Glee - "Extraordinary Merry Christmas" - OAD 12/13/2011

4177 Views 51 Replies 23 Participants Last post by DavidTigerFan, Dec 17, 2011

Drewster

Discussion Starter · Dec 14, 2011

Thread!

1 - 20 of 52 Posts

LoadStar

· #2 · Dec 14, 2011

Response!

LoadStar

· #3 · Dec 14, 2011

I like the sympathetic Sue (with an edge) like she was in this episode. Too bad they can't keep her this way more often.

I wish people would get the message: "My Favorite Things" is NOT a Christmas song. It's not even a holiday song. Moreover, it's not even a particularly good song - it is among Rogers and Hammerstein's weakest, IMO. Frankly, the song absolutely grates on me. Needless to say, as soon as I recognized what they were singing, I FF'd over it. Ugh.

I think the B&W portion lasted just a touch too long... and I think it was already sufficiently quirky enough that they didn't need to do the very random reference to the Star Wars holiday special.

Finally, the choice to sing "Do They Know It's Christmas" in a homeless shelter was a little weird. "Hey, homeless people! We're going to sing you a song telling all of you how awful you have it! It was originally performed by a bunch of really rich, successful celebrities to make them feel better about being rich and successful! Merry Christmas, everyone!"

See less See more

Drewster

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 14, 2011

Frankly, the whole episode sucked for me. Too much schmaltz, heavy handed, and poorly executed.

The '60s bit was funny and cute for one break, but ridiculous for two. The wink within a joke within an homage was absurd.

The edits in "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (covering Springsteen covering Phil Spector) were painful.

LoadStar

· #5 · Dec 14, 2011

Drewster said:
The edits in "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" ( covering Springsteen covering Otis Redding) were painful.

Hmm, I must not have been paying much attention, and don't know what edits you are referring to here.

One interesting thing about this one is that apparently on the Glee album version of this song, it features Samuel from the Glee Project, despite him not having yet appeared on the show.

TheMerk

· #6 · Dec 14, 2011

The chalet set looked so familiar to me. Was it an homage to a classic television set?

Drewster

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 14, 2011

TheMerk said:
The chalet set looked so familiar to me. Was it an homage to a classic television set?

I thought it looked remarkably like the Dick Van **** Show home. (Although considering that they mentioned the Judy Garland Christmas special, perhaps it was that one.)

martinp13

· #8 · Dec 14, 2011

Drewster said:
Frankly, the whole episode sucked for me. Too much schmaltz, heavy handed, and poorly executed.

I had to keep reminding myself that I don't do drugs... it was all so whacked out. Like 60 minutes of non-sequitors. The least of which was Rachel giving Finn a list (a boyfriend's dream, so he doesn't have to think about it and can just buy something she wants) and then he buys her an interest in a pig. Whaaaaa? A black and white holiday special with crappy jokes, an overzealous laugh track, and streamer girls. Whaaaaa? Ending with singing to people in an Ohio homeless shelter about poor people in Africa. Whaaaaa?

Artie really REALLY sucks as a director. Except for the Chewbacca dream.

RandomTask

· #9 · Dec 14, 2011

It hard to know where to begin. Wow, Mercedes does a ripoff of another BBW belter christmas song. I can't tell if that all she can do or all they allow her to do. Either way, I'm done with the big diva deal. She ain't Jennifer Holiday.

The set could not have looked less like a Swiss Chalet if they tried.

Do they know it's Christmas in the shelter was completely inappropriate.

I did like the Brittney dance number. I can always watch Heather dance.

I don't hate Favorite things though in this context a little sweet and certainly NOT a CHRISTMAS SONG.

Not much Sue, and what there was wasn't as nasty as usually, that was pleasant.

TIVO_GUY_HERE

· #10 · Dec 14, 2011

martinp13 said:
Artie really REALLY sucks as a director. Except for the Chewbacca dream.

Matthew Morrison doesn't do much better(He directed this episode)

betts4

· #11 · Dec 14, 2011

The whole thing was bad.

I thought the b&w home looked more like something from the Danny Thomas show, not Dick Van ****, but it was certainly some sort of homage to the 60's.

martinp13

· #12 · Dec 14, 2011

TIVO_GUY_HERE said:
Matthew Morrison doesn't do much better(He directed this episode)

Yes, I meant in-show director. It was Morrison's first directing effort, according to IMDb. I understand that this was supposed to be a parody, but it wasn't a good one.

Maui

· #13 · Dec 14, 2011

Yeah, I didn't enjoy this episode very much. Certainly had a lot of songs, which is always a good thing. I am a sucker for Christmas shows but this one just did not do it for me.

