5 Reasons Why I Have Hope for Glee's Third Season (and 5 More Reasons Why That Hope is Probably False)

 Oh Glee. It truly is the show that I just haven't been able to quit. I both hate to love it and love to hate it. Like many of Glee's viewers, I was hooked by its initial greatness (the first half of season one or debatably the majority of season one) and that hook has dragged me along through some of its not-so-greatness (most of season two). Well, you can call me crazy, but I actually have some hope for season three. There are several reasons why I've developed this hope for season three, but as per norm with my Gleepinions, these opinions are going to be mixed. That means for each reason that gives me hope, I'm going to have a corresponding reason why I'm keeping that hope low.

1) More Writers

           Why I'm Hopeful: 
   When watching The Hollywood Reporter's Emmy Roundtable of Comedy Actresses I was surprised to hear Lea Michelle reveal that Glee was being written by only three writers, all of them male. Although I was surprised, this perhaps lends some insight into why Glee's writing is so shoddy. However, there's recently been an announcement that Glee's more than doubled their writing staff by adding six new writers for the new season. Hopefully, this increase in writers will allow them to think through their storylines more carefully and have some consistency. As a further bonus, one of these new writers is Marti Noxon of Buffy fame who wrote excellent episodes like "Surprise," "The Wish," and "The Prom."

           Why That Hope is Probably False: 
   Even with only three of them, the writers of Glee seem to be horribly out of sync. Most of the characters are ridiculously inconsistent, and I suspect that part of the reason for that is the different writers feel differently about the characters. If three writers couldn't create consistent characters together, who's to say that nine writers will be able to write harmoniously. As for Marti Noxon, well, she wrote the "Bad Eggs" episode of Buffy. Enough said.

2) Actual Story Arcs 

           Why I'm Hopeful: 
   Among the many things that have been said about the new season is the statement that Glee will feature more story arcs next year.  The Hollywood Reporter reports that Ryan Murphy stated, 

"Last year you had the baby story line that everyone could follow and this year we didn’t do that." "Next year we’re going to be doing that more. What I have learned from this season is I think people want story arcs,” he said. 

I think most of us can agree that story arcs are an important element of most shows. They give us something in which to become invested and help to keep the viewers' interest. In the past, Glee has had a bad habit of pressing the reset button after many of their episodes, resulting in us getting the same storylines ad nauseam. Story arcs could be a good fix to this problem, would actually allow for plot development, and might even give us some character development.
 
           Why That Hope is Probably False: 
   Honestly, for a show like Glee, story arcs should be enough of a no-brainer that there's no question of including them. Furthermore, the fact that Murphy cites "the baby story line" as an example of a successful one is cause for alarm. For the most part, the baby story line was a drawn-out, confusing, soap-operaish hot mess. From what I've heard of the planned story arcs for season three, I'm not sure that they're going to be much better. I mean, Sue running for Congress may be a new development, but at best, it's extremely questionable.

3) No Guest Stars

           Why I'm Hopeful: 
   Throughout the first and second seasons of Glee, viewers were exposed to a plethora of guest stars. Admittedly, some of these guest stars (Josh Groban, for example) were excellently incorporated. However, many of them were just distracting and took even more screen time away from some of the lesser featured cast members. In fact, I think Gwyneth Paltrow's character Holly Holiday has had more solo numbers than Tina, one of the original New Directions members. However, according to TVLine, Ryan Murphy has said of season three, "We’re not going to have any guest stars." A lack of guest stars could be a huge improvement for Glee and give them more screen time for neglected characters.

           Why That Hope is Probably False: 
   There's a good chance that this statement is simply not true. Reportedly, Idina Menzel is already signed on to return. Perhaps Murphy was just referring to new guest stars, and since her role is big-ish, the term "guest star" is debatable. Still, it's hard to believe that he'll stick to his statement.

4) Damian May Appear 

           Why I'm Hopeful: 
   As I wrote in my post about The Glee Project, Damian is by far my favorite contestant. I'd be excited to hear his adorable accent on Glee. Due to a lack of acting challenges on The Glee Project, it's quite possible that he has about as much acting ability as Tommy Wiseau. Still, I'd be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and I'd be excited to see what character Glee came up with for him.

           Why That Hope is Probably False: 
   There's only a one-in-six chance that Damian will be the winner of The Glee Project. That's a five-in-six chance that this hope is false. Plus, according to its Wikipedia page, Damian has been in the bottom three twice and has been at "low" risk two weeks as well.

