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Glee: The Purple Piano Project

Glee is Back! *does the Dance of Joy*

Didn’t your mp3 players feel sad all summer? I know mine did – admittedly it did take me a long time to get bored of listening to The Warblers’ CD, and then hunt down all the cast members’ solo musical efforts (I’m full of recommendations if you want any), but now the wait is over, and I’m so glad Glee is back. You Can’t Stop the Beat already has 23 plays on my iTunes. Eek. Oh, you came to read a review? Okay then…

Deep Purple Pianos

This week’s assignment was to sing songs whenever the New Directions were in the presence of some ghastly purple pianos that Mr Shue in his not-so-infinite wisdom decided to distribute around the school. This led to the pianos getting mauled by Sue and the Cheerios - I didn’t like that Santana agreed to turn double agent for Sue again so quickly – did she forget Sue almost fired the love of your life out of a cannon? Bisexual doesn’t mean two-faced! Ah well, the new tough Mr Shue sent Santana packing – I guess it was part of his new butch vibe that is sparking Actual Sexual Feelings in Emma, although you have to question the ferocity of a man whose idea of attacking someone is sprinkling glitter on her.

The New Kids on the Block

There were so many new characters introduced in this episode! We were rather unceremoniously told that Sam has gone and Mercedes has a new Marcus man mountain in her life. We met a crabby geometry teacher, Sugar the rich, bitchy auditionee with a voice like a strangled cat, Quinn’s unwashed, scowly new clique, as well as Harmony and her group of NYADA hopefuls who look like they’ve been tap-dancing since they were two. Coach Bieste seems to have resurfaced, Becky Jackson seems to be getting more to do (yay!) and… wait for it… Blaine Anderson transferred to McKinley! *Dance of Joy again* Finn looked rather nervous about Blaine joining New Directions – aww Finn, what’s the matter? Are you afraid there’s a new, non-mediocre leading man to eclipse you? I don’t actually think Finn is mediocre at all but he met well have to compete for solos a lot more this season.

Anything Shows

Was it just me or did this episode feel more like a musical? Maybe it was partly because all the songs were quite condensed – we got more than 15 minutes of no singing at all, then after that it was a number every couple of scenes. Add to that the fact that practically all the songs were from musicals and felt very much like a themed episode. I hope it isn’t, I hope we get another Glee musical episode on a par with The Rocky Horror Glee Show this Season.

Loved

- Quinn’s new look, she even seemed to have a deeper voice to go with it.

- The ‘Skanks’ are such an unlikely bunch that as they were introduced I found I myself saying out loud “That would never happen!” Funny how Glee still has the power to make me do that sometimes.

- The gorgeous dark-haired member of the Skanks is played by Courtney Ann Galiano who has been a dancer in Vocal Adrenaline and one of the pregnant girls that danced with Quinn in Season One’s “Funk” – I sense a future New Directions sign-up!

- Kurt and Blaine holding hands, awwww.

- Blaine was wearing his Starkid sunglasses!

Didn’t Love

- Not so sure about Blaine’s ensemble for It’s Not Unusual, he looked like a dolly mixture in black, white and pink. You don’t have to dress that way Blaine, you’re already edible.

- The prospective NYADA students may have been fantastic performers but they don’t have nearly as much style as Kurt, ok maybe Harmony did have a bit of a Rachel vibe but ‘Robert Pattinson’s future husband’ – that hat?! Just, no.

- Gulp, is this the end of us watching The Warblers? Surely not! I would be completely gutted if that were the case. Funny how I would miss a group of character who barely even had speaking lines more than I’ll miss Sam. Poor Chord Overstreet.

- This isn’t really about the episode, but just to say I hope that Artie gets another dancing dream sequence this year. I saw the Glee concert over the summer and seeing how amazing his moves are and how much Kevin McHale loves performing Safety Dance, they need to get him out of that chair again!

