More than one 'Revelaiton' in 'GCB' season finale

ABC's GCB brings its first season to a close with "Revelation." In the episode, pretty much all of the main characters head to unincorporated Juarez. Carlene (Kristin Chenoweth) leads the trip as a groundbreaking for her Christian condo project, but each of the others have their own agendas for coming, other than just friendship. Tension sparks bickering, especially when the women are briefly kidnapped, but in the end, all's well that ends well, right?

Only on television would a large group of friends end up out of town in the same place at the same time for a bevy of different reasons. This alone tosses all believability out the window. But it doesn't detract from the enjoyment because, honestly, GCB does not thrive on realism. It's a series of exaggerations with larger than life characters whose every obstacle become cataclysmic. Keeping this in mind, the Mexico trip is a fun romp, rather than a distracting ploy.

The characters in GCB have come into their own. Like Desperate Housewives, most of them aren't exactly likeable on the surface. That makes GCB hard to get into, especially because, at first, it lacks the campy charm that makes Housewives so entertaining. But as each person has become better defined, including the men, who were originally nearly interchangeable nothings, their chemistry has gotten better, and thus, so has the show. While GCB remains on the bubble, it could definitely fill the void that will be left by Desperate Housewives next year, if ABC decides to renew it. It's juicy, salacious fun.

"Revelation" isn't exactly the most surprising episode. It's pretty clear right from the get-go that Ripp (David James Elliott) isn't cheating on Carlene, but rather, has a secret daughter. GCB goes for the comedy of errors on this one, but by using such a predictable story, it fails. But other twists, such as learning that Cricket (Miriam Shor) now, though no direct action of her own, owns Sharon's (Jennifer Aspen) business, have some serious implications for next season. Also, it's fun that the kidnapper is revealed to be a ridiculous woman (Sandra Bernhard, The L Word, Roseanne) who wants to protect her "ancestry."

Of course, as much fun as these things are, the serious romantic entanglements are the real draw of a show like this. "Revelation" finds two of the main women facing major changes in this department. Mason Massey (Grant Bowler, True Blood, Ugly Betty) is more than a minor nuisance for Cricket, especially once he learns that her marriage to Blake (Mark Deklin) is a sham. Cricket and Blake have an arrangement that has worked for them for many years, but it's not like they're sexually attracted to each other. Someone is bound to come and disrupt the status quo, and by casting Bowler to do so, there are implications of a huge, permanent change on the horizon. But, considering Bowler will soon be starring in a SyFy series, he will probably just make a mess, then leave them to clean it up.

The second woman facing new love is Amanda (Leslie Bibb). Given her past, it doesn't matter how justifiable Luke's (Eric Winter) reasons for lying to her are; they are done. Considering these trust issues, though, is it any surprise that she falls into the arms of the man least likely to betray her, Pastor Tudor (Tyler Jacob Moore, Shameless)? Amanda doesn't seem pious enough to a minister's wife, but that doesn't mean she won't try out the idea, and shock the community along the way. There are all kinds of juicy ramifications that could come from this coupling, meaning, it's probably going to happen if the series is renewed.
GCB airs on ABC, and should learn of its fate soon.

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GCB is an appropriate name

ABC's newest drama, GCB, premiered this week. Originally titled Good Christian Bitches, but abbreviated due to decency standards, the story follows Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb, Iron Man, Crossing Jordan), whose husband dies unexpectedly in a sexual encounter, not involving his wife, while driving. After his demise, it comes out that he ran a Ponzi scheme, and Amanda, who looses everything, is forced to move home to Texas, and in with her mother, Gigi (Annie Potts, Designing Women, Ghostbusters). Believe it or not, Amanda's life gets worse than that, as she has trouble finding a job, and is soon tormented by the girls she wasn't so nice to in high school.

See, Amanda is a former mean girl, and her past victims would like to turn the tables on her, especially when she is so vulnerable. This clique is led by Carlene Cockburn (Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies, The West Wing), who lives across the street from Gigi. When Carlene isn't making veiled criticisms of Amanda in church or spying with bionoculars through the window, Carlene calls upon her network, including business maven Cricket (Miriam Shor, Damages, Swingtown), beauty queen-gone-to-seed Sharon (Jennifer Aspen, Glee, Rodney), and real estate agent Heather (Marisol Nichols, The Gates, 24). Heather quickly softens towards Amanda, as they don't hate each other as strongly. But Carlene is in charge, and Heather isn't likely to stray too far out of line. 

GCB is good, not great. Which is why the title is apt. The problem seems to stem with Bibb. Surrounded by pros like Potts and the other main women, Bibb just doesn't have the chops to pull off being the center of the series. It's not that she's terrible; this just isn't the ideal role for her, and she doesn't feel all that authentic in it. Bibb's faults are glaringly magnified in the company of the others. She's still a pretty face, but she doesn't exhibit the depth the others do.