5) Samcedes 

           Why I'm I Was Hopeful: 
   When writing my thoughts on the season two finale, I mentioned that I was intrigued by the idea of Sam and Mercedes as a couple. It was a somewhat unexpected pairing, and I was curious to see where they were going to take it. If nothing else, it was a way to give Mercedes a story line that didn't involve tater tots or being an over-the-top, ridiculous diva. Plus, it seemed that they were keeping their relationship a secret, and there was a chance for an interesting plot concerning the reason for that secrecy.

           Why That Hope is Probably False: 
   It's been reported that Chord Overstreet, the actor who plays Sam, will not be returning to Glee this season. So, unless Glee decides to delve into the supernatural and incorporate body swapping into their show, it appears that this pairing is officially dead.


With that, I end my ranty list of my feelings about the upcoming season. Whether you agree with the part of me that enjoys Glee or the part that loves to hate on it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the upcoming third season in the comments section.

The Glee Project: Glee Has Found a Way to Haunt Us Year-Round

In general, television kind of sucks during the summer (except for the gloriously trashy Big Brother, of course). So, I've been watching The Glee Project. Judge me if you will, but it's actually pretty entertaining. Think about it. The show involves taking a bunch of dramatic theater-type kids, most of whom consider themselves special snowflakes, competing against each other while kissing Glee's butt. How could that not be entertaining?

Plus, the show itself is such a hot mess that you can have the added entertainment of mocking it while watching it. If you haven't seen The Glee Project, it's a competition for a role in Glee. Each episode is focused around themes like Individuality, Theatricality, and Vulnerability. The contestants then perform songs that relate to these themes. So while the contestants have learned to embrace their special snowflakeness, be dramatic, and cry about their feelings, they've yet to actually do any acting outside of music videos. And honestly, isn't that what counts? I mean, it's nice if the winner can sing, but we all know that they autotune their voices anyway. However, my favorite actually does have a nice voice.

So, who is my favorite, you might ask? The utterly adorable and Irish (I think) Damian. Perhaps it's a bit strange to describe someone who can't be much more than a year younger than me as adorable, but I stand by the description. Anyway, his accent definitely endeared him to me from the start, but he truly won me over with his performance of Jessie's Girl. Unfamiliar with the song, Damian sang "I wish that I was Jessie's girl" rather than "I wish that I had Jessie's girl." It was a truly inspired rendition.

Okay, I know this post is kind of all over the place, but honestly, so is my mind right now. Anyway, to make a long story short: if you want a laugh and something to mock or enjoy adorable Irish accents, you might try watching The Glee Project.

Have you been watching The Glee Project? I'd love to hear what you think about it in the comments.

A Glee Rantaholic's View of Episode 2x22 "New York"

I'm seriously starting to think that I'm addicted to ranting about Glee. If you've read any of my other posts about Glee, you know that I have a love/hate relationship with it. I obviously care about the characters and show enough to watch it, and yet, it's so ridiculously bad at times. In fact, I kind of abuse the show. If I were not me, I would probably tell myself to just stop watching. But honestly, it's fun to criticize and it actually manages to be really good at times. For the most part, however, "New York" was not these times. Anyway, I wanted to embrace my rantaholicism for this post. I'm not even going to write in nice little paragraphs. I'm just going to list what bugged me about this episode, and then I'll say a couple of nice things about it. I know this is kind of an unclassy post, but what can I say? Glee brings out the worst in me. I feel like there's a little more class in my non-Glee related post so please don't judge me solely on the basis of my Glee posts.

