“Legacy”: Greek (S4: E10)

Brother to Brother

Here goes, ABCFam.  How you gonna wrap up four years of one of my fave shows?

Some time seems to have passed.  Cappie and Rusty are discussing their finals.  Spidey is still bitter that his dad is saving the day by buying the KT house.

Torts Prof has hired Casey as his research assistant, and he’s bringing Evan on now to argue for the university who wants to raze a blighted fraternity house to build a new gym.  KT.  Of course.  Spidey’s dad is behind all of this.   Evan is clearly on board with Torts Prof, but Casey is having moral concerns because KT means so much to Cappie.  Casey breaks the news to Cappie, who is not happy that she’s staying on the research team.

Cappie is conflicted: study for his finals or save KT?  He concocts a plan for the gang to break into Spidey’s dad’s office to get his old KT stuff to remind him what brotherhood is about.  This is a bit crazy.  (I mean, I loved–love–my sorority, but I don’t keep my old paddle and pictures in my office.)

Rusty still likes Ashleigh.  And his present of a nametag for her new desk at the marketing firm is super sweet.

Cappie gets a letter saying he has enough credits to graduate.  But he still has that one pesky final.  And he has to fight for KT.  While he and Rusty talk about what KT has meant to them, the bros show up with some booze, and they get trashed one more time in the old house.

Bex and Dale are trying to figure out why all of their past relationships have failed by talking to their exes.  He finds out that Laura

Standing up for KT

has been into him the whole time.  They have a mad makeout session after pushing Bex (accidentally) into a cake.

When the KT brothers wake up the next day, there’s a huge rally outside their house, and Cappie delivers a rousing speech inviting other students to explain why they love the house.  (Katherine: How many of you also lost your virginity here?)  The student speeches are a parade of who has been on this show: slutty girl who Rusty did body shots off in episode one of the first season and that newspaper girl that Rusty used to date.  We should get Max up in here.  (Weird.)  Spidey’s dad explains to the crowd, once again, that once you leave college, your fraternity experiences don’t matter.  He puts Casey on the spot to explain to the crowd why building the new athletic facility is a good idea.  She refuses to speak.  Now it’s Evan’s turn.  He also picks his friends over his future.

Wow, ok.  And the bulldozers start.  I thought they’d be able to save the house.  But they can’t.  It crumbles while Rusty and Cappie cry.  (Of course, this is all kind of silly because they can still be a fraternity without a house.  Plenty of chapters on campuses across the country live in dorms.  It does suck that all those who live there are without housing now, but I suspect the university would be

Saying goodbye

obligated to provide some.)  Rusty feels like he could have done more to save the house.  Casey points out that, regardless of outcome, he’s changed.  He stands up for himself.  He’s not just a nerdy little engineer anymore.  Casey and Rusty’s heart to heart leads her to tell Ash that Rusty can handle himself, and she can date him if she wants.

Now it’s Rusty’s turn to deliver a speech.  He tells his depressed brothers sitting on the curb that KT isn’t a house, it’s a brotherhood.  He tells them to study for their finals, bring their house GPA up, and he’s gonna find a new house for them for next year.  (Ah yes, they realize the realization I realized two paragraphs ago.)

Bex asks Evan why they didn’t work out.  He says it’s cuz he screwed up.

After all of this, it’s Casey’s turn to be footloose like Cappie.  She realizes she doesn’t want to be a lawyer, so she’s gonna up and move to DC to fight for her beliefs.  (Yah, no evil corps there.)  Cappie is going to come with her.  (But wait, isn’t this the same problem they’ve always had?  Except now they BOTH lack direction?)

Ash and Rusty decide to start dating.  (I still can’t wrap my head around that.  Too weird.)

Cappie misses his final because of everything that happened.  He argues his way into getting to take the oral examination.  It’s for a philosophy class, and he has to answer the question ‘why are we here’?  He delivers a speech about college.  (While there’s a montage about his time at CRU.)  He says he has a lot more to learn out there in the real world.  Sweet, if a bit cliche.

We also learn Cappie’s real name after he gets his diploma.  It’s Captain John Paul Jones.  Weird.  While the gang celebrates at Dobler’s, Cappie passes the KT presidency onto Rusty.  (Wait, doesn’t there have to be an election or something?)

