New Show Alert!!!

Anyone watching "American Idol" this season probably saw the promos for the new Fox series "Glee." I fully intended to watch the pilot after the performance finale of Idol, but fell asleep at 8:30pm like the freak of sleeping nature that I am (because I'm up til at least 2am every other night, of course). The show had a lot of buzz because it's from Ryan Murphy, the creator of the WB's cult hit "Popular" and FX's "Nip/Tuck." Both of these shows are primarily known for their outrageousness, so combining that kind of balls-to-the-wall crazy with a high school music club? Seems like a winner.

I finally got around to watching the pilot on Hulu this weekend and it was even better than I thought it would be. Not only does it have all those fantastic musical aspects of "High School Musical" (yes, I really like those movies) but it combines it with the darkly humorous voice-overs and characterizations of Election (Reese Witherspoon has never been better) and the oddball misfit vibe from "Freaks and Geeks" (and shocker, I LOVE that series too!) It's a pretty winning combination. I think the humor of the show could stand to be improved a bit in certain areas, but I also unexpectedly snorted soda out of my nose in others, so it's doing something right. I also look forward to seeing the writers flesh out more of the characters. The show has been criticized for ripping off the HSM premise (popular jock wants to sing and dance too, faces scorn of teammates) and to a lesser extent, as I mentioned, Election (overachieving lead female character who is often unlikable/main character teacher with occasionally underhanded practices, etc.) but because the tone of the show mixes elements from all of these inspirations, it still feels vitally different from those original premises. However I'm glad to know that the teacher has an adorable soulmate in a fellow teacher, and that the other members of the Glee Club (an assortment of oddballs) have personalities that can be fleshed out in a series.

"Glee" doesn't officially premiere until next fall; for whatever reason, Fox decided to air the pilot now to take advantage of the post-Idol glow and pick up some momentum. Unfortunately, that means there are no other episodes to watch except the pilot. It's still available on Hulu (for at least a couple more days, I think) and I'm embedding it here in hopes that some of you will check it out. At least skip ahead to 39:42 in the episode for the showstopping number of "Don't Stop Believing." Yes, that Journey. It's meant to show what's possible in the future for the Club and I'm telling you, the enthusiasm is infectious. (Not to mention, that song will be stuck in your head for days.) Please enjoy!






Other fun things I've found this week:

• The 20 Most Underrated Movies
  
• The 67 Most Influential Films Ever Made
  
• The Top 40 Movie Music Moments
• 5 Kid's TV Shows That Could Actually Make Watchable Movies