Glee: Some Thoughts on the First Season

Oh Glee, how far you've come. Since the show debuted a year ago, the cast has become very popular (and almost annoyingly ubiquitous), and the series has become something of a cultural phenomenon. That said, the first season has had a lot of highs and lows, and ultimately, I have found it entertaining if rather uneven.

The pilot was very promising, and I have must admit that the first half of the season, which ended with "Sectionals" was strong. Even with some strange missteps, such as "Acafellas" and two crazy pregnancy plots, the first set of episodes had a nice mix of snark, snap, heart, and music. Not only was the show's tone fairly consistent, but the musical numbers were well selected and entertaining (if somewhat over produced). "Sectionals" was an extraordinarily satisfying close to the first half of the season, and I couldn't wait for the second half to start in April.

And then, when the show returned, something was very off (at least to me). Watching the back nine episodes has been a somewhat schizophrenic experience. Mixed in with some fun moments, such as "Like a Virgin" and "Gives You Hell," there have been way too many after-school special/one to grow on episodes. As much as I loved the Mercedes-Quinn bonding in this second half of the season, episodes like "Laryngitis" and even (sigh) "The Power of Madonna" left me cold. In fact, besides "Journey," which had me weeping like a baby, the only episode I thoroughly enjoyed from the second half of the season was "Dream On," which managed to combine Neil Patrick Harris, Joss Whedon, and "Safety Dance."

Besides the sometimes overly didactic tone, there were some other notable problems with the back nine. Perhaps the two most glaring problems have to do with the show's admittedly well-deserved popularity. In some cases, it really felt like the show was buying into its own hype. Rather than having songs that wove into the plot seamlessly, we were treated to theme episodes. "The Power of Madonna," which I really wanted to like, and "Theatricality" seemed to have the songs pre-selected without regard to the plots or storylines.

The other issue is that many of the plot devices seemed thrown in to appeal to the show's clamoring fan base. Why not have Jonathan Groff play Rachel's love interest? The fans want Idina Menzel to play Rachel's mother - let's get on that! This, along with the bizarre themes for each episode (funk, home, dreams, hello), made the show seem like it was making things up as it went along, rather than having a well-developed idea of where it was going. Sometimes, watching a given episode seemed more like Glee crossed with an insane version of Mad Libs. While taking the fans' suggestions and ideas to heart is admirable, it is also important to not just cater to the fans' whims but to also have a strong story.

This is not to say that I am giving up on Glee just yet. "Journey" did a lot to redeem the show, at least from my perspective. Although the plot still went at breakneck speed, there was a lot to like about this season ender. The songs, particularly the Journey medley, did a nice job of calling back to the pilot, and even though "To Sir, with Love" had me rolling my eyes a little, it still got me choked up. Also, I thought the redemption of Sue made some sense. Besides her quick defense of the kids in New Directions when confronted with outsiders trying to tear them down, I could honestly buy that she wants to have Will and his club around to antagonize next year. Plus, since I believe Will when he said that Sue really loves her students, I like to think that she didn't want to hurt them by having the club disbanded, particularly after hearing them sing to Will in the auditorium.

I might write a little more on Glee this summer; since Fox is showing all of the episodes again, it will be interesting to see how they hold up to another viewing...

Looking Ahead to the Tonys

I must admit, I'm not all that jazzed about the Tony Awards this year. Besides the fact that I will watching them with my brother and sister, there isn't a lot that excites me about the performance. While there are some definite heavy hitters among the nominees (the Leading Actor in a Play nominees include Denzel Washington, Alfred Molina, and Christopher Walken), the musicals, which are, to me, the main attraction, don't excite me very much. I'm unfamiliar with the new musicals, and while the revivals have gotten some excellent reviews, the show that I would love to see (Ragtime) has already closed and it isn't likely that they will have a snippet to show during the ceremony.

That said, here are my two wishes for next Sunday's ceremonies:

• They actually pay some attention to the plays. Honestly, if Scarlett Johansson and Denzel Washington can't get the nominated plays some television time, then the plays will never get a fair shake.
• I want Sean Hayes to win Best Actor in a Musical just so the guy who wrote this article can go suck it. Incidentally, the writer has tried to backtrack and say that he was trying to start a dialog (insert an eye roll here).