We also find out that ZBZ wins the Golden Lily award from last week.

The “Forever Young” goodbye scene at the end is a little cliche as Cappie and Casey pack up the little red car to leave.  As Casey and Cappie drive off, Bex and Evan exchange a lingering glance.

Final thoughts?  I guess the ending was a little cliche.  I’m happy that they tried to avoid wrapping everything up too neatly, although there was a bit of a feeling of being rushed to the end.  (Calvin and Grant going to India?  What?)   I’m satisfied, though.  I’ve enjoyed the past four years with Greek, and I appreciate the writers highlighting the important legacies of Greek life even after we sisters and brothers graduate.  And as a Greek, I can tell you that those feelings of fraternity are real.  Yes, so are the parties.  But forging brotherhood and sisterhood out of a diverse group of pledges is no small feat.

I’ll miss this show.

“Agents of Change”: Greek (S4: E9)

Miss her?

ZBZ is abuzz.  Nationals has nominated them as finalists for the Golden Lily, an award for best chapter in the nation.  Now, it’s all hands on deck for the nationals visit this weekend.  Bex is viewing it as a referendum on her presidency.  Casey hears echoes of Franny in her self determination.  For the fundraiser they’re planning to impress nationals, Bex wants to throw a concert.  She reaches out to an alum in LA to get some help with her plan—FRANNY’S BACK!

Franny offers to get the Biebz for their concert.  (As Bex claims, a Bieber in the hand is worth two Lacheys in the bush.)

KT is still trying to figure out who is out to get them.  And when an ‘accident’ damages their house, they have to figure out how to get money to fix it.  They hear that Chambers International (shudder) is interested in buying Rusty’s self-healing wire.  When Rusty goes looking for information, Evan is a total jerk.  When an inspector comes by to look at the KT house, they condemn it.  Spidey’s dad steps in to stop it, and everyone is excited except for Spidey.

Calvin is so pissed off with the Omega Chi’s prank on Dale, and he thinks about quitting.  Calvin’s talk about confronting problems head on inspires Evan to visit his parents with Rusty in tow.  His parents quickly realize that Evan isn’t there to catch up, but instead wants to talk business.  Speaking of mad awk, it must suck to be Rusty, totally caught in the middle.  Evan and his parents do seem to make a little bit of progress, though.  And he finally gets an “I’m proud of you son” from dear old Dad.  It all ends up working out due to Evan’s law school negotiation skills, and Rusty gets a job working on his wire with Chambers International once he graduates.

Meanwhile, Calvin wants to take back Omega Chi from the jerkfaces.  The pledges seem to have Calvin’s back.  They miss Dale and are fed up with Tripp’s evil presidency.

When Ash, Casey, and Franny go out for drinks, it is mad awk.  Franny insists that she’s changed and that she misses Casey.  But, then the Biebz cancels.  And four ZBZ presidents start screaming at each other.  Nothing’s changed.  And then the nationals inspectors come.  And then it hits everyone.  Pledge Spidey looks a lot like Justin Bieber.  (I’ve been thinking that all season.)

During the concert, Ash and Casey reflect on their relationship with ZBZ.  Ash isn’t bothered by this new Franny betrayal because she’s moved on from the house and is over it.  Casey is still too close to ZBZ to be over the I Kapp debacle.  Casey replies that ZBZ was formative for her in college and that she wants to give back.  Ash asks her how much she’s planning to give.  Touche, Ash, touche.

The nationals inspectors are totally convinced by the Biebz look alike.  When they get home, Franny makes a similar argument as Ash, to which Casey replies, “I guess you can’t be nostalgic for something you never left.” Franny’s point is that everything that seems so important to sorority members: dates, formals, and contests, seem trivial once you move on.  But it’s not trivial, really.  The memories are significant.  Casey seems to be getting ready to leave ZBZ, despite how much it meant to her.

This is the first time I’m starting to feel like they’re wrapping up this show.  This episode is full of reflections on what sororities and fraternities mean to those who belong, those who don’t, and those who move on.  And I really like their observations.  They resonate with my experiences as a sorority member.  Omega Chi moving back toward being a real brotherhood, Bex and Casey share a moment where they talk seriously about what it means to be a leader, and friendship and sisterhood seem to blossoming at CRU.

