Half Men
Kathryn Joosten (Karen McCluskey) on Desperate Housewives
Christine Baranski (Beverly Hofstadter) on The Big Bang Theory
Betty White (Host) on Saturday Night Live
Elaine Stritch (Colleen Donaghy) on 3o Rock

If either of the SNL ladies beats out Kristin Chenoweth, it had damn well better be Betty White because the episode Tina Fey hosted was terrible.

Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Mary Kay Place (Adaleen Grant) on Big Love
Lily Tomlin (Marilyn Tobin) on Damages
Sissy Spacek (Marilyn Densham) on Big Love
Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet Burke) on Lost
Ann-Margaret (Rita Wills) on Law & Order: SVU
Shirley Jones (Lola Zellman) on The Cleaner

Even if I had seen all these performances, I’m sure I’d still be unable to choose.

Writing for a Comedy Series
The Office
30 Rock (two episodes)
Glee
Modern Family

Writing for a Drama Series
The Good Wife
Friday Night Lights
Lost
Mad Men (two episodes)

The Lost episode nominated is “The End.” Like it or not, y’all have to admit it was brilliant.

ANYWAY, there are loads more categories (including all the production ones that I don’t know anything about but have opinions on anyway). Check out the nomination list yourself if you’re looking for something I haven’t included. 2010 requisite Emmy’s post part II coming after the show airs August 29th!

The LONG AND DIFFICULT Journey to Regionals

Glee, I am SO PROUD OF YOU.

I’ll readily admit I was worried. Like, really worried. I mean let’s take a moment to look back on your midseason finale. That was a qualified disaster. Not exactly a promising precedent for major episodes. And the episodes leading up to the season finale were excellent (except for “Funk” which I think we should all pretend never happened), just like those leading up to “Sectionals” so I was really starting to worry that a pattern might exist and you were doomed to repeat it.

But no!

Instead, you actually delivered (…pun intended). There were a whole lot of things to love about “Journey to Regionals.” Most of these were also things to pause and frown slightly at, but things to love nonetheless.

Most (read: pretty much all) of this episode was pure cheese. I mean really, were that many “I love yous” strictly necessary (and did they all have to be said by the guys?)? Cheese. Gathering the entire Glee club together to cry about how much they love each other and Glee not once, not twice, but three times? Cheese. Quinn’s mom showing up out of nowhere? Quinn’s water breaking exactly that moment? Inter-cutting (there must be a real word for that…) Quinn giving birth with Vocal Adrenaline’s “Bohemian Rhapsody? Shelby being the one to adopt Beth, more or less at Rachel’s suggestion? CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE.

There are two things that I didn’t find at all cheesy, which might surprise you.

1) Everything to do with Emma. “Journey to Regionals” did a great job of bringing her back from missing for the last several episodes, and an even better job of setting up for next season: Matthew Morrison and John Stamos (the dentist) fighting for Emma’s affection! I’m pretty excited. Best of all, Emma did her awesome-human-being-counselor-thing and not only gave Will good advice, which he is apparently incapable of generating on his own, but actually went and SHOUTED AT FIGGINS. It was EPIC.

2) Sue voted for New Directions. I don’t know how they did it, but the writers found the one way in which this could  have worked without seeming totally ridiculous. Over the season, Sue’s emotional, more fragile side has been shown just enough to make this turn of events work. Take that context and combine it with Josh Groban, Olivia Newton-John, and Rod Remington (Bill A. Jones) being total asshole caricatures and somehow we get a solution that works. I’m a little fuzzy as to how New Directions got third when they seemed to have Josh Groban’s vote originally, but hey. Whatever works. And Sue keeping the Glee club around works to. I actually buy her being moved by the club’s “To Sir With Love.” So, so many kudos for that, Glee. It shouldn’t have worked that well, but it did.

Speaking of “To Sir With Love,” I’d call the musical elements of this episode a mixed bag. That particular number was just a little too far to the cheesy side of things for me to find it quite as genuinely moving as I might have (especially since I couldn’t understand half the lyrics). The episode also loses points for making Finn and Rachel the stars again. (Yes, yes, I know they’re supposed to be, but that doesn’t make it any more acceptable to shaft the other vocal powerhouses.) That said, Mark Salling and Matthew Morrison’s “Over the Rainbow” duet was gorgeous and delightful, “Bohemian Rhapsody” did exactly what it needed to – a) look overdone and b) show off how fabulous Jonathan Groff is – , and the Journey medley was, as advertised, JUST PLAIN AWESOME.