It's a story told before, and it isn't all that fresh just because of the Texas drawl several, but not all, of the characters exhibit. Viewers are supposed to feel sympathetic towards Amanda, no matter what her past indiscretions are, because she is in a sorry state, and has changed quite a bit while raising two teenage kids (Lauran Irion and Passions' Colton Shires) as a widow. However, as soon as she is back with her mother, Gigi seems to take over much of the parenting responsibility, and Amanda starts to slip back into her old ways. Perhaps this can be forgiven, as she is being pushed to it, but it's not a pretty quality for her.

There are men in this story. It may not be immediately obvious because they are basically eye candy, interchangeable amongst each other. Of course, this is just the "Pilot," so some of them may grow into something down the road. But despite a few distinguishing moments, such as Cricket's husband, Blake (Mark Deklin, Lone Star, Hawaii Five-0), flirting with a guy, and Sharon's Zach (Brad Beyer, Jericho, Third Watch) trying to sleep with Amanda, they aren't all that memorable. It's no wonder that their wives are unhappy, with spouses who act like this! With even the lone faithful man, Carlene's Ripp (David James Elliott, JAG, Close to Home), barely developed, these stereotypes are enough to drive any girl crazy.

What isn't clear is if any of these characters will turn out to be good Christians. There are bitches aplenty, but characters that actually stick to their moral values, well, those are less sure.

Besides all of the cheating and the backstabbing, the actual good story here trying to get out revolves around the relationship between Gigi and Amanda. Gigi doesn't seem to have approved of Amanda's high school attitude, but still loves her daughter. She eagerly opens her home, and even anonymously showers Amanda with gifts. This is a mom trying to make up for perceived failure, which may not even be her fault. Which makes Potts the absolute best part of GCB.

Following Desperate Housewives, and with a somewhat related sensibility, one would expect something a little better. GCB is not that something. GCB airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

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"Hairography" distracts Glee

     This summer, I'll be going back to review the season one episodes of FOX's Glee. These are fresh reviews, not reposts, and I hope you will enjoy reliving the first season with me.

     FOX's Glee continues season one with "Hairography." Hairography is, as the episode tells us, using swinging hair to distract from the lack of talent in the performing club. This is appropriate, as the word 'distraction' is used in "Hairography" a zillion times, give or take a few. Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig) wants to distract Will (Matthew Morrison) so he doesn't realize that she's not pregnant. Quinn (Dianna Agron) wants to distract Finn (Cory Monteith) so she can spend some time with Puck (Mark Salling) while she considers switching boyfriends. Both are lying to their significant others, and are hoping to get away with it.

     This is a shame. Quinn continues to prove herself completely unworthy of the good-hearted Finn. Sure, Finn does allow himself to get a little closer to Rachel (Lea Michele) than he should, but that can be chalked up to teenage hormones. What is important is that he doesn't act on the attraction. He is also honest with Quinn, and authentic with Rachel, so as not to deceive either girl. It may be an arguable point that Finn is a much better person than Quinn, who constantly lies and cheated on him prior to the series beginning, but I think Finn would come out the winner in any true discussion. He can do much better than to be with Quinn.

     Puck is a little more compatible. Quinn gets angry when Puck lies about sexting with Santana (Naya Rivera) while the two babysit Kendra's (Jennifer Aspen) kids. However, this only makes her a hypocrite. She is lying to Finn while she checks and sees if Puck might be the better match after all. He is, but Quinn's pride is too wounded to realize that, and she thinks she is better than he is. She's not. While Puck does lie to her at the time, he is generally an honest person, and tells her exactly who he is well before she makes a serious commitment to him. For that, Puck also deserves someone better than the manipulative Quinn.

     Kurt shows a true devious streak in "Hairography." Quinn asks Kurt to do a makeover on Rachel, hoping a sexier Rachel will distract Finn. Kurt agrees to help because he loves makeovers. But Kurt is only in the scheme for himself, as he also likes Finn, and wants both Rachel and Quinn to fail to win the quarterback. The results of his primping Rachel do not make Finn or Rachel happy. It's a betrayal of the plan Kurt made with Quinn, though not one she is likely to have a beef about. But it's also a betrayal to Finn, whom Kurt claims to care for, but really just wants to get with, and Rachel, who thinks Kurt is being friendly towards her. It is not a side of Kurt that comes out often at all, and borders on being out of character.

     Interestingly, throughout all of this, Rachel says she is only interested in Finn, even telling Kurt that she is in love with Finn, and Finn is the only guy fot her. Funny, since in the previous episode of Glee, Rachel is all over Will. Did she already forget about that crush? In "Hairography," she has no problem getting close and whispering with Will, neither one having any regard for the previous week's plot. It also hasn't been that long since Rachel considers Puck as a possible mate. So obviously she is not all about Finn, even if she does definitely have feelings for him. This is a glaring weak point in Glee's continuity.

