"The Quarterback"

I haven't been a fan of Glee for very long. I wrote about this awhile ago, but ever since I caught up I have been hooked.

Tonight, Glee said goodbye to possibly my favorite character. In fact, Finn Hudson may in fact be one of the main reasons I got into the show to begin with.

I had never heard of Cory Monteith before - in fact as I watched I still had no idea who he was. But, the character Finn I could really relate to. Especially as he began to question just what he was going to do after high school.

He was good at a lot of things, but out of those things what could he use them for in life?

Monteith's voice wasn't amazing, but I liked it. He was also apparently pretty good at drums - and the way he portrayed Finn, you can tell he was a pretty talented actor. Really just finding his way - and the role of Finn might have really opened things up for him.

I watch a lot of television, movies, sports and listen to a lot of music. So, I am familiar with a lot of celebrities. But, I don't think there are many out there that I would be really taken aback by their death.

Tom Hanks is my favorite actor of all time - so when his time comes I will most likely be upset. However, when I first heard of Monteith's death it really shook me. A lot more than I was expecting.

I know a lot of people suffer from addictions - and I have read a ton of comments on sites saying he didn't really deserve all of these special moments because of the way he went - but, however you think, a young, talented man died and I feel his work deserved some praise.

Tonight, the show that made him a star finally had to say goodbye. And, it was heartfelt - and sad to see. But, it was needed. I feel for the cast as they went through this, but it also must have been cathartic. Though the show never stated how Finn passed away - there were many things throughout the show that mirrored the character Finn to Cory.

It was hard to get through, but it was also good to look back.

I will miss Finn - and although I don't think Cory would have become a huge movie star, I will definitely miss being able to see what his career could have been.

R.I.P. Cory Monteith. Gone far too young.

Quick Rant: Glee Season 4

OK, this may not be that 'quick'.

I said in my Friday Night Lights post from Friday that there would be another post about the show, and I was technically telling the truth.

The whole truth, however, is that I have been searching/hoping for a chance to write something about another show that I enjoy - and while watching FNL it dawned on me how I could explain my point.

If you are a follower of my blog (and I believe it may just be my wife) you know that a little while back I decided to jump into watching a show I hated for no reason in Glee - see my review here.

Anyway, as I stated in that review Glee garnered a lot of hate from me for no true reason - and after my wife and son became fans of the show, I thought I should give it a try.

Well, I caught up on the first three seasons in order to be ready for the brand new fourth season that started in the fall.

First, I loved the first three seasons. Although I am not a huge fan of all of the characters, together everything worked and the musical numbers have been wonderful - some are way better than others though.

But, this isn't a review of Glee. I had already stated in my first review (even if it was just for the first season) that I enjoyed it. No, this is a post about what Glee did wrong - and, honestly, the problem occurred from day one.

When Glee began in 2009 the school had signups for the glee club and only had five signup. After the first few episodes they were able to get up to the 12 that they needed - and in those 12 all of them were sophomores and freshmen. Makes sense, right?

At the time, yes. But, as the seasons went on the sophomores became juniors, and then seniors. Those freshmen, well they are now seniors. In those three years - the 12 students never really changed, so no other characters (read younger students) were introduced in those three seasons.

Which brings us to season four and my issues.

In season four the glee club, after losing eight members to graduation, finally had to introduce some new characters - and I am fine with that. The main issue - going to New York.

This show is called Glee, not NYADA.

It's supposed to be about a high school glee club. In fact, when the show was pitched it was about a teacher (Will Schuester), but as the seasons went on Rachel became the star of the show and the powers that be felt it best to follow her to NY.

During season four, the my least favorite parts of the show have been the NY portions. Rachel is no longer the high-strung annoying girl from high school - no she is much worse now.

Which leads me to my comparison to Friday Night Lights - a show that seemed to have it together from the start. Like all high schools, kids grow up and eventually graduate - you need to have a plan in place so that when a loved character leaves, another one is right behind them.

From the start we are introduced to characters in all four grade levels - the quarterback Jason Street is a senior. The running back 'Smash' Williams is a junior. The cheerleader Lyla Garrity, the backup quarterback Matt Saracen, the fullback Tim Riggins and Tyra Collette are all sophomores, with the coach's daughter, Julie Taylor and Saracen's best friend, Landry Clarke each freshmen.

Sounds smart doesn't it? Already we are given a year of Street, two of Williams, three of the sophomores and a fourth season with the freshmen. But, because Julie is part of the Taylor family, we actually get her for all five.

