Glee (2 Viewers)

[Examine]

Thoughts? I enjoyed the previous season so I don't know why but I don't really like this one.

 

[Riproot]

This season has lacked the content of the previous two.
It seems they're just relying on the fact that it's glee to win people over.

Although, the sectionals episode is good, and the two after are okay too.
And I think it's good to see Amber Riley and Naya Rivera singing more.

 

[pony_magician]

Terrible show. Poor writing, zero continuity and characters change completely as it suits writers (ie shit writing.)

 

[Riproot]

Okay, the episode this week was pretty brilliant.

Like, yeah... I thought it was sort of shit how they introduced everything (like the jokes about domestic violence), but I guess that's in glee style with trying to be a comedy.

But, by the end of the episode I felt really emotionally invested and the writers and actors did a great job, and seeing everything fall apart during "Cry" and Biese go home during "Shake it Out" was very well done.

 

[Lentern]

For my money it hasn't actually slipped in quality but it was such a high paced teenage issue show that as it ages it begins to feel like you're just ticking off boxes in a "what issues confront high school students" sort of way. They also face the conundrum of having succesfuly humanized the main antagonist (Sue) they need alternative sources of conflict which by there very nature as "alternatives" are not going to be as convincing.

 

[Riproot]

For my money it hasn't actually slipped in quality but it was such a high paced teenage issue show that as it ages it begins to feel like you're just ticking off boxes in a "what issues confront high school students" sort of way. They also face the conundrum of having succesfuly humanized the main antagonist (Sue) they need alternative sources of conflict which by their very nature as "alternatives" are not going to be as convincing.

Yeah, Sue is a bit shit now.

 

[Lentern]

Yeah, Sue is a bit shit now.

That is not what I said.

 

[Riproot]

That is not what I said.

But she is.

The pregnancy thing is shit.

The whole "being nice" thing is shit.

Although, I still love her jokes, and her banter in the last ep was good.

The last ep was pretty gr8.

 

[pony_magician]

No but see the problem is
(read a summary of the episode)

10 bux the whole domestic abuse thing will never be mentioned.
That's what they do. They cover an issue (e.g. suicide kekeke) and just completely ignore it afterwards. They drop storylines like a hot potato.

 

[Lentern]

But she is.

The pregnancy thing is shit.

The whole "being nice" thing is shit.

Although, I still love her jokes, and her banter in the last ep was good.

The last ep was pretty gr8.

The older woman surrogate pregnancy is an example of the "tick a box" approach to social issues I referred to, having set the pace in the first season they now need to continually increase run out of momentum.

The "nasty" Sue was a one dimensional character, you might fondly remember the days where the show was new enough to have one dimensional characters (Santana and Terry were similarly one dimensional characters) but if you maintain one dimensional characters for a prolonged period they become absurd and surreal and would have lost all impact. Inevitably they must have layers added to them as was done with Sue and Santana, or be written out as was done for Terry or that nasty gay kid from the Dalton whose name escapes. There is an argument to be made that Sue shouldn't have quite shifted to so supportive character as she is now but there was never space for them to leave her exactly as she was.

At any rate she's a largely ancillary character now, you say you like her quips well that's pretty much all she's really therefore now as the nucleus of the show centers around Will, Emma, Kurt, Rachel and Finn. The plot "obstacles" are now less about good characters versus bad characters but overcoming the self defeating character flaws of the leads.

 

[Lentern]

No but see the problem is
(read a summary of the episode)

10 bux the whole domestic abuse thing will never be mentioned.
That's what they do. They cover an issue (e.g. suicide kekeke) and just completely ignore it afterwards. They drop storylines like a hot potato.

Again I think that is a product of the trap they unwittingly set themselves in the first season where they powered through the social issues (Kurt coming out to his father, Rachel's unrequited love for Finn etc) at breakneck speed and then in order to sustain the shows gathering pace and building to a crescendo nature they've felt the need to constantly introduce new and more powerful social issues and denied themselves the time to work through the ones they're already dealing with at a mature pace. For the time being I think it still makes compelling viewing but it isn't sustainable and I think when the main cast sans Sue and Will depart at the end of this season the show will massively jump the shark.

 

[Riproot]

No but see the problem is
(read a summary of the episode)

10 bux the whole domestic abuse thing will never be mentioned.
That's what they do. They cover an issue (e.g. suicide kekeke) and just completely ignore it afterwards. They drop storylines like a hot potato.

Yes, but irl society do we bring up things like that ever again? No.

I know whenever I bring up domestic abuse people get awkward, don't know what to say, or completely brush over it like they never heard me say it. So, I don't see much of a problem with it.

