Glee – The Complete Second Season (2010 – 2011/Fox Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B     Extras: B-     Episodes: B+

 

 

And so we are treated to another musically infused season of the critically acclaimed and fan adored Glee.  Glee: The Complete Second Season arrives on FOX Blu-ray like a breath of fresh air ready to explode in song.  The cast is outstanding.  The production quality is amazing. The musical numbers are brilliantly imagined and enthusiastically performed.

 

My main problem with Glee: The Complete Second Season is that though the formula and cast generally stayed the same, the few liberties that were taken disrupted the fragile structure that this TV musical had constructed.  In the First Season we were introduced to a band of misfits who against all odds came together to create something bigger than they could have ever imagined.  True, in the end the team lost; but there was always next year.  Well, next year arrived (in this case on Blu-ray) and the ‘New Directions’ certainly kicked it up to the next level.

 

The Second Season managed to definitely kick it up a notch in terms of character development, storyline, and musical range.  The characters are brilliantly cast and their acting chops seem to grow with them.  Each character adds a new dimension to the series and whereas it seems at times they are stereotypically portrayed, the creators push hard to break the developing crew from that mold.

 

The problem with Season Two is that the actors are TOO GOOD at being their characters, to the point where at times they almost seem like caricatures of their Season One selves.  I would not consider this to be a problem had the series’ creators not fought so hard to make Glee based as close to reality as possible.  Sure an over the top moment here or there, a death defying act on occasion, and even the impromptu musical number on the streets is fine; but when you stretch all those things too thin it becomes annoying.

 

The problem (as I have previously alluded to) is stepping ‘too far’ outside the bounds of reality.  The charm of the First Season was that audiences could believe these kids were actually singing the songs as they hit the stage, with voices being the main focus with minimal instrumental accompaniment.  Now in Season Two they have a full band behind them, who seemingly have the talents of the best musical group/orchestra out there.  I appreciate the music and the effort, but some fulls have to be established.

 

The nail in the ‘reality vs. superhuman’ coffin for me was with the announcement of the characters actually being in a school year ranking (i.e. Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior).  With the leads/series favorites being SENIORS!!  Meaning that after Season 3 they would no longer be in high school and gone.  Now after a major fan outcry the creators back peddled a bit and said whereas they would not be in school anymore that did not mean they wouldn’t be on Glee.  What is this Saved by the Bell: The College Years? Oh, please.

 

I will anxiously await to see how this all goes down, but the point remains with this whole reality based series concept.  My opinion is that the series should just be over the top, reality stinks anyway.

 

Whereas the Second Season of Glee may have just stayed the status quo, the technical aspects on Blu-ray have greatly improved.  The picture is a 1080p High Definition, 1.78 X 1 Widescreen that is vastly improved over the First Season which was plagued by Digital Noise.  There are still moments here and there that muddy the picture, but nothing like Season One on Blu-ray.  The picture overall is crisp, clean, and clear.  The detail is there and the colors are warm and inviting.  Light/dark issues are absent and even in brightest of stage shows, the image is well balanced.  The sound again is a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, but again like the picture the sound presentation has been upgraded.  I was left wanting after Season One’s audio letdown, something you never want to say about a musical.  Season Two, however, fully delivers as the sound fully engulfs the viewer and comes from all angles.  As the cast runs around the room singing you feel like you are there; though the dialogue heavy sequences still heavily blast from the front.  Not perfect, but much improved.

 

The extras include the following:

 

• Glee Music Jukebox (an excellent feature that like the first season lets viewers skip right to the songs)
• The Making of Rocky Horror Glee Show (Again a nice featurette.  Though I was not overwhelmingly impressed by Glee’s presentation of Rocky Horror; it was good enough)
• Exclusive Bonus Song (Rocky Horror Lips singing)
• Building Glee’s Auditorium
• A Day in the Life of Brittany
• Shooting Glee in New York City
• Guesting on Glee (A nice featurette that highlights the many guest stars that pop up this season.  Big names are fighting to be part of Glee.)
• Stevie Nicks Goes Glee (As previously mentioned Glee has fans in high places.  Even Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac pops in to give the cast/crew a pep talk.)
• Sue’s Quips (Sue let’s the insults fly in a montage of season 2’s trash talk)
• Santana’s Slams (Brilliantly written insults fly in this salty Santana compilation)
• The Wit of Brittany
• Getting Waxed (Jane Lynch gets a wax figure)
• Glee at Comic Con 2010 (A not so insightful promo at Comic Con)

 

Glee is a wonderfully engaging show with an extremely talented cast.  If the cast can step beyond their Glee personas I sense big things for each and every one of them.  Even with the minor gripes I mentioned above the series is overwhelmingly entertaining and I sit in anti…cipation of each forthcoming episode.

 

 

-   Michael P. Dougherty II