“Glee” Season 1: Road To Sectionals (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

December 22, 2009 by Dennis Amith

A series that is just so fun to watch, well-written, well-cast and songs that catchy and enjoyable. Definitely one of the highlights on television for 2009! Gleeks will definitely enjoy this DVD box set featuring the first half of season 1!

TITLE: “Glee” Season 1: Road To Sectional

DURATION: 13 Episodes (580 minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Widescreen (1:85:1), English Dolby Surround

COMPANY: Twentieth Century Fox

RELEASED: December 29, 2009

Created by Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy

Directed by Brad Falchuk, Elodie Keene, Ryan Murphy and John Scott

Written by Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy

Executive Producer: Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy

Co-Executive Producer: Ian Brennan, John Peter Kousakis

Producer: Alexis Martin, Michael Novick

Associate Producer: Jennifer Morrison, Thomas Kuehl

Music by James S. Levine

Cinematography by Christopher Baffa

Edited by Bradley Buecker, Nathan Allen, Joe Leonard

Casting by Eric Dawson, Carol Kritzer, Robert J. Ulrich

Production Design by Mark Hutman

Art Direction by Kevin Constant, Peter Clemens

Set Decoration by Barbara Munch

Series Costume Design by Lou Evrich

Starring:

Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester

Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester

Lea Michele as Rachel Berry

Cory Monteith as Finn Hudson

Dianna Agron as Quinn Fabray

Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel

Jessalyn Gilsig as Terri Schuester

Jayma Mays as Emma Pillsbury

Kevin McHale as Artie Abrams

Amber Riley as Mercedes Jones

Mark Salling as Noah “Puck” Puckerman

Jenna Uskowitz as Tina Cohen-Chang

Naya Rivera as Santa Lopez

Heather Morris as Brittany

Iqbal Theba as Principal Figgins

Harry Shum Jr. as Mike Chang

Dijon Talton as Mark Rutherford

Patrick Gallagher as Ken Tanaka

Stephen Tobolowsky as Sandy Ryerson

Josh Sussman as Jacob Ben Israel

Eve as Grace Hitchens

Give a cheer for TV’s hottest, funniest and most talked-about new series when “Glee” Season 1: Road To Sectionals debuts on DVD December 29 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Filled with beloved characters and sensational musical numbers, “Glee” Season 1: Road To Sectionals is an electrifying, pitch-perfect winner. William McKinley High School once had a champion glee club, but now they are floundering. That is when an idealistic Spanish teacher (Matthew Morrison, Music & Lyrics) takes up their cause, vowing to transform the rag-tag group of singers and dancers into champions.

With a lot of hype behind the teen musical/comedy/drama series “Glee”, many people catching “American Idol” wondered what this new series would be about. The series created by Ryan Murphy (writer for “Nip/Tuck”, “Popular”), Brad Falchuk (producer for “Nip/Tuck”) and Ian Brennan would gain attention because of its music but for the most part, it would prove to become successful with its catchy music (with actual talent that can sing), a witty storyline and its well-cast characters.

The series proved to become so popular that two soundtracks have been released for the television series and even was nominated for four 2010 Golden Globe Awards. With support from various media sites to even celebrities and a fanbase that have branded themselves as “gleeks”. “Glee”, although not exactly original (“Fame” was known for its musical teens in the 1980′s and the teenage jock musical was featured heavily in the Disney “High School Musical” films) and a cast of talent playing teenagers from various ethnicities and even one who is handicapped, “Glee” manages to capture the drama of high school life but also the fun of watching this group of underdogs trying to succeed.

The series revolves around the glee club of William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. Spanish teacher Will Schuester (played by Matthew Morrison, “As the World Turns”) becomes the director of the club and his goal is to turn this group of underdogs to achievers and bring them to Sectionals. Will used to be part of a successful Glee Club back in high school and wants to make the club prominent once again. But with money now being diverted to this new club, money is taken out of the cheerleading squad (aka “Cheerios”) led by head coach Sue Sylvester (played by Jane Lynch, “Julie & Julia”, “Two and a Half Men”). And Sue is literally hell bent in doing what she can to close the Glee club down.

