Seven Random Thoughts About "The Rocky Horror Glee Show"

I.

“I need that local Emmy, Will!” – Sue

I can really relate to that comment, for reasons I can’t really explain here. Those who know me best will probably understand.

II.

“There is something wondrous about Elton John, and something monstrous.” - Robert Christgau

That’s a quote from 1975, written at the height of Elton John’s popularity. It doesn’t have anything to do with Glee, but as I was watching tonight’s show, I was reminded of it.

III.

In the winter of 1980, I went to see the midnight show of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” for eight weekends running. At that time it was showing at the Showcase Theater in downtown Sacramento, which unfortunately no longer exists. I went with my girlfriend, I went with friends, I went with co-workers at McDonalds, I went with my brothers, and I even went with my parents. It was certainly not a “great” movie, but it was fun, and watching it with a bunch of people who felt the same way was even more fun.

IV.

I think that Glee has a lot in common with Twin Peaks. Both inhabit worlds that seem on the surface to be real, but when you look a little deeper, you can’t help but realize that they’re not. No one in real life acts like the people on Glee or Twin Peaks. I loved Twin Peaks. I respect Glee, but I don’t love it.

V.

Tonight’s episode of Glee was fantastic – an hour of television that might not be matched for the rest of this season. Just about everything worked perfectly – the Barry Bostwick/Meat Loaf cameos, the guest appearance by John Stamos – and the performances were spot on, close enough to the originals to sound great but different enough to sound original. I laughed out loud on several occasions, even at the lines of characters that I found totally unbelievable.

VI.

In the current issue of GQ, there are hot shots of the starlets of Glee in what some might consider suggestive poses. This has resulted in a lot of moralizing, all of it ridiculous. To me, it does present a contradiction (and as you can see from a post below, I love contradictions). The more this sort of thing happens, the more ridiculous the show seems. Now, I get that part of the show’s appeal is that it is ridiculous – just like Twin Peaks was ridiculous. But there is a fine line between “ridiculous” and “jumping the shark” – and I have to wonder how close Glee is getting to the latter.

VII.

Let’s do the time warp again.