As Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club wrote last week, and continued in this week's review, Glee has been creating episodes behind three different viewpoints. In last week's review he had this to say about the three creators...but all three of those creators also seem to have wildly different ideas of what the show is. Murphy, responsible for “Acafellas” and last week’s “Vitamin D,” is most interested in making the show a funhouse mirror version of an afterschool special. Brennan, responsible for “The Rhodes Not Taken,” is most interested in the sadness buried down at the core of the show’s concept. And Falchuk, responsible for tonight’s episode and “Preggers,” still probably the best post-pilot episode, is most interested in pulling the two approaches together in a hybridized fashion while deepening the teenage characters on the show.
I definitely prefer Brennan, who wrote this week's episode of gloomy high school life, to the workings of Murphy, but Falchuk's combination special may be the best way to go. The major thing I don't like about the different episodes is that in some they use the glee buzzing as ambient sound and in others they don't. I'm not too sure if I like when it's there or not, but I don't like the changing.
The Middle
Unlike the one episode tour of Cougar Town that I took last week, The Middle sparked my interest enough to warrant some more watching down the road. Patricia Heaton is nothing to write home about, but the Janitor from Scrubs was good, as were the two sons of the family. The daughter was bad enough to almost turn me away from the show entirely. The overall feel of the show and the writing and comedy style were surprisingly good. I never laughed out loud, but I certainly thought there were a few comedic moments in there. We'll see what happens in the coming weeks.
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