If you are looking for more Tony fever than I can muster up this year, the New York Times has an entire section dedicated to the Tony Awards. Ben Brantley's Did He Like It site also has a page listing the nominees with illustrations of what Brantley thought of the best play and musical nominees.

Tony Fever

The Tony Awards are just a few days away, but I have been very bad about posting anything about them. However, I hope to remedy that this weekend! Stay tuned...

Foodie Fridays: Simple but Satisfying

Since warm weather (and farmer's markets) have come to the Boston area, I've found myself opting for light dinners with very minimal cooking. Besides the occasional dinner of scrambled eggs, I've also started eating a lot of salads. Even though I love meat, salads make a lot of sense when it's too hot to cook.

My sudden salad obsession has also been fueled by the wonder that is homemade salad dressing. For years, I've resisted making it, because it seemed like something that was certainly passable when purchased. Previous attempts to make grocery store staples (like graham crackers and marshmallows) also seemed to disappoint. However, one sleepless night, I got bored and started messing around in the kitchen with a balsamic vinaigrette. Here is my recipe (adapted from the excellent one found in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything):

Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil (if you have good olive oil, use it, but my cheapo stuff worked well)
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
salt and pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of honey
dried dill

Combine the olive oil and vinegar (Bittman suggests using a blender, but I used a whisk and it worked out fine). Add a dash of dill as well as the garlic and honey. Whisk/blend to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This can be refrigerated, but be certain to let it warm up a bit and whisk to combine before serving.

A nice accompaniment to the salad is Bittman's olive oil bread, which is sort of like a biscuit. Since my cupboard was very close to bare, I made a half recipe of it and it was perfect for dipping in the vinaigrette.

Book Review: "Showgirls, Teen Wolves, and Astro Zombies: A Film Critic's Year-Long Quest to Find the Worst Movie Ever Made"

While there are many good movies I have a sincere appreciation for, part of me loves watching a truly awful movie. And I don't mean just Twilight awful (even given my hatred of the books, I thought that the movie was boring and the Twi-hards deserved better); I mean Grease 2 awful or Xanadu awful. Consequently, when I came across Michael Adams's Showgirls, Teen Wolves, and Astro Zombies: A Film Critic's Year-Long Quest to find the Worst Movie Ever Made, I was immediately intrigued.

Adams, an Australian film critic, decided to spend an entire year and an absurd amount of money watching bad films. From the titular Showgirls to the works of the infamous Ed Wood to even lesser-known works, Adams undertook the daunting (and somewhat scary) task of watching at least one bad film a day for a year. His book outlines his experience trying to watch these movies while also working as the reviews editor for Empire magazine, becoming a movie critic on an Australian television show, and raising a toddler with his extremely patient wife.

The book has a lot of strengths. Besides the inherent humor of reading a critic's reactions to horrible films (I love Roger Ebert's I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie for the same reason), Adams is very careful not to be too rancorous to the movies he includes. In fact, he takes his job very seriously; in addition to documenting the different films he watched during the year, he also interviewed numerous people (including David Sedaris) to get their recommendations for bad films. Furthermore, he also interviewed some of the directors of the bad films he watched in order to get their side of the story. The resulting book is not so much an unadulterated pummeling of bad movies as it is a sort of celebration of B (and C, D, and F) grade flicks. While Adams doesn't hold back when it comes to the most reprehensible movies, he also is willing to try and see the sincere effort put forth by some of the filmmakers and actors.

There are a few flaws in the book. Its premise, of doing something novel or unusual for a year and then writing about it, is not a new one. Also, I would have liked more of Adams's insight into some of the movies; given that he watched over 300 bad movies in one year, he doesn't get the chance to go very deep into discussing the different works. However, when a book is as engaging and well-written as Adams's is, it is easy to overlook the somewhat formulaic and gimmicky premise and just get lost in the cornucopia of of bad movies.

Who is Your Literary Dream Date?

I was wasting time between meetings yesterday at the bookstore, and one of my former co-workers C. and I started talking about the topic we both love to hate: Twilight. More specifically, we started debating what it was that teenage girls found so appealing about it. From my conversations with teenage girls, it seems like they are primarily interested in Jacob and Edward, with Bella being a peripheral character at best.