“Journey to Regionals” was not perfect, and it wasn’t quite amazing. It left some things to be desired. Ironically, considering the cast interviews about filming it, I felt the episode sort of lacked the depth of emotionality that Glee is capable of reaching. Also there were too many Sue cracks about Will’s hair. But it had a red piano, Dijon Talton got to speak for the first time, and things have been lined up nicely for next season.

Which is, sadly, a long way far off.

Until then, though, I intend to listen to the music over and over and over and rewatch my favorite episodes and basically just take the time to get all revved up for new things. I suggest you do the same.

I PROMISE I’M NOT DEAD

As has been duly noted, it has been a good two weeks since I posted. (The good news? I thought it had been three, so I feel slightly less horrible now.) ANYWAY, for those who are curious, the reason for this is my life in the real world has become such a shitstorm of OMGSTRESSDOTHINGS that I have had neither the time nor the energy to even watch TV, nevermind think about it.

…let’s all just sit here and contemplate the irony of TV-watching being an energy-and-thought-necessitating activity for me for a moment…

Long story short, I apologize profusely to those of you (any of you?) who do actually check this on a regular (read: not prompted by Facebook) basis. I don’t know that I’ll get any better at things over the next two weeks because they are likely to be just as crazy. HOWEVER, I can definitely guarantee that there will be at least one post each for the next two weeks. 1) Glee finale response (tonight!) and 2) Father’s Day Special (because I have been planning this for a like a month and think it is unreasonably awesome).

For now, though, here’s a schedule for the rest of the week:

Tonight:
8pm – Pretty Little Liars (series pilot!) on ABC Family
9pm – Glee (season finale!) on FOX
10pm – Justified (season finale!) on FX

For some reason, I am actually really curious about Pretty Little Liars. Weird stuff. And on that note, I really ought to watch all of Justified that has happened since the pilot.

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – So You Think You Can Dance on FOX
10pm – Happy Town on ABC

THURSDAY:
8:30pm – 100 Questions on ABC
9:00pm – So You Think You Can Dance (finalists announced) on FOX
9:00pm – Burn Notice on USA
10pm – Royal Pains on USA

I didn’t say this, but 100 Questions does actually have some potential to be hilarious.

FRIDAY:

…FOX BOUGHT AND IS AIRING PAST LIFE? FOX. FOX. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!

Yeah.

Anyway.

Responses to the Chuck finale (which I haven’t yet watched), the Bones finale (which I have), and…something else may or may not be on the way. For now, not dying and Glee finale post are my priorities.

Enjoy your week.

And your summer, if you’re actually getting one where you are right now (read: not Seattle…or Australia, probs).

Glee: “Dream On”

Going into “Dream On,” the greatest emphasis was put on the fact that it was DIRECTED BY JOSS WHEDON and featuring GUEST STAR NEIL PATRICK HARRIS.

And, true, those are Very Important Things.

Joss Whedon is amazing. Case in point: the style of the “Safety Dance”* music video/dream sequence. I mean REALLY. The man knows how to film a musical number.

As for NPH, he was, well…welllll…he was NPH. Lots of eyebrow movement, playing with vocal registers, and a style of delivery that is at the ultimate melodramaticomical point just below horrifying. He was maybe a little to NPH-y and caricature-like to make Bryan Ryan convincing as a credible character with real emotions and dimensions at all (not gonna lie, I kept slipping out of the moment and seeing Dr. Horrible and Barney Stinson). My only genuine complaint about his appearance on Glee was that scene in Sue’s office. Neil Patrick Harris and Jane Lynch planning on having angry sex is quite possibly the most uncomfortable thing I have ever experienced.

But I KIND OF DON’T CARE. He was AWESOME. No question. And I found myself needing to revise my claim that Matthew Morrison and Idina Menzel making out is the hottest thing ever. The actual hottest thing ever? Matthew Morrison and NPH duet(s).

Speaking of Matthew Morrison, I am so happy to report that not only has Will Schuester redeemed himself from the puppy dog/dickhead bipolarity that has characterized him thus far in the back nine BUT ALSO Matthew Morrison, who has been significantly damaged, in my opinion, by his character’s dreadfulness, is once again at Sexy Superstar Status. The proof: he can give an astronomy lesson metaphor and deliver the line “You’re creating 13 black holes [by destroying the Glee club]” without making me want to mock him. I actually wanted to swoon a little bit.

Bryan Ryan and Mr. Schu were the first of three focused-on character groups in this episode; the second, Tina and Artie.

I would really like to like them, but the fact is that there just hasn’t been enough time spent on them for me to have any feeling beyond vague wonderment. When the bits and pieces (and I do mean bitty bits and pieces) from the span of the show are put together, these two characters seem kind of…spastic. The best analogy I can think of is, their characterizations are like FBI documents that have been redacted all to hell. We see enough to more or less understand but there are important connective sections missing and the gaps are sometimes significant enough to make nothing but nonsense.

I just don’t get Tina and Artie. Collectively or separately. I understand them a little more together – although Tina helpfully points out how Artie is pretty damn inconsistent (and I feel like she is too). They are just such peculiar characters…mostly, I think, because they haven’t been in the spotlight enough to be developed.

The good (read: amazing) news is, “Dream On” finally granted Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale a chance to show off the fact that they are both TRIPLE threats. Emphasis on the threat.

Final order of business in “Dream On,” Rachel, Jesse, and Shelby.

Perversely, I am incredibly happy to have Rachel and Jesse back together. Given my excessive loathing of Miss Berry, I don’t know how I can possibly enjoy Rachel + Male Version Of Rachel on screen together for an extended period of time. It makes no logical sense whatsoever. But for some reason, it is outrageously adorable…or maybe that’s just Jonathan Groff. Tough call.

The most important piece of this section of the episode is, of course, the revelation that Idina Menzel IS IN FACT playing Lea Michele‘s mommy. I can’t say I’m totally pleased. All cards on the table, I did share that little Gleek fantasy for about two seconds…but then it got popular and, well, you know, that made it stop being a cool thing to want. For myself, I’m torn between hoping the writers/producers/creators feel a little ashamed for caving to fan demand like that and being incredibly GRATEFUL to the writers/producers/creators for listening so well to their fan community. But my thoughts on the subject are just my thoughts and therefore not at all significant in the larger scheme of things.

So what is significant? Idina Menzel. In every way possible. It has been so long since I’ve heard her sing anything new (the soundtracks to Wicked and RENT don’t get any less amazing, just less wondrous after the thousandth listen) that I almost forgot how utterly fantastic she is. There are not sufficient words in my vocabulary to describe it. So many delightful and superb things happened in this episode, but “I Dreamed a Dream” was the most resonant and most beautiful to me.

I am a little confused about Shelby’s trying to be “found” by Rachel being a Master Plan. I’m even more confused by Jesse’s involvement and creepily close relationship with his choir director. And I’m just a liiittle bit disappointed that the lead and director of Vocal Adrenaline aren’t evil after all. I totally would have made them evil. But maybe that’s why I write reviews and not scripts.

Anyway, as both a whole and a sum of its parts, “Dream On” is a high caliber episode. Not the best and not the most shocking/amazing/stirring/whatever. But I think it will prove to have staying power, influence and greatness beyond its initial airing. And that’s no small thing.

*”Safety Dance” (and the immediately preceding dialogue) was also the moment where I almost totally lost it. Or, rather, where it almost totally lost me. It just happened so fast that it wasn’t until the number was halfway over that I realized it was definitely a dream sequence and I didn’t need to be praying at top volume and sacrificing a goat in hopes of preserving Glee‘s sanity. But seriously. It was a frightening two minutes.

PS – I just looked at the three pictures I added to this post and realized how ALL THREE OF THE SCENES DEPICTED are perfectly color coded and gorgeous. That is aesthetic mastery. Visual magic like that doesn’t happen by accident. Basically, the entire crew and design team of Glee deserve a pat on the back. From Jesus.