The gLee Project - Episode 1 review
Warning: May get snippy at sections. And spoilers, for those that haven't seen this episode yet.
OK, I meant to do this a lot sooner, since the first episode only came out last Friday.
Firstly, might I say WOW!!! So many Glee fans coming together, just to audition for the show? Awe-inspiring. Makes me wish I'd tried out too. Pity my technological skills are so limited. Plus my computer's microphone isn't too good. Still, 30-40,000 others trying out makes for good TV, and the goodwill shown by everyone, whether they got through or not, was very nice and reminiscent of the show's message. Hooray for them.
Cut down to exactly 83 people (yes, I remembered the number that got through the first round), and then again to our 'Top 12' - Alex; Bryce; Cameron; Damian; Ellis; Emily; Hannah; Lindsay; Marissa; Matheus; McKynleigh; and Samuel. You got all that?
Then they actually start the episode a la Glee. Everyone enters the choir room, hugs and 'OMG You got through!'s going around, then Robert Ulrich (casting director) comes in and it's all business.
Theme of the week: Individuality
and everyone gets a few lines of Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours' as the showcase. The guest judge comes in, red slushie in hand (This is presumably to throw at whoever does really badly).
Guest star: Blaine (Darren Criss)
Cue the squeals. I think someone actually flirts with him too (We're watching, Emily, and it's pretty uncomfortable for the rest of us as well). Blaine gives out advice like the gay Yoda he portrays on TV, and the winner of the mini-challenge is selected.
Winner: Matheus
which means that he gets to star in this week's group number. Hooray for him.
Group No.: Firework (Katy Perry), sung by Rachel Berry
There should be some sort of joke there, but I'll pass. They're shooting the song with a 'high school yearbook' theme, which is kinda pre-Sectionals Season 1. You know, with the yearbook photos and all. Everyone chooses their 'persona', for lack of a better word, and some are really quite creative (More on this later).
The 12 are treated like it's a normal episode shoot for the actual Glee cast, and it looks bloody tiring! McKinley Glee club members, we salute you and your Energiser-Bunny-esque vivacity! Learning the dance moves (Damien is fading into the background, and Bryce is starting to take things personally), and the recording of the song parts (Ellis can't find her chest voice and Hannah is stuck on setting 'LOUD'), and this is the situation BEFORE the music video shoot.
Guest advice summary: Be confident in yourself. It doesn't matter if you stuff up, whether accidentally or not, or do any sort of crazy moves, as long as you look like you mean it. In yourself, be confident indeed.
Day of shooting, we have Bryce and Zach Woodlee (choreography) arguing. Remember the 'persona's the 12 had created earlier? Well, Bryce chose to be the Heartbreaker (kinda like the Terminator, but girls only), and he felt that the directors weren't showing this enough. On the other hand, Ellis took her Child persona a bit too far (Note that age 8 does not a high school student make). Cue the second-hand embarrassment for those at home.
Shooting over. Hooray for everyone.
*show music video*
Cut to Elimination round.
Bottom 3 - Damien; Bryce; and Ellis. Singing - 'Jesse's Girl'; 'Just The Way You Are'; and 'Hey Big Spender' respectively.
judged by Woodlee and Nikki Anders (vocal coach), and the Big Boss Ryan Murphy himself. Who later put up a Callback List to show who got through, and who didn't.
Not on the Callback List: Bryce
And he gets his swan song in the form of 'Keep Holding On', with the Top 11 as back-up. And thus concludes the first episode.
Highlight: Damien's performance of 'Jesse's Girl' in the Elimination round had me in stitches. "I wish that I WAS Jesse' girl" even had Big Boss Murphy himself commenting on it.
Lowlight: Bryce's attitude in this episode really chafed. I mean, Top 12! And he hangs onto the idea that he's the Heartbreaker of the group so much he argues with the choreographer. Not cool, dude.
All in all, not quite as entertaining as 'Glee', but then again I watch that for the songs. 'The Glee Project' is like the behind-the-scenes reality TV show, that shows what the original Glee auditions may have gone like. If they made it into a reality TV show. But it's more interesting than Idol, if only so we can find out who will get that not-quite-elusive 7-episode-arc in the next Season.
Verdict: Could be addictive, if only to see who the next guest star will be.
