“A Night of Neglect”
April 19th, 2011
While I don’t normally link directly to my A.V. Club coverage here at the blog (although I could, I suppose, if you folks desired it), I figured this is a special circumstance given that I normally cover Glee here at Cultural Learnings. However, through a series of circumstances, Todd needed me to fill in for him for tonight’s episode, and so some last-second tinkering (which took longer than it had any right to thanks to a collection of technical issues) shifted my coverage to TV Club.
If you wish to comment on the episode but don’t want to wade into the A.V. Club comments, feel free to comment below, and I’ll do my best to follow both threads.
Cultural Learnings 
you always think shows are commenting on the issues you think they have
Yes but this show particularly addresses this issue in their scripts.
I’m beginning to think Glee would have worked better as a movie with the season one story arc as the plot. And, BTW, in last night’s episode, they couldn’t get anybody to come to the benefit concert but they could find a whole orchestra plus the Morningstar Baptist Choir to back them up?
I think there have been enough moments facilitated by the Television format (strong episodes, strong scenes, evolution of Brittany) to make it a worthwhile venture, but you’re right that we might hold it in higher esteem had it been a one-off.
And yes, circumstances stretched logic mighty far this week.
Anyone else as put off by the Stephen Tobolowsky character as I am? The guy’s an adult gay man depicted as both a pederast and a walking punchline. For the most gay-positive show on TV, doesn’t this sort of undercut it? The message seems to be “it’s okay to be gay, as long as you’re not a creepy middle-aged man.”