This morning I watched the final 2 hours of Glee recorded last night. It was quite an experience. Then, just as I was turning on the news, Victoria came in and we watched it together. Victoria and I, and actually the whole family, watched Glee religiously for the first season and a half. As story lines dealt more with sex and high school promiscuoity, the children no longer watched and ultimately I watched myself.
I loved this show from the beginning. Being a bit of an outcast in high school, I could identify with the students who were the first to join the Glee Club. As the club filled out, it was nice to see how the students each represented a certain type of person we've all seen and been during those three (or four) traumatic years of growing up. Plus I thought Rachael was hot. I found myself in the guise of Mr. Schuster, the student who had the dream but never followed its path. Oddly the kids identified me with Artie. For the sense of humor, I believe. And my then wife, she said I was most like Kurt. No clue on that one. I liked the stories, the characters, the humor (especially how it made fun of itself, great writing) and the music through season one. Honestly it gave me a new respect for Journey's music, I previously didn't have (sorry Sue, I shoukd have paid more attention).
Season two carried on the same feelings as the characters grew. I'd moved my eye from Rachael to Santana. The music was different. The stories got a bit more serious and alas, a bit more mature for my kids, still aged in single digits. The new characters were positive additions. Especially Blaine and Coach Beast. Kurt's dad began to appear more and honestly the best episodes featured him. There was just something honest about how he was portrayed as the father of an openly gay high schooler. And then I got to see Glee in concert. Too much fun.
As the seasons continued, Glee lost something. There was no longer the same heart to it. It lost that feeling of representing a microcosm of high school. Students graduated and we followed them instead of the basis of the show, the GLEE club. A friend of mine remarked at one point that he was okay with the representation of the gay students but when the percentage of gay characters was the same as straight characters it started losing something. And no, this friend is not homophobic. It reminded me of what I consider the fall of Ellen DeGeneres' show. It wasn't the fact that she came out. That was brilliant. It was that from that point on, every show focused on her coming out. The show was never about her sexuality and suddenly that's all it was about. Lost its soul. Perhaps, jumped the shark?
New characters were added but they were much more homogeneous than the original group. Somewhere, I think in season four, my son George told me all Glee was about anymore was gay marriage and federal funding of the arts. I can only guess he heard someone say that cause he wasn't watching the show and though, as his Dad I have to admit he's a genius, he's just not that smart.
I continued to watch. And purchase the CD's. Often I'd let the DVR capture five or six episodes before attempting to reluctantly catch up. It was losing its, Gleeness for me.
On a side note, the kids and I watched all of the Glee Project episodes. Thoroughly enjoyed them. Didn't always agree with the winners but fun to watch. Wish some of THAT music was downloadable.
Then the final season started. I made sure I was caught up for it. Thankfully it started much later in the year so I could. I watched the first episode and, guess what? I laughed, I got misty, I felt like I was watching the first season all over again. They had backed up over the shark and found that spark they had let out of the bottle. I couldn't put my finger on this new found love for the show until watching a couple of the episodes. But it was there. Sue Sylvester was back in all her glory. That character, and her interactions with the others, held much of what made Glee, Glee. There was a new "found self deprecating humor, often peaking over the 4th wall, that was smartly written and flawlessly executed (most often by the wonderful Jane Lynch). But the biggest thing, it was once again about a group of people, not individuals. These are the things that I firmly believe made the show work and in a rare instance for a TV show, they returned in the end. I adored every episode. And I laughed, and I got misty, and I sang along.
The finale captured what the final season did. It captured the best of what was Glee. The first hour of back story told us very little new stuff. Just filled in some holes and mostly enabled the second hour to close the story arc.
I'll be honest. I was looking forward to it all being a nightmare of Sue's, or a fantasy of Becky's. I know we've seen that before, but Glee always had that sense of irony and parody about it. But what we did see worked so well for me.
I teared up a few times. Sue's song to Will. Rachael's speech. Mercedes' departure. I loved what became of Sue. I wasn't too happy about Rachael and Jesse, but, that's just me. And that final gathering of the cast was perfect. The perfect ending to this wonderful show. Sure, I would have liked a different song. Perhaps Don't Stop Believing or Loser Like Me but I was happy to see that wonderful group of characters and actors together on stage together. To quota a totally different musical, "Together Again, for the First Time." That's okay, they brilliantly quoted Man of La Mancha. I just wish they spent more time showing each of the old cast. And would have liked to have seen Stephen Tobolowsky as well.
All in all, I loved you Glee. And I will miss you!
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