Tag The Glee Project

The Glee Project: Romantic-ality

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They’re down to 6 contestants. Only two guys remain: Michael and Blake so I’m guessing they’re safe. The theme is romantical-ity. Lily admits to having a crush on Blake and figures the others do too. So we’ve got a little romance to kick off the theme.

The homework song is “More than Words” by Extreme and the songwriter will accompany them on guitar when they perform. I’ve never particularly liked this song. It’s just way too saccharine.

The contestants decide to pair up and the pairs come down to Shanna and Michael, Ali and Blake and Lily and Aylin, who are fierce rivals. Going for some shock value, Lily and Aylin decide to kiss when they sing. Aylin seems to really not care how her parents will react to having the world see their daughter flout their religious beliefs.

Darren Criss returns as mentor. He saw Michael and Shanna as stiff and Lily and Aylin did not ge the reaction I think they expected as no one mentioned their kiss. Instead they were seen as too serious.

Blake won because he was earnest, not a quality that fits the theme. When he won, he was happy and mocked the girls who mention their previous winnings. He seemed like a poor loser when he won. Since he won, Blake could choose

Shanna struggled in the studio. Michael was good in the studio, which surprised Nikki. Lily and Ali were great when recording as well while homework winner golden boy Blake stumbled. He can’t sing harmony.

Lily toned down her acting while Michael brought his up and that really impressed the judges. Shanna and Aylin had trouble looking natural and like they weren’t just dancing.

The video takes place on a Saturday during detention. Implausibly enough it’s on a Saturday and the principal leaves all the kids in the classroom and they easily run out of the room in pairs and get “romantic” in various parts of the school. The singing was good, but the What’s weird is that although the theme is “romanticality” none of the judges make any of the performers sex it up as they forced Nellie to do. Why the difference?

[Digression: Adam Levine from Maroon 5 appeared in an ad for ADHD meds. Doesn’t singing and songwriting pay any more? Is this what happens when kids download pirated music? So sad.]

Shanna, Aylin and Blake had to perform for Ryan. Shanna harped on the fact that she felt Micahel belonged in the bottom three and that she thought they were too terrific to merit that. Blake got “Losing My Religion,” Aylin got “The First TIme Ever I Saw Your Face and Shanna had “

Aylin forgot the lyrics. Ryan asked Aylin about how she thought Muslim girls would react to seeing someone like her on TV. It seems like he’s trying to do market research as well as cast the show. His naivete is showing. I suppose he’s never heard of a fatwa. I don’t think it’s particularly bold or wise to present the Muslim teen rebelling against religion. It would be interesting to show one living out that religion, believing in it whole heartedly. Weith Aylin, we’ve only gotten superficial glimpses at her faith and culture. That’s true of all the contestants and a failing of the show.

Astutely, Robert asked her about the backlash. However, the elimination round is not the time he’d get a real answer. Usually, people say what they think will keep them in the game. I wouldn’t expect Aylin to say that “While, my family’s pretty peace loving, there are some folks I know who’d hunt you all down if you disrespect Islam the way you kinda do with Christianity.”

Ryan notes before Blake comes out that Blake lacks a bottom, depth. How true. He’s petrified to sing. He does fine with the song, but he shows no vulnerabilities.

Shanna comes out dolled up with curly hair and a short red dress, after Ryan’s told that she’s too “bubble gum-ish.” Ryan did think there isn’t much to Shanna as far as creating a character. He asked her if she was complaining about her position in the bottom three. When he asked her what kind of character she could be, Shanna suggested she’d play the athletic girl who was in a bunch of activities. Boring. Later she admitted that she thought she didn’t believe she should be in the bottom three. Kudos for speaking up to Ryan. He then said he could write for the feisty Southern girl. (That could be a character, the Southern Red State Girl, though it would be better if she played up her family background.)

The judges thought Aylin didn’t offer much beyond good singing and that Blake coasted on his charm. Nikki thought all of them cracked. Before they presented the result, a trailer for next week showed Aylin in a hiljab, so obviously she stays. Nikki also brought up the issue that they only have two remaining men so it seemed unlikely that Blake would be eliminated, despite his

Note: Turks don’t usually wear hiljabs (the head coverings worn my Muslim women, called jilbabs in Indonesia.)