THE BAD

• Why would Quinn know more about Broadway shows than Rachel? I'm pretty sure Rachel would be aware that Cats is closed.
• Speaking of Quinn, I was way disappointed that her "big plans" turned out to be NOTHING. I was actually looking forward to her sabotage. 
• Why was the Glee club acting like that kiss is what ruined their chances? Maybe it was the fact that they waited until they were in New York to even write their forgettable and auto-tuned songs.
• I miss the Jessie St. James of season one (pre-egging, of course). I feel like they've made him into some nasty sleezeapalooza in an effort to make Finn look good by comparison.
• But if that is their plan, the liking Finn part is not working on me. I'm just sick of Finn. I actually used to like him a lot and Cory Monteith seems like a cool guy in interviews, but Finn has turned into such an unlikable character. First he's dating Quinn, but he starts to have some feelings for Rachel. Then the whole baby drama happens, and he and Quinn break up. He starts dating Rachel but really doesn't even seem that into her at times. Then, they break up and he has ~*~fireworks~*~ (yes, I used sarcastic wavy lines and asterisks) with Quinn, and gets back together with her even though she's dating someone else. Then, Rachel seems to finally be semi-happy with Jesse for a second, and Finn throws a tantrum. Then he breaks up with Quinn to be with ~his true love Rachel~. Then he throws all this romantic crap at her. Ugh. Oh, what do you know? This kind of turned into a paragraph. I guess, I just really dislike Finn.
• My dislike of Finn had me hoping that Rachel would turn him down because he's a jerk. I mean, she sang "Jar of Hearts," a song about being done with a heartbreaker, just a few episodes ago. So, she says no to him because Broadway is her true love. Good enough for me. Except, oh wait. They're getting back together for their senior year. Ugh, again.
• That song or song mashup or whatever it was that they sang as they jauntily bounced around New York was just embarrassing.
• The Vocal Adrenaline performance was pretty boring. In fact, it's already been mostly erased from my memory.
• The original songs were pretty boring too. I honestly don't remember what they were about. 
• That kiss scene had me cracking up with the disappearing audience. So cheesy.
• I was pretty disappointing with Glee for dropping another storyline so quickly. Will has a Broadway gig lined up, and just like that, he drops it for the kids? Seriously? Well, at least he got to pimp out his new album.
• In general, much of the episode was kind of a snoozefest.

That's enough ranting. It's time for:

The Good

• I actually think I like the idea of Sam and Mercedes as a couple. It's fun and a bit unexpected, but I can see it. So, props on that pairing. Plus, Mercedes is finally getting a storyline not about her tots!
• The "For Good" performance was so good. Yeah, it was a bit unrealistic, but it was actually, dare I admit, a bit moving. 
• Quinn's new hair cut was adorable.
• It was nice to see a scene between the three ex-cheerios.
• The New York scenery made the episode very beautiful.
• It was cute that Kurt and Rachel at breakfast at Tiffany's.
• "My Cup" is an amazing song.
• "Whereas I'm spending my summer composing Pip, Pip, Hooray, the Broadway musical about Pippa Middleton."
• "Yeah" had me cracking up.

That's it for now. If you have any thoughts on the episode, be they good or bad, please feel free to share them in the comments.

Glee: "A Night of Neglect" aka the Writers Neglected to Write Anything Interesting

For the latest episode of the show I love to hate on but just can't quit, I thought I would do a recap. Recaps are more fun when you can make fun of show because otherwise, you're just retelling what happened. If you neglected to watch Glee, you didn't miss much. It was a pretty sucky and forgettable episode. The only thing that really progressed the plot was that the Glee club got money to travel for their next competition, and we hopefully saw the end of Gwyneth Paltrow's character. And really, they'd had money from the Cheerio's budget (I think) prior to this episode. So, really the plot didn't progress much at all.

The episode started off with (shocker) the Glee club needing money again. Apparently the money they would have received from the Cheerios budget (the Cheerios were disbanded, right?), has been put in untouchable offshore accounts by Sue. I guess it's no surprise that Glee got rid of that money because otherwise, they'd have to think of a plot line that doesn't consist of New Directions raising money and being thwarted by Sue. To be honest, I'm just impressed that they remembered the Cheerios money plot line. Will (surprisingly not wearing a vest) gets super-pumped about selling $20,000 (then $20,250) worth of taffy. Also in the opening, we find out that Mike, Tina, Artie, and Brittany are in some kind of academic club which will most likely be forgotten about by the next episode. Also Will makes some crack about being surprised that Brittany's on the team, insinuating that she's dumb. As true as that may be, I don't see that as being a great thing for a teacher to say. Also, Sunshine from about a million episodes ago is on the opposing Braniac team.

Next up, Sue has a meeting with the director of Sunshine's glee club, Terri, and Sandy. Any guesses as to what the meeting is about? Because Glee is incapable of giving Sue any other storyline (except for those moments that she shows kindness/growth that's forgotten by the next episode) she has assembled this team to bring down the Glee club. The only notable thing about this meeting is that Sue makes a reference to the hilarious honey badger video on youtube. 

