I must admit, I was not a fan of Glee when it first came on. The songs were a little too hackneyed, the productions of the performances a little too polished for what was supposed to be a high school glee club. However, as the season went on, I found myself paying more attention to each episode. This is because the main storyline present was able to showcase a set of underdogs without falling into clichéd premises or other overly-done stories. While the pregnancy storyline was weak (to say the least), later episodes greatly reduced the role of Schuester’s wife and wife’s sister. What results by the last few episodes is a tour de force that has viewers sitting on the edge of their seats. For any weak character (the supremely offensive and unfunny Dalton Rumba), a Sue Sylvester or Burt Hummel more than makes up for it.
This DVD set captures the 13 episodes that originally comprised the show’s full run. Fox greenlit another set of episodes, and it will be those that are shown again on April 13th. However, beyond having the episodes for all posterity, Fox has provided a number of features that will keep viewers coming back for more. This means that there is a very detailed piece with director Ryan Murphy that is able to showcase exactly how much of the Glee mythos came from eir experience, and what exactly had to be changed for the broadcast version.
Adding much to these bonus features would have to be the audition cuts that provide two new performances – “Respect†by Mercedes†and “On My Own†by Rachel, bookending well with an introspective piece into McKinley High School. This DVD provides more than enough in the way of extra material, allowing viewers to be sated until that time in April when Fox begins to air new episodes. For those that missed the initial airing, this DVD set will get you caught up in a jiffy.
Rating: 9.4/10
Glee Season 1 Volume 1: Road To Sectionals (DVD Set) / 2009 Fox / 610 Minutes / http://www.foxconnect.com / http://www.fox.com