Now I know the world is about to come to an end. Glee has crept its way into my mind and has now actually inspired an entry to the blog. It isn’t like this is a topic that I’m not familiar with, and it is definitely not a topic that I have never tackled before in my personal life. I just finished watching the Faith episode of Glee where Kurt’s father has a heart attack and the topic for the entire episode is various characters struggling with their faith in God. There was a scene that did give me the spark of inspiration to write.
Atheist Anonymous Comic 1 by Devain @ Deviantart.com
The character Sue and her sister are talking, Sue admits she does not believe in God and her sisters responds with “Why Not?”… of course this prompts a lengthy story from Sue explaining why she lost her faith. Honestly, I did take a bit of offense to this scene. My offended feeling came from the “Why Not?”… not from the episode itself because on the whole the episode was actually pretty good.
This brings up the issue in me that I have been struggling with ever since I’ve publicly admitting that I am an Atheist. I do NOT believe in God, and frankly I do NOT feel the need to defend that belief. I detest the thought that the most common response that comes from a theist when they hear I don’t believe in God is “Why Not?” There is just as much or more evidence against the existence of God then there is evidence that God exists… so why would it be uncommon for an Atheist to respond to someone’s proclamation of faith with “Why?”
Why do YOU believe in God? – I welcome anyone that wants to comment about it.
The thing is I stopped believing in God a long time ago. Yes there is a story behind how I came to this conclusion, but the problem is when I tell it I am viewed as just a scorned, spiteful soul that will one day rediscover his faith once he works through his pain… that isn’t the case. I don’t have a dark deep secret in my heart that is preventing me from seeing God, I had an epiphany when I was younger and it has become the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I refuse to believe in an all-powerful deity looking down on us and governing our lives and decisions, saying we have to play ball or we will suffer for eternity. Does that make me a bad person? I don’t think so. Am I trying to convert you all to the “dark” side? Hell no. I found peace in my awakening, the same as the born-again type find solace in their God.
Getting back to the episode. Kurt is going through a hard time and he continually tells his friends that he does not believe in God, he appreciates the group showing their support but prayers are not something he can relate to. The issue I have with this episode is that although the episode is trying to teach us about tolerance and to accept people for who they are, there are numerous occasions where it is being portrayed that Kurt does not believe in God, therefore he is in a dark place by himself.
I’m sorry I do NOT see it this way. I’ve been in plenty of dark places, I have my own thoughts on spirituality, but the belief in God is not something that is required to get through a crisis. It doesn’t take God to help you get through something profound. I found faith, in my own inner strength and when that wasn’t enough, I turn to my friends. Even when none of them were around over Christmas when I had a couple of the roughest nights in recent memory… it was the fact I knew they would be there if I wanted them to be that gave me strength.
Atheism does NOT mean we are alone, in the dark, and spite on good morals. I decided a long time ago that I was going to try to live my life the way I think life should be lived. I try to do the right thing, even when it is at my expense. I believe that we all should live life in the manner of treating everyone fairly and equally and being there when others need you. This is a Christian belief of course, but it is also Jewish, Hindi, Islamic… religion at its core when you look at the worship all say the same thing. Live a good life and be rewarded. It is in this thought that I believe that the Atheist of the world are stronger than those that actually believe.
Atheist by Neferit @ Deviantart.com
I don’t believe in an afterlife. Spiritually, I have no consequences for the sins that I commit. I could go on a killing spree, rape a bunch of women, rob a couple of stores, and blow my brains out with a shotgun and it will have the exact same end as living a good life, helping the people around me and trying to make at least my immediate surroundings a better experience for all…. and yet I try to choose the higher road on every occasion. There’s no reward for me to do the right thing, other than the belief that it is what I want to do.
Don’t tell me it’s a phase… that when my back is to the wall I will turn to God. Don’t try to get me to justify to you why I don’t believe in him, and I’m not going to ask for you to do a presentation of why you DO believe.
I hear it all the time from my mother especially, telling me that the way I was raised it is impossible that I am an Atheist. My cousin over New Year’s basically said the same thing. That there HAS to be a God, no one can deny that. Well Sorry Mom, but I DO deny that. I am not confused about my faith, this isn’t a Crisis of Faith per se, this is more of a recap of the end of my Crisis when I started having more faith in myself and less in a God.
This is a world where you should be able to believe what you want and worship how you chose… I think especially here in Canada we have that part nailed. The misunderstanding that I see everyday is that people don’t realize that just because you have the right to believe what you want, it does not mean you have the right to belittle another’s beliefs too. We all think differently and let’s leave it at that. You have your heaven, and I’ll have my pine box.
Don’t look done on me… I won’t ridicule you.
Let’s just agree to disagree. Thanks.
The scene everyone knows, and the Journey cover that everyone is ripping off now. The end of the pilot episode with the club singing Don’t Stop Believing which inspires their mentor to stay with them.
