On December 29, 2009 Glee Volume 1 Road To Sectionals releases on DVD in North America and the release will mark another incredible success for the show, its last for the year of 2009. What a pleasant way to end the new year!
Release Date: December 29, 2009
Run Time: 580 Minutes
Rating: Not Rated
From Ryan Murphy, the creator of “Nip/Tuck,” comes GLEE, a new comedy for the aspiring underdog in all of us. The series follows an optimistic teacher, Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), who – against all odds and a malicious cheer leading coach – attempts to save McKinley High’s Glee Club from obscurity, while helping a group of aspiring underdogs realize their true star potential. It’s a tall order when the brightest stars of the group include Kurt (Chris Colfer), a soprano who hits a high note in fashion; Mercedes (Amber Riley), a larger-than-life diva with a voice to match; Artie (Kevin McHale), a geeky guitarist who rocks and rolls; and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), a punk rocker who hides behind her stutter and blue hair extensions.
Will’s only hope lies with two true talents: Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), a self-proclaimed star who is convinced that MySpace and show choir and are her tickets to fame; and Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), the popular high school quarterback with movie star looks who must protect his reputation from his holier-than-thou girlfriend and “Cheerios” head cheerleader, Quinn (Dianna Agron), and his arrogant football teammate, PUCK (Mark Salling).
Will is determined to do whatever it takes to make Glee great again, but his only ally is fellow teacher and germaphobe Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays). Everyone else around him thinks he’s nuts – from his tough-as-nails wife Terri Schuester (Jessalyn Gilsig) to McKinley’s scheming cheer leading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) – but he’s out to prove them wrong.
Glee is one of the most original and creative shows on television today. The writing is superb, very clever and witty. The acting is fantastic and the majority of the leads are very strong newcomers to television, which might surprise you given their amount of talent! Throughout the past 13 episodes there have been few general story lines and many sub plots that have so much potential to make the show even brighter if those sub plots were consistent. The characters are so well crafted and layered, leaving viewers yearning to learn more about each and every one of them. There is so much to love, it is hard not to want more in every way from this show which has the perfect balance of comedy, drama, and music. The music is fabulous, taking on covers from everyone including Beyonce to Neil Diamond! What an incredible variety of song choice and it can only get better from here. It’s about time a musical dramedy has taken over the homes of millions around the world. This show has everything viewers could ever want all set in a small high school in Ohio…and this is just the beginning!
Extras:
Welcome to McKinley! (5:03 Minutes) – This was a very smart and equally comedic feature to include on the DVD, as Principal Figgins welcomes eighth graders into McKinley High. Figgins tours the school in a sense, showcasing the music room and gym locker room for football, as well as discusses the guidelines for lockers and such. Viewers meet Principal Figgins’ secretary, Donna and also find out that Principal Figgins grew up on a farm. That’s not all. There is lots to learn and laugh at in this informational introduction into McKinley High that you won’t want to miss. Iqbal Theba is a fantastic actor and was a great sport, literally in this feature. Go Titans!
Glee Music Video (2:46 Minutes) – This music video is the cast version of “Somebody To Love” and features all of the main cast members, none of them singing directly towards the camera, as this is moreso an extended promo including bits of the Pilot with no dialogue and more lyrics on the screen in the classic bright Glee colors and font all throughout. This is a great music video to watch and look back on the show in its beginning stages of promotion. How far it has come! Although it boggles my mind why there isn’t a section in the special features where viewers can watch their favorite Glee performances without searching through the episodes for those songs…many of them have the “music video” vibe much more than this, such as “My Life Would Suck Without You.” It would have also been nice for a music video to have been created that incorporated behind the scenes footage, promotional footage from the Gleek tour and such, bloopers, etc… Let’s hope something along these lines can be seen in the Volume 2 DVD.
Full Length Audition Pieces – Rachel’s “On My Own” (3:17 Minutes) audition and Mercedes’ “Respect”(59 Seconds) audition for the glee club both made the cut on the DVD! Gleeks have seen Rachel’s full audition, as it was available for free on iTunes for quite some time. However it was quite enjoyable to say the least to see Mercedes’ entire audition. While we heard the applause at the end, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was given a standing ovation. Though I wonder why only these two were featured on the DVD, as I would have loved to have seen the other glee club members’ audition pieces, especially those we have yet to see at all (Mike, Matt, Arte). Broadway fans will be thrilled that Rachel’s piece was included and everyone will be thrilled to see Mercedes sing like there is no tomorrow. She’s got our respect!
Fox Movie Channel Casting Session (11:59 Minutes) – Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, various Fox head execs, and various cast members discuss the casting process of Glee, starting with the pitching of the show. Chairman of 20th Century Fox, Gary Newman, Chairman of 20th Century Fox TV, Dana Walden, Entertainment President of Fox Broadcasting, Kevin Reilly, and Casting Director of Glee, Robert Ulrich also talk about the pitching of the show as well as casting Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, and Chris Colfer. Fans get to see audition footage from Kevin, Lea, Jenna, and both see and hear audition footage from Lea, Cory, and Chris. The latter discuss their casting process and for those Glee fans who have not been involved in the fandom, you’ll find out that the first person Fox saw during auditions was Lea (and Lea has a funny story to tell) and there was originally an Indian character but he was soon scrapped and replaced with Kurt after Chris Colfer’s audition. Another fun fact to learn is how Cory’s audition did not include any singing! There’s lots to enjoy and learn in this feature, though it would have been even better had more audition footage been seen and heard from many more of the cast members. Perhaps to make up for what’s missing, in the next volume the cast members can talk about how their characters have evolved from the audition process to filming the back nine episodes. This was still a very enjoyable feature, especially having the Fox execs speak on the success that they saw in Glee from the beginning!
Deconstructing Glee With Ryan Murphy (2:50 Minutes) – Listen to the Gleek Squad Podcast episode dedicated to discussion on this special and others featured in the limited edition of the Director’s Cut of the Pilot.
Dance Boot Camp (3:03 Minutes) – Listen to the Gleek Squad Podcast episode dedicated to discussion on this special and others featured in the limited edition of the Director’s Cut of the Pilot.
More Extras on the DVD include the exclusive videos that have been released on Fox.com over the past few months including Jane Lynch A to Glee (54 Seconds), Meet Jane Lynch (1:05 Minutes), 5 Things You Don’t Know About Jayma (41 Seconds), 7 Things You Don’t Know About Cory (1:01 Minutes), 6 Things You Don’t Know About Amber (59 Seconds), 7 Things You Don’t Know About Chris (43 Seconds), and my favorite…the Flip Video Diaries (17:11 Minutes) of Jane Lynch, Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Kevin McHale, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, and Dianna Agron. My concern for the Volume 2 DVD…hopefully the special features will not be jam packed with footage many fans have already seen on Glee’s official website. This show is one of the most original and creative shows on television right now and while it is appreciated that these online videos can be cherished on the DVD, there is lots to explore in special features, so much more Glee goodness is expected in Volume 2! All of these extras will be discussed in much greater detail in the next episode of Gleek Squad Podcast, so make sure to subscribe on iTunes to get all of the latest episodes!
Glee Volume 1 Road To Sectionals releases on DVD December 29, 2009.