Will and Holly have a pizza date as his house. Thankfully, this part is brief because I think they're kind of gross couple. They're both so gross, inappropriate, and annoying.. He brings up his taffy plan, probably expecting Holly to admire his brilliance. Instead, she says it's stupid and suggests that they hold "A Night of Neglect." Will possibly loves this plan even more than his taffy plan. It's a good thing that Will is a Spanish teacher because he really has no financial sense. How in the world did he expect to make even a dent in the $20,250 with some concert? He explains the plan to the glee club (somehow believing it will being an annual event), and he's still not wearing a sweater vest!

More boring Sue scheming happens. It makes me sad that Sue's become so one-note, cartoonish, and repetitive. She used to be one of the best parts of the show, but now I get bored every time she's on screen.

Both Mercedes and Rachel, missing the point of the "Night of Neglect," decide do do songs by well-known artists. Sunshine offers to participate in their performance. Sunshine also misses the point of the show and sings a song about neglect rather than one by a neglected artist. I guess it's a little more understandable than Mercedes and Rachel because she didn't actually hear Will explain it. Rachel tries to point out that Sunshine may be trying to spy on them, but of course, everyone gangs up on her.

Lauren has some dumb conversation with Mercedes and tells her to be a ridiculous diva leading to a stupid plotline. Lauren really just needs to go. Confidence is not the same as being rude and pushy. She's just annoyingly rude. Same with Mercedes. She was so terribly divaish and annoying in this episode. It was much, much worse than Rachel. Yet, everyone's nice to her and terrible to Rachel who normally seems to have good intentions, despite her self-centeredness.

Then, there's a nice scene with Emma and Will about Emma's OCD problems. As much as I think Will is way too terrible for Emma, it was actually a sweet scene.

This episode is boring me, so I'll just quickly sum up the rest of it. Sunshine bails on the benefit. Karofsky (is that his name) makes fun of Blaine/Kurt (who appears to wear a hippo head broach) but is bested by Santana. Only a handful of people show up the benefit (despite the fact that the glee club's school performances usually get a good response from the crowd), most of them "hecklers." Tina, yet again, fails to get to sing a full song. Mike dances. Gwyneth Paltrow manages to get another solo. Mercedes sings an Aretha song, inspiring Sandy to donate the necessary money. And Will and Holly break up. The end to a boring episode. The most surprising thing about it was probably the lack of vests.

Double Feature Review: Glee-"Original Song"/Raising Hope-"Mongooses"

I haven't posted in eons, but I'm back in full force with a double feature review. I decided to post my reviews of Glee and Raising Hope together, because I don't have a whole lot to say about either of them. I thought about being cutesy and doing some type of contest between the two, but it wouldn't be a fair fight. Spoiler alert, but I'm going to go ahead and say that I much preferred tonight's episode of Raising Hope to Glee. So, without any kind of cutesy match up format, here are my reviews:

Glee: "Original Song"

I just don't know how to quit Glee. I honestly didn't enjoy tonight's episode all that much, but I'm not even going to pretend that I'm not going to watch Glee when it comes back after its hiatus. I can't blame my disinterest in "Original Song" on something that I often blame my dislike of a Glee episode-a focus on an unrelated them rather than a progression of the plot. In somewhat of an ironic twist, I actually think that Glee's focus on the plot is much of what I didn't like about this episode. It felt somewhat tedious, like they were just tying up some loose ends. It wasn't terrible, but I ended up playing Words With Friends for the majority of the show simply out of boredom. Surprisingly, the original songs didn't end up being a train wreck like I had feared they might (although I found it weird that Kurt could just tell they were original songs). The songs weren't anything too special, but they were mildly catchy and pleasant enough to listen too. I wouldn't buy the songs on iTunes or really care to listen to them outside of the show, but they fit well into the plot.  Despite the fact that I was bored by "Original Song" for the most part, I will mention three things that I enjoyed about it. For one, I liked that Kurt told Blaine off about him singing every single song as a solo while the Warblers back him up. Ever since Blaine gave Kurt a speech about not standing out, his excessive attempts to stand out have bothered me. So, even if he went right back to his old ways after the duet, I enjoyed that somebody pointed out his hypocrisy. The second thing I enjoyed about tonight's episode was Rachel's getting some recognition. I'm a bit embarrassed to say this, but I almost teared up at her getting a MVP award from the rest of the Glee club. Rachel has been treated horribly this season by everyone, both behind her back and to her face. So, even if they still made fun of her as she got the reward, I really like seeing her receive a reaction other than rejection. The third aspect I really liked about tonight's episode was the fact that New Directions was so supportive of the Warblers and the Warblers were so supportive of New Directions (I know that's a really awkward sentence, but I spent several minutes trying to make it better before I decided to just go with it). Tying this to one of my other liked aspects of episode, Kurt might be the only friend that Rachel's had this season. So, it was really touching to see him and his new classmates supporting her. But even outside of that, everyone's support of their friends was just really touching. I love that Glee didn't throw in some lame storyline about sabotage between the two groups and chose to make them supportive of each other instead. Plus, their reactions reminded me of Will's hilarious reaction to the Warblers' "Hey Soul Sister" (if you don't know what I'm talking about, do yourself a favor and click this: Best Face Ever).

