Glee "Pilot" OAD 9/2/09

[janry]

Goodness, really wasn't expecting to like this show but I enjoyed it. Can't wait for the next episode.

[Ment]

I don't want to watch the pilot again. Are the extra scenes on a separate clip somewhere?

[astrohip]

I watched this *only* because the reviews were so positive. I am not a fan of musicals, singing, dance or anything upbeat :D.

Liked it! Set an SP. Not sure they can keep it up for an entire season, nor that I will stick around. But it hooked me, and when you consider this show is 180 degrees away from what I normally like, that's speaks highly for it.

I suppose that's why all the reviewers went ga-ga. It really was fun.

[DancnDude]

I didn't know this one premiered already. I guess I'll watch the twitter-fied version showing tonight.

[DevdogAZ]

I just watched the Pilot on Wednesday night as well. I recorded it last spring, but never got around to watching it before it got deleted. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the season.

However, I find it very interesting that Fox is advertising this coming Tuesday's show as the Series Premiere. Why wouldn't they re-air the Pilot as the series premiere? That's the episode that got such good reviews and got people so excited about the show. Why would they try to attract a whole new audience with a different episode. Seems like those who are planning to watch wouldn't be bothered by the fact that they are re-airing the Pilot as the series premiere, and those that haven't seen it yet will enjoy it.

I guess Fox has a lot of confidence in the second episode's ability to hook viewers as well.

[DreadPirateRob]

I don't want to watch the pilot again. Are the extra scenes on a separate clip somewhere?

I skimmed through it last night, and I'm not sure I noticed any new scenes - of course, it's been months since I first saw the pilot. The one scene that I think may have been new was the teacher performing "Leaving On A Jet Plane" by himself up on stage in the empty auditorium, maybe 10 minutes from the end of the show.

[Neenahboy]

I skimmed through it last night, and I'm not sure I noticed any new scenes - of course, it's been months since I first saw the pilot. The one scene that I think may have been new was the teacher performing "Leaving On A Jet Plane" by himself up on stage in the empty auditorium, maybe 10 minutes from the end of the show.

Yeah, that was new. It was in the critic screener copy but was cut out of the initial pilot airing. Hopefully they'll get a full version of that song up on iTunes soon, because it was excellent. :up:

[Mishkin]

Also, in the original pilot wasn't there some hint that the teacher's wife is faking her pregnancy? I skimmed/watched the re-aired pilot and don't recall seeing mention of it.

[DevdogAZ]

Also, in the original pilot wasn't there some hint that the teacher's wife is faking her pregnancy? I skimmed/watched the re-aired pilot and don't recall seeing mention of it.
I just watched the version on Wednesday night and I did get that sense, but there wasn't any outward evidence of it. It was just a feeling I got based on the fact that the wife wants him to take a higher paying job because she's very materialistic, and he was unwilling to do so because he loves teaching. Besides, the fact that the wife may be faking will play into the potential love triangle with the cute teacher even more.

[efilippi]

I watched the pilot for the first time last week and was disappointed. I think the reviews were way off the mark. The kids are only moderately likeable and, dare I say it, none of them are attractive, at least not in the way the students in Friday Night Lights are attractive.

The story line is so by the numbers, nothing at all unexpected. Simplistic.

It comes off as a very G rated show, but then tosses in the 'other woman' in a way that is completely unrealistic. She is probably the best looking person in the show yet she has to I pine after a married guy, a fellow teacher? I don't believe it for a second.

[Waldorf]

Also, in the original pilot wasn't there some hint that the teacher's wife is faking her pregnancy? I skimmed/watched the re-aired pilot and don't recall seeing mention of it.

Sort of...


What you're remembering is the last 5 minutes of the original pilot where they run an extended "coming up this season on Glee" and show her having a "hysterical" pregnancy and various other things that will happen during the season. I think there was also more info on the rivalry with the cheerleader coach and some of the other cast members.

[modnar]

Great show! Can't wait to see more.