Wow. Where am I going to begin this. The best way I can think of is to warn you all right now. If you are checking out this review and still on the fence if you are going to check out this show, I must warn you that there is going to be season one spoilers here. I’m going to try to not give away too much but it would be very difficult for me to express the opinion I have of this show without giving some specifics to illustrate my point.
This is a review of the first season of Glee. It has taken me a lot longer than I expected to get through the entire series so I did not look at the second season yet, but I will get around to it and compare and contrast when it is done. So without any further adieu here is my review of season one of Glee.
Glee is a phenomenon without question. The show has been making a lot of waves since it debuted in May of 2009. The people who I interact with on a day-to-day basis in my life could not stop buzzing about this show when it aired. Social plans have actually been postponed and rescheduled because of “Glee” night. I managed to stay away from it until now. For the purposes of this review I watched the entire first season.
For those of you really just want the jist of what I think of this show. Well here is this series summed up in a few lines. Great musical numbers, unbelievable character development, and lazy story telling. Now if you want my reasonings and explanation then please keep on reading. If I had to decide whether or not I was going to continue watching a show by the first four episodes, Glee is definitely something that I would not have given a second thought.
Glee begins with William Schuster, a Spanish teacher who has a passion for musical performance, taking over the Glee club and trying to make something great out of it. You holds tryout and gets five volunteers for Glee, they are pretty terrible but they basically make up the bulk of the main characters of the show for the first season. In this episode the writers make the endgame pretty clear, the club needs to win at Regionals for Glee to continue. Everything else in this show is just about the interactions between the characters leading up to this goal.
The characters are not the normal cast of characters you would find in a show like this, but then again they are also pretty run of the mill. We have our overambitious, glee-over-social life, drama queen in Rachel Barry, the quarterback turned Glee enthusiast that will struggle between his desire to be in the club and the loss of his popularity, the over-the-top homosexual character. They put their geek in a wheelchair, and they turned their “expressive” character into an Asian.
The issue I have with the characters are not just because of who they are at first glance, but the laziness in their development. Sometimes they don’t seem to really understand what they are doing themselves, also I found that the writers are expecting us to feel emotions for these characters because they tell us to, not because we actually feel them ourselves. An example of this would be the very first episode.
Episode 1, we end up with a little bit of a crisis that in my opinion would have been so much better placed later in the series. Shu finds out in the episode that his wife is pregnant, so he decides that he is going to quit. He is resigning to find a better paying job to support his family. The club has already been put together but there was not any real bonding between any of the characters that we see. There is a flimsy explanation as to why Finn, the quarterback, has an underlying love of music.
In this episode we have Shu playing Rocket Man by Elton John by himself and was supposed to be a heartfelt moment but all I’m thinking while I’m watching is… I really do not know this character very well so why are they expecting me to be really touched by this scene. Sure the song is good, but the storytelling falls short. The group eventually comes together in the end and gives an inspirational rendition of “Don’t Stop Believing” which inspires Shu to stay and keep Glee alive.
It’s an okay idea, but the emotion they were expecting to reach is not something that can be achieved in the first half hour of the pilot episode. Had this story arc been placed later in the series I think it would have made for a much more effective piece.
There are a number of different story arcs that really do not translate well in the acting and script. Shu and how he interacts with his wife is supposed to show a guy that isn’t really happy in his relationship but he is happy about the pregnancy, the interactions between them seem forced and unbelievable.
The romance between Finn and Rachel is without question the weakest romantic storyline I have ever seen in film or video between two protagonists. I understand what the writers were trying to achieve here. The equivalent of the Clark and Lana plot in the early seasons of Smallville. Finn is popular and has a girlfriend, but has a strange connection to Rachel. Rachel is unpopular and strange but clearly has a crush on Finn.
The difference is, in Smallville Clark is clearly interested in Lana, but Lana can be questionable it’s always in doubt of she sees Clark as a very good friend or if there is romance there. They kept coming very close and being torn apart, but all the while the viewers were on the edge of their seats wondering if and when it’ll happen.
In Glee… Finn kisses Rachel on the very second episode, but then stops and panics. Clearly he is confused but there is no build up, no suspense at all. We don’t have time to let the idea blossom about the two of them, the desire to see them together is not really there. Once again a case of a good idea, but told way to soon without any development.
Another example of the lazy storytelling is when Puck, who is supposed to be a non-moral character and usually he’s the villain due to the plot surrounding him and the Finn/Quinn couple, decides he needs to be popular by dating a cheerleader, so he woo’s the overweight black girl Mercedes. This prompts one of the weaker songs in the show when Mercedes and Santana(another cheerleader). This begs the question if there are two cheerleaders fighting over him, and he is dating a cheerleader simply for popularity, why would he choose the overweight one, instead of the attractive one?
