TV TV TV
I decided to split up my TV recaps into multiple posts so...Wednesdays and Thursdays. This is what's happening. This is real. I watch too much TV.
I think I was very, very underwhelmed by this episode. It left no impact on me as I was watching in the first time, and I'm watching it again right now. Of course, there are little gem moments, like with any episode, and of course, Sue Sylvester is part of all, or most, of them.
I'm trying to figure out the point of the first five minutes/Jewfro's documentary. Was it just a shoutout to all the forums? Was it put there just to annoy me? Did Ryan Murphy decide that he'd given me enough with Puck singing "Beth," and now he was going to take it all away? (However, I did like the microphone with Jewish symbols on it - sometimes it's the little subtleties that make things good.)
"It was the responsible thing to do." Re: Puck's vasectomy. I'm glad nothing is going to get in the way of his sexual promiscuity, because that's one of the things I love most about him. I also liked "When are you making your triumphant return to the Shire?" being put to Rachel but at the same time, I felt it was too referential.
I was kind of in love with the Will/Sue dynamic. I wish their partnership had lasted longer because I think it could have carried on for a while and been great. It's a shame Will treats everything as a life lesson for himself and had to go find a conscience. I did like that Sue put a lot of thought into the fake names she put on his sign-up sheet. And I love that their pizza prank was such a failure and that they thought it was so funny. Giggles outside the locker room were priceless.
"You can't cut my budget without written consent from the President of the Federal Reserve. It's IN MY CONTRACT." Of course it is, Sue. Of course it is. And she needs her confetti cannons, Figgins. Don't take that away from her. "You think your kids can manage life without their dad?"
The show got rid of Matt (which is a good thing, because he couldn't act and wasn't that great a singer compared to everyone else, except Finn) and Ken Tanaka, and they got rid of Sunshine in the space of one episode (which was a shame because I think she was like Mercedes + Tina + Rachel and I just wanted to see how she fit into the dynamic [also, is the Vocal Adrenaline coach whats-his-face from, like, three episodes of "30 Rock"?) and they've added the Beiste and new football player Sam. The show could barely make do with the cast they had, and they're trying to add more characters?
So even though I don't like the addition of new characters, I think Shannon Beiste (it's French) is pretty great. I enjoy what she's brought to the show. I enjoy that she inspired Sue to make poo cookies. I enjoy the equation: female football coach = male nurse = sin against nature.
"You're all coffee and no almond."
"That makes no sense."
I love the Beiste's random aphorisms she drops around, in part because Sue doesn't like them. I don't just love Sue, I love what makes Sue crazy.
I am undecided on Sam. I think he's a cutie, and is definitely set up as direct competition with Finn because they have the same sort of voice, except Sam, unsurprisingly, is way better. Unless Cory Monteith got voice lessons over the summer. Speaking of Sam's singing, there needs to be a moratorium on rapping on this show. Two in one episode is too much (with the exception of "Bad Reputation" because I can't say no to "Can't Touch This" and "Ice, Ice, Baby" in the same episode).
But seriously, what's up with footballers singing in the showers at school, and with weird foot movements. It was such a replay (except shorter) of Will's discovery of Finn, and I thought that was strange.
Another thing that I thought was strange was the "Telephone" bit. I mean, I'll be downloading the song and listening to it because I really like Sunshine Corazon's voice. And somehow, I hope Sue's "Shut up!" gets into that (even though I know it won't. I kind of want that as my text notification. But Lea Michele was terrifying and in a stalker-like way.
Loved Tina singing "Getting to Know You" in a very The King and I setting, and I can't decide how I feel about the Mike/Tina romance. I think, for the most part, I don't care.
I think I still don't like Kurt and Mercedes all that much. And on first listening, I thought they said they were self-evolved, which was a weird sort of concept and I didn't think it applied to anyone on "Glee," but then I listened to it again and they said they were two of the most self-involved people, and I thought "Yes."
"My ghost friends. Hideous lonely faculty members who met with an early death. Good old fashioned schoolyard bully. And you know why? Because they crossed me." Love. Sue. But also, who is telling Beiste that Will is cool? Did Emma's slutrant have no impact? Also, where was Emma? Extended summer vacation? Sanitizing her office after summer break?
"I'm the captain of the USS Kick Ass, not the USS Back Talk." Beiste wins.
I love the continuation of Sue showing some kind of humanity, but in that uniquely Sue way, perfectly exemplified in the Santana/fake boobs rant. Like she's secretly about empowerment and wanting people to be comfortable in their skin (or at least it's an insult to nature), but she's going to be crazy and Sue about it and that's what's great about Sue. And that she called Santana "Boobs McGee."
"The two of you are making a very serious mistake today, the likes of which has not been seen since the Mexian-Indians sold Manhattan to George Washington for an upskirt photo of Betsy Ross." So wrong it's right. I think Sue's learning from Tyra.
Also I don't like Lea Michele's bangs. But maybe she's just learning how to be ugly-pretty. Tyra wins again.
Basically, at the end of the episode, we were back where we were at the beginning of Season One. Football players still aren't sure about how cool Glee Club is, they're still (maybe?) trying to get new members, Quinn is head cheerleader and Santana's jealous ("Stop the violence." - Brittany) and no one thinks Glee Club is cool. I guess Finn isn't on the football team anymore, and isn't popular.
It was just a low-impact. I didn't necessarily love any of the songs they sang (with the exception of "Telephone" and "Listen" and that's mostly because of Sunshine), and just felt like it was forty-five minutes of nothing. I can't decide if I was even really entertained. I like the over the top campiness (see: Theatricality, Bad Reputation) and this felt more along the lines of Joss Whedon's episode - quiet and bland.
Sorry this recap is all over the place. I could have organized it but I am lazy today.
Here's the thing about "The Big C." It is good in the same way "Nurse Jackie" is good. It sits with me, and takes over my thoughtsicles. Because one time, I searched "lower back pain" and one of the top results was "you may have cervical cancer!" I have this continuous background, and unfounded, fear of cancer. (Which is a good lesson in not searching symptoms/diseases when you are a mild hypochondriac.)
Anyway, I think that Cathy is how I want to be if I ever get diagnosed. To keep it to herself, unless she just wants to yell at a lady in the flower store, and to live her life as she wants to live it, and make the decisions she wants to make. And it's so...well, I don't know if inspiring is the right word to use, but it's understandable, and the way I would want to be. I don't think I'm a strong enough person to be that way, but I aspire to be like Cathy.
I think it's such an interesting way to present a story. Man. It's so good.
"Weeds" is so, so good this season. So to anyone who's stopped watching, you should start again. It's all Season One-y again, which is delightful. Those moments where the shit just hits the fan again and again and again and Nancy doesn't know how to cope? Yeah, they're happening again. But at the same time people are pointing out to Nancy what a horrible person she is and she's kind of getting that into her head, and it's cool to watch.
I haven't been this excited for a new episode of "Weeds" since the end of Season 3. And Seasons 2 and 3 were made of a constant chant of "when's the next episode, when's the next episode." So I am glad it's going back to awesome, and I hope it continues in that vein for a bit.
I think I was very, very underwhelmed by this episode. It left no impact on me as I was watching in the first time, and I'm watching it again right now. Of course, there are little gem moments, like with any episode, and of course, Sue Sylvester is part of all, or most, of them.
I'm trying to figure out the point of the first five minutes/Jewfro's documentary. Was it just a shoutout to all the forums? Was it put there just to annoy me? Did Ryan Murphy decide that he'd given me enough with Puck singing "Beth," and now he was going to take it all away? (However, I did like the microphone with Jewish symbols on it - sometimes it's the little subtleties that make things good.)
"It was the responsible thing to do." Re: Puck's vasectomy. I'm glad nothing is going to get in the way of his sexual promiscuity, because that's one of the things I love most about him. I also liked "When are you making your triumphant return to the Shire?" being put to Rachel but at the same time, I felt it was too referential.
I was kind of in love with the Will/Sue dynamic. I wish their partnership had lasted longer because I think it could have carried on for a while and been great. It's a shame Will treats everything as a life lesson for himself and had to go find a conscience. I did like that Sue put a lot of thought into the fake names she put on his sign-up sheet. And I love that their pizza prank was such a failure and that they thought it was so funny. Giggles outside the locker room were priceless.
"You can't cut my budget without written consent from the President of the Federal Reserve. It's IN MY CONTRACT." Of course it is, Sue. Of course it is. And she needs her confetti cannons, Figgins. Don't take that away from her. "You think your kids can manage life without their dad?"
The show got rid of Matt (which is a good thing, because he couldn't act and wasn't that great a singer compared to everyone else, except Finn) and Ken Tanaka, and they got rid of Sunshine in the space of one episode (which was a shame because I think she was like Mercedes + Tina + Rachel and I just wanted to see how she fit into the dynamic [also, is the Vocal Adrenaline coach whats-his-face from, like, three episodes of "30 Rock"?) and they've added the Beiste and new football player Sam. The show could barely make do with the cast they had, and they're trying to add more characters?
So even though I don't like the addition of new characters, I think Shannon Beiste (it's French) is pretty great. I enjoy what she's brought to the show. I enjoy that she inspired Sue to make poo cookies. I enjoy the equation: female football coach = male nurse = sin against nature.
"You're all coffee and no almond."
"That makes no sense."
