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Fox / 1001 Minutes / 2010-2011 / Unrated / Street Date: September 13, 2011
Gleeks, rejoice!
Like a High School Musical version of Cop Rock, Glee is an effusive, bubbly jaunt of a series, a goofy, show-tune-heavy celebration of, well, glee. This writer's response to the show's inaugural season on Blu-ray Disc was one quite similar to fare like The Brady Bunch Hour, in which cheese and camp collide, providing a silly experience in full-tilt TV hyperbole.
We have a collection of adult high school employees - key among them being the vile school villainess (Jane Lynch) - as well as a teenaged contingent: A BMOC jock (Cory Monteith), his head-cheerleader girlfriend (Dianna Agron), as well as a giant nerd (Lea Michele) - yet while their dramatic interactions are predictable and by the book, when the fairy dust really hits Glee, it goes from being a so-so emotional affair to a bona fide zany treat.
But this happens painfully infrequently on this Complete Second Season set. In fact, it isn't too much of a stretch to say that the highlight reel of this sophomore go-round of the show would probably run about ten minutes. There are moments in The Rocky Horror Glee Show that provide irreverent fun, Rumours has some solid developments to it, and Gwyneth Paltrow always makes a fine guest-character impression, but there's a lot of empty space in Glee that doesn't serve its potential exuberance very well at all.
Gleeks, though, feel differently: The show has become a bona fide phenomenon, and enthusiasts of Glee have no problem looking past the show's narrative blah-ness as long as they get a Lady Gaga episode to counter it. Jane Lynch is a marvel, and when Glee really clicks, it's brassy and sweet, but The Complete Second Season just doesn't quite add up. Maybe Season Three will have the show embracing its assets more entertainingly.