Raising Hope: "Mongooses"

Raising Hope was excellent tonight. Because it was so solidly good, I don't have a whole lot to say about the episode. However, I'll quickly point out an aspect of "Mongooses" that is characteristic of many Raising Hope episodes. One of these is their good use of Chekhov's gun. Even though it should probably have been obvious to me from Mamaw's earlier shot, I honestly had no clue what was going on in the attic scene until it was explained. Everything in the episodes fit together really well, from Mamaw's delusion of mongooses to even Sabrina's showing her grace under fire in an extremely impressive feat of acrobatics. Raising Hope often impresses me with their use of Chekhov's gun like Mamaw's Jenga skills when listening to "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" in "Dream Hoarders." I also thought it was really sweet to see how the family functions only when they work together. Even though this was shown in a quirky way, it was really sweet.

Did you watch either Raising Hope or Glee tonight? Whether you agree with my assessments or feel I got them wrong, I'd love for you to share your thoughts below.

Glee Goes Ke$ha

Today, I'm going to try something new and exciting. I'm going to draw crappy (and when I say crappy, I'm not just being humble) computer drawings to recap Glee's most recent episode, "Blame It On the Alcohol." I'm actually kind of dubious as to how this whole thing will turn out, but here it goes.

Okay, I was right to be dubious. I got bored after covering around five minutes of the show. I'll post what I've done, but trust me, it's not pretty.  Also, the Will that I drew kind of looks like he got an acid burn, but really, I just messed up with the spray can tool.

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If you have any thoughts about the latest Glee episode or if you just want to mock me for me hideous drawings, feel free to comment below.

I Believe in a Thing Called Love...

Just try to tell me that reading of the title of this post didn't have you busting out your falsetto to sing "... Just listen to the rhythm of my heart." It didn't? Okay, I guess that's just a me thing. Anyway, that awkward  exchange was my attempt at introducing this post about the various Valentine's Day episodes I watched this week. Maybe I'm just a sap at heart, but I thought all of these episodes (except for one and that one exception was still pretty good) were really fantastic. Thankfully I watched all of these by myself (ironic, I suppose) because I kept smiling goofily at the sweetness. So without further ado, here are my reviews:

Glee: "Silly Love Songs"
I think we can all agree that the much-publicized Super Bowl episode of Glee was pretty mediocre (minus a couple of great moments like Rachel's smiling as she entered the football field). So, I wasn't expecting much from this episode. However, I was pleasantly surprised by it. Most of the characters were likable, there wasn't a million guest stars, there wasn't any ridiculous story lines about cannons, the songs were generally good, and there was actually some plot development. I loved both of the Warbler songs: "Silly Love Songs" and "When I Get You Alone." However, I did think that it was pretty creepy of Blaine to sing to and chase someone who was obviously trying to get away from him. I think Finn is adorable, so I really want to like him. But, he was kind of a jerk in this episode. It wasn't completely out of character for him, but it still made me sad. While I thought it was weird that he just happened to have a gift for Rachel with him (has he just been carrying that around everywhere?), I loved the necklace he gave her and the speech that went with it (even if it sounded like a cop out so he could get with Quinn). Overall, I'd say this was probably the best episode of Glee since "Duets."

Modern Family: "Bixby's Back"
Shockingly, Modern Family's Valentine's Day-themed episode was the one that I just wasn't feeling. It wasn't terrible, but it was mediocre for a show that I normally adore. None of the story lines really did it for me. As a plus, though, I'm excited for the return of Dylan.

