The Gleek Critique: "The Rocky Horror Glee Show" Episode

Finn dressed for the role of Brad.  We think he looks hot in glasses.  He should keep them.  Image property of Fox.

by Jack Garcia

Sadly, there wasn't a new episode of Glee last week.  So instead, my friends and I all got together to watch the DVD of The Rocky Horror Picture Show to get ourselves prepared for tonight's episode.  Some of us have seen it already and just needed a refresher.  Some had been living under a rock, and needed an introduction.  The movie is such a bizarre cult classic that I find to be absolutely fantastic!

Now, I was worried when I heard Glee would be doing a homage to the film, mostly because the media has been making a stink lately over the immorality of the show.  After the girl on girl make-out session in the "Duets" episode, people were outraged saying that it was a "sex romp" on a family show.  Then of course, there's been all the talk about the Glee photo shoot in the new GQ Magazine.  Sherri Shepard had a cow over it on The View, claiming that ten-year-old boys who watch Glee are going to run out and buy the magazine so they can drool over Lea Michelle in her booty shorts.

Oh brother, people.   If you think Glee is a "family show" suitable for ten-year-olds...  you have a problem.

However, as risque and envelope-pushing as The Rocky Horror Picture Show might be, the Glee episode based on it was handled with great taste.  At least in my opinion.  Basically, it taught a lesson about freedom of speech and the value of art.

A basic summary of the episode:  Mr. Schuester is extremely jealous that Emma is dating Dr. Carl.  And it doesn't help anything, that she seems to be extremely happy with him.  In fact, she's getting over some of her OCD issues... I mean, she was able to go to a seedy theater to watch a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with crazy, noisy people dressed in costume.  So how can Will one-up that?  By having the New Directions kids perform the musical of course!  And to get even closer to Emma, he asks her to help him with the costumes.

Casting proves to be a problem.  Kurt refuses to play the transvestite Dr. Frankenfurter (Tim Curry in the movie version), Mike then decides to take it on but is forced to quit the show when his mother objects, until finally Mercedes agrees to do it.  Dr. Carl wants to get involved and play Eddie, mostly to keep an eye on Will and Emma.  Sam is going to play Rocky, but in the end, the role is decided to be too sexy for a student and Will decides to take it on.

In the end, it's discovered that Sue has been secretly writing an expose using the show as an example of the secularization of America's schools (all to win a local Emmy) and Will realizes that his intentions were not good in the first place.  He shouldn't put the kids through so much just for his own personal gain.

The Pros:

• The show opened up exactly like the movie does, with Santana's red lips on the black background singing "Science Fiction Double Feature."  Same lettering and everything.  Great opening!
• Sam makes one sexy Rocky!  Woohoo!
• Speaking of sexiness, the scene where Emma sings "Touch A Touch A Touch Me" to Will, ultimately seducing him and ripping off his shirt, was amazing!  So hot!
• Becky saying "Give me some chocolate or I will cut you" to Will.  Ha ha ha.  I love that girl.
• "Time Warp" was a great way to end the episode!  So much fun!

The Cons:

• Still no Puck!  Luckily though, the preview for the next episode shows that he is coming back!
• I love Mercedes.  You know I do.  But a girl playing Frankenfurter is just lame lame lame.
• In the end, they didn't perform the show for anyone but themselves.  LAME!  I would be so pissed if I was one of those students and had spent all that time rehearsing...

The Gleek Critique: "Duets" Episode

Mercedes and Santana put aside their differences and make sweet music together in tonight's episode, "Duets".  Image property of Fox.

by Jack Garcia

This episode begins like many others with Mr. Schuester giving them an assignment.  This week they need to perform a duet.  And the best duet wins tickets for two to Breadsticks (the only restaurant in town apparently).  Kurt wants to sing with Sam, who has just joined the glee club, but Finn doesn't think that's a good idea.  He's sure that if Sam sings with Kurt, he'll get teased so much that he'll want to quit the club.  Kurt thinks Finn is just being homophobic, but after a talk with his dad, realizes that it's not okay to make unwelcome advances.  He's just going to have to be alone for a while.

Meanwhile, Finn and Rachel realize that as far as singing goes, they are the "it" couple and will more than likely win the little competition.  Normally Rachel would be more than happy to win -- God knows she loves attention -- but she seems to think that in order for Sam to stay in the group, they might want to stroke his ego a little.  So she and Finn do everything in their power to make sure Sam's performance is the best... starting with having an awesome duet partner.  So they sabotage their own performance and make sure that Sam doesn't sing with Kurt, but instead sings with Quinn.  Little do they know that the two would become more than duet partners.