Episode Eight is really the one that lost me. Rachel and Puck are together at a time when Puck was clearly billed as a villain-type character. He got with her because his mom told him to be with a Jew, and he dreamt about Rachel. Not only that but this is all told to us AFTER he is practicing with Rachel and asks her to make out.
Also in the same episode Coach Ken is sick of Shu and Emma (Ken’s fiancée) so he decides to make every choose football or glee… and Puck chooses Glee. This made to sense to his character from what we saw on-screen because he wasn’t really serious about Rachel… and he never did give any indication about enjoying Glee before this. It was lazy. One could argue it is because of his strong feels for Rachel (even if they were poorly introduced) but we never get time to contemplate that because she breaks up with him because she likes Finn, and Puck reverts back to his old self. The writers do NOT like building up to a plot point or twist. They just throw them at you and want you to accept it.
I also am not a fan of everyone having an inner monologue to show what they are thinking. I’m thinking the acting should be able to tell these stories without the need of the inner voice. Unfortunately the writing really is not up to par with other mainstream shows.
There is an underlying question. I haven’t looked at what the intent of the writers were because I have not seen any interview with cast or crew. However watching this show, it is possible to give it merit if you take the writing to be a mockery of high school life. An over the top portrayal of what everyone feels like when they go through high school. If that was the case the storyline can be modestly excused for the lack of storytelling elements. The problem with this analysis though is they do try to take themselves seriously at times. Without the proper build up and rapport with your audience you cannot expect us to feel the emotions that you are telling us to feel. As of episode four I started enjoying the plot because it because clear it was a parody, but as the season progressed they tried too hard to be too serious without giving any real progression through the story they were trying to tell.
I can keep going on the laziness of the storyline forever, but I won’t any further. Watch the series yourself and pay attention to characters and I’m confident you will draw the same conclusion that the plot twists are not smooth, are not really shocking more than they are just simply is confusing.
This is my main criticism. I watched this show as a writer and as a television viewer it is difficult for me to ignore needed plot points to progress a story…. BUT. It is not all bad. There are parts that I did find myself actually laughing. The episode where Kurt pretends to be straight and the bimbo cheerleader asks to make out with him because he was the only guy in school that she didn’t hook up with yet was pretty funny, as was when he asked her “how does boys lips taste”. It was a serious issue but done in a humorous fashion. (actually not to go off on a tangent but I think the interaction between Kurt and his Dad IS the reason I think the plot can be saved. I enjoy the acting and the story and I actually feel for both characters as they run into various problems.)
Glee does something else very well… something that I believe cements the viewers in front of their television for the whole hour. The music. This is a big thing to have in its favor since the show is about a glee club and their struggle for acceptance and success. Looking into it I have been informed that all the glee members sing their own parts. Trolling though YouTube I found some live performances too so that actually goes a long way with me for respect. It makes me think that the production team of this show spent so much time into the music and casting on the basis of vocal ability more so than acting.
This gives it a little more of an authentic feel then getting great actors that will lip sync to a different persons voice. The mash-up of Don’t stand so close to me and Young Girl was one of my favorite performances, but Gold Digger by Kanye West, Beautiful by Christina Aguilera, and Loser by Beck all rank pretty high. When I look at this series on a whole I actually am NOT going to give it a terrible overall score because of this. As a television show it falls short on very key elements required for longevity. Hopefully the plot problems will be fixed by second season, but for now I do actually believe that the songs themselves make it tolerable to watch.
One episode Rachel randomly takes a week off from her infatuation with Finn to have crush on Shu. Once again it is forced, and unbelievable that she would just randomly fall in love after singing a song with him since they both have been singing all season long, and as soon as she comes to her senses she apologizes and returns to her “intense love” of Finn… but here is Shu desperately trying to give her a message.
The novelty and gimmick of Glee is the musical numbers, and they nail them. It should do well for the second season and maybe even garner a third. But without a strong story, I doubt we’ll see the 10th season of Glee anytime soon. So, simply basing the review on the first season, and taking into consideration that they are putting the music as the priority and letting the story just fall in between the songs I’ll say that Glee is worth a look.
Okay so this is a little different from what I normally do however I’m thinking that offering opinions and observations on life comes pretty natural there is no reason why I can’t shift that focus to something in popular culture. So I’m making a new category for my posts strictly for “Reviews.”
The original idea that came to mind would be the CBS comedy, “The Big Bang Theory” on CBS. This is a complete change from posts in the past but here is my reasoning.
My sister came home for Christmas and was quoting the show, let alone I’ve heard from numerous people how ground breaking of a show it is. The amount of people that would vouch for this show is startling considering the type of humor found the show.