The Office: "PDA"
If I had to describe this week's episode of The Office in one word, I'd use the word "adorable." Holly and Michael may be one of the cutest television couples I've ever seen. I was literally smiling the whole episode at how cute they are. Even if it's the most predictable option at this point, I really hope Michael leaves to be with Holly when Steve Carell departs from the show. But, the other couples featured in this episode were pretty cute as well. I know that some people complain about Erin and Andy being Jim and Pam 2.0, but I think they're adorable together. They were so cute going working on Gabe's puzzles together. I did feel a little bad for Gabe, though. He seems like a nice enough, if slightly annoying guy. Lastly, Jim and Pam were actually cute again this week. Their knowing smiles at the end were adorable. (Want to play a drinking game that'll most likely lead to alcohol poising? Take a shot for every time I've used the words "adorable" or "cute.") My only complaint is the lack of a Kelly and Ryan storyline. They always crack me up, and a Valentine's Day story line for them would have been assuredly fun.

Community: "Early 21st Century Romanticism"
This week, Community juggled several story lines, but all of them were properly developed and hilarious (except for maybe Pierce's storyline). The Britta storyline was hilarious. If you've watched the episode yet, enough said. I also loved Troy and Abed's storyline. It was such a wonderful subversion of the typical "two guys fall in love with the same girl and get into a fight over it" plot. I definitely awed when Troy broke up with the girl for calling Abed weird. Their bromance is so sweet. My heart melted when Jeff sent such a sweet email to the group at the episode's end. It was a super sweet moment, but because we rarely get to see that side of him, it wasn't overly so. Lastly, we have Pierce's story. I found it slightly tedious, but I have to give Community props for continuing what we saw of Pierce last week. I have to admit, I'm curious to see where his downward spiral is going to end.


In closing, (and pretend it's Monday for this part) Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!

11 Best Performances on Glee and a Few Honorable Mentions

I feel like I post about Glee a whole lot. And that's not going to end tonight. (Wow. This intro is being written terribly. Maybe it will get better.) I felt like making a list post, and as I established in my last post, I'm often really lazy. So, I figured that rounding up my favorite performances from Glee would be fun and easy for me to do. I was going to do a top ten favorite post, but I couldn't bare to make it less than 11, and even then, with honorable mentions. In fact, there's a couple more that I'd love to add, but I used my restraint.

1) Run Joey Run

We got this gem of a performance when Rachel decided to make her own music video. And it was hilariously funny because everything about it was 100% Rachel. The cheesy effects, the melodramatics, and the priceless face that Rachel makes at the end are just a few of the reasons why this number made my list.

2) Hello

I've loved the song, "Hello," ever since I saw Kristen Chenoweth sing it on Pushing Daisies. Both Chenoweth's rendition and the original by Lionel Richie are absolutely wonderful. But that being said, I think Glee's version definitely earned a place in my iTunes library. The song is lovely as a duet, and Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff sound wonderful together. I was a huge fan of Jesse St. James (until Glee screwed up his character by making him turn on Rachel), and this was a great choice for his first song on the show.

3) It's My Life/Confessions

Glee has featured several mash-ups in its season and a half run. This one was one of mash-ups featured in the episode introducing mash-ups into Glee's lineup. While the girls' competing mash-up, "Halo/Walking on Sunshine" was okay, "It's My Life/Confessions," was far superior.

4) Don't Rain on my Parade

It's impossible to deny that Lea Michele shines best in her performances when she's able to utilize her musical theater experience to the fullest. This theatrical, showstopping performance by Rachel in the Glee club's first competition is definitely one the show's finest moments. Lea Michele went all out on this song and absolutely owned it.


5) Marry You


So, this number was Glee's take on the "Forever" wedding dance. We saw it done quite literally on The Office (which worked perfectly for the show), but since this is a show about performers, they had to change it up a little. And Glee a hundred percent pulled this off. I was a little turned off by the way they handled the wedding as whole because it was so annoyingly focused on Kurt, but this was a perfect way to start the wedding. This was one of their cutest performances, and I adored it. I've rewatched this on youtube more than a handful of times.

6) Valerie

While the singing on this song was okay, the reason why it's on this list should come as a shock to no one: Brittany and Mike's dancing. The people of Glee have showed off these two talented dancers several times this season, but their dancing in this scene is wonderful. I know next to nothing about dance, and so I can't really analyze it beyond that it looked really cool. Also, I couldn't find a video with only "Valerie," but it starts at around 2:35.

