From the Top

It's tough to choose, but I think the premiere I anticipate the most this fall is Glee. Especially after FOX aired the Director's cut of the pilot episode on Wednesday, I am excited to see what else Ryan Murphy and the other creative geniuses behind the show have in store for us. The music is fantastic, and the characters are entertaining. The script is so funny and witty that I couldn't help but online battle with my friend while watching the show - who would be the first to IM the upcoming line? Recently I posted a quote from the Pilot as my facebook status and generated response from other Glee fans who readily recognized the quote. This has given me some inspiration for a weekly blog feature where I will post some of my favorite quotes from the episode along with some commentary. This will most likely appear each Thursday, though I can't make any promises!

Here's post #1: "Pilot"

"You think this is hard?
- Try being waterboarded. That's hard. (The very first line of the entire series!)
- I'm living with hepatitis. That's hard.
Sue Sylvester, coach of the Cheerios cheerleading squad, sure knows how to motivate her "performers." I'm pretty sure this will be a recurring element of the series, and I'm definitely okay with that. I can't wait to see what unconventional bits of inspiration Sue will share next. I'm thinking positive reinforcement is not really her style.

Kurt: [As the football team prepares to throw him into the dumpster] Wait, this is Marc Jacobs' new collection.
Finn: Wait. [Kurt takes off his Marc Jacobs jacket and hands it to Finn] Okay. [Kurt meets the inside of the dumpster as Finn drops his gaze, a bit ashamed]
Oh, the first glimpse of Finn's struggling high school persona. Will he be the good guy who defends the underdog? Or will he go along with the bullying antics of his fellow football players because that's what everyone expects of him? I suppose both - or neither - depending on how you classify the middle ground of compromise.

"By its very definition, Glee is about opening yourself up to joy" - Lillian Adler, former director of the Glee Club at William McKinley High School
Glee, the show, is also about opening yourself up to joy, I think. There is something very heartwarming about watching the underdog find victory, and that seems to be the very essence of the show. It's not so much about the music as it is about this group of social outcasts trying to find their place. I also like this quote, because glee or joy doesn't just happen. We cannot experience even the most inherent happiness without allowing ourselves to be receptive to it.

"Your resentment... is delicious. Well, I have a phoner in a couple minutes. It's an interview - on the telephone with a major media outlet. I'll probably do it on my iPhone." - Sue Sylvester
This quote just embodies Sue's superiority complex. Not only does she think the Cheerios are better than any other group on campus because of their success and high standings in teenage social hierarchy, she also finds herself personally superior to her colleagues. I think we all know at least one person like that who is a chronic "one up"-er.

"My gold stars are a metaphor for me - being a star." - Rachel Berry
Rachel is quite the focused young woman, with definite goals and dreams, and the talent to achieve what she wants. But such focus comes at a price, leaving her painfully naive and socially inept - and apparently unable to construct a strong metaphor.

"But Will, I'm on my feet four hours a day, three times a week here." - Terri Schuester
Terri, the wife you just love to hate. This scene at Sheets and Things only begins to show us the kind of selfishness Will has to put up with/ignore in his marriage to Terri. It's the kind of selfishness that makes me wonder if Terri is really pregnant, or if it's one gigantic lie to keep Will on a short leash.

Sue: High school is a caste system. Kids fall into certain slots. Your jocks, your popular kids - up in the penthouse. The invisibles and the kids playing live-action druids and trolls out in the forest, bottom floor.
Will: And where do the Glee kids lie?
Sue: Sub-basement.
High school is definitely a caste system. There is, without a doubt, a social ladder to climb. I've always been the kind of person who hung out in the middle, not particularly finding favor with the popular kids but not facing their cruelty either. I probably thought I was fortunate to be above "sub-basement", but never treated them poorly because I was only a floor away from playing live-action druids.

"I have trouble with things like that. The messy things." - Emma
She's a germophobe who struggles with "the messy things." Yet what can be messier than unrequited love for a married co-worker who is about to become a father?

"Dr. Phil said that people can change. You know, it's not a bad thing to want a real life, Will. And to have a glue gun that works!" - Terri
Of course Dr. Phil wasn't speaking to her... Her materialism is almost painful.

"I like somebody else, alright? Nothing I can do about it because they're unavailable, so I have to deal with that..." - Emma
Who hasn't been there? Hopefully "dealing with it" means getting over him and not becoming a home-wrecker.

"Wait. Let's pray." - Quinn Fabray, girlfriend of Finn and president of the celibacy club, taking a break from making out with Finn
Whenever there's a Christian character on TV, I'm not sure how to feel about it. Sometimes they're super naive like Grace Bowman from Secret Life of the American Teenager. If not, they're a hypocrite like Quinn, who hosts "Christ Crusader" meetings at her house one minute and makes life miserable for Rachel the next. I haven't decided which stereotype is more frustrating, but I know characters like Quinn make it necessary for Christians to live lives of love and compassion.

"Being an adult is about having to make difficult choices." - Will
I think I will be feeling more like an adult soon...

"I'll miss you." - Will, to Emma
The completely wrong thing for a man to say to the single woman who is desperately in love with him...

"We're all losers... I'm not afraid of being called a loser, because I can accept that's what I am. But I am afraid of turning my back on something that actually made me happy for the first time in my sorry life." - Finn
I wish high school was full of people like Finn. It would make the world a better place. He's the guy you love to love, and the guy you don't mind being popular, because he's not only nice to look at but he's beautiful on the inside too.

"But provide what exactly? The understanding that money is the most important thing - or the idea that the only life worth living is one that you're really passionate about, Will?" - Emma
Wow. One of the best lines of the episode, in my opinion. It really got me thinking about the job options I have, and what my choice says about me. What would I find in a life I'm really passionate about?

"You might think that all the boys at school would totally want to tap this, but my Myspace schedule keeps me way too busy to date." - Rachel
"There is nothing ironic about show choir." - Rachel
"I want the agony out of your eyes!" - Sue
"Chicks don't have prostates. I looked it up." - Puck
These are just classic.

Check out my blog on Thursday for quotes from episode 2, "Showmance".