GLEE: SEASON 2, VOLUME 1
(not rated)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The first half of the second season of the wildly popular show choir series “Glee” is available on DVD. The first ten episodes of the second season are collected, showing the kids in glee club facing more bullying, sexual awakening, Halloween, Christmas and multiple episode themes like “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and Britney Spears.
WHAT I LIKED
I enjoyed the first season of “Glee.” I really did. I thought it was original, creative and a hell of a lot of fun. As we move into the second season, the show’s awareness of itself is starting to be a problem. These first ten episodes of the second season might contain the last of the spirit of the old “Glee,” which has a somewhat molestery former glee club teacher and a punk football player who sells pot brownies to fund the club (all from the first season, mind you).
There’s still some neat elements to this first half of the second season, though. My favorite character of Brittany finally gets some meat in her stories and additional screen time. For now, they’re not trying to develop her too much, choosing to keep her oblivious and stupid, but smoking hot (though the fact she never learned to brush her teeth is a bit gross).
There’s also the inclusion of “The Rocky Horror Glee Show” as their Halloween episode. I had a love-hate relationship with this episode. Read below for an explanation of the hate, but also understand what I loved. As a fan of “Rocky Horror” since I went to high school, it was great to present the music to a wide audience. Half of the cast was perfect for their roles (like Kurt for Riff Raff, Finn for Brad and the Cheerios duo for Magenta and Colombia), and it was nice to see Jayma Mays get a little sexy in this.
At this point, “Glee” is a still a cute show, but even in its early second season, the storytelling through song has been lost, and the tunes have become nothing more than an excuse to sell iTunes downloads.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Rather than having a problem with the season itself, or this DVD set, I have a problem with the show becoming self-aware. Adam Shankman, who directed “The Rocky Horror Glee Show” said it best in the special features when he was concerned that he didn’t want his episode to be the one that parents turned off. When the show worries about being too politically correct, it’s lost its edge. “The Rocky Horror Glee Show” proved that when questionable lyrics were changed and the “transvestite” language was sanitized.
Sadly, this series is realizing its influence, so it’s spending more time to push social agendas like Kurt’s sexuality and the fact that he’s being bullied. These are important issues, sure, but they just don’t fit in a fun, silly show like “Glee.”
Plus, as much as I enjoyed watching Brittany in all her Britney Spears get-ups, the theme episodes have got to stop. They’re replacing story with gimmicks, and that’s going to burn out fast.
DVD FEATURES
Bonus features are spread among the three discs. The “Glee Music Jukebox” (basically a song-selection feature) is available on each disc. Disc 2 includes “The Making of the Rocky Horror Glee Show” and includes the bonus song (with no video besides big, red lips on-screen) of “Planet, Schmanet, Janet.”
Disc 3 includes a spotlight on Jane Lynch getting her Madame Tussauds wax statue, plus a look at the wit and wisdom of Brittany. Finally, this disc includes “Glee at Comic-Con 2010,” which might have been the real reason why someone was stabbed in Hall H last summer.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Gleeks.