Over the last two weeks, GLEE has bravely gone where no TV show before or since has ever dared go and taken on a song stack comprising everything from David Bowie and Simon & Garfunkel to FOOTLOOSE, PROMISES, PROMISES, the Scissor Sisters, Kelly Clarkson and fun., to say nothing of Psy's current worldwide smash hit "Gangnam Style", and, in so doing, is clearly showing no signs of slowing down - actually, its amped up more than ever. Mashing up the New Directions of the original glee club with the new crew comprised of GLEE PROJECT winners and a few familiar faces, to say nothing of the Season Four additional storyline following the New York City-set travails of Rachel (Lea Michele) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) with guest stars Kate Hudson and Sarah Jessica Parker, both last week's "Dynamic Duets", written and directed by co-creator Ian Brennan, and this week's "Thanksgiving", written by Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner, directed by Bradley Buecker, also introduced anomalous themes into the GLEE universe while juggling everything else - namely: super heroes and a holiday tribute to Thanksgiving. While this week's episode was perhaps more generally amiable and appealing and certainly more successful in its overall execution and worthy place in the upper half of the episode stack four seasons of the series in, last week packed a plosive "Pow!" of a punch insofar as its appreciable visuals and creative utilization of the tried and true tropes of comic book lore, new and old, too. Faster than a speeding bullet, GLEE is as poised for reaching the utmost heights of performance-based entertainment as it has ever been. It's still a "streetwise Hercules", to crib a depictive lyric.
Hero For The Holidays No, the music never stops - it plays and plays and plays, now as always, on Fox's hit musical dramedy series GLEE. Showing far fewer signs of wear and tear than many would assume conceivable nearly one hundred episodes in to the series run - particularly given the frantic pace and oftentimes rushed, themetically all-out style of this show - GLEE continually reinvents and reintroduces its themes in some inventive and intriguing ways, as well as presenting the occasional hackneyed story point or three along the way. You can't win 'em all, after all. But, more than anything, really, what makes GLEE GLEE is its changeable, chameleon-like nature - it is always unpredictable and malleable and this season has proven that trait to be true in spades, with spangles and sparkles to boot. Sure, the plot machinations and the way they play out amongst the admittedly mildly incestuous crew are as twisted and labyrinth as ever - as is the tar-black humor; particularly the barbs emitting from the acid-tipped tongues of cast additions Kitty (Becca Tobin) and new Dalton Academy Warblers front man Hunter Clarington (Nolan Gerard Funk), both scoring big with their numbers in the super hero-themed show especially.The style is as frenetic and schizoid as ever, but isn't that great? Case in aforementioned point(s): a rousing and appropriately epic rendition of power ballad god Jim Steinman's "Holding Out For A Hero" done over as a duet by Kitty and Marley (Becca Tobin) - the second song they have shared singing in as many weeks, by the way, with both their renditions of "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" from the GREASE tribute episode "Glease" premiering earlier this month in this very column, as a matter of fact - itself a Bonnie Tyler anthem originally presented in the 1980s outside-the-box musical, contemporary classic FOOTLOOSE; as well as the aforementioned Warblers a capella performance feature spot with former member Blaine (Darren Criss) temporarily rejoining the ranks for a smooth and spirited cover of Kelly Clarkson's catchy "Dark Side". This week saw the continued prominence of former BYE BYE BIRDIE on Broadway star Funk in his notable GLEE turn, leading the idiosyncratic Warbler boys on rapper Flo Rida's hip hop hit "Whistle" and Simon Cowell's Brit boy band sensation One Direction's current pop confection "Live While We're Young". Although last week may have been the actual purported time of turkeys lurking, this was the week we were given another musical theatre standard - a Michael Bennett masterpiece, no less - in the form of the storied Burt Bacharach/Hal David showstopper of the term, "Turkey Lurkey Time"; in this instance, joined with the edgy, earworm Scissor Sisters club-thumper "Let's Have A Kiki", as eagerly enacted in the episode with verve and stylish aplomb by Rachel, Kurt, a gaggle of drag queens and guest star Sarah Jessica Parker in her recurring role as Kurt's boss, Vogue editor Isabelle. Thanks to four ladies from the original New Directions (Quinn, Mercedes, Brittany and Santana) girl groups got their due this week, too, in addition to those dynamic divas in drag outfitting the over-the-top downtown accoutrement of "Turkey/Kiki", byway of a cute "Come See About Me" (The Supremes). Lock the doors!
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