Members of the Glee Club known as “New Directions!” include:

Rachel Berry (played by Leah Michelle) – Very driven and wants to be come a famous talent. A talented singer and has feelings for Finn.
Finn Hudson (played by Cory Monteith, “Kyle XY”, “Kaya”) - The star quarterback of the football team who has alienated his teammates for joining the Glee Club. Dates the cheerleader Quinn and has feelings for Rachel. He is also the main male singer of the club.
Quinn Fabray (played by Dianna Agron, “Heroes”) - The head of the Cheerios (cheerleading squad) and the Celibacy Club who joins the Glee Club to spy on them for her coach Sue Sylvester and because she notices that her boyfriend Finn has eyes for Rachel.
Mercedes Jones (played by Amber Riley) – The talented singer of Glee Club who hates being second fiddle to Rachel. She is attracted to Kurt.
Kurt Hummel (played by Chris Colfer) – A gay student who is picked on because he of his flamboyant style.
Noah “Puck” Puckerman (played by Mark Salling) – Finn’s best friend and a teammate on the football team. He joins the Glee club only so he can impress mothers at the PTA meetings.
Artie Adams (played by Kevin McHale, “Zoey 101″, “True Blood) - A guitarist and also a paraplegic. He is seen as a nerd and loves being part of Glee Club.
Tina Cohen-Chang (played by Jenna Uskowitz) – The shy member of the Glee Club and is attracted to Artie.
Santana Lopez (played by Naya Rivera) – A member of the Cheerios and the Glee Club. Joined along with Quinn and Brittany to spy for their cheerleading head coach Susan Sylvester.
Brittany (played by Heather Morris) – The not-s0-smart cheerleader. Joined along with Quinn and Santana to spy for their cheerleading head coach Susan Sylvester.

Other main characters of “Glee” include:

Jayma Mays (played by Emma Pillsbury, “Heroes”, “Ugly Betty”) – The guidance counselor who is attracted to Will but she is dating and engaged to the high school football coach, Ken Tanaka.
Terri Schuester (played by Jessalyn Gilsig, “Heroes”) – Married to Will but a woman who will do anything to prevent Will from leaving her and dislikes his commitment towards the Glee Club.
Ken Tanaka (played by Patrick Gallagher) – Head coach of the football team and is dating and engaged to Jayma Mays. Not too fond of Will.
Principal Figgins (played by Iqbal Theba) – The fair principal who tends to listen to Glee Club director Will Schuester and Cheerios Head Coach Susan Sylvester going at each other’s throats but trying to make sure there is decorum.

The first season of “Glee” features a total of 22 episodes but the first half, a total of 13-peisodes (which aired from May, September-December 2009) is featured on this four-disc DVD release. Here is a spoilerless summary of each episode:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 1: Pilot - Will Schuester, a former member of the Glee Club and a Spanish teacher of McKinley High School tries to restore the Glee Club in school.
EPISODE 2: Showmance - The Glee club performs in front of the school in order to get new members. Meanwhile, Will takes a second job as a janitor when he finds out his wife is pregnant.
EPISODE 3: Acafellas - Will forms an all-male a cappella group known as the “Acafellas”. Mercedes falls in love.
EPISODE 4: Preggers - Rachel doesn’t feel she is being treated right in the Glee Club and Quinn receives shocking news.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 5: The Rhodes Not Taken - Will brings a former high school classmate and Glee Club friend April Rhodes (played by Kristin Chenoweth) to spice things up with the current Glee Club.
EPISODE 6: Vitamin D - Will starts a competition between the boys and the girls.
EPISODE 7: Throwdown - With Cheerios coach Sue, now a co-leader of the Glee Club, she makes sure to cause tension amongst the members.
EPISODE 8: Mash-Up - Will composes a mash-up. Puck decides to ask Rachel out on a date.

DISC 3:

EPISODE 9: Wheels - Artie’s chances of traveling with the Glee Club at regionals comes to question and Kurt takes on Rachel for a “Diva-Off”.
EPISODE 10: Ballad - Will splits the Glee Club into teams who must sing a ballad.
EPISODE 11: Hairography - Will suspects that Susan may be leaking information about their Glee Club to another high school.

DISC 4:

EPISODE 12: Mattress - The Glee Club are asked to take part in a commercial without Will’s knowledge.
EPISODE 13: Sectionals - Will takes a bullet for the Glee Club and is suspended. Finn finds out the truth about Quinn. With problems facing the group, now the Glee Club must prepare for their competitions at Sectionals without their director and one of their members.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“‘Glee’ Season 1: Road To Sectionals” is featured in widescreen (1:85:1). Episodes feature four episodes per disc. Picture quality is very good and compared to other television series that I have seen on DVD, I didn’t see any major noise issues during low light sequences or any major artifacting.