Glee Against the Music:

We Got the Beat - The Go Go's performed by New Directions:
Meh! That’s not how I want to feel watching the first Glee song of a new Season. Maybe I’m just another Bangles girl, but this didn’t really grab me, in fact I thought the best part was the food fight at the end. That guitarist had quite a long solo, I wonder if they’re going to start introducing more instrument playing characters? Grade C+

Big Spender from Sweet Charity performed by Sugar Motta:
Sugar’s performance was obviously supposed to be terrible, and thus it was a huge success. A+!

Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead from The Wizard of OZ, in the style of Barbra Streisand and Harold Arlen performed by Kurt and Rachel:
Wasn’t this magical? Kurt and Rachel do love their witchy musicals (Ooh, could they please do songs from Once More, With Feeling?) and this was the perfect part two to their NYC Wicked performance. I loved the broomstick choreography. Grade A-

It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones performed by Blaine:
It’s Blaine! *swoon* Ok, even I have to admit that this wasn’t Blaine’s best work. Note to Blaine - you’re always sub-par when you sing on the steps of McKinley High, why is that? Another note to Blaine – I still love you, will you marry me? Ok, ok I’m getting back on track. Great singing, dodgy outfit, fun choreography, but I’ve come expect more from my new leading man! Grade B+

Anything Goes / Anything You Can Do from Anything Goes / Annie Get Your Gun performed by Harmony and prospective NYADA students:
I already knew Lindsay Pearce (Harmony) had a great set of pipes on her from watching The Glee Project, but in character as Harmony she’s got a lot of stage presence, looked amazing in the black white and red, and the red light served to make her look quite imposing, especially with all the pointing her finger at Rachel and Kurt and the lyrics “I can hold any note longer than you”. I look forward to the sing-off in the near future. Grade B+

You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray performed by New Directions:
Did Mike throw an invisible ball up Brittany’s bum?! Watch it again, you’ll see! This was a great performance, worthy of being the finale of the first episode of a new Season. There were several touches that harked back to the “Pilot” and Don’t Stop Believing, like Quinn watching from the shadows, everyone wearing outfits of one bright colour and Finn being on the drums, but it’s easy to see how much New Directions have grown, with more members, better choreography and an overall more polished act. Loved Rachel’s slow, stripped down introduction, but also Mercedes’ singing Maybelle’s verse as the camera zooms toward her open mouth. It’s just a shame Mr Shue couldn’t have joined in playing Link Larkin. By the way, you should really listen to the full version of this song, it’s Awesome. Grade A

Quotes for Gleeks:

Jacob: “Twitter says you're officially dating Sam Evans a.k.a. Trouty Mouth a.k.a. Hobo McBieber.”

Jacob: “Brittany, what are your plans for the future?”
Brittany: “Wait. Are you working on a time machine, too?”

Sue: “Allow me to ladle you a piping hot bowl of This is How It Is.”

Emma: “So this is what being turned on feels like.”

Brittany: “I have pepperoni in my bra.”
Santana: “Those are your nipples.”

Harmony: “I've been acting since I was a fetus. Literally. An ultrasound of me was featured on 'Murder She Wrote.”

Rachel: “They have credits. In utero credits.”

Puck: “She's the one who got away. Really, really slowly.”

Becky: “What about toast? Bread's already been baked. I don't get why you need to cook it again.”

Mike: “My mom still hasn't decided if I'm going to Harvard or Stanford.”

Rachel: “West Side Story!”
Brittany: “Is that the one with cats?”

Quote of the Week goes to Santana: “When I look at a person, I don't see someone who looks a certain way, or has this or that amount of chromosomes -- I just see someone who I may or may not have to destroy.”

I am so happy Glee’s back, but I think there’s room for improvement. Three out of four neon Starkid sunglasses.

15 comments:

  1. I just wanted to mention that Courtney was also a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance a while back and she is Awesome! I really hope we get to see more of her!

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  2. Loved this episode. Lindsay Pearce was awesome. Loved the Oz number. And, also? Mercedes new boytoy is played by LaMarucs Tinker, who was Trav's room mate in season 2 of Cougar Town. He's awesome. :)

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  3. Now I have Very Potter Musical/Sequel songs stuck in my head...