     The music in "Hairography" sounds great. Not a surprise, because by this point, Glee is becoming pretty solid and consistent on the quality of their songs. There's also quite a bit of them. "Bootylicious," while not performed by the New Directions, is a fine addition to the songbook, in the way it is done in the series. "Papa Don't Preach" is incredibly enjoyable, and softens Quinn up a bit, if only for a few minutes. "You're the One That I Want" is a repeat, but is only partially shown, so it doesn't feel like much of a cheat. "Don't Make Me Over" also works.

     "True Colors" sounds great, but feels slightly weird. That's because Will wants to do it on stools, "without distractions," or so he says. But in the background, there are plenty of swirling colors providing all the distractions one could ask for. There isn't really anything to complain about in the staging, other than that it contradicts the dialogue. The colors actually do add to the production value of the song, and fit just fine. Too bad the lines couldn't have been adjusted slightly.

     "Imagine" is a performance that I am torn about. It is a really sweet moment when the New Directions, led by Mercedes (Amber Riley), stand up and join the school for the deaf kids in their song. However, isn't it pretty rude to interrupt their performance? This is a serious choir (so we're told, though it's hard to see how) who will soon be performing against the New Directions in competition. Yet, our main characters get up and take over singing it for them. It's fairly insulting, when you think about it. Luckily, most people won't think about it, because it is a touching moment.

     Strangely, though much of "Hairography" is about hair, and Will tells the New Directions they will be performing the titular song from the musical Hair, they never do. Though "Crazy in Love" is credited as a mash up with "Hair," only a very, very short bit of "Hair" makes it into the number. It's a disappointment, and seems kind of odd, considering this week's theme. For once, the music is (barely) bent to fit the plot, not the other way around, as it is in the previous episode. Not to mention, the ridiculously tight, short shorts do as much distracting in the number as the hair they are flipping around. And distraction is OK in this case, because "Crazy in Love" is a pretty bad song.

     In "Hairography," Sue (Jane Lynch) gets to take a break from being a true villain for part of the episode, and gets to be a real advocate for the kids. Her rant at Will about how wrong it is that he is using distractions, not believing in his students, and hurting their self worth, is perfectly valid. She is in the right, and Will is wrong, which he soon realizes. Sue can be outspoken in defense of the kids she works with from time to time, and this is a great moment for her to be so. It's also not out of character for Will to lose sight of what he should be doing, so the scene ends up working very well. Great writing.


Random Bits:

• Michael Loeffelholz makes his second and final appearance as Phil Giardi, husband to Terri's sister Kendra. Strange, since he's supposedly a close member of Will's family, that we don't see him again. Though, to be fair, Kendra disappears in season one as well, and Terri is barely in season two. So he's the first of a bigger fade out.

• Money is supposedly super tight for the Schuesters, as they complain about in earlier episodes, but Terri can afford to buy Will a car? Not to mention, I've never heard of an apartment that allows tenants to work on their cars in the parking garage. Nor is there likely to be a nice, big apartment building with a parking garage in the relatively small city where Glee takes place. Strange, indeed.

• The director of the bad girls' school is played by hip hop singer Eve (Eve). This seems plenty appropriate, and she will return a second time in "Sectionals" to reprise the role. Sadly, she has not been seen again since.

• A similar thing can be said about actor / writer Michael Hitchcock (United States of Tara, Men of a Certain Age), who plays the director of the deaf school, and is in the same two episodes as Eve. While it is nice that Glee allows other fine actors to step in as rival choir directors, and these two aren't the most memorable of the bunch, it is still a pleasure to see them.

     Check back for another season one Glee review soon!

     If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Click here for all of my Glee reviews.

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Article first published as TV Review: Glee - "Hairography" on Blogcritics.

Someone is "Preggers" on Glee

     This summer, I'll be going back to review the season one episodes of FOX's Glee. These are fresh reviews, not reposts, and I hope you will enjoy reliving the first season with me.


     The Glee fourth episode, "Preggers," is when I started to actually like the series, because there is real heart in it. This is a really moving story about a father and son, and that relationship has become one of the best parts of the entire series. I was less than impressed with the campy quality of the first three episodes. Upon rewatching the beginning, now embracing Glee's brand of humor, even the first three are great. But back in the fall of 2009, that's how I felt. And it's why Kurt (Chris Colfer) is still my favorite character, with Burt (Mike O'Malley) high on the list as well.

     In the episode, Kurt is featured. After being caught dancing to Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)," he tells his father, Burt, that he has joined the football team as a kicker. Luckily, the McKinley players are so bad that Kurt is able to wrangle the position, accomodating his lie. In addition, Will (Matthew Morrison) teaches the football team to dance to the song, hoping it will make them better players. The big game doesn't go so well, until the team pulls out their Beyoncé moves, and Kurt makes the game winning extra point kick.

