Glee: The Complete First Season – Blu-Ray : Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Review by JAM
I had previously reviewed Glee Season One Volume 1: Road to Sectionals using a top five list to share the best parts. At the time I thought it would be an interesting way to share and drum up interest, but then Glee went crazy as the second half of the series premiered and all of a sudden it became the hottest thing since sliced bread. Well, the nice thing is that it is still a show about singing, performing, and making your way through high school, so I think in order to hold to the true strengths and quirkiness of Glee it is time for a Top Ten List!
The Top Ten Reasons to Enjoy Glee on Blu-ray!
Number 10
The Rudy Syndrome – Now I may dating myself, but for many years EVERYONE knew the movie Rudy, so if you don’t you are missing out on an amazing feel good movie about an underdog that gives his all to make it onto the football field at Notre Dame. It is truly the go to movie for underdog comparisons, and Glee is kind of the poster child for underdogs today. A glee club down on its luck rescued by Spanish teacher looking for a way to relive his past, taking a group of outsiders, adding the popular who become outsiders, fighting with the popular Cheerios, and trying to make their way into the promised land of the glee choir Regionals.
Number 9
Jane Lynch – When I was able to review the release of the first half of the Glee season, the Road to Sectionals, I really did not find the Jane Lynch character to be a strength in my mind. I mean, she was a conniving behind the scenes manipulator throughout the season, but I think I needed to see a little humanity to realize how good she was. The character of Sue is actually an essential part who has some great episodes in the set including “Wheels” where we get the opportunity to see a little into Sue’s background and “The Power of Madonna” in which we get to see Sue let her hair down some.
Number 8
The music – As much as Glee is treading the mainly unknown waters of musical television, they made sure to have really good guides through the unknown. Music from classic bands such as Queen (“Somebody to Love”) and Journey (“Don’t Stop Believin’”) and current superstars such as Carrie Underwood (“Last Name”) and Rihanna (“Take a Bow”) keeps this show relevant, current, and different all at the same time. The cast truly make the songs their own while keeping a strong backbone that forces us back for more. Much of this part came from the first half review, but it holds true for the entire season as well. Madonna’s entire catalog was provided to the show, and led to an entire Madonna themed episode. Averaging about five songs for the first half of the season and eight for the second half meant that there were a lot of songs used by a lot of current and classic artists.
Number 7
The rivalries – The Cheerios versus the Gleeks. Will versus Sue. Will versus Bryan Ryan. The Gleeks versus the football team. New Directions versus Vocal Adrenaline versus Aural Intensity. All in all, the show is often about competition between people, groups, or schools. And it should be since it is about the quest for Regionals.
Number 6
The Quest – The quest is that thing that we all aspire to, for the Glee club it is all about respect, Regionals, and rivalries. Really, it all comes down to the quest to be the best at Regionals, but they are searching for respect in their own school. Even having popular kids join the Glee club does not raise their respect factor, but rather drags the popular kids down to the Glee club level. The rivalries can be considered the speed bumps of the quest, impeding or trying to derail the quest. The Glee kids and Will deal well with the rivalries that stand in their way and so the quest continues, running the road to Regionals.
Number 5
The memories – Everyone has them… Remember when you were back in high school? Unless you’re there now or going to be, everyone remembers something they wanted to take part in or change if they had a second chance. Whether it is a personal moment that you wished you could have back, an athletic competition you could have pushed more in, or a club or group you could have joined Glee is like the second chance to relive your high school time. So this is the chance to live vicariously through a cast of characters that are willing to share their time on our television.
Number 4
Blu-ray! – Everything is better on Blu-ray, especially a show that prides itself on audio perfection, choreography, and visual chicanery such as Glee. Clearer pictures, less discs to lose (4 Blu-ray versus 6 DVDs), tons of extras always included (including the Glee music jukebox which lets you go directly to the musical performances within the seasons and the Glee karaoke which explains itself), and the joy of the Blu-ray high definition experience make the Glee Blu-ray set the perfect purchase for any Gleek or Cheerio. Blu-ray is the technology that everyone seems to aspire to now, so aspire alongside the cast of Glee!
Number 3
The Broadway stars – Neil Patrick Harris, Kristen Chenoweth, and Idina Menzel are all masters of their craft and all small essential characters in the life of the Gleeks. Will’s archrival, Will’s former crush, and Rachel’s long lost biological mother are all played by Broadway masters who add to the nuance of a musical show. Plus, Neil Patrick Harris is hilarious!
