"Glee" (9 p.m. Eastern Tuesday, Fox ***), a show about a high school singing club, is having the audition of its life.
There's no bigger launching pad in television than the post-"American Idol" slot, so the pressure is on "Glee" to perform well. But even if the show clicks with the public, you'll have to wait months to see more; "Glee" won't return until next season.
Let's hope that by then this intriguing and so far sprightly update of the old "Hey kids, let's put on a show!" chestnut fixes its problems.
Not among the problems: the talent level of the performers. Much of the lead cast has to sing in the "Glee" pilot, and the two biggest musical numbers are tremendously entertaining. They're shot and performed with verve, and they put to shame those medleys contestants often perform on the Wednesday edition of "American Idol."
So "Glee" works as a musical. Whether it will work as a satirical dramedy about the cutthroat social environment of high school is another matter. If, like me, you're a former fan of FX's "Nip/Tuck," you may end up wondering which Ryan Murphy will take the upper hand when "Glee" returns.
Murphy created both "Glee" and "Nip/Tuck," and the latter show, in its first couple of seasons, was a deliciously edgy yet contemplative exploration of the varying demands of inner and outer beauty. Then Murphy apparently got bored and kept piling on "shocking" scenarios and doing his best to undercut, if not decimate, the show's appeal as a character drama.
There are signs that Murphy is willing to depict his "Glee" characters with some compassion. Casting Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester, the teacher trying to resurrect McKinley High School's glee club, was a wise move; the actor not only has a sweet voice but a hangdog hopefulness that gives a needed anchor to the show's more satirical elements. Cory Monteith gives quarterback Finn Hudson a jock-ish authority mixed with an appealingly square naivete, and Lea Michele not only has an amazing voice but manages to make her character, spoiled diva Rachel Berry, more than a humorless stereotype.
Speaking of humorless, the worst thing about "Glee" is Will's wife, Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig). As written by Murphy and played by Gilsig, the character is screechy, unfunny and deeply unpleasant. It's as if Ryan didn't trust that the audience would get behind Will and the saga of his ragtag glee club and so saw fit to give the teacher the shrewish, nagging wife from hell. Sigh.
The rest of the supporting characters are thinly sketched, but that's the case with many TV pilots. "Glee" gets by on attitude -- and stirring music -- in Tuesday's tryout, but the attitude could get old fast if that's all there really is.
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moryan@tribune.com
