Let's talk about Glee and its finally annoying lack of continuity.
Unless you’re on an Aaron Sorkin show, there will always be multiple writers for a TV show. Usually this doesn’t affect the flow of the show as the show runner and producers keep the writers on task and make sure the story flows well as a whole. Even in sitcoms, which are primarily stand alone episodes, there is usually an overarching storyline, a romance, etc. that makes the show feel as if it flows from episode to episode.
I feel like Ryan Murphy sits around, polishing his head, and says, “On Tuesdays we wear pink,” and then completely ignores what his other two writers do for their episodes. And look, I love Glee, I really do. I am not one of those people who usually gets annoyed with the lack of continuity on this show. This show has always just been a showcase of several things I love - teen drama and angst, musicals and hot Canadians. So for the most part I’ve taken Glee’s three writers and their different voices in stride. I’ve read, but ignored for the most part, the critics and their complaints about the “Three Glees.” People have complained and I have just shrugged it off - I just like to sit back on Tuesday’s and watch Cory Monteith, OK? But there’s one piece of information that keeps gnawing at me and it’s finally gotten to a point that I simply can’t take it anymore.
Last season was all about Vocal Adrenaline and working towards beating them at Regionals, and apart from Sexy Cheyenne Jackson swooping in and stealing Sunshine in the season two premiere, there has been no sighting of them since. I’m not really sure they’ve even mentioned their rival this season. Last season so heavily centered on them, that even the most casual viewer has to sit up and take notice that they’ve been completely absent this season.
In last night’s episode, New Directions (side note: why does every other glee club have awesome names and we’re stuck with New Directions, possibly the lamest name for a glee club, or any club, ever?) won Regionals - they beat Aural Intensity and the Dalton Warblers, but there was no showing of Sunshine’s amazing vocal talents, and there sure as hell was no Sexy Cheyenne Jackson - or even a mention of last year’s epic "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Jesse St James/The Groff.
I know they wanted the epic showdown with Vocal Adrenaline to be saved for Nationals this season - because it was so obvious that New Directions were going to win Regionals this year (seriously - could that have been any more obvious?), but the logic behind this competition is wonky. I’m sure they’ll either use a throw away line about there being a redistricting and Vocal Adrenaline being moved to another region, or they’ll go the Bring it On route and make a claim that as reigning national champions they get a free ride to the national competition, but wouldn’t this have worked better if they’d addressed this issue and the absence of VA in an earlier episode? Or if the writers really cared, they’d have realized that there should have been four glee clubs competing at Regionals this year.
If the Warblers and New Directions tied at their own Sectionals (which, by the way, as someone from Ohio - Westerville and Lima would never be in the same competition for Sectionals - they are simply too far away from each other - about an hour and 45 minutes drive. Learn some Ohio georgraphy R.Murph, it will only help you.) then there would have been an extra team at the regional competition. Just because there was a tie at one sectional competition doesn’t mean that at another there would not be a winner at all. Did the writers even consider this? I mean, we could have gone without Santana’s rude “Trouty Mouth” and Rachel’s terrible second song about being an only child. This would have opened up more time for the fourth team to perform.
I wish I could say that I just have a Jesse St. James shaped hole in my heart and I just want to see him return, but it’s been confirmed that Grofflesauce isn’t returning this season. And I’ve finally had it up to here with the lack of continuity regarding Vocal Adrenaline this season. I know they are going to show up at Nationals, but some build up to this moment would have made better television. I mean, there are tons of shows that seem to drop storylines and characters out of nowhere - ahem, Pretty Little Liars, I’m looking you. But the difference between Glee and PLL is that the former is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG-award winning television show and the latter is on ABC Family and at the heart, a guilty pleasure show - however, I must make it known that I am in no way embarrassed to love Pretty Little Liars and I am not knocking ABC Family - GreekTristram Shandy (oh, fancy college annoying book reference!). I know that it’s a large ensemble (don’t even get me started on the lack of story for Tina and Mercedes this season) and there are a lot of stories to cover, but I think this is one that needs the screen time. I hate that the show has gone down this path. I really do love this show, I believe this show could be great again, I really just don’t want to see it go the way of something like The OC, something that started out epic and popular and widely praised and the next thing we know Rachel’s popping pills and drinking all the time and then dies and Finn joins a fight club to deal with his pain and anger. No, I don’t want that. I want this show to be great. I want to see them win at Nationals, but I want the writers to sit down and actually talk to each other. It’s the only way this show will stop being a joke and start being epic. Maybe I care more about this show than I should, but I love television and I care about what happens on the shows I watch. Maybe people will think I’m overreacting, and I probably am, but I have high expectations for this show and I hate to see it falter.