As they walk up the the list, Aylin and Blake express pessimism and Shanna seems rather confident, which was kind of a “tell.” Shanna was sent home. She’s basically too mainstream and didn’t know how to develop a character for the writers. She hadn’t been in the bottom and didn’t know what to expect. It’s a point in the competition that those who’ve been up for elimination have an edge as they know how to talk with the judges. If she had thought to mention how her mother was a druggie and that was hard, she might still be on.
Now my current favorite to win is Ali. I hope I haven’t jinxed her.

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the glee project: sexuality

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This episode’s theme was sexuality and Naya Rivera (Santana) was the mentor. The gang sang a song I can’t remember and there was a lot of sultry looks and pumping and grinding. How I long for a bit more sophistication in our culture. I don’t blame the contestants they’re just seeing what’s out there and emulating. (Porpoise of Life’s blogger couldn’t remember the song either. Not a good sign. I did just watch the beginning again and the song was “I Wanna Sex You Up.” Ho hum.)

If you’ve seen the show you can pretty much predict how a lot of the contestants responded. Aylin was exuberant, but worried about what her parents thought. Yet she doesn’t really seem to care so it’s something of a non-issue. Tyler reminded us that his transgender transition makes this tough for him, yet when Robert announced the theme he was jubilant. I guess he just got caught up in the mob response.

Charlie won the homework competition and was on cloud 9 knowing that Naya considered him the success in the sexuality challenge. Yet this turned out to be a bit of a curse as it made him cocky the rest of the week.

The Star of the Week

Nellie interested me the most this week. She was honest and admitted this was a stretch since she hadn’t even seen a guy naked. I was glad someone had a different perspective. It’s interesting to watch someone who seems so real live through this fish bowl experiment.

The video for the week’s setting was a high school sex ed class in which a dowdy, non-sexy teacher assigns the class to write an essay on “What Sexuality Means to Me.” The Glee Project did get the banality and triviality that can pervade US classrooms right, but really this is an assignment that would result in parental outcry. Why should a teacher read and evaluate students’ sexuality? Is that their job? No teacher who’s right in the head would assign something that begs parents to call and complain.

Sexiness is in the eye of the beholder

In the studio, Michael stumbled over the lyrics as he sang with Mario. He just couldn’t get them right and in the end Nikki had to ask him to leave. Still over the moon from his homework win, Charlie was flirting with Aylin while recording which just made him look immature. He needs to wake up if he wants to stay.

Then during the video shoot, Charlie let his ADD and attitude get the best of him as he tried to direct Erik the Director, who was remarkably patient.

Tyler just got lost in the crowd. Lily vamped up her performance and shy Nellie got out of her shell and excelled in the shoot.

Tyler, Michael and Charlie had to do last chance performances. Charlie did a fun rendition of “I Get a Kick Out of You,” which got Ryan and Co. to overlook Charlie’s lack of professionalism that week.

Michael sang and forgot the words to “Lucky.” I thought he was a goner. Tyler sang Charlie Chaplin‘s “Smile” which he mentioned he’d never heard although it was featured in Glee‘s first season. If I were going on The Glee Project, I’d watch all the Glee episodes again since they tend to pull TGP songs from the series since those have been cleared for legal rights. I thought Tyler did a poor job and I winced at times as he was off pitch at times.

Michael and Tyler both botched their performances. Tyler’s been in the final three regularly and always reminds his judges that he’s going through a major transition vis-a-vis his gender. It’s true and sincere, but should he constantly get excused and protected? Then blowing the lyrics twice is quite a blunder. In the end the judges decided that Tyler should go. While they liked him and sympathized with his challenges, as Zach told Charlie, “This is a job.”  Tough as it was to do, the judges sent Tyler home.

I think that was the right decision, hard as it may have been. I doubt Tyler could deal — all at once — with the physical, emotional and professional challenges he signed himself up for.