I love the Beiste's random aphorisms she drops around, in part because Sue doesn't like them. I don't just love Sue, I love what makes Sue crazy.
I am undecided on Sam. I think he's a cutie, and is definitely set up as direct competition with Finn because they have the same sort of voice, except Sam, unsurprisingly, is way better. Unless Cory Monteith got voice lessons over the summer. Speaking of Sam's singing, there needs to be a moratorium on rapping on this show. Two in one episode is too much (with the exception of "Bad Reputation" because I can't say no to "Can't Touch This" and "Ice, Ice, Baby" in the same episode).
But seriously, what's up with footballers singing in the showers at school, and with weird foot movements. It was such a replay (except shorter) of Will's discovery of Finn, and I thought that was strange.
Another thing that I thought was strange was the "Telephone" bit. I mean, I'll be downloading the song and listening to it because I really like Sunshine Corazon's voice. And somehow, I hope Sue's "Shut up!" gets into that (even though I know it won't. I kind of want that as my text notification. But Lea Michele was terrifying and in a stalker-like way.
Loved Tina singing "Getting to Know You" in a very The King and I setting, and I can't decide how I feel about the Mike/Tina romance. I think, for the most part, I don't care.
I think I still don't like Kurt and Mercedes all that much. And on first listening, I thought they said they were self-evolved, which was a weird sort of concept and I didn't think it applied to anyone on "Glee," but then I listened to it again and they said they were two of the most self-involved people, and I thought "Yes."
"My ghost friends. Hideous lonely faculty members who met with an early death. Good old fashioned schoolyard bully. And you know why? Because they crossed me." Love. Sue. But also, who is telling Beiste that Will is cool? Did Emma's slutrant have no impact? Also, where was Emma? Extended summer vacation? Sanitizing her office after summer break?
"I'm the captain of the USS Kick Ass, not the USS Back Talk." Beiste wins.
I love the continuation of Sue showing some kind of humanity, but in that uniquely Sue way, perfectly exemplified in the Santana/fake boobs rant. Like she's secretly about empowerment and wanting people to be comfortable in their skin (or at least it's an insult to nature), but she's going to be crazy and Sue about it and that's what's great about Sue. And that she called Santana "Boobs McGee."
"The two of you are making a very serious mistake today, the likes of which has not been seen since the Mexian-Indians sold Manhattan to George Washington for an upskirt photo of Betsy Ross." So wrong it's right. I think Sue's learning from Tyra.
Also I don't like Lea Michele's bangs. But maybe she's just learning how to be ugly-pretty. Tyra wins again.
Basically, at the end of the episode, we were back where we were at the beginning of Season One. Football players still aren't sure about how cool Glee Club is, they're still (maybe?) trying to get new members, Quinn is head cheerleader and Santana's jealous ("Stop the violence." - Brittany) and no one thinks Glee Club is cool. I guess Finn isn't on the football team anymore, and isn't popular.
It was just a low-impact. I didn't necessarily love any of the songs they sang (with the exception of "Telephone" and "Listen" and that's mostly because of Sunshine), and just felt like it was forty-five minutes of nothing. I can't decide if I was even really entertained. I like the over the top campiness (see: Theatricality, Bad Reputation) and this felt more along the lines of Joss Whedon's episode - quiet and bland.
Sorry this recap is all over the place. I could have organized it but I am lazy today.
Here's the thing about "The Big C." It is good in the same way "Nurse Jackie" is good. It sits with me, and takes over my thoughtsicles. Because one time, I searched "lower back pain" and one of the top results was "you may have cervical cancer!" I have this continuous background, and unfounded, fear of cancer. (Which is a good lesson in not searching symptoms/diseases when you are a mild hypochondriac.)
Anyway, I think that Cathy is how I want to be if I ever get diagnosed. To keep it to herself, unless she just wants to yell at a lady in the flower store, and to live her life as she wants to live it, and make the decisions she wants to make. And it's so...well, I don't know if inspiring is the right word to use, but it's understandable, and the way I would want to be. I don't think I'm a strong enough person to be that way, but I aspire to be like Cathy.
I think it's such an interesting way to present a story. Man. It's so good.
"Weeds" is so, so good this season. So to anyone who's stopped watching, you should start again. It's all Season One-y again, which is delightful. Those moments where the shit just hits the fan again and again and again and Nancy doesn't know how to cope? Yeah, they're happening again. But at the same time people are pointing out to Nancy what a horrible person she is and she's kind of getting that into her head, and it's cool to watch.
I haven't been this excited for a new episode of "Weeds" since the end of Season 3. And Seasons 2 and 3 were made of a constant chant of "when's the next episode, when's the next episode." So I am glad it's going back to awesome, and I hope it continues in that vein for a bit.