Glee, Vol. One: Road to Sectionals – DVD review

The Show:

When visiting friends and relatives during the holidays, one is generally expected to be asked what they received for gifts on an hourly basis. Although this year, many unsuspecting people fell victim to being asked if they had watched Glee far more than being asked what Santa had left under their trees.

Since making its pilot debut in May of last year, Glee has turned into a pop culture phenomenon that has reached a large number of demographics with its awe-inspiring musical numbers and quick witted humor. Its popularity has grown so quickly that the phrases “Glee-tards” and “Gleeks” are now being used to describe the fanatics that support the show’s ever growing craze.

The show’s craziness begins when a Spanish teacher, Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) gets recruited to resurrect William McKinley High’s glee program. Slowly getting tired of his passionless marriage to his materialistic wife, (played by Jessalyn Gilsig) he vows to relive his own high school glee club glory days by restoring the Glee club’s vivacity.

Unfortunately for Will, the school’s celebrity cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester (played by the always funny Jane Lynch) is constantly devising plans to destroy the Glee club so the school funds could replenish the cheerleading squad’s unreasonable high budget again. Scared that Will might leave her, Will’s wife Terri fakes a pregnancy in hopes that his attraction to the lovesick and obsessive-compulsive guidance counselor, Emma (Jayma Mays) will go away.

Meanwhile the Glee club members are also facing many trials and tribulations. Head cheerleader Quinn, (who ironically is also the president of the chastity club) gets pregnant by bad boy/slushie thrower, Puck. (Played by Mark Salling) However, she tells her annoyingly naïve boyfriend, Finn (Cory Monteith) that it’s his. Finn also gets himself caught in a love triangle when he becomes attracted to overachiever/slushie target, Rachel. (Played by the talented Lea Michele) Needless to say, there are many more outrageous characters and story lines that are handled with much thought and creativity in this show, that one may forget that it is only 13 episodes long at this point.

As much as I hate to admit this, Glee is a show that deserves the hype and praise it so rightfully receives. After watching the first episode and seeing a purple slushie being thrown into a character’s face, I was immediately hooked and pulled into the overblown drama and the epic dance numbers. Just like Fame, Glee features a diverse and unknown cast that can actually sing, dance and act which is fairly refreshing to see these days.

Many skeptics may be turned off by the constant musical numbers in the show, although the show tailors to all types of music lovers. Fans of Broadway will appreciate the covers of Barbra Streisand songs and Wicked’s “Defying Gravity.” Fans of old school and modern R&B will be pleasantly surprised to hear classic renditions of Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison” and Jazmine Sullivan’s recent hit “Bust your windows out your car.” Add some Van Halen, John Lennon and Lily Allen to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a very diverse and clever soundtrack.

Despite the constant praise this show is receiving from critics worldwide, it is hard at times to suspend your disbelief when it comes to sitting through cheesy dance numbers, (there’s always a couple in each episode) auto tuned solos and far-fetched storylines. Unless you are a 15 year old girl, there are times you will cringe from the embarrassment. (Will performing “Thong Song” comes to mind.) Although, for every G-rated cringe-worthy moment on the show comes startling fellatio jokes, kinky balloon games, “sexting” and teenage on stage dry humping that will win anybody over with its brilliant inappropriateness. (Thank series creator Ryan Murphy for that!)

The DVD:

Many DVD consumers may be discouraged from buying the first volume of the season one box set, but I highly recommend viewers to watch Glee as the first thirteen episodes follows a specific story arc that ends with a very satisfying conclusion. The only problem with watching this highly addictive box set is that once you’re done watching it, you will have to wait until April for more episodes. Pace yourself..you’ve been warned.

The DVD’s special features include hilarious video diaries, a deconstructing Glee feature, a welcome to McKinley featurette, a dance boot camp and a hilarious feature about what the letter ‘A’ means to Jane Lynch that “gleeks” will really enjoy!

DVD: Rating:

Features: Rating: