What I’m Watching: Glee

Glee: Season 1, Episode 17 “Bad Reputation” (B)

It’s really fun to see the members of the glee club try so hard to act bad. The library performance by Kurt, Mercedes, and crew was very entertaining, and their disappointment at being asked to repeat the song at a church event was quite amusing. I was especially impressed by Rachel’s ability to simultaneously alienate three guys at one time by having them all play the man in her life without knowledge of each other’s casting. Every time anyone said the word “glist,” I cracked a smile, and that’s what this show is really all about. Hopefully high school isn’t actually this ridiculous, and from the looks on the faces of several friends who had never watched the show before, I have a feeling it’s not, but that’s what makes it so fun. Olivia Newton-John calling Sue to tell her that she wants to feature her in a video was a cool surprise, and helped to rescue an otherwise iffy plotline which included too much slow-motion laughing and a strange introduction to Molly Shannon’s new character, who seems more than a bit abrasive but otherwise hasn’t done much yet. The most enjoyable part of the episode, however, was Emma getting talked into chewing out Will by Sue in front of the entire teacher’s lounge. She does a great job of finally standing up for herself, and I really liked her loud warning of “no one is safe” and her delight at saying “you’re a slut, Will!” over and over again.