I'm excited just for the privilege of hearing Lea Michele sing on a regular basis. She was part of the amazing cast of the musical Spring Awakening among other shows.

[modnar]

Also, the Amazon Video on Demand version claims to be a "Director's Cut."

[Bierboy]

:down:

[LoadStar]

:down:

Thank you for your in-depth and well-reasoned response. I found the point you made about :down: particularly fascinating, the one about how :down:'s acting in scene 23 wasn't as well nuanced as one would hope. I agree with your point about the lighting in scene 18 as well... that could have been better, possibly with the use of an additional silk at 70 degrees to the actors. You have to admit that the editing though in scene 9 was particularly well done.

I'm wondering if you can expand on your point about your disappointment with:down:'s interactions with his cast. I think I might be on the verge of agreeing with you, but I would appreciate a few more examples... could it be the way that :down:s mark in scenes 16 and 17 was positioned a little too far to the left of the other characters, providing a feeling of isolation that could be interpreted as standoff-ishness? On the other hand, that space between the characters could be interpreted as a masterful use of negative space, providing the audience a way to insert themselves into that scene, and envision how they would react in that instance.

I applaud your use of examples that go back to the early days of cinema. Not too many posters will go to such efforts to explain their reasoning as thoroughly as you! Keep up the contributions, I do truly appreciate it!

[efilippi]

Thank you for your in-depth and well-reasoned response. I found the point you made about :down: particularly fascinating, the one about how :down:'s acting in scene 23 wasn't as well nuanced as one would hope. I agree with your point about the lighting in scene 18 as well... that could have been better, possibly with the use of an additional silk at 70 degrees to the actors. You have to admit that the editing though in scene 9 was particularly well done.

I'm wondering if you can expand on your point about your disappointment with:down:'s interactions with his cast. I think I might be on the verge of agreeing with you, but I would appreciate a few more examples... could it be the way that :down:s mark in scenes 16 and 17 was positioned a little too far to the left of the other characters, providing a feeling of isolation that could be interpreted as standoff-ishness? On the other hand, that space between the characters could be interpreted as a masterful use of negative space, providing the audience a way to insert themselves into that scene, and envision how they would react in that instance.

I applaud your use of examples that go back to the early days of cinema. Not too many posters will go to such efforts to explain their reasoning as thoroughly as you! Keep up the contributions, I do truly appreciate it!

:up:

Though I suggest you went on a bit long, and I do agree with his overall assessment. :)

[Bierboy]

:up:

Though I suggest you went on a bit long, and I do agree with his overall assessment. :)

Why, thank you both! I put a LOT of thought into that post...:p

[Mishkin]

Sort of...


Thanks, Waldorf. What you described in spoiler is what I recall seeing.

[Alpinemaps]

She is probably the best looking person in the show yet she has to I pine after a married guy, a fellow teacher? I don't believe it for a second.

Did you not notice just how absolutely nutso-crazy she is? She barely has it together. She can't touch anything without the plastic gloves on.

There's a reason she's pining after the married teacher...

[ElJay]

"My dad got killed in Iraq the first time we went over there to fight Osama Bin Laden"

[cmontyburns]

iTunes has another preview up, this time of the cast performing Kanye West's "Gold Digger". I don't much care for that song, but I liked their version. I'm really looking forward to the season kicking off this week.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewTVSeason?i=327837775&id=314493878&s=143441

[craftassistant]

I watched the pilot for the first time last week and was disappointed. I think the reviews were way off the mark. The kids are only moderately likeable and, dare I say it, none of them are attractive, at least not in the way the students in Friday Night Lights are attractive.

The story line is so by the numbers, nothing at all unexpected. Simplistic.

It comes off as a very G rated show, but then tosses in the 'other woman' in a way that is completely unrealistic. She is probably the best looking person in the show yet she has to I pine after a married guy, a fellow teacher? I don't believe it for a second.

WOW! So are you saying that a teenager needs to be attractive to make it out there? I think this show has the potential to let those "less" attractive that they are just as valuable as those that are attractive.

Going to a local kids based acting studio will show you that not all the kids are attractive, and some of those "less" attractive ones the more talented.

The kids in Fame weren't all that attractive, and look it is now coming out as a movie too.

[Langree]

I watched the pilot for the first time last week and was disappointed. I think the reviews were way off the mark. The kids are only moderately likeable and, dare I say it, none of them are attractive, at least not in the way the students in Friday Night Lights are attractive.

The story line is so by the numbers, nothing at all unexpected. Simplistic.

It comes off as a very G rated show, but then tosses in the 'other woman' in a way that is completely unrealistic. She is probably the best looking person in the show yet she has to I pine after a married guy, a fellow teacher? I don't believe it for a second.

G Rated? Were we watching the same show? The wordplay and some of the setup was cheeky fun. IIRC the girl playing the student who sang "On My Own" from Les Mis has actually done it on stage in LM.

I think the "plain-ness" is done on purpose, with the exception of the star QB, the rest of them are the lowest caste of the school.

[Ruth]

I've been a choir kid my whole life, and I thought I would hate this, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Aside from how ridiculously good they are with like 2 days of rehearsal, of course. But I will suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the ride.

It's funny that some people are saying that the kids are not attractive enough -- I was thinking the exact opposite about the female lead (Rachel I think is her name). No way is that girl the outcast of the school. She's very attractive. But I will suspend my disbelief about that as well.

[David Platt]

It's funny that some people are saying that the kids are not attractive enough -- I was thinking the exact opposite about the female lead (Rachel I think is her name). No way is that girl the outcast of the school. She's very attractive. But I will suspend my disbelief about that as well.

Having two gay dads and being a total theater geek trumps attractiveness as far as the high-school pecking order goes. ;)

[David Platt]

Thank you for your in-depth and well-reasoned response. I found the point you made about :down: particularly fascinating, the one about how :down:'s acting in scene 23 wasn't as well nuanced as one would hope. I agree with your point about the lighting in scene 18 as well... that could have been better, possibly with the use of an additional silk at 70 degrees to the actors. You have to admit that the editing though in scene 9 was particularly well done.

I'm wondering if you can expand on your point about your disappointment with:down:'s interactions with his cast. I think I might be on the verge of agreeing with you, but I would appreciate a few more examples... could it be the way that :down:s mark in scenes 16 and 17 was positioned a little too far to the left of the other characters, providing a feeling of isolation that could be interpreted as standoff-ishness? On the other hand, that space between the characters could be interpreted as a masterful use of negative space, providing the audience a way to insert themselves into that scene, and envision how they would react in that instance.

I applaud your use of examples that go back to the early days of cinema. Not too many posters will go to such efforts to explain their reasoning as thoroughly as you! Keep up the contributions, I do truly appreciate it!

:up:

[mbhuff]

G Rated? Were we watching the same show? The wordplay and some of the setup was cheeky fun. IIRC the girl playing the student who sang "On My Own" from Les Mis has actually done it on stage in LM.

Also, Lea Michele was the lead of the Tony winning musical "Spring Awakening" which I saw 3 times. She won the lead roll at age 14. She was in LM, Ragtime and Fiddler on the Roof. All before she was 20. It's hard to not be impressed.

[Regina]

I went to the American Idols LIVE show last night and the Finale number was all the Top 10 singing "Don't Stop Believin'" a la GLEE and it was a HUGE hit! WOW-who would have thought another Fox show would help AI? :D:p

[efilippi]

WOW! So are you saying that a teenager needs to be attractive to make it out there?

Not at all. I am saying that I am shallow enough that attractive people enhance my viewing pleasure. The show about the gymnasts in Denver is just as stupid as this one (obviously I am in the minority on this here in this forum, and I promise to stop now and not be a thread crapper) but at least the kids are fun to watch. And FNL has both a cast of people one would like to be with as well as an excellent story line and good acting. I saw none of that here in Glee so I will now shut up and go read a book.

[MickeS]

This must be the record holder for "Most shown pilot".

[JLucPicard]

The kids are only moderately likeable and, dare I say it, none of them are attractive, <snip>
You mean like REAL high school kids?
She is probably the best looking person in the show <snip>
Sorry, this cracks me up - especially after your first comment. The whole "doe eyes" thing or whatever that is, coupled with her compulsive behavior and the whole "I know he's married, but I want him anyway" thing makes Jane Lynch look hawt in comparisson. (OK, maybe not quite, but you get my point). That freaky teacher does nothing for me at all. :down:

[scandia101]

Thank you for your in-depth and well-reasoned response. I found the point you made about :down: particularly fascinating, the one about how :down:'s acting in scene 23 wasn't as well nuanced as one would hope. I agree with your point about the lighting in scene 18 as well... that could have been better, possibly with the use of an additional silk at 70 degrees to the actors. You have to admit that the editing though in scene 9 was particularly well done.

I'm wondering if you can expand on your point about your disappointment with:down:'s interactions with his cast. I think I might be on the verge of agreeing with you, but I would appreciate a few more examples... could it be the way that :down:s mark in scenes 16 and 17 was positioned a little too far to the left of the other characters, providing a feeling of isolation that could be interpreted as standoff-ishness? On the other hand, that space between the characters could be interpreted as a masterful use of negative space, providing the audience a way to insert themselves into that scene, and envision how they would react in that instance.

I applaud your use of examples that go back to the early days of cinema. Not too many posters will go to such efforts to explain their reasoning as thoroughly as you! Keep up the contributions, I do truly appreciate it!

:rolleyes:

[modnar]

Also, Lea Michele was the lead of the Tony winning musical "Spring Awakening" which I saw 3 times. She won the lead roll at age 14. She was in LM, Ragtime and Fiddler on the Roof. All before she was 20. It's hard to not be impressed.
Yep - very talented. I saw her in SA a couple times as well, and she is amazing.

[DevdogAZ]

This must be the record holder for "Most shown pilot".
Yet interestingly enough, it's never been aired as the "Series Premiere." It's been a "sneak peek" and then a rerun of that sneak peek, but people who tune into the series premiere tomorrow night to see what all the fuss is about won't ever see it.

[MickeS]

Yet interestingly enough, it's never been aired as the "Series Premiere." It's been a "sneak peek" and then a rerun of that sneak peek, but people who tune into the series premiere tomorrow night to see what all the fuss is about won't ever see it.

Well, it was shown back in May(?) the first time, that's when I saw it. Then twice last week.

I would think if you knew about the show you would have seen it one of the two times last week.

You're right that if you tune into the series premiere, you won't see the pilot, but isn't that how it is for a lot of shows?

[DevdogAZ]

Well, it was shown back in May(?) the first time, that's when I saw it. Then twice last week.

I would think if you knew about the show you would have seen it one of the two times last week.

You're right that if you tune into the series premiere, you won't see the pilot, but isn't that how it is for a lot of shows?
While I'm sure it's not unprecedented, I can't remember a show that had such a well-reviewed pilot, but then didn't use that pilot as it's "Series Premiere" to try and draw an audience. When the show was on last May, I recorded it, but because it was a "sneak peek," I never got around to watching it because I figured they'd re-air it this fall when the series started airing in its regular timeslot. Fortunately, I saw the thread about the twitterfied version, searched out an article about it, and found out they were airing the "director's cut" last Wednesday. Had I not seen that thread, but simply seen the schedule saying that the series premiere was on September 9, I would have assumed that the pilot would be shown on that day, and I would have missed it.

Not saying there haven't been plenty of opportunities for people to see it, just that there really wasn't any kind of publicity saying that if you plan to watch the series, you need to do some homework before the "series premiere."

