WRITER: Ian Brennan[SPOILERS] There's been a scattergun approach since Glee came back from hiatus, perhaps because the writers realized their attempt to weave continuing storylines through every hour didn't quite work. So now each episode has been more self-contained and focused on fun, with an extra song per episode. That's fine, but Glee has to tread carefully, because this second wave of episodes has definitely lost an underlying sense of focus. But accepting that, this episode ricocheted around its storyline with giddy abandon and proved to be very entertaining.
DIRECTOR: Elodie Keene
GUEST CAST: Olivia Newton-John, Molly Shannon, Jenna Ushkowitz, Iqbal Theba, Patrick Gallagher, Stephen Tobolowsky, Naya Rivera, James Earl, Max Adler, Heather Morris, Harry Shum Jr., Dijon Talton, Mary Jo Catlett & Robin Trocki
In "Bad Reputation", Kurt (Chris Colfer) discovered a toe-curling home-video of Sue (Jane Lynch) dancing to Olivia Newton-John's "Let's Get Physical" and turned her into a laughing stock by posting it online; Mr Schue (Matthew Morrison) used Sue's viral as inspiration for new homework about songs with bad reputations, asking the club to rehabilitate an embarrassing/cheesy tune (using Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" as an example); Sue persuaded Emma (Jayma Mays) to develop her self-confidence by verbally embarrassing Schue in front of the faculty; and someone posted a "Glist" on notice-boards that ranked the glee club's membership in order of sexual promiscuity, so Schue was ordered by Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) to uncover who compiled it, as the thin-skinned gleeks took steps to improve their rankings -- particularly Rachel (Lea Michele), who's stunned to have been placed bottom.It was all very unfocused (even for Glee), but Ian Brennan's my favourite writer on this show because his scripts are often the funniest and involve more recognizable songs. There was plenty of fist-gnawing delight in seeing Matthew Morrison bust some moves to "Ice Ice Baby", although the song's new arrangement wasn't that inspired, and the early-'90s rap theme continued with a fantastically fast-paced rendition of M.C Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" in the library. The show also seems to have decided that finding ways to shoehorn Sue into music videos is inherently hilarious, so there was a moment of indulgence when Olivia Newton-John arrived to reenact her "Let's Get Physical" video with Jane Lynch. Like Madonna's "Vogue" video a few weeks ago, this was perhaps funnier on paper, mainly because the choreography and singing was again too good. It's almost like a proviso of these tracks being used is that they can't be spoiled, so despite the fact Sue's a character who should be tone deaf and uncoordinated, she always does a competent (overdubbed) job of these song-and-dance routines.
Elsewhere, Molly Shannon made her debut as a new teacher called Brenda Castle, although there wasn't really much time to utilize her frighteningly upfront personality very well. But I'm the show's starting to swell its ranks again, as the show could definitely use some funnier adults, particularly as Sandy (Stephen Tobolowsky) rarely makes an appearance and coach Tanaka (Patrick Gallagher) is about as funny as toothache. Figgins can be amusing, but he's too often stuck behind his desk making ridiculous decisions just to fuel an hour of plot that week, and Emma's OCD is hardly laugh-out-loud material. Hopefully Shannon will inject some vigor into McKinley High's adult contingent, who definitely need a few more larger-than-life characters like Sue.Overall, "Bad Reputation" was another hour of fast-paced frivolity with the best set list of songs for awhile now (ignoring the Madonna special), so while the storylines were as condensed and tenuously drawn as usual, there was enough comedy and musicality to help sweep you along. Like most episodes, you could pick the script apart until it was a threadbare mess, but as a piece of silly entertainment designed to make you forget your troubles for 60 minutes, it worked just great.
Asides
- Heather Morris can really move! What Brittany lacks in verboseness, she makes up for in physical movement! Wind her up and watch her go!
- Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" closed the show, but I'm really sure if that was a great performance from Lea Michele, or if she killed it. It was a bit OTT for me.
- I tip my hat to how Glee hasn't turned its back on the disabled characters it introduced, from cheerleader Becky to Sue's sister Gene, but I still think every scene they're in comes loaded with a patronizing, syrupy attitude. Like the show's drawing attention to how god-damn inclusive it's being.
- Isn't it about time we returned to the Regionals storyline?