7) Teenage Dream

The Warblers' first appearance on Glee was certainly memorable. Their a cappella performance of "Teenage Dream" was charming and just sounded really really good. I listened to their version of the song on repeat for about a week after the episode aired.


8) Like a Virgin

Glee has gotten into the bad habit of working the story around certain songs rather than working songs in that actually fit their storylines. This performance was included on the list not because the song was so great but because it fit the story so well. It was worked into the story in a very musical-like manner, and I love it for that. Also, they did a great job in blending the three different couples together in the editing of the performance.

9) Open Your Heart/Borderline

I feel like this performance on Glee was somewhat underrated. It wasn't their splashiest performance or song. But, I loved this mash-up. Not only is it a really cute song, but it made for a really cute performance by Finn and Rachel. I find Finn and Rachel really cute together at times and really horrible together at others. This is one of the moments in which a really bought the idea of them as a couple.

10) Piano Man

I absolutely love Neil Patrick Harris, so it was a no brainer that I'd include a performance by him in this list. Originally, I was going to include Dream On because I thought that it was a really well done duet. But, when looking up Dream On, I saw a link for this song on the side. To be honest, I'd forgotten about this one, but once I saw it I knew that I had to include it. Glee's songs are often incredibly over produced. This short performance, however, was understated and quite lovely.

11) Don't Stop Believing

Okay, so this performance is pretty much a given. All of Glee's pilot was wonderful, but this is the moment that made people take notice and realize that Glee could be something great. I'm only a little embarrassed to admit that this performance gave me chills. It's Glee's signature song for a reason. Also, watching it back after a season and a half of Glee, it's nice to see the Glee club at the beginning when they didn't have all of the fancy sets and costumes that they do now (that they inexplicably are able to afford). 

Honorable Mentions


Forget You

I couldn't bring myself to include this under the best performances because it really wasn't that great. Glee's often criticized as being an adult's Kidz Bop, and honestly, this performance is kind of Adult KidzBopsy. So why would I even include it under honorable mentions? Because they just look like they're having a ton of fun (besides Rachel), and I somehow found myself watching this performance multiple times. So, judge me if you will for putting this under honorable mention, but I stand by that decision.

Emmys Intro

I didn't catch the Emmys this past year, but I saw this Glee-inspired performance afterward. I thought it was a really fun idea, included a bunch of fun celebrities, and was just pretty great. I include it under honorable mentions, however, because it's technically not a performance on Glee.

 
Okay, so between selecting the songs to include, finding youtube videos to accompany each song, and writing my reasons for each song selection, this was more work than I thought. Still, it was fun and might just inspire me to make a worst performances on Glee list.

Short Review Time

So, from now until the end of next week, I'm going to be totally swamped with work.
I don't think I have any regular readers that are going to be devastated at my lack of posting, but I feel like summing up my thoughts on the shows I've watched this week. For the sake of time and my laziness, I'm going to post a bunch of mini reviews. And please, don't judge me by the horrific amount of television shows I watch:

• How I Met Your Mother - "Baby Talk": I had mixed feelings on this week's How I Met Your Mother. It had some funny moments, and Laura Bell Bundy's reappearance. But I felt it was overall a little blah, and can't see myself wanting to rewatch it anytime soon (and I'm the queen of HIMYM rewatching). It felt more to me like an episode from the earlier seasons, but it seemed like a more mediocre episode than the majority of the episodes in the early seasons. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I digress.

• Glee - "The Rocky Horror Glee Show": This was a somewhat fun episode even if it was almost plotless, but I think I would have understood it more if I'd seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Also, this episode brought Will's creepiness and inappropriateness to a whole new level, and his "creature of the night" face was one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen. And Finn looks completely adorable in those glasses.

• Raising Hope - "Happy Halloween": This episode was funny, as all of the other episodes of Raising Hope have been. This is getting to be a new favorite show of mine.

• Modern Family - "Halloween": Modern Family was excellent, and it continued to live up to my high expectations. Gloria's "American accent" was one of the funniest things I've seen on the show and had my dying. Also, Mitchell's spiderclimb down the building was an excellent payoff.

• 16 and Pregnant - "?": I don't remember the girl's name, but there was a girl who was 16 and pregnant. And she had a tire cake at her wedding.  
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• Grey's Anatomy - "These Arms of Mine": I have to admit, this week's Grey's Anatomy bored me, and I didn't really pay attention while I watched. However, they may just be because I started freaking out about all my work. So, I might need to rewatch this to form an accurate opinion.