It’s pay day, so now you can go out and buy Glee The Complete First Season on DVD!

Release Date: September 14, 2010
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 974 minutes

Join the club and bring home the fun with Glee Karaoke and Glee Jukebox— available only on DVD! A talented group of high school misfits transforms into a performing sensation with the help of a dedicated teacher. Through laughter, tears, irreverent humor and unforgettable music, they learn to follow their hearts and chase their dreams.

There is definitely something for everyone to enjoy in Glee The Complete First Season. Glee is not just about show tunes and 80s pop. There are some really fascinating characters to follow and even a few spectacular guest stars (Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, and Neil Patrick Harris to name a few) to follow. I know Lea Michele has been the main focus from a general stand point but Amber Riley and Chris Colfer are the true stand out stars of the season. Joss Whedon directing an episode of the show was the icing on the cake. Or maybe it was the Lady Gaga tribute episode. It’s hard to pick. The Madonna tribute episode was also quite spectacular.

Though while I have been a loyal fan of Glee since the very beginning, I won’t be biased and will share the great with the could be better. The show has definitely grown since the Pilot episode and it is kind of poetic in a sense. The show seems to find a new tune almost as often as a high schooler does over the course of a school year. Because of that, every episode is fascinating and complex in its own way. But because of that, there sometimes tends to be a lack of consistency in some of the sub plots.

But Ryan Murphy is the mind behind Nip/Tuck and if you watched that, you know that there are no limits for this man. So that makes Glee even more unique, because there are no limits. Characters will say things that you would not expect to hear on television. There are story lines that will really keep you up at night pondering…and those are the moments that outweigh the many conflicts that are conveniently resolved within an episode or a tid bit about a character that never gets referenced again. The characters are so well crafted and layered that I hate getting to find out little facts about the characters only to see that part of them that one time the fact is revealed. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised with how much of a transformation Quinn made and how well her back story was intertwined with the present. Quinn is such a fascinating character and I cannot wait to see what else the writers have to share about her back story.

I also remember the quirky close ups and camera angles in the first few episodes that haven’t been carried throughout the season as much as I would have liked. I even remember Ryan Murphy saying that the characters would not randomly break out into song. I wish he had stood his ground on this. One thing that hasn’t changed though is the comedic writing, the comedic timing amongst the actors, the dramatic moments that make you cry, the characters that make you think, and the music that will take you throughout your day. The music is an exciting jumbled mix. There were maybe 3-4 episodes that I was not completely over the moon for musically speaking. I would have to say that the first few episodes and the last few episodes of the season were my favorite episodes when it comes to the music. Both the music and the story telling were fantastic in the season finale. “Bohemian Rhapsody” will have you in a trance. Really, the season as a whole has brought both more laughs and more tears than any other Fox comedy I have ever watched and I am so happy that I can say that.

Glee is one of the most creative shows on television today and I am looking forward to season 2 when the kids make their way to New York City, tribute Rocky Horror and Britney Spears, have a slew of guest stars including John Stamos and Charice, and more incredible and solid writing!

Bonus Features:

Featured on Glee Season 1 Volume 1 DVD:
* Welcome to McKinley!
* Glee Music Video
* Full Length Audition Pieces
* Fox Movie Channel presents Casting Session
* Deconstructing Glee with Ryan Murphy
* Dance Boot Camp
* Jane Lynch: A to Glee
* Meet Jane Lynch
* Things You Don’t Know About Jayma, Cory, Amber, & Chris
* Video Diaries

Glee Music Jukebox – Fans can watch all of the Glee musical numbers from the latter half of the season without having to fast forward through the episodes to do so. There is an option to play all of simply select with musical number you would like to watch/listen to. This is a fabulous feature…to bad it’s not on every single disc.

Glee Sing Along Karaoke – Fans can sing along or choose to switch to karaoke the Glee musical numbers, “Alone,” “Somebody to Love,” “Keep Holding On,” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.” I am surprised that no songs from the season finale made it onto this special feature. Surely the selection choice won’t be everybody’s favorite but I am guilty of already singing along to “Somebody to Love.”

Staying in Step with Glee (6:13 minutes) –
Choreographer, Zach Woodlee, Assistant Choreographer, Brooke Lipton, and 4 Vocal Adrenaline dancers come to you from the Tin Shed Dance Studio in Hollywood, CA to teach fans the dance routine to “Rehab.” Not only are Zach and Brooke great dance teachers, this was a very well edited feature. Both use the number count but Zach takes it to the next level, singing the song along with the steps. After viewers learn the dance step by step, a split screen is brought up, showing close ups of the footwork and the upper body movements. Lastly, the 4 Vocal Adrenaline dancers perform the dance at full speed. If you want to learn this dance, you’ll be able to in no time with this very well detailed dance lesson. Though you are on your own for the “Rehab” wardrobe.

Bite Their Style: Dress Like Your Favorite Gleek (8:52 minutes) – Costume designer, Lou Eyrich and Assistant Costume Designer, Jennifer Eve take you out shopping and into the wardrobe department on set to help viewers get a better understanding as to how the wardrobe is selected for the show. Then, the ladies tell you how to bite Rachel, Kurt, Mercedes, and Quinn’s styles. Seeing firsthand how Lou and Jennifer shop and what looks they have particularly set out for these characters in the first season was so much fun and very informative! I have more clarity on everyone’s style now than I thought that I would after watching this feature. In case you missed anything in each of the “Bite Their Style” segments, a split screen of each character along with their style tips is shown to end out the feature. This is another very well edited feature and I cannot wait to watch it again before I go shopping for my Glee look.

The Power of Madonna (10:36 minutes) – The entire cast has nothing but good things to say about working on this episode, as you’ll see in this “Making Of/Behind the Scenes” feature. This was Ryan Murphy’s ode to Madonna but he wasn’t the only one responsible for the amazing hit this episode turned out to be. In fact, he didn’t do all of the song arrangements. Music Supervisor, PJ Bloom and Music Producer, Adam Anders have more to say on that amongst other things. Costume Designer, Lou Eyrich talks about styling the “Vogue” music video as snap shots of Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer, and Amber Riley are shown in costume. She’s not the only one who has something to say about “Vogue.” Jane Lynch brings the comedy, as she talks about needing direction for singing the hit song. That might have been difficult for her but “Like A Virgin” seemed to be the most difficult for others. As for the fun stuff…behind the scenes of “Express Yourself” and “Like A Prayer” being filmed is shown and the latter is extra special to Amber Riley since her mother was an extra in the performance. There is so much to learn and appreciate in this feature…Gleeks and Madonna fans, don’t skip it!

Making of a Showstopper (17:21 minutes) – This feature is really the making of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and has different segments, including “Finding the Song,” “Creating the Choreography,” “Costumes,” and “Production.” Behind the scenes footage is shown from not only the day of the shoot but dance rehearsal as well. The crew had never worked on anything this elaborate on the show at this point, so it’s quite a fascinating peak into what it take to put this master piece together. At the end of the feature, the entire performance of “Bohemian Rhapsody” is shown and what a phenomenal performance it is…definitely worth a standing ovation in your living room.

Appearing in this special feature:
Guest Star, Jonathan Groff
Music Supervisor, PJ Bloom
Music Producer, Adam Anders
Costume Designer, Lou Eyrich
Creator/Executive Producer, Ryan Murphy
Executive Producer/Writer, Brad Falchuck

Own Glee The Complete First Season on DVD today.