Oh, and if you’re going to cast John freaking Stamos, at least give the man some screen time/more than one song.
I feel like Ryan Murphy sits around, polishing his head, and says, “On Tuesdays we wear pink,” and then completely ignores what his other two writers do for their episodes. And look, I love Glee, I really do. I am not one of those people who usually gets annoyed with the lack of continuity on this show. This show has always just been a showcase of several things I love - teen drama and angst, musicals and hot Canadians. So for the most part I’ve taken Glee’s three writers and their different voices in stride. I’ve read, but ignored for the most part, the critics and their complaints about the “Three Glees.” People have complained and I have just shrugged it off - I just like to sit back on Tuesday’s and watch Cory Monteith, OK? But there’s one piece of information that keeps gnawing at me and it’s finally gotten to a point that I simply can’t take it anymore.
Last season was all about Vocal Adrenaline and working towards beating them at Regionals, and apart from Sexy Cheyenne Jackson swooping in and stealing Sunshine in the season two premiere, there has been no sighting of them since. I’m not really sure they’ve even mentioned their rival this season. Last season so heavily centered on them, that even the most casual viewer has to sit up and take notice that they’ve been completely absent this season.
In last night’s episode, New Directions (side note: why does every other glee club have awesome names and we’re stuck with New Directions, possibly the lamest name for a glee club, or any club, ever?) won Regionals - they beat Aural Intensity and the Dalton Warblers, but there was no showing of Sunshine’s amazing vocal talents, and there sure as hell was no Sexy Cheyenne Jackson - or even a mention of last year’s epic "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Jesse St James/The Groff.
I know they wanted the epic showdown with Vocal Adrenaline to be saved for Nationals this season - because it was so obvious that New Directions were going to win Regionals this year (seriously - could that have been any more obvious?), but the logic behind this competition is wonky. I’m sure they’ll either use a throw away line about there being a redistricting and Vocal Adrenaline being moved to another region, or they’ll go the Bring it On route and make a claim that as reigning national champions they get a free ride to the national competition, but wouldn’t this have worked better if they’d addressed this issue and the absence of VA in an earlier episode? Or if the writers really cared, they’d have realized that there should have been four glee clubs competing at Regionals this year.
If the Warblers and New Directions tied at their own Sectionals (which, by the way, as someone from Ohio - Westerville and Lima would never be in the same competition for Sectionals - they are simply too far away from each other - about an hour and 45 minutes drive. Learn some Ohio georgraphy R.Murph, it will only help you.) then there would have been an extra team at the regional competition. Just because there was a tie at one sectional competition doesn’t mean that at another there would not be a winner at all. Did the writers even consider this? I mean, we could have gone without Santana’s rude “Trouty Mouth” and Rachel’s terrible second song about being an only child. This would have opened up more time for the fourth team to perform.
I wish I could say that I just have a Jesse St. James shaped hole in my heart and I just want to see him return, but it’s been confirmed that Grofflesauce isn’t returning this season. And I’ve finally had it up to here with the lack of continuity regarding Vocal Adrenaline this season. I know they are going to show up at Nationals, but some build up to this moment would have made better television. I mean, there are tons of shows that seem to drop storylines and characters out of nowhere - ahem, Pretty Little Liars, I’m looking you. But the difference between Glee and PLL is that the former is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG-award winning television show and the latter is on ABC Family and at the heart, a guilty pleasure show - however, I must make it known that I am in no way embarrassed to love Pretty Little Liars and I am not knocking ABC Family - GreekTristram Shandy (oh, fancy college annoying book reference!). I know that it’s a large ensemble (don’t even get me started on the lack of story for Tina and Mercedes this season) and there are a lot of stories to cover, but I think this is one that needs the screen time. I hate that the show has gone down this path. I really do love this show, I believe this show could be great again, I really just don’t want to see it go the way of something like The OC, something that started out epic and popular and widely praised and the next thing we know Rachel’s popping pills and drinking all the time and then dies and Finn joins a fight club to deal with his pain and anger. No, I don’t want that. I want this show to be great. I want to see them win at Nationals, but I want the writers to sit down and actually talk to each other. It’s the only way this show will stop being a joke and start being epic. Maybe I care more about this show than I should, but I love television and I care about what happens on the shows I watch. Maybe people will think I’m overreacting, and I probably am, but I have high expectations for this show and I hate to see it falter.
Oh, and if you’re going to cast John freaking Stamos, at least give the man some screen time/more than one song.