There is something about the dark, alpha (or asshole) hero that appeals to teenage girls (and to some women). Perhaps it is a form of rebellion, perhaps it is the extreme passion, perhaps it is the idea that the love of a good woman can change the hero's brooding ways. However, when C. and I tried to come up with some viable alternatives to Edward and Jacob, we found ourselves stymied.

Of course, if you want the dark, brooding, romantic hero, then Mr. Rochester and Heathcliff are the obvious choices. However, there does seem to be a dearth of rationale, angst-less literary heroes that we (or at least I) find romantically appealing. For instance, while I might enjoy being friends with Nick from The Great Gatsby or Laurie from Little Women, I also know that I would find Nick too introverted and Laurie too immature to forge a true connection with them.

After pondering this question for fall too long yesterday, the only fictional character I have come up with (so far) is Gilbert Blythe from the Anne of Green Gables series. Besides the cuteness factor (because of the movie, Jonathan Crombie is, in my mind, the definitive Gilbert), he's smart, driven, and a bit mischievous. He's also the anti-Byronic hero in that he doesn't brood and he goes out of his way to try to get Anne's acceptance.

Do you have a literary character that you think might be your ideal match? If so, please leave a comment!

Foodie Fridays: Three Super-Easy Desserts for a Crowd

This week has been completely crazy. Besides having a hearing that brings me one step closer to my dissertation (and my degree), I also had a get together for some of my graduate students who are finishing up their master's program. While these two events converged on the same day, I found that baking for my party helped keep me calm (and busy) so that I wouldn't get too crazed about my hearing.

However, it didn't hurt that I have some incredibly (and embarrassingly) easy dessert recipes that are perfect for feeding a large crowd. Here are three of my favorites from this week:

Mexican Wedding Cookies (aka Russian Tea Cakes): While I used the recipe found in my trusty The Joy of Cooking cookbook, this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, which is one of my favorite food websites, is very similar. While these cookies are very buttery, they aren't overly sweet and make a very pretty (and forgiving) dessert.

Chocolate Marble Gooey Butter Cake (aka Chocolate Marble Chess Bars): These are very rich. Unlike the Russian tea cakes, which are pretty subdued under their pretty powdered sugar coating, these bars are a no-holds-barred embarrassment of riches. They contain two sticks of melted butter, a package of cream cheese, and an entire box of powdered sugar. That said, the recipe does make a lot, and the bars are always a big hit.

Strawberry Cream Pie: Although this recipe is the complete opposite of everything foodie (it includes Cool Whip, which is probably like kryptonite to most foodies), I am proud of it, for no other reason than I majorly tweaked it. It is a riff on a recipe from someone my mom knew (this isn't the exact recipe, but it is very similar). Here is my take on the recipe:

Ingredients:

• One 9-inch deep dish pie crust
  
• One 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
• One 8 oz. container of Cool Whip (if you wanted, you could substitute heavy cream, whipped to a soft peak)
  
• Two cups of powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup of strawberry preserves
• One tablespoon of lemon juice
• 16 oz (1.5 pints) of fresh strawberries (washed and sliced lengthwise)
  

Directions:

1. Bake the pie crust and allow it to cool completely
2. Warm the strawberry preserves and add the lemon juice. You can do this in the microwave or on the stove. Mix to combine and set aside to cool slightly
   
3. Beat the cream cheese until it is light fluffy (approximately 1-2 minutes with an electric mixer)
4. Mix in the Cool Whip* and beat until well combined
5. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar and stir until well combined. You can adjust the amount of sugar to taste
6. Put approximately half of the cream cheese mixture in the cooled pie crust
7. Top the cream cheese mixture with 2/3 of the strawberry preserves
8. Carefully top the preserves with the remaining cream cheese mixture (you might have some extra cream cheese; save it to use as a fruit dip)
9. Top the pie with the remaining strawberry preserves
10. On top of the preserves, carefully layer on the sliced strawberries
11. Allow to chill in the refrigerator for two hours or overnight

*If you decide to use whipped cream instead of Cool Whip, I suggest adding the powdered sugar to it and then gently folding the whipped cream into the cream cheese.

Here is my finished pie (please forgive the crappy lighting and iPhone photography):