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  4. "I guess it was part of his new butch vibe that is sparking Actual Sexual Feelings in Emma, although you have to question the ferocity of a man whose idea of attacking someone is sprinkling glitter on her."

    Presented without comment, because I am nearly dying after having choked with laughter.

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  5. I think Santana switched so soon because she was blackmailed by Sue about her sexuality. Don't forget she was absolutely paranoid about that (even though everyone already knew).


    Glee's second season was a huge dissapointment for me, but I loved this episode! I'm clearly not the Blaine fan that you are, but him standing on those Mckinley steps put a smile on my face (as did Quinn watching the Glee Club)

    I'm ready for this new and improved Glee!

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  6. Loved it! and Tina's highlights are awesome

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  7. So glad Glee's back!!!

    My favourite was definitely the Wizard of Oz number! Although I was also smiling with "You Got the Beat".

    I think Santana caved in to Sue real fast because she desperately wants to be Cheerios captain. It'll be interesting to see if she wants it badly enough to give up New Directions...

    next week can't come soon enough! :o)

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  8. This episode was okay. There was too much Kurt and Rachel. Their over the top characters can be grating at times. Season one Kurt and Rachel were the best. I miss Kurt's friendship with Mercedes; the writers seem to have forgotten that combo in favor of Rachel. Looks like Finn won't be getting many solos this year courtesy of Blaine. I was disappointed there was no mention of Vocal Adrenaline. I wanted to know if they won nationals yet again. I hope they are still going to be the glee club to beat this year. VA is my favorite.

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  9. It wasn't perfect, but it was fun. And at least we now have Blaine in the group and out of that horrible striped blazer. :)

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  10. I was really, really bored, and I'm someone who defended Glee during season 2.

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  11. I wouldn't say I was bored but there were a few things that bothered me.

    Quin's new persona is a complete joke, hate it. Sue's vendetta against the glee club got old last season. It always ends the same so why bother.

    Did they just write out Zizes, if so I'm quite sad.

    I would've preferred Blaine stay with the Warblers, all this switching from school to school doesn't sit well with me.

    It wasn't Glee at it's best but it was enjoyable.

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  12. I liked some of the set-ups but there were a few misses too. Sue trying to get Glee cut again? Even if it's just part of a larger plan, it got really overplayed in Season 2 and I was actually hoping, after Sue said she wouldn't bother them anymore, that she'd hold to that. I mean, it sounded like a big deal after her sister's funeral and all! But now they've just brought her back...*sigh* I was looking forward to a Sue/Will team-up against some new evil teacher, it would've been fresher.

    I like the Kurt/Rachel thing though. It just makes sense and it carries off well from last season. Quinn somehow actually pulls off her new look quite well, I don't know why it works but it does.

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  13. I hate to say it but i was highly underwhelmed with this episode... it was the season PREMIRE? ouch.. i hope it gets better...
    I already miss Sam, and I am missing the days that the songs were more a part of the story.. this episode it seemed a bit contrived with the just drop and sing by a piano thing...
    The only one that actually worked for me in the episode was the one the competitive kids did for rach and kurt at the NY drama school gathering.
    all in all i was just sort of bored.

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  14. I missed glee too! My ipod was definitely slacking the entire summer, without it. For the most part, I loved this episode! I thought the upbeat songs were the perfect way to start of the new season. I think my favorite part in this episode was the Kurt/Rachel scenes. I don't know how they became so close, but they're the perfect best friends! I wasn't a huge fan of Lindsay in The Glee Project but oh man, can that girl sing! Her song was beyond entertaining, and the dirty looks she gave Rachel just made it that much more hard to take my eyes off of. Also, BLAINE IS BACK. I'm sure we'll see the Warblers and I'll definitely miss them but with Blaine in the New Direction's, they'll be UNSTOPPABLE. He's just what they needed :)

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  15. I can't help but feeling that it's quite selfish for Kurt to ask Blaine to leave all his friends and come to a school that's not at all safe or friendly. If they break up, it'd put Blaine in a difficult position.

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