Glee Celebrates Its 100th Episode
Today is a monumental day for “Gleeks” everywhere! The musical hit television show, Glee, will be airing its 100th episode tonight!
The show’s formula is about an outcast group of students who express their passion through the power of singing. Against all odds, the students, of differing backgrounds, would stick together while being guided by their Glee club teacher, William Schuster. The formula is actually a rehash of many other high school shows in the past. Not to mention, many of them have failed. So what makes Glee different? It is the dynamic of musical competition mixed in with the underdog situation. Now add in the drama made from combining kids from different walks of high school careers, who are still outcasts, with great covers from an array of songs, and you have yourself a winner.
One of the issues of previous Glee-like shows was the character dynamic. For some reason, every stereotype of every single past high school television show was utilized to a cookie-cutter exact replication. Glee kept tackling angles differently, best shown with the character, Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer). Also, other Glee-like shows would mostly use just show tunes or original songs. True original songs can become memorable, such as Let It Go from Frozen or Defying Gravity from Wicked (Both originally performed by Idina Menzel), but some nostalgic familiarity goes a long way. Having Glee cover a large array of popular past and current songs, from acts like Madonna, Fleetwood Mac, and Journey to Kanye West and Lady Gaga, gave something for everyone.
As seasons went by, the formula that worked was abandoned. In season two, the cast performed more Top 40 pop hits instead of an even mix of past and present favorites. Not to mention, the writing became quite campy to the point that some stories and episodes were just way too ridiculous to bother with. As a result, Glee started to lose momentum.
Unfortunately for the 100th episode, it may not be milestone but a television series showing its age, as said on the New York Daily. Still, the show is going all-out with their 100th episode, which is actually the first part of a two-episode angle that continues with the 101th episode. Numerous favorites from the past are coming back, including Quinn (Diana Agron), Puck (Mark Sailing), and Brittany (Heather Morrison). The story continues from the results of the last episode in which Sue Sylvester decided to disband the Glee club due to not placing first at Nationals.
All in all, the 100th episode will bring a bit of nostalgia for many, especially since recent episodes are showing homage to Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith). With the inclusion of other favorites who were special guests, like Kristen Chenoweth and Gwyneth Paltrow, the show may go back to its roots to finish the season strong. Also, the inclusion of newer talent, especially Chace Crawford as reported by E! Online, may add more to the character interaction – something lacking with over half of the characters in Glee as of late.
The 100th episode of Glee airs tonight on Fox, but its story will find closure tomorrow during the 101th episode.