Number 2
Lea Michele – From Glee Season One Volume One, I would not normally say that one actor or actress makes an ensemble show that much better unless it was William Peterson on CSI or Gina Bellman on Leverage, but after watching her audition on the extras provided, I have total respect for this girl. Besides completely making this character her own, she is a true trooper who auditions right after a traffic accident in which she should have been transported to the hospital and totaled her car, and it seems to all make sense! With a musical theatre background and an amazing knack for her character, she has taken her place with some of my favorite actresses on television, including Gabrielle Anwar on Burn Notice, the aforementioned Gina Bellman, and Emily Proctor on CSI: Miami.
Number 1
The Soap Opera – A marriage based on lies and deception, a faked pregnancy, former crushes hooking up all around, broken hearts and shattered dreams… All these come from just the adults on the show. Throw in high school aged hormones and you include a group of kids who deal with the everyday issues of teen pregnancy, identity, sexuality, drugs, hook-ups, and crushes all while preparing for the biggest events of their lives.
And now for our Glee club press release… ‘Gleeks’ and ‘Cheerios’ worldwide will celebrate September 14 when the groundbreaking musical comedy – GLEE: The Complete First Season– debuts on Blu-ray and DVD from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment featuring all 22 one-hour episodes including the highly anticipated “The Power of Madonna” episode and other fan-favorites. From series creator Ryan Murphy (“Nip/Tuck”), GLEE: The Complete First Season Blu-ray and DVD is pitch-perfect with never-before-seen extras sure to hit the right note.
“The show started out as a comedy musical about the underdog in all of us and has blossomed, largely due to the incredible support and passion from the fans that have embraced the show,” says Murphy. “When we developed the Blu-ray and DVD, we wanted to give those fans something special because they’ve been so great to us. There’s everything from a sing-along karaoke, to a behind-the-scenes look at our Madonna episode, to a dance lesson from our amazing choreographers. There’s even some all new Sue’s Corners which have never been seen before. It’s our ‘thank you’ to the Gleeks.”
Television’s most award-wining new series, GLEE was honored with a Golden Globe® for Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical; a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series; and a People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy.
GLEE follows an optimistic teacher who – against all odds and a malicious cheerleading coach – inspires McKinley High’s Glee Club to conquer the world one singing competition at a time. GLEE stars Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz. The hit show has attracted celebrity guest appearances by Kristin Chenoweth, Eve, Josh Groban, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Olivia Newton-John, Idina Menzel, and Molly Shannon.
The music from GLEE continues to shine with inventive renditions of past and present hit songs including Ike & Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary,” Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”
GLEE: The Complete First Season Blu-ray and DVD is fully loaded with exclusive bonus materials and extended episodes, a sing-along karaoke, a behind-the-scenes look at “The Power of Madonna” episode, Glee Makeovers, never-before-seen “Sue’s Corners” and a dance tutorial titled “Staying in Step with Glee.”
GLEE: The Complete First Season will be available in a four-disc Blu-ray and seven-disc DVD set for the suggested retail price of $69.99 U.S/$89.99 Canada and $59.98 U.S./$69.98 Canada, respectively. In addition, ‘Gleeks’ who purchased GLEE: Volume One: Road To Sectionals last winter can receive a special $10.00 “Gleebate” when they add GLEE: The Complete First Season to their collection.
A Musical Triumph
Television’s most award-winning new series is also the highest-rated new scripted series of the season among Adults 18-49. The music from “GLEE” is an international sensation with both “Glee: The Music, Volume 1” and “Glee: The Music, Volume 2” topping charts in Australia, the U.K., New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. In the U.S., over five million songs have been downloaded, and both albums have been certified Gold for sales in excess of 500,000 units. Additionally, the show’s Madonna-themed mini-album soared to the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top 200 Album chart with an incredible 98,000 copies sold in its first week.
Gleebate
GLEE: The Complete First Season also includes an exceptional offer, a “Gleebate,” for fans that previously purchased GLEE: Volume One: Road To Sectionals. Those fans will receive a $10.00 rebate by simply completing a Mail-in Certificate and submitting it with proof of purchase for both titles. Visit www.gleebatedvd.com after June 1, 2010 for complete details.
Take a chance on Glee, you won’t be sorry you did.
Glee: The Complete First Season
Street Date: September 14, 2010
Screen Format: Wide Screen
Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio (BD) / 5.1 Dolby Digital (DVD)
Subtitles: English for the deaf and hard of hearing, Spanish, French, Portuguese (BD)
Total Run Time: 1045 Minutes (DVD) / 1040 Minutes (BD)
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Closed Captioned: Yes
Glee: The Complete Season One from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment dances onto shelves on DVD and Blu-Ray on September 14, 2010. Grab a copy and sign along all night long!
Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at www.jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.