But I still think they have a lot to do next week to wrap all of this up.  And I’m sad to see this show go.

“Subclass Plagiostomi”: Greek (S4: E7)

Natalie is back to cause chaos.

Evan is piiiiissed at Casey that she recommended that Bex break up with him.  Meanwhile, Bex is burning all the letters he wrote her.  And *wince* sending the diamond necklace he bought her down the garbage disposal.  Meanwhile meanwhile, Casey is getting ready to kick Evan’s butt at mock trial.

KT’s on academic probation.  The bros are convinced that it’s Omega Chi out to destroy them.  And their fingers are pointing to Dale.  Who is now apparently dating that super annoying Panhell girl, Natalie.

Ashleigh runs into a former prof looking to hire for her new marketing firm at a job fair.  Simon Torts Prof asks her to come to a donor dinner and gives her his credit card to buy something to wear.  Creepy.

Bex is waging war on Gamma Psi after learning that Omega Chi will host its formal with Gamma Psi instead of ZBZ. But she also finds out that Omega Chi isn’t planning to initiate Dale and instead wants to humiliate him.

Casey and Evan are really out for blood at the mock trial competition.  Casey and Katherine win, though.  The STP (Simon Torts Prof) offers Casey a research position.  Evan’s convinced that STP and Ash dating is why Casey won.  When Ash asks STP to meet him later at the donor dinner, he says he wants her there when it starts, and she begins to see the strings attached to the credit card.  They break up.

The pledge talent show gets sluttier every year.  But here’s the rub.  Omega Chi DOES try to humiliate Dale when the pledge brothers walk off the stage and leave Dale dancing by himself, erm, in his underwear.  Casey and Calvin join him onstage to help him out. Dale’s really depressed and claims that brotherhood is a sham.

But Ash, Dale, and Rusty watch the Bachelor at the end, so it’s ok.

Next week?  Biebz (except not) AND FRANNY COMES BACK!!1!!1  ZOMG!

“Midnight Clear”: Greek (S4: E6)

She works hard for the money

Calvin’s turning 21!  And Casey and Ash still haven’t spoken–and are both channeling their freak outs about it through facebook stalking.  And it’s totes awkward between Rusty and Ash after their homecoming make out, which only Ashleigh knows about.

 

Meanwhile, a snowstorm is sweeping Cyprus.  Way to be up with current events, ABCFam.

A few weeks have passed, and Ash now has a minimum-wage job at Dobler’s.

Casey is freaking out about the ‘law school curse.’  Apparently law school ruins relationships.  So does grad school, my friends, so does grad school.

Rusty finds out that he made out with Ashleigh.  He seems to think that she’s really into him.  But then Simon aka Torts Prof shows up as Ashleigh’s date to the party.  Awwww.  Kward.  This does not make Ash and Casey’s reconciliation any easier.

Calvin’s party sucks because there’s no beer, but since Ash works at Dobler’s, they all trudge over there in the snow.  All Calvin wants for his birthday is for everyone to stop fighting, and with the idyllic snow, it seems like he might get it.  But it’s Greek, so he really won’t.

Checking Calvin's ID at Dobler's

Once they get to Dobler’s, Bex proposes a game of kiss and tell.  You have to tell the truth or kiss someone I guess.  Sounds fun.  Except not really.  (“Nope, still gay,” says Calvin after kissing Bex.)  When Ash and Rusty have to kiss, there’s a special moment.  Bex gets to ask Evan about their relationship.  He feels pressured by her neediness, but she’s responding to feeling him slipping away.

The game has convinced Ashleigh and Casey to reconcile.  However, they both assert that the second Sex and the City Movie was good, so I don’t think we should believe that this will last.  Ah yes, I’m right.  When Ash tells Casey that she kissed Rusty, things are right back on shaky ground.  Ash calls it off with Rusty.  Bex finally realizes that she deserves better than treating like crap by Evan.

When the bar owner comes in the next morning to see Ash et al. fast asleep, she loses her job.  Bummer.

“Mad Love”: Premiere Review

How I Met your Mother or Mad Love?