The Pros:

• Kurt sang "Le Jazz Hot" from Victor/Victoria and it was amazing!  He sang it as a duet with himself, which Santana called "vocal masturbation."  Ha ha ha... hilarious!
• Sam was in the shower several times this episode.  And when he wasn't in the shower, he was standing around in his towel.  I approve. 
• Lots of interesting relationship developments this episode!  Including, but not limited to, Santana and Brittany making out, Brittany helping Artie get over Tina and lose his virginity, and some very definite chemistry between Quinn and Sam (who is not gay... leaving Kurt crushing on a straight guy once again).
• Tina and Mike were completely adorable performing "Sing!" together from A Chorus Line.  It was nice to see Mike singing and not just dancing.
• Rachel and Kurt sang "Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy" to end the episode, and it was beautiful.  Sure it wasn't Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland (Get over it, Brian) but who doesn't love that mashup?

The Cons:

• Puck wound up in a juvenile delinquent center and was absent the entire episode!  Several of my friends have crushes on this bad boy, and were devastated...
• Sue was also strangely absent.  What is Glee without her vindictive comments?
• There isn't any Glee next week!!!  AAAAHHHH!!!!!

"Glee" Speaks Out

by Jack Garcia

My friend Rebecca posted a link on her Facebook page this evening, which directed me to an MSN article about our favorite show Glee.  She and a few other friends come over every Tuesday night and we make a party of it.  We all cram around the TV and watch the latest episode, stuffing our faces with yummy treats and clapping our hands in excitement whenever they cover a song we like or say something funny.  We are true Gleeks.

The article in the link talked about Ryan Murphy's recent announcement to devote an entire episode on the issue of teen bullying, specifically towards gay teens.  I know my last few posts have been focused on homosexuality and bullying, and if you are getting tired of it, I don't apologize.  These issues have been on my mind for a while now, and I need to get them out into cyberland.

With the recent outrage over a certain religious leader's less than hopeful message for gay teens (this is me biting my tongue), I'm glad that at least the cast members of my favorite show have decided to say something positive and speak out against these tragedies.  Here are a few of my favorite statements made by the Glee cast in regards to teen bullying and the recent suicides in the news:


Cory Monteith (Finn):  "It's really important for a show like Glee, with all the exposure that it's getting, to start to bring important causes like this out in the open."

Kevin McHale (Artie):  "It's sad that it's taken these past few weeks and horrible tragedies to really let people know what's going on.  Hopefully we can move the general public and let the kids and the parents watching the show know that everybody deserves to be loved."

Heather Morris (Brittany):  "I just saw the tragedies on the news the other night.  I think people need to be aware of what the internet is doing for so many people... it's disgusting."

Iqbal Theba (Figgins):  "It's just beyond me why would anyone, anyone, dislike or hate anyone who's different, who's gay or different in any other way?"

Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri):  "Just as it's important to send this message to the kids about bullying and the effect it can have, we have to send it to the parents.  We have to send it to the teachers.  It's the adults who have to start taking responsibility and managing this behavior and educating youth on acceptance, empathy, and compassion."

Jane Lynch (Sue):  "It's way too many [deaths].  We adults, I don't care if you're homophobic or not, you've got to tell your kids that no matter how different anybody is, you don't bully them.  You just lay down the law there, you just don't do it."

Chris Colfer (Kurt):  "I know what it's like to be bullied and teased every single day, and I know that it may seem like there is no chance of happiness left, but I promise you there is a world full of acceptance and love just waiting for you to find it."  Watch his video for The Trevor Project.

Ryan Murphy (Producer):  "The core of the show is really about tolerance.  I think that's the legacy of Glee more than anything else."

Harry Potter is My Big Gay Hero!

 by Jack Garcia

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe isn't gay (and I know I just shattered a lot of gay boys' dreams with that statement) but he is doing quite a lot lately in support of the gay community.  He's been involved with The Trevor Project for some time now and even spoke of it in a recent issue of Out magazine.  And with the recent outbreak of teen suicides among gay youth, his work with The Trevor Project seems even more important than ever, seeing as its mission is to stop just that. 

Just yesterday he spoke exclusively with MTV News, expressing his feelings about these recent tragedies:

"Learning about the suicide deaths of Tyler Clementi, Seth Walsh, Asher Brown, Billy Lucas and Justin Aaberg has been heartbreaking for me.  These young people were bullied and tormented by people that should have been their friends.  We have a responsibility to be better to each other, and accept each others' differences regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ability, or religion and stand up for someone when they're bullied."