The whole plot with the homeless shelter seemed shoe-horned in so that they could do too much Black and White. The Star Wars Christmas references were lame. The Irish kid channeling Linus from A Charlie Brown Christmas seemed forced. The Finn and Rachel list subplot was stupid. And the only reason I can think they would do the song Do They Know It's Christmas is it gave most everyone a chance to take the lead.

Luckily I still have last years Christmas episode on my recorder and will watch it soon.

plateau10

· #14 · Dec 14, 2011

Hmm, I loved it.

I laughed out loud at Rachel's "Charlie Brown Christmas" reference.

Tracy

· #15 · Dec 14, 2011

I have to say it. I know it is futile.

How did they build that set for under $800?

After the taping of the show they rushed to the homeless shelter--but Rachel took the time to take her lovely 60's hairstyle and turn it into a ponytail. And Brittany and Santana changed out of their costumes...and into their cheerleader outfits??

The local Ohio PBS station doesn't care that their Christmas special is so heavily gay-themed including some fairly raunchy material?

Finn sold his letterman jacket to get the money for Rachel's diamond earrings? Who buys someone's current letterman jacket?

Brittany's family is going to Santa Fe for the holidays and isn't taking their guest foreign-exchange student with them??

Azlen

· #16 · Dec 14, 2011

I thought it was a terrible episode. The B&W stuff went on way too long and a good part of the show's audience would be completely lost as to what they were trying to parody. It seemed that the Glee Christmas album was the primary driver of the show and everything else was built around that.

JYoung

· #17 · Dec 14, 2011

Tracy said:
I have to say it. I know it is futile.

How did they build that set for under $800?

After the taping of the show they rushed to the homeless shelter--but Rachel took the time to take her lovely 60's hairstyle and turn it into a ponytail. And Brittany and Santana changed out of their costumes...and into their cheerleader outfits??

The local Ohio PBS station doesn't care that their Christmas special is so heavily gay-themed including some fairly raunchy material?

Finn sold his letterman jacket to get the money for Rachel's diamond earrings? Who buys someone's current letterman jacket?

Brittany's family is going to Santa Fe for the holidays and isn't taking their guest foreign-exchange student with them??

Why are you guys (not just singling Tracy out here) attempting to apply logic to the Glee Universe?

I go into this show with very low expectations therefore, I'm rarely disappointed.

That said, I don't think it was a particularly good episode performance-wise.
Just ok.

Tracy

· #18 · Dec 14, 2011

JYoung said:
Why are you guys (not just singling Tracy out here) attempting to apply logic to the Glee Universe?

I go into this show with very low expectations therefore, I'm rarely disappointed.

That said, I don't think it was a particularly good episode performance-wise.
Just ok.

Oh, I know. And I wouldn't say I am disappointed. I don't like the show but I still watch it because it is entertaining...and to be driven crazy by the lack of logic. It almost seems like they do it on purpose. Why have the line about the show not being allowed to cost more than $800? Just leave that line out if you know you are going to build an elaborate multi-level set with a fireplace! They do it to make me lose my mind!

That Don Guy

· #19 · Dec 14, 2011

If we're going to bring logic into this, then why didn't the PBS station just go to somebody's home and record a fire in their fireplace? No royalties needed.

As for the pig thing, am I the only one who has ever gotten a Heifer International catalog in the mail?
(Meanwhile, whenever somebody brings up how somebody "had a star named after them," I usually reply, "Well, there's a star named after me as well, but you can't see it at night - because it's the one that shines in the daytime. What? It already has a name? ("The Sun"?) Well, guess what: so did 'your' star, long before any money changed hands.")

I wonder what Peter Mayhew feels about George Lucas "approving" the use of Chewbacca, but (apparently) it was somebody else in the costume?
(Also, "Chewbacca" got an "also starring" credit in the closing credits.)

(And doesn't anybody know any bible passages besides Luke 2:8-14? I assume that reading was a reference to A Charlie Brown Christmas; the only thing missing was Rory saying, "That's what Christmas is all about ~~Charlie Brown~~.")

See less See more

martinp13

· #20 · Dec 14, 2011

JYoung said:
Why are you guys (not just singling Tracy out here) attempting to apply logic to the Glee Universe?

It's not that I demand logic out of Glee (which no one will EVERRRRRR get), it's that I demand the absence of wild and stupid 'illogic'. As Tracy said, we've gotten used to them building elaborate sets for a podunk high school weekly assignment, but why have the $800 line if it's not going to play into the story at all?

The episode was so filled with 'illogic' that Mr Spock's ears would have had spewing green blood.

1 - 20 of 52 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.