The only thing I know about this show is that Sarah Chalke is in it.  Also, Rules of Engagement isn’t on tonight because of the premiere.  But here goes.

First thought? Annoying voiceover.

Jason Biggs plays Ben Parr, who is just about to break up with his girlfriend.  Sarah Chalke plays Kate Swanson, a germophobe.  Tyler Labine plays Larry Munsch, who looks and acts exactly like his name sounds, and is Ben’s best friend. The fourth friend (there’s always a fourth) is Kate’s fiery friend Connie, played by Judy Greer.

The awful girlfriend that Ben has to break up with is awful indeed.  An awful actress.  Also, she thinks ‘taken for granite’ is a phrase, even though the writers beat that joke into the ground.

Ben and Kate drag Larry and Connie along on their first date.  Larry and Connie do have a nice rapport of pretending to hate each other.  It’s a bit predictable, but it is funny.  I don’t really buy Kate and Ben’s dynamic, though.  Kate and Ben’s burgeoning relationship is tripped up because he hasn’t actually broken up with Erin yet.  I’m way more interested in Larry and Connie than Kate and Ben.  Their new relationship is way too perfect, if beset by some bad timing.  Larry and Connie then have to scheme ways to get Kate and Ben back together.

Again, though.  Just like I said with Traffic Light, I’m not really sure what the point of this show is.  It’s not nearly as funny as How I Met Your Mother or as sweet as some of the other sitcoms out there.  Although I have nothing against the pilot, I don’t really see myself needing another ’30-somethings in New York City relationship sitcom’ in my lineup.  Also, Ben is waaaay too much like Ted–super earnest, desperate for love, trying a bit too hard…  Even the bar of choice looks like MacLaren’s.

I think this show has some potential, and it’s cute enough.

“Mr. Sunshine”: Premiere Review

I have high hopes for this show.  Also, ABC has been endlessly promoting it, so I’m ready for the repetitive commercials to stop.

Matthew Perry’s character, Ben, is in charge of San Diego’s ‘Sunshine Center’ arena.  And he is not so sunny.  Or at all sunny, really.  He’s a 40-year-old gloomy Gus who only thinks about himself.  Crystal (Allison Janney) is the absolutely insane and mildly racist owner of the arena.  The Sunshine Center hosts concerts, political conventions, sports games, and special events like circuses.

First crisis!  As a hockey game gives way to a circus performance, the hot water pump is broken and Hurley (from Lost) and his maintenance crews can’t melt the ice.

Second crisis! Crystal’s son Roman (Nate Torrence) needs a job.  Except he has no skills.

Third crisis!  There’s a circus elephant loose in the arena.

Fourth crisis!  Despite Ben’s usual desire to be alone, he decides to pursue more commitment with the marketing director, Alice (Andrea Anders).  Aaaaand she breaks up with him.  So she can move in with his best friend.

Allison Janney handles her light-hearted role fantastically.  She hilariously cruises around the arena’s underbelly in a golf cart, and as we already knew from “The West Wing,” she has fantastic comedic timing.  Nate Torrence is a comedic find with his sunny character and naivete.  He’s amazing as Crystal’s son.  It’s also smart to set a workplace comedy in an arena, which is something new and provides opportunities for interesting crises.

I think this show needs a little bit of time to come into it’s own.  Many shows do, of course.  The pilot was a bit rushed and confused, but I think the talent is here to make this show a good one.  Ben also made a bit too much of a transformation to be believable in one episode, but this show has potential.

Grade: B

Traffic Light: Premiere Review

The trailers for this show tell you absolutely nothing.  I have no idea what it’s about.  Other than some couples or something.

They’re all at different spots in their relationships.  Adam is about to move in with his girlfriend.  Mike has been married to Lisa for six years and has a kid.  Ethan is single-ish.

Our friends live in Chicagoland.  Adam is a journalist with emo kid glasses and an exploitative boss.  Mike is a lawyer who hides from his wife in his car.  Ethan is Australian with a fear of commitment.  These three friends seem to always be having problems with their women, or lack thereof.  There was a fourth friend, Ben, who seems to have just passed away.

For the most part, the characters just talk with each other while driving.  It is kind of cool that they all have cars that have phones in them, I guess.

