Hitting a high note, but maybe not keeping it
Glee: Season One, Volume One is an interesting release. If you’re not familiar with the show itself it’s quite simple. The show revolves around the lives of Glee club members that come from different places and have quite different personalities. The show feeds off each character from episode to episode and has some underlying storylines that are more permanent throughout the series. It’s a show that has been seen before, but maybe not in primetime.
The main body of season one surrounds the pregnancy of a cheerleader named Quinn. She has convinced the popular guy/football player, Finn (how cute, eh? Quinn and Finn) that he is the father. In truth, Finn’s friend Noah is the father and can’t do anything about it because he doesn’t want to hurt Quinn or Finn. That’s the underlying storyline that is carried throughout the first volume and it’s strong. Above it, there are other issues at hand in this small group of teenagers. You’ll find one episode surrounding the homosexuality of Kurt and how he can tell his single father about it. You’ll also find another episode where Artie, a paraplegic wheelchair ridden student, must find a way to competition because the normal school bus can’t take him. That’s pretty much how the entire season goes.
The positives….
The show only survives because of how in-depth it gets with its characters. Teenagers/young adults will be able to relate to the content that Glee carries with it. For a show that is running in primetime, it carries itself well thanks to these very well developed characters. For example, you feel for the pregnancy situation with Finn, Quinn and Noah. The situation is very complex and it’s difficult to say what is the right/wrong way to go. In a sense, you’re going through the same type of confusion one would have if presented with such a situation. Their own concerns and confusion on what is the ‘right’ way to go about creating a solution is probably pretty close to what a student in that situation would go through. This is one of many examples of why this show works so well.
Thankfully, there are so many characters in the show that you can work as many new storylines as you need to get the show continuing on the right path.
The Negatives….
This show is a more mature, refined Saved by the Bell. Yes, people, I went there and I’m not regretful for making that comment at all. Sure the subject matter seems to be a tad bit more thought-out, but when you step away from it all you can still see a little of Bayside creeping in. There are cheesy moments, such as spontaneous singing (it is called Glee for a reason), but the problems can and will get a bit hokey at times. For example, in the wheelchair episode (Im not saying that to be mean, it really did surround Artie’s wheelchair), Artie gets mad at Tina for faking a stutter so that people will leave her alone. His reasoning is that she shouldn’t try to stop being normal when people, like him, are just trying their darndest to be normal. No offense, but no nerdy guy would turn down a hot Asian chick because she faked a stutter. I really don’t care how offended he might be because that just doesn’t happen in real life. It was if they were looking for a reason to not put those two characters together; possibly for another storyline? Who knows, but it’s cheesy and I don’t like it much.
In the end, the show is solid and somewhere in the middle when it comes to entertainment. I’m happy that Fox didn’t cancel it (I will miss Dollhouse) because Glee does have some great potential. For the first season of this show you simply cannot be disappointed.
As for the features in this DVD set, you get some great behind the scenes action with some interesting audition video. For a television show that has barely been on the air, it’s impressive that Fox included this many features. Friends went about five seasons on DVD before they realized that features were the reason people bought shows/movies on DVD. What you get packed with Glee: Season One, Volume One is above and beyond acceptable.