Sheldon The Germophobe
Premise – Here is the Coles notes version of what BBT is about. It follows the lives of two room mates, Leonard and Sheldon. They are two very gifted Physicists both have obtained a PhD. There are two friends that they work with Howard and Raj, Raj has a PhD in Astrophysics, and Howard has a masters in Engineering. So to sum it up. It is the exploits and lives for four uber-nerds. Each of them have their own little quirks. Howard tries endlessly to get women, with usually no success. Raj in contrast cannot speak if there is a cute woman in the scene unless he has some alcohol in him (which does lead to some funny moments). Sheldon is the central reason as to why I feel the show has been a success by playing his anti-protagonist role, he is smarter than all the others but lacks all ability and desire to interact with human beings on any other level other than intellectually. Then Leonard who I would say is the main character, still a nerd and a genius, but the most normal of the bunch.
I will admit that I am not a big fan of this show at all, but there are some positives that cry out to be mentioned. First of which is the story telling is actually pretty well done. Not so much for each episode because sometimes the concepts are pretty ridiculous, however I have noticed that they have a number of jokes that are re-occurring and they do become integrated into the story pretty naturally.
One of Raj’s Best Scenes -Raj not being able to speak to women is done very well, with the odd occasion where he’ll be in the middle of a sentence and a girl will enter the scene prompting him to stop and panic. There was even one scene where he needed to talk to the guys so the main female character “Penny” agreed to leave the apartment. While he was talking about his problem to the guys, Penny on the other side of the door yelled out her opinion… prompting Raj to quiet up. He whispered into Howard’s ear and Howard responded with, “I don’t know if you can talk or not.” I’ll admit it prompted a laugh.
-The continual mockery of Howard because he “only has a masters” and he is NOT a doctor. Sheldon makes a lot of references to Howard being the intellectual runt of the conversation essentially pissing on the credentials of a masters in comparison to the PhD’s that the other three characters have. He also mocks Leonard’s work, pretty much treating it as if it is basic and unimportant. This is brought up throughout the series.
The opening to one of the better episodes -Sheldon’s Spot. There is a place on the couch that Sheldon has to sit on all the time. No one is allowed to sit there… he analyzed it and realized that the spot is far enough away from the window to not be directly in front of a draft, yet far enough away from the heater to not be overheated, and it also allows him to see the tv without turning his head, yet still able to see everyone. This is explained many times when someone else sits in it… and brings about a relatively funny episode where Penny accidentally shoots the cushion with a paint ball gun.
There’s a lot of underlying tones in this show that really are well done. It isn’t a terrible show by any means, however does it deserve the accolades that it is receiving from my peers? I would not agree to it.
There’s a key thing that I just can’t get past when it comes to this show. The first is something that was pointed out to me by Gerard Noseworthy in his rant about how over rated that show is… they really go to hell with the laugh track. After every line you can hear a fake audience laugh and if you pay attention to it. It really gets annoying, and brings me to the main issue I have with this show.
Big Bang Theory is the Emperor’s New Clothes of the sitcom world. People want to make it seem like they get the humor because they use such complex physics terminology that if you laugh it must mean you’re smart. Essentially my biggest issue with this show is that it is a broadcast that needs to tell its viewers when to laugh because otherwise they would have no idea. Listen to some of Sheldon’s lines and remove the laugh track, a lot will just sound awkward and strange. I’ll admit that they do their best to make it understandable but even I do get lost occasionally on what he is talking about. There is universal humor, for example Sheldon’s hatred of actor Will Wheaton, and the conflict that you see in the three episodes that he was in. Also when you see someone sit in Sheldon’s spot, you know he’s going to flip out. There is also all the jokes that are made about how the guys can’t get women, or their disbelief (and mockery) of any one of the four that actually DOES hook up with one.
So it isn’t a show that is lost on the non-intellectuals of the world, however like I said I find it hard to get behind a show that needs to inform us when we should laugh because sometimes we just wouldn’t know otherwise.
All in all after watching the show I think I will probably keep watching it whenever I think about it, but it isn’t going to be something that I’m going to follow in the religious fashion that a lot of my peer group does. It’s an okay show at best, but all in all it is pretty forgettable. Some of the stories seem rushed, the relationships and character development seems sloppy, and the humor sometimes is strange, but it is an enjoyable half hour if you catch it on TV.
I’d say 6 / 10.
An episode where Leonard and Sheldon are competing over who is smarter, this is the end of the episode where Penny tries to settle it once and for all using pop culture questions. Funny, if you know the answers to her questions and know who William Shatner and Patrick Stewart are.
Alright so essentially I’m adding this Review section to the blog just to give some diversity to the posts. It may take some time between Review posts because when it comes to TV shows, I am going to actually watch the entire series before drawing my conclusions. This one was pretty dry, but I’m pretty sure I’ll have better material to work with when I finish the next one…. Glee.
The World Is Broken 