[Ruth]

Yet interestingly enough, it's never been aired as the "Series Premiere." It's been a "sneak peek" and then a rerun of that sneak peek, but people who tune into the series premiere tomorrow night to see what all the fuss is about won't ever see it.

Wait, what? Don't "Pilot" and "Series Premiere" mean the same thing? Are you saying they are totally different episodes? :confused:

[DevdogAZ]

Wait, what? Don't "Pilot" and "Series Premiere" mean the same thing? Are you saying they are totally different episodes? :confused:
Yes, the "Pilot," which was aired last May, a couple of times last week, and has been available on Hulu, is not the episode that will air tomorrow night as the "Series Premiere" (entitled "Showmance"). Apparently Fox believes that enough people have seen the Pilot that there is no need to start the series with it. I'm a little confused by this decision, but it's not the first time, nor will it be the last.

[LoadStar]

Wait, what? Don't "Pilot" and "Series Premiere" mean the same thing? Are you saying they are totally different episodes? :confused:

A pilot episode could be shown as a series premiere, but isn't always. There are many examples of a show filming a pilot that is never broadcast. (The US version of Life on Mars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek, Dollhouse, the relaunch for Veronica Mars- just to name a few off the top of my head.)

Generally, a pilot episode is the first episode filmed of a series, in order to show the viability of the concept as a weekly TV series. In some cases, the pilot is a full episode, and it works fine as a first episode, and aired as such. Other times, the network or studio orders changes after the pilot has been made... usually casting issues, but there may be major rewrites or even complete concept changes involved.

As an example, the pilot episode for Buffy was similar in some ways to the first part of what ended up being the actual series premiere, "Welcome to the Hellmouth." However, there were two major characters recast after the pilot episode was filmed: Principal Flutie (originally Steven Topolowski, replaced by Ken Lerner) and Willow Rosenberg (originally Riff Regan, replaced by Alyson Hannigan). What plot and dialogue survived between the pilot and "Welcome to the Hellmouth" was substantially re-written, re-edited, and expanded.

In the case of the US version of Life on Mars, the character of Sam Tyler remained the same, but both Gene Hunt and Annie Cartwright/Norris were recast. Additionally, the setting for the series was transplanted from LA to NY.

[laria]

I was pretty disappointed... all the rave reviews made me think it was going to be good, and I just thought it was pretty mediocre. One thing that bugged me is that the lead girl is so much better than the lead guy. This high school choir is already unbelievable enough, I kinda wish they'd gotten a guy who could keep up with her better. ;)

[jsmeeker]

the series premiered a few months ago after American Idol. The title needs to be updated with the correct date.


If you don't find attractive people in this show, then you aren't attracted to girls or guys.

[janry]

the series premiered a few months ago after American Idol. The title needs to be updated with the correct date.

I just learned over the weekend this had aired previously. I cannot change the title at this point. But, since it apparently contained some footage not in the original airing, in a sense, it is the original airing of this version.

[DevdogAZ]

I was pretty disappointed... all the rave reviews made me think it was going to be good, and I just thought it was pretty mediocre. One thing that bugged me is that the lead girl is so much better than the lead guy. This high school choir is already unbelievable enough, I kinda wish they'd gotten a guy who could keep up with her better. ;)
There's an interesting Glee Casting Special available for free through TiVoCast or probably from Amazon On Demand. It discusses specifically that they didn't want they lead guy to have a Broadway-quality voice. While the lead girl has been prepping herself for stardom from the day she was born, and puts out daily videos showcasing her talent, the guy has never had any singing experience other than singing in the shower. He's not supposed to be a great singer, just a guy with a decent voice that enjoys singing.

[SorenTodd]

Yes, the "Pilot," which was aired last May, a couple of times last week, and has been available on Hulu, is not the episode that will air tomorrow night as the "Series Premiere" (entitled "Showmance"). Apparently Fox believes that enough people have seen the Pilot that there is no need to start the series with it. I'm a little confused by this decision, but it's not the first time, nor will it be the last.