The older woman surrogate pregnancy is an example of the "tick a box" approach to social issues I referred to, having set the pace in the first season they now need to continually increase run out of momentum.

The "nasty" Sue was a one dimensional character, you might fondly remember the days where the show was new enough to have one dimensional characters (Santana and Terry were similarly one dimensional characters) but if you maintain one dimensional characters for a prolonged period they become absurd and surreal and would have lost all impact. Inevitably they must have layers added to them as was done with Sue and Santana, or be written out as was done for Terry or that nasty gay kid from the Dalton whose name escapes. There is an argument to be made that Sue shouldn't have quite shifted to so supportive character as she is now but there was never space for them to leave her exactly as she was.

At any rate she's a largely ancillary character now, you say you like her quips well that's pretty much all she's really therefore now as the nucleus of the show centers around Will, Emma, Kurt, Rachel and Finn. The plot "obstacles" are now less about good characters versus bad characters but overcoming the self defeating character flaws of the leads.

This is way too in-depth. lol

And the show mainly centres around the graduates with a bit of Will action, but not as much as the Santana, Mercedes, and Kurt action going on. I completely forgot about Tina for a few weeks.

 

[pony_magician]

Yes, but irl society do we bring up things like that ever again? No.

I know whenever I bring up domestic abuse people get awkward, don't know what to say, or completely brush over it like they never heard me say it. So, I don't see much of a problem with it.

I see more as poor writing and an attempt to get through every major social issue, as Lentern was saying.
I see Glee as trying to be everything and ending up as nothing.

 

[Lentern]

Yes, but irl society do we bring up things like that ever again? No.

I know whenever I bring up domestic abuse people get awkward, don't know what to say, or completely brush over it like they never heard me say it. So, I don't see much of a problem with it.

This is way too in-depth. lol

And the show mainly centres around the graduates with a bit of Will action, but not as much as the Santana, Mercedes, and Kurt action going on. I completely forgot about Tina for a few weeks.

Tina was never a particularly well fleshed out character, the only one of the original group that didn't work particularly well. Possibly because she lacks a particularly defining character (gay, disabled, benevolent popular kid, overweight etc.) I think hers was meant to be gothic but for whatever reason they opted not to pursue that very far. I think the spontaneous and callous way she dumped Artie for Mike spelled out that the writers weren't interested in developing her character too far.

 

[Lentern]

I see more as poor writing and an attempt to get through every major social issue, as Lentern was saying.
I see Glee as trying to be everything and ending up as nothing.

Not poorly written, overburdened.

 

[Riproot]

I see more as poor writing and an attempt to get through every major social issue, as Lentern was saying.
I see Glee as trying to be everything and ending up as nothing.

Yeah, but, for whatever reason, it sort of works because in society the same thing happens.

I know.

Whenever I bring up rape, suicide, domestic violence in a non-joking way no one wants to talk about it.

Tina was never a particularly well fleshed out character, the only one of the original group that didn't work particularly well. Possibly because she lacks a particularly defining character (gay, disabled, benevolent popular kid, overweight etc.) I think hers was meant to be gothic but for whatever reason they opted not to pursue that very far. I think the spontaneous and callous way she dumped Artie for Mike spelled out that the writers weren't interested in developing her character too far.

Also, they have to do what they can with the characters that are leaving this year and then they'll probs work on her more next year.

Also, she was an azn goth. omg.

 

[Examine]

For my money it hasn't actually slipped in quality but it was such a high paced teenage issue show that as it ages it begins to feel like you're just ticking off boxes in a "what issues confront high school students" sort of way. They also face the conundrum of having succesfuly humanized the main antagonist (Sue) they need alternative sources of conflict which by there very nature as "alternatives" are not going to be as convincing.

this

Yeah, Sue is a bit shit now.

and this

 

[pony_magician]

Yeah, but, for whatever reason, it sort of works because in society the same thing happens.

I know.

Whenever I bring up rape, suicide, domestic violence in a non-joking way no one wants to talk about it.

Yeah but there's a difference between that and completely dropping a character without another word, or make a character do something completely random just for the sake of dealing with ~*topical issuez*~ . See Karofsky, those other gay kids, Bieste, Quinn's babby, Quinn in general, pretty much everything about everyone.

 

[Examine]

Well I genuinely enjoyed the latest episode.

 

[Riproot]

Yeah but there's a difference between that and completely dropping a character without another word, or make a character do something completely random just for the sake of dealing with ~*topical issuez*~ . See Karofsky, those other gay kids, Bieste, Quinn's babby, Quinn in general, pretty much everything about everyone.

You obviously haven't been watching enough.

Well I genuinely enjoyed the latest episode.

I'm gonna watch it now.