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Season two of Glee sees a few changes at McKinley High. Rachel and Finn are together, having become a proper couple at the end of last season. Artie is pining over Tina, who realised that she preferred Mike’s abs and Asian unity to Artie’s passion for video games. Emma has pulled off a massive upgrade from Mr Schu (whose hair is still ridiculous) to the hallucination-inducing Dr. Carl Howell (John Stamos). There is a tiny Filipino girl, a bloke with a mouth like the joker and the Bieste - new characters with the potential to challenge existing characters’ set roles. Also... Quinn is skinny again.
Other than that, things are still mainly the same. The Glee kids are the underdogs, Brittany is very stupid, Sue is fantastic, Rachel is a pain and Finn is a potato. All the things which made Glee a success first time around are there. However, there is a change in tone from the naivety and charm of the first season. Glee has become self-conscious and has lost its spontaneity. The songs are basically the same, the characters have barely moved on, and the plot lines of social anxiety, budget cuts and Vocal Adrenaline are old and should be left behind in favour of some new ideas. This is an American high school after all, so there are plenty of potential dramas just waiting to be found. Furthermore, there’s a danger of having too many famous guest appearances to help carry the show along, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Britney Spears, Meatloaf and others all appearing in the first half of this season.
There are of course a great many positives to be found. Glee is very watchable and still great fun. They sent their penchant for easy listening and ’80s power ballads up nicely in the Britney episode (although Mr Schu performing Toxic with the kids was just on the wrong side of wrong). The songs are sung well, the actors are more at home in their roles and there are just as many one-liners and put-downs as last season, if not more. What Glee needs, and this may sound odd, is to lighten up a bit. Fewer ballads sung over a piano and more upbeat group numbers would do nicely. More of mental Teri would also be very welcome.
Although Glee has lost its initial appeal, which any onslaught of campness and glitter is bound to do, enough has changed to maintain interest. I’m glad that Emma has got rid of Schu, even though it has made him spectacularly whiny, because it was all a bit predictable. I’m glad that Quinn gave up her baby because a cheerleader with heart is no fun at all. I’m glad that Sue is still Sue. Overall, I’m glad that Glee is back, but having already been renewed for a third season, something innovative needs to be done or it just won’t be good enough.
Glee airs on Mondays at 9pm on E4
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