The new episodes, which I will be referring to as Season 1.2, have been a mixed bag. I dread the thought of the show suddenly sucking. I still remember looking forward to the pilot and then as soon as it was over, texting Cathy, "OMG! DID YOU WATCH GLEE?!" and just as I hit "send" my phone vibrated and I got the EXACT SAME message from her! (And as it turns out, she got the exact same message from Beth! You can call us "the thing with three brains." No wait, more like "the three things with one brain." Or just The Borg. The Fabulous Borg.) It was one of those delightful, magical moments you have every so often, y'know?
This show was such an underdog for Fox that they went crazy trying to get people to try it, which is why the pilot aired in the spring and it was free on iTunes, to get as many people to watch it and talk it up as they could. It worked. Now it's a phenomenon and I guess I'm worried about it suddenly getting watered down and homogenized for the masses. You know, those retards that still watch American Idol and don't see the irony when they compare them to theme park or cruise ship or karaoke performers. Hey, is it time for another group singalong Motown medley?
On a related note, did you know Amber "Mercedes" Riley was an American Idol reject? Suck that Idol!
One reason I didn't want to use Finnsday is that Finn and Rachel are among my least favorite characters. I know Rachel is supposed to be annoying, but you're also supposed to root for her at times and I usually find myself wishing she'd just shut up so Tina and Artie or Kurt and Mercedes (or Kurcedes, they're Cathy and my faves!) can get more screen time. I'm glad that in the Madonna episode, they actually acknowledged that the "background" characters never get to shine the way that those two do. Look at their version of "Somebody to Love." The full-length version from the album/iTunes features additional lead vocals by Artie and some of the others, but on the show, it was edited just to showcase Finn and Rachel, with Mercedes coming in "to wail at the end" as she always does. Then, when the cast was on Oprah, they performed the edited version! Boo!
I don't know who's in charge of this, but Season 1.2 has featured some really shitty song choices. In the first episode, "Hell-O," they performed "Hello," "Hello, I Love You," "Highway To Hell," "Gives You Hell" and "Hello/Goodbye." Okay, I get it. It's cute, but that's all it is, cute. Not hilarious or genius, just cute. "Hello/Goodbye" at least was really good, but "Highway To Hell?" "Hello, I Love You?" Sucked. I don't even want to listen to them, but... I mean, I can't just skip them. They're Glee songs. I always sit through "Last Name," right? Well, most of the time.
I always stay up until just after midnight every Monday to download the songs as soon as they become available on iTunes and then an additional half hour or so to listen to them. This week's songs though... meh. Kurt's version of "A House Is Not A Home" is great, until Finn comes along and squeaks out his terrible part. (I don't hate Finn, but his part in this song is RUFF!) And none of these songs, not even "Beautiful" was a show-stopper like "Somebody To Love" or "Don't Stop Believin'."
Also, enough with the mash-ups! The ones on the mash-up episode were AWESOME... like in my top five, but since then, I don't know why they keep going back to them. Mr. Schu should have just done "Don't Stand So Close To Me" in that one episode. It didn't need to be mashed up with "Young Girl." Likewise, in the Madonna ep, they should have just done "Open Your Heart." It didn't have to be mashed up with "Borderline." All that led to was an awkward re-arrangement of the lyrics.
Overall, I LOVED the Madonna episode... Entertainment Weekly summed it up best when they referred to being initially disappointed to see that one of the songs featured was "4 Minutes" (which I think they called a "stinker" or something along those lines), only to be delighted when Kurcedes tore it up! However, the very beginning when Sue forces Figgins to play Madonna's Greatest Hits felt like a total commercial and then later, it makes complete sense for Puck to refer to Madonna as a "world class MILF," because he sleeps with older women, but when Finn later says Madonna is "hot and all..." not so much! It was like they were kissing her ass to get the rights to use her songs.
It's since been widely reported that they are also planning a Lady Gaga-themed episode, however it really looks like they are just using two of her songs, "Poker Face" and "Bad Romance" and that the episode will also feature songs by other artists, which I agree with. I love Gaga, but she's no Madonna... at least not yet! They shouldn't devote an entire episode to her. There's also been rumblings that they may do additional episodes that feature the songs of just one artist, like Britney Spears, Billy Joel and... Led Zepplin?! Um, Dear Glee... DON'T!
I'm not sure how I feel about the increased fantasy element of the musical numbers. In the beginning, they'd every so often do a fantasy number, like "Bust The Windows" or "Take A Bow." (Speaking of questionable musical choices, it's ALWAYS bugged me that the lyrics to that song absolutely don't fit the scene they were in!) But, especially in the Madonna episode, nearly every musical number was a fantasy performance instead of them just singing and performing the song in "real life." In the beginning, I don't know that I'd necessarily call the series a "musical" so much as a "show about a choir with music." Now, it's definitely a musical.
Maybe I'm just resistant to change, but I also hate Rachel's new boyfriend, Jesse. Lame! We're taking screen time away from Artie and Tina, for this bitch-face?! 
More Tina! More Artie! Make it happen! Tina's only ever had one solo, "True Colors!" When I heard "Express Yourself," I was delighted when I thought she was the third lead only to find out on the show that it was actually Quinn! Let Tina sing, people! (However, after seeing last night's episode, Go Quinn!) 
Also, what's up with Santana getting so much screen time all of a sudden AND getting her real name, Naya Rivera, suddenly flashing on screen alone in the credits, and Heather "Brittany" Morris' name getting lumped in with Other Asian's and... the black kid, who I don't think has ever had a line of dialogue. Actually, I don't think Other Asian has, either, but at least they always cut to him busting a move in all of the dance numbers.A few random thoughts...
Holy hell, that's Emma! Or Jayma Mays, I should say, since Emma would never wear short shorts! Enna's panties are probably bigger than that! What's up, Kitten?
Cathy is a huge Puck fan! He had my favorite part in last night's episode when he mouthed to Finn, "are you gay?" when it appeared that Kurt was singing to him.
I looooooooooove Mike O'Malley. I know it's weird. I KNOW! I SAID, I KNOW! Don't know what it is... I guess maybe he's just such a "guy." I dunno... but yeah, I used to watch Yes Dear... not every week or anything! But sometimes and I have no idea what it was about, because all I could think while watching it was "Droooooooooooooool."
Which makes it a bit uncomfortable that he plays the dad of the one character I relate the most to. I swear, I don't have Daddy Issues. Of course some people do mistake David for my dad, but that's just because they think I'm like 21. Awkwaaaaaaard...
Over all, the first new episode was... meh. The Power of Madonna was GREAT, although it had a couple of iffy moments for me and I'm not sure how I feel about all the fantasy musical numbers. And last night's was great, despite less-than-stellar song choices. But, I mean... it's Glee! So even when it's less-than-average, it's still better than anything else on TV!
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