One of the things that really bothers me about this show is a total battle of the sexes premise.  It’s always girls v. guys.  The characters seem passive aggressive and always scheming to get what they want instead of confronting their significant others like adults.  It’s a sad view of love, really.  In addition, the pilot doesn’t develop the characters of the women: Mike’s wife and Adam’s girlfriend.  They seem to exist just as one-dimensional counterparts to the men.  This could change, but it’s very disappointing in the pilot.

Moreover, the whole young group of friends dealing with love reminds me of How I Met Your Mother but without the charm and lightheartedness.  I didn’t watch much of Better with You which premiered this fall, but this show has exactly the same premise.  And frankly, Rules of Engagement, another show with the same premise is much funnier.  (But I should admit that I’m a closet David Spade megafan.)  I’d watch any of the better love/couple sitcoms over this one.

The show is well-acted.  I’ll give the stars that.  Also, I do love a show that features Chumbawumba’s “Tub Thumping” so prominently.

Why is the show called traffic light?  According to Adam, driving on the freeway is the boring part of the journey.  The fun stuff happens on the side streets where the traffic lights are.  (Basically, it boils down to this: Lisa and Mike are red because they are in a stable relationship and they’ve ‘stopped’ to be with each other.  Adam and his gf are yellow because they’re slowing down to figure out if their relationship is somewhere they want to stay.  Ethan is green, seeking adventure.)

Grade: C

Premiere Review: “The Chicago Code”

I’ve been a melancholy TV watcher this season. With the departure of Lost and 24, I haven’t been able to find a drama that really grabs me. Walking Dead did, but only for six episodes. Terriers was canceled after just one 13-episode season.  Burn Notice, White Collar, House…they’re pleasant, but nothing to get me that excited about watching what’s on my DVR. Except for Friday Night Lights (thank goodness for Direct TV. And now that’s almost over forever (tomorrow night! Although Luke Cafferty [Matt Lauria] has apparently followed Matt Saracen and moved to Chicago in this show…)

There are several nice dramas on television right now that I’ve caught an episode or two of. That includes two new ones from CBS: Hawaii 5-0 and Blue Bloods. I enjoyed them for a few episodes, but couldn’t get motivated to watch them every week. They’re procedurals with just enough cross-episode conflicts to reward a loyal viewer. But they’re 75% procedural (better than, say, a CSI, which is 95% procedural).

{Actually…that would be a very interesting television study. What percentage of a show’s content is devoted to the single episode or the larger theme? It’d be tough to quantify…what about when an episode is all about that one conflict; it would tilt the scale. Or where do you put the time spent on establishing shots? We should ponder this.}

So, imagine how excited I was when I watched The Chicago Code Monday night and it was 100% serial.

Yes, it was one episode. And a pilot at that. They can’t move on to the “crime of the week” until they establish the overarching story. And, actually, in that way, this pilot resembled Hawaii 5-0′s, which focused solely on tracking James Marsden’s character. And as I understand it, that plot line has come back into the show, but there were a lot of stand-alone episodes in between.

I don’t think that will happen with The Chicago Code. The team that’s been assembled isn’t just going after “corruption.” They’re going after one person, Alderman Gibbons (Delroy Lindo). In a perfect world, every story would connect to him…but that’s not going to happen on network TV. Still, I’ll be happy if it comes close. Especially since this first season is only 13 episodes.

Even if it doesn’t, there are so many reasons for me to keep watching The Chicago Code, even if I don’t obsesses over its serial nature. First and foremost, it’s set in the greatest city in America…nay, the world. And unlike some shows that drop in obvious Chicago references to prove their cred (I’m looking at you Mike & Molly) or look more like New York (because you’re filmed there, The Good Wife), this is pure Chicago. You want proof? The main cop is a White Sox fan. No casual Chicago show would feature the Sox. And even references to the Cubs are steeped in deep knowledge about how this city’s fans operate.  And every outside shot is definitive Chicago…because it’s actually filmed there.

There are some kinks in the armor. The actor who plays the lead detective, Jarek Wysocki (Jason Clarke) is from Australia, and early on, his accent is incredibly obvious. It either got better or I got used to it. Also, this city will never appoint a young, female police superintendent (Jennifer Beals) nor will an alderman ever be more powerful than The Mayor.