Some Favorite Irish Actors

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In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, let me honor my favorite Irish actors and actresses including those of Irish descent.

  1. Gabriel Byrne of In Treatment. I am slowing getting through my DVDs for Season 2 and am loving the intense, intelligent drama
  2. John Mahoney, who’s in season 2 of In Treatment, and is a memberof Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater. I’ve seen him in several plays there including. Mahoney is great on stage, the big screen or the idiot box. A piece of trivia, when I attended an event for the Steppenwolf, Mahoney pulled out the names of raffle winners and as he did this I had this strong feeling that I’d win. I did. So we shook hands when he gave me my prize.
  3. Meg Ryan has always been a favorite. When Harry Met Sally and You’ve Got Mail are among the best romantic comedies ever made.
  4. Aidan Quinn. He was great in Legends of the Fall and many other films. He’s also from Steppenwolf, though I’ve never seen him on stage.
  5. Moira Kelly from The West Wing and she was one of the best things on One Tree Hill, a guilty pleasure of mine. She also starred with Martin Sheen in Entertaining Angels, a biopic of Dorothy Day’s Life.
  6. Sean Connery. He’s got the tough, wise man down. Never saw him as James Bond, though I’m sure he did well. (Nothing wrong with that series just haven’t gotten to it. So little time, so many movies.)
  7. Glee’s Jane Lynch, her sarcasm is just delicious and she’s also great in Best in Show one of my favorite comedy films.
  8. The Glee Project’s Damian McGinty exudes “Erin Go Bragh” not that I’m thrilled with the lazy stereotyped role he’s got on Glee. Still glad this Celtic Thunder perfomer won the reality show competition.
  9. Bonnie Hunt, who I so wish was on television at least weekly. She’s both funny and smart and I hope someone gives her lots of money to make whatever film or show she’d like.
  10. Denis Leary plays up his Irish heritage in his humor and in Rescue Me, a show I found compelling, yet too graphic for my tastes. So I recommend it although I just can’t watch it myself.
  11. Martin Sheen‘s role as Jeb Bartlett has forever earned him a place in my heart. The West Wing was such a great show. Many’s the time I wish he was President.
  12. Diane Keaton‘s career from The Godfather to Annie Hall to Something’s Gotta Give her work always carries and imprint of wit and dignity.

As for Irish American actors, the list goes on and on.

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Glee as of Late

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I’m catching up on Glee episodes and it hasn’t been as fun as it used to be. I’m staying with the show out of loyalty. While the stars are just as talented, the story lines aren’t grabbing me. I mentioned earlier my skepticism over Burt Hummel as a senator. Now we’re to believe Sue‘s desperately wants to be a mother. I just don’t buy it. I feel Sue’s pregnancy is mainly a gag, just as Finn and Rachel’s engagement seems like a contrivance that grew out of boredom in the writers’ room. I really don’t buy Finn’s depression or ennui or that a kid his age would find marriage as a means of fulfillment. It doesn’t ring true.

Then I was disappointed with Rachel’s dads. They should have introduced those characters earlier. Now after all these years, they are on camera, having never come to her performances or intervened when she was suspended, which showed them to be lax at best, when clearly they’d be helicopter parents of the first degree. I also wished one of them was Black as I found that line in the pilot so funny, the one about how they didn’t know who the real father was. Jeff Goldblum was fine, but after three years whomever they got had to be great. The writing was decent, but not great.

A major disappointment for me as a Glee Project viewer has been how Sam, Damien and Lindsay have been given overly stereotyped minor roles. They’re the sideshow in the sideshow of McKinley High and haven’t been accorded the role of say new characters like Sam or even Blaine. I get that all the characters are over the top and stereotyped, but it’s a fine line and in this case has disappointed.

I’m not a big fan of Michael Jackson and could do without a second show emphasizing his music. Early on in that episode Rachel voices my indifference and I thought the show would serve to blow us away and win the non-Michael fans over. It really didn’t.

