Glee!

After a summer full of hype and a unique promotional launch earlier this spring, Glee returned to FOX tonight, and I was anxious to see where it would go in episode #2. As a lover of musicals, quirky comedy, and high school dramas, this show seems to have everything I'm looking for, but can it hold up in a regular basis? The pilot, while fantastic, was a little bit rushed and disjointed, so I think a lot of viewers were curious how it would fare.

So far, it seems to be settling in quite nicely. I find it difficult to remove the grin from my face throughout the course of the episode. This week's show, while less jump-out-of-your chair inspiring (really, it'll take a lot to top the awesomeness of Don't Stop Believin'), was definitely a notch up in the comedy department. The highlight was an exceptionally raunchy version of "Push It", which was insanely over-the-top and included some gestures that I'm surprised were allowed to air. I was in stitches. Jane Lynch as cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester provides hilarious lines in her antagonistic role throughout.

The rest of the cast is pitch perfect as well, and create unique, flawed characters that are truly fascinating to root for and rebel against. Matthew Morrison (Mr. Schuester, the perservering glee coach) and Jayma Mays (OCD guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury) have sizzling, albeit touchingly awkward chemistry. It's difficult, however, to cheer for them when their success would hinge on the failure of Schuester's marriage. His wife, played thanklessly by Jessalyn Gillsig, is probably the one truly aggravating thing about the show. She is an awful, tiresome nuisance whose shallowness bordering on soullessness, and her scenes distract from what we care about: the school, and the drama around building the show choir.

Musically, the show continues to be broad in its range, this week featuring a ridiculous cover of Kanye West's "Gold Digger" and a beautiful, haunting version of Rihanna's "Take a Bow." Lea Michele is outstanding as Rachel Berry, and her voice is even better. The song was a bit of a down note to end the episode on, but was great nonetheless.

I was glad to see the show address the fact that a show choir will need more than 6 members, and it looks like the broader group will begin to take fruition. The scenes from future episodes have me clamoring for me, so I only hope that it catches on with viewers and sticks around for the long haul. Watch Glee, people! You'll love it.

Welcome

So, I've decided to start a blog. I don't really expect, or even necessarily want, anyone to read it, but I'm hoping it will be a good way to give me something to do. I want to find a way to write more, and since I'm kind of in a holding pattern in my life right now, I might as well give it a shot.

For those who don't know me, my name is Adam. I recently graduated with an English education degree. I student taught in Lincoln, and while it was an awesome experience that I will always value, I really began to doubt that teaching was what I wanted to do. It doesn't seem like much of a natural fit for my personality, and I'm not sure it's something I could ever be truly great at. I may attempt to go back to it at some point, but for now I'm taking some time away.

So now, I'm working at Verizon Wireless as a customer service representative in a call center here in Lincoln, NE. It's not a bad job - the pay is comparable to what I would get as a teacher, the benefits are good, and I've met a lot of cool people. There are lots of opportunities for career advancement, so if I wanted to stick around, it would definitely be an option, but I have to decide if that's something I would want to do. While taking calls from confused/angry customers all day is tolerable for me, it's nothing I really look forward to, and I'm not sure I can envision myself doing it for years to come. But if not, what else am I going to do? I don't have a lot of other aspirations that I envision myself loving. I could always go back to school, which I generally like, but to do what? Right now I'm clueless, and am trying to develop some goals for my life.

In general though, I feel more content with my life than I have in some time, so I think I must be doing something right. Maybe I was always tricking myself a little when it came to teaching.

What I DO know is that I love watching TV, and I think I will love writing about it. My wild dream has always been to be a TV writer, and while I have no illusions that something like that can happen, I hope this blog might give me a chance to pretend just a little. Fall TV season is just around the corner, so my thoughts on various shows might populate a lot of the content here (though it certainly won't be restricted to that!).

In regards to the title... it means nothing, really. I was wanting something creating, and I have this turtle figurine on my coffee table that has little prongs sticking out that you can pluck and make musical notes with. I'm fond of it, and I think it might represent some deeper metaphorical things if you think deeply enough.

For now I'll leave it at that; I've talked more about myself than I ever care to do. Till next time...