But I can look past all of that because so much else is right with the world this show is set in. Including the writing, the characters, the filming. It’s the best cop show I can remember seeing on network television. That caveat shouldn’t be seen as a slight. There’s just more creator Shawn Ryan can do on The Shield than he can do here. Or David Simon on The Wire. Given the bland limitations of most network TV, The Chicago Code stands out. (And kudos to Fox for again pushing the boundaries…Lone Star flopped with the public, hopefully this won’t).

My favorite part of the pilot was the dialogue. Quick, funny (in a gallows humor kind of way), and impassioned. The four main characters all appear to be excellent in their portrayals. And although we haven’t delved into their backstories, I can tell they’ll be rich and conflicted. I’m not even positive we’re supposed to completely hate the bad guy…despite the fact that he had an innocent woman killed.

One more thought on this premiere. The part I wasn’t wild about. Voice over. Why? Why do we need that? It establishes, I guess, that we’ll be looking at the show from different angles. But it’s usually cheesy. This was done sparingly in the pilot, and in one case at the end, to great effect. But I could definitely do without.

In summary, I know where I’ll be every Monday night at 8 CT. I hope you’ll join me. America might not be. 9.4 million last night for the premiere, which is decent. But they lost 3 million from House and finished behind The Bachelor.

Grade: A

“Fumble”: Greek (S4: E5)

Aftermath of the KT party--lots of red solo cups

So, now it’s actually homecoming.  And Casey and Cappie wake up together at ZBZ.  And Casey has a hangover.  And Ash didn’t come home because she was sleeping with Torts Prof.  Casey panics, throws him out, and assures Cappie that they aren’t getting back together.

Rusty is also having a tough morning.  He’s trying to piece together exactly what happened.  He knows he hooked up with a hot girl, and he and Calvin go on a hunt to find out who it was.  Everyone they run into keeps telling Rusty he’s a legend for stealing the goat.  When they finally put it all together, it turns out Rusty’s famous science-y wire was used to pierce his nipple.  Ohhh, and we finally found out that the mysterious girl that he made out with was Ashleigh.  Which is way too weird for me.  But only Ash remembers.  Rusty doesn’t.  Which is good.  Cuz that’s weird and creepy.

Casey finds out that Beaver and Katherine are “lovers.”  Casey also finds out that Beaver’s name is Walter.  She also gets into a really awwwwkward discussion about birth control with Katherine.  This gets Casey thinking.  She can’t remember if she and Cappie used birth control during their drunken hookup.  Thank goodness for the morning after pill.

Bex is still having some Evan woes.  She’s upset that she actually cares about the fact that their relationship is falling apart.  She’s in love.  Torts Prof wants to take Ash to dinner.

Cappie tries to woo Casey by showing her that it’s not always bad to be a kid.  He sets up a backyard carnival for her.  Aaaaaaand, they kiss.

I have to say.  I’m really digging their portrayal of the issues that Ashleigh is going through as a college grad who can’t find a job.  Her feelings of hopelessness, confusion, and desperation must reflect what a lot of students are going through.  It’s nice that they’ve lingered on this instead of just quickly passed it by.

Glum Review: “The Sue Sylvester Shuffle” (S2:E11)

A Very Special Super Bowl Episode has ushered in a new year of Glum Reviews. Let the awfulness begin.

************************************************

- Anything goes at McKinley High. Kids can play with fire all they like and strut around with pointy chests and stick raw chicken breasts down their bras. Glee is so dedicated to realism. [-1]

- In my many reoccurring complaints, I don’t think I’ve mentioned my problem with WMHS. In my school district, we had a James Conant High School and a William Fremd High School. But they did not go by JCHS or WFHS. It was CHS and FHS. Why aren’t they just MHS? It really bothers me. [-1]

- A somewhat realistic portrayal of something going wrong on the football field. Not terrible, and it played into Finn’s constant insecurities. [+1]

- Back when this show started, Sue’s ridiculous comments were funny. Now, they’re so ridiculous, that it’s just weird and pathetic. Raccoon hormones? Come on. [-1]

- I can understand Sue’s desire and difficulty to top herself, but this storyline had better resolve with a good message. Otherwise, more wasted ridiculousness.