I really didn’t like the storyline with Will as an incompetent Spanish teacher. He’s too conscientious for that. He’s the kind of guy who would have gotten up to speed early on if he wasn’t up to a teaching task. It was clearly an excuse to bring on Ricky Martin. I liked the idea of a show with Latin music, but take the time to come up with a good storyline. It’s not hard. Make Martin a new teacher in the department. Also, the writers need to know about their arena. In K-12 most everyone has tenure. If you don’t get it by year three, you’re stupid not to leave. It’s a sign they don’t want you.

As for the plot line with Kurowski (I think that’s the spelling) attempting suicide was worth covering, however, was lost amidst all the other plot lines. It’s alright if that kind of event is a show stopper. It’s a major deal in any setting and it leaves people numb. Here it came off as a PSA and in fact, I find Glee’s gotten too overtly didactic. Let the drama teach. Embed facts more naturally as they did in Boston Legal, or leave them out.

I haven’t stopped believin’ in Glee, but could. I hope things don’t come to that.

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Raise Your Glass: The Glee Project

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Here’s the final video for the 2011 The Glee Project. It was exuberant and excellent. Hats off to the director, choreographer and all the cast. I said it before, but it was great to see all the 12 contenders reunite for a final number.

The last show was gripping. After the video, all four finalists had to sing a song of their own choosing. I’d say Lindsay’s “Gimme Gimme” was the most memorable, though everyone sang well. It was tense waiting to hear who’d be chosen. Executive Producer Ryan Murphy drew the process out quite dramatically. First the Glee cast members and TGP voice coach, Nikki, were polled for feedback and each person asked gave both the pros and cons of the final four: Lindsay, Alex, Damien and Samuel. Ryan and the other writers had to decide in the end and admitted that they spent the week arguing over whom to choose.

First Murphy told Alex he wouldn’t be on the show. Then Lindsay was told the same. Damien and Samuel remained. I was rooting for Damien, though I’ve liked Samuel and think he does bring something different to the cast.

Murphy announced that Samuel had won a seven episode spot on Glee and I felt an odd disappointment. Guess I wanted Damien (or Lindsay) more than I realized.

Murphy asked Damien how he felt about not winning and the answer was sincere and gracious. To mix things up in this reality show genre, Murphy then announced that Damien would also get a seven episode spot. Then he announced that Alex and Lindsay would be on two episodes each. Win win win win.

Now some purists may feel Murphy et al cheated, but that’s silly. They need more performers for this coming season. Why would you let go of talented people? I’d also like to see Hannah and Cameron appear this season or next. I hardly think that’s cheating. That’s doing your job well.

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Finale: The Glee Project

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For now I’ll just say The Glee Project went out with a bang. Such a wise final choice.

There were some nerve racking moments. The last video Raise Your Glass was exuberant.

It’s been a four star series.

More later.

Gleeks, Check this Out

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Tomorrow night on Oxygen you can check out The Glee Project reality program. Good music and soul searching is guaranteed.

The Glee Project

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Any Gleek going through withdrawal should take a look at the Oxygen’s The Glee Project, a competition for a spot on next season’s Glee. It follows the usual reality show attrition formula, like The Next Food Network Star or what seems like a dozen others. Yet because the contestants are talented and their stories are compelling.

Each week the contestants must do a number within a time constraint and the best performer gets a one-on-one coaching session with a Glee cast member. Next the contestants work on a video that relates to a Glee theme like vulnerability or theatricality. Like the characters on Glee, the contestants must not only perform well, but deal with their own frailties and flaws to make it.

I enjoyed seeing the producers, choreographers and voice coach work with the contestants, challenging them to move beyond the safe or even the dull. As I do with The Next Food Network Star, I see the critiques as relevant. Shows like The Apprentice or Survivor are contrived, but The Glee Project’s challenges draw one in because they’re realistic.

As always, this reality show gives us a glimpse at the behind the scenes drama back in the dorms. We see friendships develop and rivalries foment. Without fail, after a couple episodes I’ve got contestants who irk me and others I’m rooting for. I wouldn’t mind if Lindsay, a terrific singer, without an ounce of humility and terrible social skills, was cut. Here there are more favorites than people who annoy.

The next new episode isn’t till the week after next so you can catch up on hulu.com.