Audio is presented in English Dolby Surround. The series is front and center channel driven but with those who own modern home-theater receivers may find it a benefit to have the audio set at stereo on all channels if they have a 5.1, 7.2 or higher setup. Audio is clear and understandable.

With several Twentieth Century Fox TV shows released on Blu-ray, specifically the titles that are popular, I hope that “Glee” is released on Blu-ray in the near future.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Glee” Season 1: Road to Sectionals comes with the following special features:

Welcome to McKinley! – (5:02) A video of Principal Figgins introducing 8th graders to his office before they go to McKinley High School. A hilarious featurette.
Glee Music Video – (2:44) A music video for “Somebody to Love”.
Full Length Audition Pieces – Featuring the full-length audition pieces of Rachel performing “On My Own” and Mercedes performing “Respect”.
Fox Movie Channel Presents Casting Session – (11:58) The creators of “Glee” talk about how it was important to have a cast that can sing and dance. The creators and FOX execs also discuss how “Glee” became a television show.
Deconstructing Glee with Ryan Murphy – (2:49) Ryan Murphy talks about “Glee” and how it’s different from other musicals. Classic songs being performed on the show and more.
Dance Boot Camp – (3:12) Interview with choreographer Zach Woodlee about training the cast to learn their dance routines.
Jane Lynch A to Glee – (:52) Jane Lynch talks about what the vowel “A” means to her.
Meet Jane Lynch – (1:03) Jane Lynch talks about her character Sue.
5 Things you don’t know about Jayma – (:39) Know more about Jayma Mays.
7 Things you don’t know about Cory – (1:00) Know more about Cory Monteith.
6 Things you don’t know about Amber – (:58) Know more about Amber Riley.
7 Things you don’t know about Chris – (:41) Know more about Chris Colfer.
Video Diaries – Video diaries for Jane Lynch, Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Kevin McHale, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer and Dianna Agron. The video diaries which last about 2-3 minutes long features each talent going to New York City and back to Los Angeles to promote the show.

The first time I watched “Glee” was its pilot episode and thought it was pretty fun concept, especially with the popularity of musicals such as “High School Musical” but what I liked about “Glee” is that you have your average students and the members of Glee Club are pretty much the underdogs that are picked on by the jocks. It’s really interesting to see how the group dynamics start to evolve from the beginning to the 13th episode.

But what hooked me to the series was the music. Personally, I’m not a fan of covers but the fact that the people on the show can sing and for the most part, how the songs are incorporate to the storyline has definitely made me a weekly viewer of the series.

I think the various love triangles on the show are quite interesting but the fact that you get situations such as teenage pregnancy to even drama between the adults, I liked how the show manages to hook in viewers that are young and old.

“Glee” is not a group of perfect teenagers, each of these characters have their faults but these characters are well fleshed out in the series that you actually care about these characters and each play their part in each episode. Will, a teacher and the director of the Glee Club deals with his marital strife with his wife, who is determined to make sure her husband doesn’t leave him. And the honest feelings that people have in high school and the usual drama enhanced several times to make things seem so much worse than it is. It’s high school life well-covered.

So, far I found the music to really be pretty fun and enjoyable. The series has strong talents especially with the voices of Leah Michelle and Amber Riley and Glee cast jams are pretty fun to listen to as well. I like how the characters don’t burst out in song, the music is typically done when they are performing during Glee Club. And it’s not just the students that sing, Will’s singing “The Thong Song” to Jayma or rapping to Kanye West’s “Golddigger” is pretty awesome. I never expected him to bust out singing but the man does a great job singing those songs quite well.

Overall, there are a good amount of special features on this DVD box set to keep Gleeks busy but for those who wonder what the hub-bub is all about and why the media is giving so much coverage to this series or seeing “Twilight’s” Ashley Greene showing her love for the show, it’s a fun and entertaining musical/drama series and what best to prepare for the second half of the first season by checking out the first half on DVD. I never expected it but even I’ve become a Gleek and own the soundtracks because I enjoyed the series that much.

“Glee” Season 1: Road to Sectionals is highly recommended!

NOTE: We received e-mails from people asking about information on the 50% off voucher (a voucher for savings on the next “GLEE” DVD release). Because we received a pre-review copy from FOX, we were not aware of the voucher.