---
Edit:
While looking for the correct spelling for the Top 12 (since some of them are so unique), I stumbled across an article showing that the next 4 episodes have already aired out. Which would make this review quite useless. :(
OK, I meant to do this a lot sooner, since the first episode only came out last Friday.
Firstly, might I say WOW!!! So many Glee fans coming together, just to audition for the show? Awe-inspiring. Makes me wish I'd tried out too. Pity my technological skills are so limited. Plus my computer's microphone isn't too good. Still, 30-40,000 others trying out makes for good TV, and the goodwill shown by everyone, whether they got through or not, was very nice and reminiscent of the show's message. Hooray for them.
Cut down to exactly 83 people (yes, I remembered the number that got through the first round), and then again to our 'Top 12' - Alex; Bryce; Cameron; Damian; Ellis; Emily; Hannah; Lindsay; Marissa; Matheus; McKynleigh; and Samuel. You got all that?
Then they actually start the episode a la Glee. Everyone enters the choir room, hugs and 'OMG You got through!'s going around, then Robert Ulrich (casting director) comes in and it's all business.
Theme of the week: Individuality
and everyone gets a few lines of Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours' as the showcase. The guest judge comes in, red slushie in hand (This is presumably to throw at whoever does really badly).
Guest star: Blaine (Darren Criss)
Cue the squeals. I think someone actually flirts with him too (We're watching, Emily, and it's pretty uncomfortable for the rest of us as well). Blaine gives out advice like the gay Yoda he portrays on TV, and the winner of the mini-challenge is selected.
Winner: Matheus
which means that he gets to star in this week's group number. Hooray for him.
Group No.: Firework (Katy Perry), sung by Rachel Berry
There should be some sort of joke there, but I'll pass. They're shooting the song with a 'high school yearbook' theme, which is kinda pre-Sectionals Season 1. You know, with the yearbook photos and all. Everyone chooses their 'persona', for lack of a better word, and some are really quite creative (More on this later).
The 12 are treated like it's a normal episode shoot for the actual Glee cast, and it looks bloody tiring! McKinley Glee club members, we salute you and your Energiser-Bunny-esque vivacity! Learning the dance moves (Damien is fading into the background, and Bryce is starting to take things personally), and the recording of the song parts (Ellis can't find her chest voice and Hannah is stuck on setting 'LOUD'), and this is the situation BEFORE the music video shoot.
Guest advice summary: Be confident in yourself. It doesn't matter if you stuff up, whether accidentally or not, or do any sort of crazy moves, as long as you look like you mean it. In yourself, be confident indeed.
Day of shooting, we have Bryce and Zach Woodlee (choreography) arguing. Remember the 'persona's the 12 had created earlier? Well, Bryce chose to be the Heartbreaker (kinda like the Terminator, but girls only), and he felt that the directors weren't showing this enough. On the other hand, Ellis took her Child persona a bit too far (Note that age 8 does not a high school student make). Cue the second-hand embarrassment for those at home.
Shooting over. Hooray for everyone.
*show music video*
Cut to Elimination round.
Bottom 3 - Damien; Bryce; and Ellis. Singing - 'Jesse's Girl'; 'Just The Way You Are'; and 'Hey Big Spender' respectively.
judged by Woodlee and Nikki Anders (vocal coach), and the Big Boss Ryan Murphy himself. Who later put up a Callback List to show who got through, and who didn't.
Not on the Callback List: Bryce
And he gets his swan song in the form of 'Keep Holding On', with the Top 11 as back-up. And thus concludes the first episode.
Highlight: Damien's performance of 'Jesse's Girl' in the Elimination round had me in stitches. "I wish that I WAS Jesse' girl" even had Big Boss Murphy himself commenting on it.
Lowlight: Bryce's attitude in this episode really chafed. I mean, Top 12! And he hangs onto the idea that he's the Heartbreaker of the group so much he argues with the choreographer. Not cool, dude.
All in all, not quite as entertaining as 'Glee', but then again I watch that for the songs. 'The Glee Project' is like the behind-the-scenes reality TV show, that shows what the original Glee auditions may have gone like. If they made it into a reality TV show. But it's more interesting than Idol, if only so we can find out who will get that not-quite-elusive 7-episode-arc in the next Season.
Verdict: Could be addictive, if only to see who the next guest star will be.
---
Edit:
While looking for the correct spelling for the Top 12 (since some of them are so unique), I stumbled across an article showing that the next 4 episodes have already aired out. Which would make this review quite useless. :(