- Has Artie really never been slushied? I don’t buy that…

- And let me take this moment to say again how stupid the slushy thing is. That doesn’t happen in real high schools. At least not with the regularity it does on Glee. [-1]

- “This is the choir room. Now put up your fists because you and I are going to do some dancing.” I feel like this is a line Biff would say in Back to the Future. “Let’s make like a tree and get out of here.” It’s not the dance room, fist-fighting isn’t boxing so you’re not really dancing around…just a dumb line. [-1]

- I like this idea. It actually makes sense for the football bullies to be forced into glee club to end the ridicule. Unless it backfires and makes them hate the glee clubbers more. But it’s a sitcom, so that won’t happen. [+1]

- Rachel: “I won’t let anything get in the way of a performance.” Except your ego. OH SNAP! Santana should have said that.

- Again I ask, what’s the point of working on this song? Rachel and Puck…great…are you going to do it at competition? No. [-1]

- I like that they’re doing a country song…though it’s not labeled as one…no points either way.

- I had no idea Puck and Finn weren’t allies. As two football players on Glee Club, don’t they pretty much have to be? But let’s create conflict for this episode. [-1]

- Have I missed something? What championship is this? Why aren’t they calling it Regional or Sectional or something like that? It better not be state. If it’s state, I’m deducting 3 points.

- Some solid laughs between an outraged Figgins and an indignant Sue. [+1]

- OK, a hearty belly laugh after Sue’s ridiculous tantrum (which I was about to deduct points for, since she certainly would be suspended for an outburst like that). But you cut to Mr. Schu who tells Beastie “I wish you could have seen it” and Sue immediately walks in and recreates it all in the locker room with the same dramatic music. Very funny. [+1]

- What Championship game!?!?!?!

- It just hit me, as I was wondering why they didn’t do “Thriller” around Halloween. Episode 10 of this season was a Christmas theme. Santa Clause at all. This is Episode 11. Pop Quiz: How many high school football games are played after January 1st? ZERO. [-2]

- Since when does Mr. Schue know modern music? [-1]

- But seriously, why would you choose to do “Thriller?” Makes no sense. [-1]

- Mr. Schuester is always good for a touching moment, like the one he had with the bully. [+1]

- “I’m torn.” “I’m not.” “I’m Brittany.” HA! [+1]

- CHOOSE ONCE AND FOR ALL — for the seventh time — WHERE YOUR LOYALTIES LIE! I’m so glad the writers keep coming up with original conflicts. And things that ALWAYS stick. [-1]

- This makes sense. While trying to learn one complicated dance routine, learn another one solely for warm-ups. [-1]

- Oh look, Kurt is still on this show. And we get to see him sing a completely unnecessary song unrelated to anything. But I do enjoy these all-male a capella numbers.It’s so funny how Blaine is the only who gets any solos, though…ever. [-1]

- They only need 4 more players for a regulation football game? HOW CONVENIENT! There are so many actual rules being broken here, it’s depressing. [-1]

- I cannot get over the ridiculousness of this episode. People come and go on the football team, cheerleader squad and glee club more than Brett Favre. [-1]

- 9 players, 4 of them girls, 1 in a wheel chair. In “The Championship.” This is so sad. Especially since most Glee fans will still like this episode.

- If they needed 9 players to be on the field (per Blaine’s sudden knowledge of Ohio high school football rules), how can Finn leave the field at any time? [-1]

- Seriously, how many times do we have to have this speech about being cool and being part of Glee club? [-1]

- They didn’t even bother to put yard lines on the field. What is wrong with this show? [-1]

- Yay! They won their first playoff game! Which is apparently also the state championship…played at home…in January. [-1]

- Nope, no interesting revelation with Sue. Just a quick way out of the Cheerios storylines for the year. But I bet they’ll return.

- They can’t even keep their own wacky football lingo straight. That game wasn’t the conference championship. They already won the conference at the beginning of the episode. [-1]

- Excellent. More Quinn/Finn/Rachel love triangle. [-1]

Such a terrible episode.

Score: -16