Featured TV on DVD Review: Glee: Season Two, Volume One

February 3, 2011

Glee: Season Two, Volume One - Buy from Amazon

In just two years, Glee has earned 37 major nominations, winning 9 of them. My opinion of the first season of the show was mostly positive. I found it went over-the-top a little too frequently, especially the villainy of Sue Sylvester, while the music selections were not always to my taste, but overall is was strong. Can it keep up that pace through the first half of the second season? And is the split-season set worth picking up or should you wait?

The Show

  1. Audition
    It's a new year, and because of a transfer, the Glee Club needs a new member. However, the two new kids offer a little too much competition for some. Also, there's a new football coach, Dot-Marie Jones (you might not recognize the name, but you'll recognize the actress) and she's demanding the Glee Club, and the Cheerios, take a budget cut to help improve the football team.
    The season starts off on a mixed note. I loved the guest appearance by Charice, and Dot-Marie is always a great addition to any cast, but both Sue and Rachel are over-the-top evil here.
  2. Britney/Brittany
    Glee Club is going to do Brittany Spears songs, but Brittany Pierce objects, because her name is Brittany S. Pierce, which sounds a lot like Brittany Spears and that has traumatized her. However, when she goes in for dental work, she has a Brittany Spears related hallucination, which is so powerful that everyone else in Glee Club wants one.
    I thought this was a rather weak episode for two reasons. Firstly, I don't like Brittany Spears' music. Secondly, there's almost no plot and half the episode is hallucinations.
  3. Grilled Cheesus
    Finn makes a grilled cheese sandwich, and it has the face of Jesus on it, which he immediately starts worshiping. Meanwhile, Kurt's dad suffers a massive heart attack and when his classmates offer their prayers, he says he's an atheist, which is yet another reason he's different than everyone else. Almost everyone else.
    I don't know if this was the specific episode that Chris Colfer won his Golden Globe for, but he definitely earned it with his performance here. Best episode of the season so far.
  4. Duet
    Will sets up a competition for his class with the best duet winning a dinner for two at Breadsticks. Rachel and Finn decide to throw the competition in the hope that if the new guy, Sam, wins, he will stick around for nationals. However, when Sam tries to kiss his partner, Quinn, he puts his chances at risk.
    Another solid episode with good character development, including a few of the secondary characters such as Artie.
  5. The Rocky Horror Glee Show
    Will attempts to get back with Emma by taking advantage of her love of The Rocky Horror Picture Show by having Glee Club stage it as the musical. Of course this doesn't sit well with Dr. Carl, her current boyfriend.
    I was hoping this would be a stronger episode, as I really liked the movie. However, the love triangle between Will, Emma, and Carl is not one of the strongest storylines of the season.
  6. Never Been Kissed
    Two main storylines here. Firstly, Kurt becomes really upset with the rampant and unchecked homophobia in the school. Even his friends tell gay jokes without realizing how much it hurts him. Meanwhile, many of the guys, and even one of the girls, start using Coach Bestie as a cooler, which is something to think about when making out to cool down the situation. When she finds out, it's devastating.
    This is another episode that proved Chris Colfer's Golden Globe win was well-deserved. Not only that, but it is also Dot-Marie Jones' best performance in the show so far, and she's really impressive in previous episodes as well.
  7. The Substitute
    Sue intentionally gets Principal Figgins sick so she can be named principal while he gets better. Will is collateral damage and Holly Holiday comes in as a substitute teacher, taking over Glee Club. She's doing such a good job, it looks like she might replace Will.
    Oh my god. I agree with Sue Sylvester. Junk food should be removed from schools. Perhaps not a full ban that stops kids from bringing some from home, but certainly don't sell them in the cafeteria. Also, Gwyneth Paltrow was great in her guest appearance.
  8. Furt
    There are two marriages taking place, first between Kurt's Father and Finn's Mother, and the second between Sue Sylvester and... I'm not going to spoil that. Sue's mother, Carol Burnett, comes to town for the wedding. Meanwhile, Kurt's bully situation gets way out of control.
    Possibly the best episode of the season so far. Not only does Chris Colfer put in another amazing performance, but we get some real insight into Sue Sylvester. Too often the character is little more than a cartoon character, so this is an added bonus.
  9. Special Education
    It's sectionals. But the events of the last episode have left the team in chaos. Will they recover in time?
    At this point, discussing the episodes becomes nearly impossible, due to the number of spoilers. Unfortunately, this means they try to do too much with this episode, which results in a merely average episode. Of course, average for Glee is still pretty damn good.
  10. A Very Glee Christmas
    Brittany still believes in Santa Claus, which really shouldn't be that much of a surprise. So Artie convinces Glee Club to help her keep the belief. Meanwhile, Sue decides to steal Christmas.
    It's a little corny, but that's the way all Christmas specials should be.
Overall I would say the first ten episodes of season two are no better and no worse than season one. Considering how many awards season one earned, this is high praise.

The Extras

The extras includes a jukebox for each disc, which is basically just all the musical numbers without the plot getting in the way. Disc two has a short making of featurette on the The Rocky Horror Glee Show episode and a deleted song, also from that episode. Disc three has a short featurette on Jane Lynch modeling for her wax figure. (Seeing her face with hair, but without coloring, was sooooo creepy. It's the thing of nightmares.) The Wit of Brittany is just over two-minutes of out-of-context Brittany quotes, which are still funny. Finally, there's a 15-minute excerpt from the show's ComicCon Q&A.

The Verdict

On the one hand, the ten episodes presented on Glee: Season Two, Volume One have strong replay value and fans will want to own them and watch them over and over again. On the other hand, it will be a better deal when the full season set comes out. And if you want the show on High Definition, you will have to wait. Call this one a rental, but that's only if you really need to watch the first part of the season again before the winter hiatus ends next week.


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