Can Glee’s second season match its first?

The Glee hype machine has been running solid for more than 16 months now. Starting with the sneak peak in May 2009, the FOX comedy/drama/musical/thing had an outstanding first year. The ratings were solid but not spectacular (I’m assuming the demo was strong, but as you all know, Brett is our ratings expert, I am far from). However, Glee’s first year was more than just ratings; it was a freshman phenomenon. But, going into its second year, is it ripe for a sophomore slump?

The clichés are there for a reason. Ratings-wise, creativity-wise, young television shows often experience a downturn in their second seasons (See Heroes, apparently Dexter (not that I’d know), and according to TVTropes.org Veronica Mars, but I cry foul on that one). Sometimes it can be believing ones own publicity, other times it could be trying to transition a one year story into a multi-year arc. I think, though, as much as I like Glee, that things aren’t going to be as rosy for the kids at McKinley High School as they were last year.

The first thirteen episodes were good, but the back nine was a completely different story. The quality was, from my perspective, pretty erratic. Much effort was put into the “Power of Madonna” episode, and it came out well. Guest stars like Neil Patrick Harris, Idina Menzel, and Kristen Chenoweth helped make individual episodes pop. Unfortunately though, episodes like “Funk” helped to identify weaknesses in the show that aren’t always seen.

• There’s not enough time to devote to the cast already on the show; adding more is not the answer. Thankfully Heather Morris as Brittany and Naya Rivera have been upgraded to regular cast members, but is there enough room? They’re adding, I think, three new Glee club members. How many Glee fans can properly identify Other Asian as Mike Chang?
• The music selection is the definition of hit or miss. For every “Don’t Rain on My Parade” (my go to non-mainstream awesome Gleek song) there are several “A House is Not a Home” and “One Less Bell to Answer” that makes me scratch my head, and the show’s young demographic just wonder what the heck they’re listening to.
• How much money are people are going to continue to spend on MP3 downloads before they realize how much money they’ve spent? I actually went back and done some math on my iTunes account, and, well, I’ll just say it’s embarrassing and move on. That money train is going to dry up much sooner than anyone thinks.
• We already know half of the storylines of the second season. Ryan Murphy has done an excellent of maintaining the hype over the summer, but through leaks of guest casting (Britney Spears, Carole Burnett) including more “will they/won’t they” casting discussions than were ever necessary. And when we know who these guests are going to be, the storylines surrounding them become more and more clear.

Things aren’t all doom and gloom, though. The show has received all of the hype because it is pretty damn good. The characters, while not at all clichéd (I jest), are fun to watch. The music and choreography, while sometimes poorly chosen, are always quality, especially as they rely less and less on the digital processing (OK, so not yet, but a guy can dream right?). So, do I think there will be a slump? Yeah, I do, but certainly not one of Heroes proportions. I mean, you’ve got Britney vs. Brittany, right?

Clacked by Ivey West
on Aug 27, 2010 @ 09:00 EST5EDT