But, that isn't it. As the seasons went on more characters are introduced - so for season four when we only had Julie and Landry left - we already had a bunch of new characters we knew. By season five - the entire football team was gone, and even though some of them were missed, the show moved forward and it was still enjoyable.

Don't get me wrong - keep lovable characters around, but find a reason for them to stick around. Whether it was Riggins dropping out of college and coming back to help Coach Taylor out and his brother, or Saracen sticking around to take care of his sick grandmother and be with his girlfriend, Julie.

This was actually used brilliantly in Glee with Finn's character. He washed out in the Army and eventually made his way back home - and took over the glee club when Schuester was gone. Perfect - keep a former character around longer with an actual reason to stick around.

Other characters have been back as well from the original cast, but in small doses - which is perfectly fine. Coming back to support the glee club, coming home for holiday - it can all be done.

Going to NY, though, not needed. Sometimes, its best to just say goodbye.

My complaint, however, will go on deaf ears - the comment posters out there continue to say they'd rather the show just be in NY and forget about the high school (which again would be fine in a spinoff called NYADA). But, this is about the high school and the glee club. I am still getting to know most of the new characters - but it would have been nice to have been introduced to a few of them as the seasons progressed.

And since NY is going to be sticking around, when is this Rachel Berry coming back? Because she is missed.

Also, off topic, where the heck do Sugar, Joe and sometimes Unique go? This is a school, right? But they tend to be missing a lot (I know reading too much into it, but it is annoying). Finally, I miss Rory!

Haterade: Glee

This probably won't be a regular feature, but possibly something I do every so often. I admit that I sometimes find a hatred for something without ever really giving it a try. I think it happens because I don't really love what everyone else loves - and if everyone loves it, I sometimes hate it for no real reason.

So, as I said, every so often I may give something a try that I think I am going to hate and then I will post about it - sometimes what I watch will maintain my hatred for it, but occasionally I may just find out that I was completely wrong - and I am not afraid to admit that.

My first experiment was with the television show Glee. I realize it became pretty popular when it first hit the airwaves in 2009. And, both my wife and son have watched the entire series to date - and my parents even purchase the CDs. Well, I have heard about it a ton and heard a lot of the music - and I had to give it a shot.

To give the show a little bit of a rundown, a high school Spanish teacher, Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), looks to take over the school's glee club and look to rekindle his high school glory days.

The glee club, though, is pretty much considered off limits and the lowest of the low by all of the cool kids in the school. Only a few sign up initially, an uber-insane girl with a ton of talent but knows it, Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), a born diva, Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), a girl with a stutter, Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), a guy in a wheelchair, Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), and a still-in-the-closet gay guy, Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer).

Though all five kids are very talented, the group is definitely lacking in the cool department - and to even compete as a glee club in competitions they need 12 members. Will makes it his mission to recruit some of the cooler kids, and stumbles across star quarterback Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) singing in the shower. Once he gets him aboard, he is able to pull in three other football players - Noah Puckerman (Mark Salling), Mike Chang (Harry Shum Jr.), Matt Rutherford (Dijon Talton), and three cheerios - Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron), Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera), Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris) - to round out the group.

Pretty much the show is a typical high school show with tons of drama, but this one also features a ton of singing.

Just to make things clear, I am currently in the middle of season two, but for the purpose of this post I am only speaking about season one.

First, the things that sort of drive me crazy about the show. I have never been in a glee club, but for a group that is getting ready for competition they sing an awful lot of different songs and are always looking for the perfect song for 'regionals' or 'sectionals' or whatever is coming up. Don't you think they should find this song and stick with it? And, spoiler alert, by the time they actually get to sectionals - they totally make up their choreography and their songs on the spot. Cool, yes, but what's the point of all the practice?

Next, Rachel. I think she extremely talented - that is obvious. But, wow what a bitch. Totally thinks she is so much better than everyone else in the club. And the problem is, Will way over uses her. She sings way too much. The rest of the group is so talented (with the possible exception of Mike who is more of a dancer than singer). The group needed to mix up the solos way more.

Finally, Will's wife. Couldn't stand her from the beginning and what she probably should have been crushed for what she did to her husband. He was way too nice to her.

But, those are small pieces of the show. For something I thought I would never even think of trying out - I am pretty addicted to it. Despite the issue I have with the process of glee club, I do realize why a television show does it - they need to mix up the music to keep us interested. And, they do it very well. Like I said, they all sing so well and the numbers they do are amazing.

Every member of the cast brings something great to the table - and because of my gripe about Rachel, I just feel everyone needed to be featured more (again this is my thoughts on season one).

So for my first batch of Haterade - my opinion has been changed. I will definitely continue to watch Glee and see how things play out. I admit my ignorance.