In giving this whole thing some thought, FOX could have gone in a different direction and NOT aired the original pilot in May of '09. Then last week's Glee would have been the "series premiere".

However, I'm glad FOX did what they did. I watched the May pilot and the director's cut last week and I'm totally hooked.

And FOX does have a history of jumping the gun on the traditional Fall season. The OC and Prison Break have started seasons before the usual premiere week of around Sept 21. And FOX knows ahead of time that post-season baseball messes up the schedule in October.

[That Don Guy]

I think Fox is starting Glee early because they want it to start it as the same time as its lead-in show, So You Think You Can Dance?, and I am pretty sure that is starting early because they need to finish it before American Idol begins in mid-January (plus, they have to stretch SYTYCD's audition shows out because they can only show one per week for four weeks in order to get both More to Love and Hell's Kitchen finished by the end of October).

-- Don

[mattack]

So how much new footage was there, really? I really don't want to watch the entire episode again, but I do want to see the new footage.

I know there was mention above about a new scene -- is that the only difference?

[Squeak]

Just watched it for the first time, and I always get a kick out of shows that pretend to be in Ohio -- but this one really cracked me up:

As the kid in the wheelchair was getting out the Port o Potty, the sign on the doors said served a bunch of cities, including Lima -- which is the small town I grew up in.

Stupid, I know, but I found it funny.

[DreadPirateRob]

Just watched it for the first time, and I always get a kick out of shows that pretend to be in Ohio -- but this one really cracked me up:

As the kid in the wheelchair was getting out the Port o Potty, the sign on the doors said served a bunch of cities, including Lima -- which is the small town I grew up in.

Stupid, I know, but I found it funny.

The show is actually set in Lima, Ohio (although filmed on a sound stage in SoCal). I read it online (perhaps the Wiki entry for the show?) today. Apparently the show's creator grew up in a small Ohio town not far from Lima but used to see the sign for Lima all the time and decided to set it there since he's drawing on his high school experience with glee club as the inspiration for the show.

[Robin]

The whole "doe eyes" thing or whatever that is,
:

ITYM "crazy eyes". She gives me the heebies every time she's on screen.

[DreadPirateRob]

ITYM "crazy eyes". She gives me the heebies every time she's on screen.

But in a good way. :)

Her voice and crazy eyes kill me.

[Squeak]

The show is actually set in Lima, Ohio (although filmed on a sound stage in SoCal). I read it online (perhaps the Wiki entry for the show?) today. Apparently the show's creator grew up in a small Ohio town not far from Lima but used to see the sign for Lima all the time and decided to set it there since he's drawing on his high school experience with glee club as the inspiration for the show.

Well, I will be damned. I just read the Wikipedia article for it, and you are right.

That is funny.

[JLucPicard]

ITYM "crazy eyes". She gives me the heebies every time she's on screen.
Yup - that's a much better term! And heebies pretty acuarately describes the feeling I get from her. And I tend to be partial to redheads, too, but not this one!

[IndyJones1023]

Not hot?

http://www.broadwayworld.com/upload/29145/lea.jpg

This chick is smokin' hot! And man, can she sing!

We really liked this show. We'll stick with it.

[JLucPicard]

It comes off as a very G rated show, but then tosses in the 'other woman' in a way that is completely unrealistic. She is probably the best looking person in the show yet she has to I pine after a married guy, a fellow teacher? I don't believe it for a second.
Yup - that's a much better term! And heebies pretty acuarately describes the feeling I get from her. And I tend to be partial to redheads, too, but not this one!
Not hot?

This chick is smokin' hot! And man, can she sing!

We really liked this show. We'll stick with it.
Indy,

If your comment is in response to my comment, we are talking about two different people. My comments were directed to the "other woman" that efilippi mentioned in his post.

The gal whose picture you posted is most definitely NOT who I was referring to. She is indeed the best looking woman on this show (I've only seen the pilot so far) - whether she can sing or not (but ya, she sure can sing, too! ;)).