Anyone who knows Brian and I, know that we are huge Harry Potter nerds.  We are obsessed with it.  And it's inspiring to know that while Harry Potter battles the evil of Lord Voldemort, Daniel Radcliffe is battling the evils of hate and discrimination.  And he's not the only one. 

Another one of our favorite people is comedienne and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.  A lesbian herself, Ellen knows personally what it's like to be bullied for one's sexual orientation.  She recently made the following statement:

"I am devastated over the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi... This needs to be a wake up call to everyone that teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country, and the death rate is climbing.  We have an obligation to change this."

Growing up I was bullied for a lot of things.  In middle school, kids in the lunch line would tap me on the shoulder and then ask if I was girl or a boy.  They made fun of my voice, my short stature, my athletic inabilities.  I was interested in all the wrong things.  I liked singing in choir or acting in drama, and I was once shoved into a locker for it.  A few times I was thrown into trash cans.  I was given wedgies, Indian burns, titty twisters, and knuckle sandwiches.  I was called a Fairy, a Homo, a Fag, a Queer, a Girl, a Sissy...  even my given name led to nicknames such as Jack MeHoff.

Brian came out early in life, age 12 to be exact, and growing up was even harder for him.  His parents forced him to attend therapy sessions through LDS Social Services to help cure him of his homosexual feelings.  After a few years they gave up on the therapy, and he lived out his teenage years as an openly gay teen.  While he says that he didn't really care about the bullying, the one thing that hurt him most was being kicked out of his youth theater group Acting Up because a parent had an issue about his homosexuality.

Recently, someone close to Brian texted that he was in town and Brian asked if he had time to come and visit.  Turned out the young man was with his mother, and she did not like the idea at all.  His next text read, "She said 'Why would I bring you down here?  So you can hang out with someone who is living that life?' and she said it with so much hate.  How am I ever going to come out?"

I worry about this young man.  And I wish I could do more for the GLBT youth of America, who need to know that life is worth living and that their happiness is worth fighting for.  If any young person is reading this who needs help, call the Trevor Lifeline at 866-4-U-TREVOR where you can speak to someone at any time.

And thank goodness we have Harry Potter on our side!

The Gleek Critique: "Grilled Cheesus" Episode

I love grilled cheese sandwiches too... but you won't find me praying to one.
("Glee" image property of Fox.)

by Jack Garcia

In a TV Guide article I read online earlier today, Glee creator Ryan Murphy commented on tonight's episode on religion.  He said, "We know some of it is comedic, and we laugh.  But we also know the episode could touch a lot of people... it's a very honest take on how we think about religion today.  Some of the kids don't know yet what they believe."

Before the opening credits are even done scrolling along the bottom, Finn has found the face of Jesus in his grilled cheese sandwich (the sort of phenomenon you find in the National Enquirer) and Kurt's father has a heart attack and winds up comatose in the hospital.  These two events cause everyone to start discussing and questioning faith. 

In order to help a struggling Kurt, several of the students with Christian backgrounds tell him to just trust in God.  But Kurt doesn't believe in God, and neither does Sue.  In fact, Sue is quite upset when she finds out that Mr. Schuester is thinking about doing a lesson on spirituality.  Should religion be in schools?  Is there a God?  Are prayers answered?  Do things happen because God wants them to, or because they just do?  All these questions and more are tackled in this episode with heart, warmth, and barrels of laughs.

Oh, and Finn gets to touch Rachel's boob. 

The Pros:

• I always love hearing Mercedes sing, and tonight's cover of Whitney Houston's "I Look to You" was gorgeous!  And, wait, what's this?  She sings twice this episode!  That's right.  She sings "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in the second half hour with a full gospel choir and clapping congregation.
• Um, get a load of Kurt's hat when he goes to church with Mercedes!  Fabulous!
• Although a little strange to have Rachel singing to Kurt's father, I loved when she sang "Papa Can You Hear Me?" from Yentl.
• Kurt's "I Want to Hold Your Hand", originally sung by the Beatles, had me in tears.  Kurt's love for his father is so strong and sincere.  Their father/son relationship is admirable.
• Finn's whole side plot, involving three wishes made in prayer, was quite entertaining... especially when all three things came true!
• Sue's sister saying, "God never makes mistakes.  That's what I believe."  Just perfect.

The Cons:

• Honestly, I can't think of any this week.  I thought it was the best episode so far this season.  I kept thinking to myself, "Yes.  Glee is back."