     Burt is proud of Kurt, and tells him so. Kurt finds himself finally able to come out to his father, who admits that he's known Kurt's preference for men since he was little. While Burt isn't happy about it, he still loves his son just as much. Perhaps it's a bit homophobic, but Burt is from a different generation. A problem many gay teens face is telling their less open minded families. Burt, at least, is willing to accept Kurt for who he is, even if that means embracing something he, as a "manly man," has always been uncomfortable with. Not an ideal situation, but far better than what many kids face.

     Amusing is the opening scene where Burt catches Kurt dancing to the Beyoncé song with Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) and Brittany (Heather Morris). Burt asks if one of them is Kurt's girlfriend. Even though Burt later admits he has always known Kurt is gay, it makes sense for the character not to out his son until he is ready. Or maybe Burt is even wishing that Kurt is just a very odd straight man, and he's wrong about his son. Either way, it's an uncomfortable confrontation, but it follows a fantastic dance number.

     Meanwhile, Quinn (Dianna Agron) tells Finn (Cory Monteith) that she is pregnant. Both Finn and Quinn fear losing any type of successful future to care for their child. Finn opens up to Will, unloading about the issue. Will offers emotional support, and also tells Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig), who sees Quinn's baby as the perfect opportunity to find a baby to trick Will. This is based on the idea Terri's sister, Kendra (Jennifer Aspen, Rodney), suggests to keep Will in the dark about Terri's pregnancy being hysterical.

     In "Preggers," Terri begins to take her little white lie too far. She originally spouts it because she can't stand to hurt Will. Now, after consideration, she realizes it's probably the only reason Will hasn't left her yet, considering their marital problems. Still, her instinct is to come clean. It's Kendra who convinces her to continue on with the charade. It's so sad to watch Terri choose the wrong path, knowing that she is essentially a good person. While it would prevent any future Will/Emma (Jayma Mays) pairing, I still find myself wishing Terri would do things differently the second time I watch, and heal her marriage.

     Quinn's lie is arguably worse than Terri's. For one thing, she unnecessarily worries Finn, who she says is the father, but he is not. Setting aside why Finn even believes she can get pregnant from sperm swimming through hot tub water, as he is a naive teenager, and there is a lot of misinformation out there, Finn is all of the sudden faced with a dampened future. He is going to do the right thing and stand by his kid, of course, even if that costs him the things he wants to do. While Finn may be dumb, he is also sweet and caring, proven in "Preggers" by this whole situation, and his reaction to it.

     Puck (Mark Salling) is also hurt by the lie, as he knows he is the real father, and he, too, wants to take responsibility for his child, but Quinn will not allow it. Puck has little character development at this point in the series, so it may be a surprise that he makes the right decision here. Even more surprising, he asks a depressed Finn what's wrong, even though he's been giving Finn crap for four weeks over joining glee club. Thus begins Puck's duality. Sometimes he makes dumb decisions, like sleeping with his best friend's girlfriend, which can be explained, though not excused, by hormones. Then, other times, he is there for the people that need him as a genuine friend.

     It is likely Puck joins the New Directions simply to be close to Quinn, and brings two friends along with him so he looks slightly cooler. Puck does love singing, and is good, but this isn't obvious yet at this point in the series, despite his brief foray in the Acafellas.

     The football game itself is a bit ridiculous. While the other team is certainly surprised and weirded out by the impromptu dance number, would they really stand there for so long, not even trying to get the ball, or get ready for the play? Perhaps the rules of football state they can't grab the ball until after the hike, but isn't there come kind of play clock? Didn't McKinley's little performance go longer than allowed? It's a really fun scene, and a great example of the cheesy humor Glee is known for, but it goes on long enough to think about how unrealistic it is.

     "Preggers" features the first "Sue's Corner," Sue's (Jane Lynch) local news segment where she spouts her views. In this first piece, she supports caning, and then later mentions she spoke out in favor of littering. Even for Sue, this is a bit much. Setting aside that the character might hold those views, as it is almost believable for the character, why would the news station allow her to talk like this? Later "Sue's Corner"s will get better, but the first one is weak sauce.

     Sue's latest plan to disrupt the New Directions is to bring Sandy (Stephen Tobolowsky - forgot how often he is in season one!) back to the school as Arts Administrator and have him stage a musical, luring Rachel (Lea Michele) away from the group. Since Sue has blackmail on Figgins (Iqbal Theba), and Sandy is never officially charged with any crime, the plans works... for now.

     It's sad to see Rachel being so disloyal to glee club, and yet, it is not out of character for her. Rachel points out to Will that everyone gets something out of glee club except her, and she's right. Later, helping others and having friends will be her reward. But for now, looking at the situation completely selfishly, Rachel singing solos and using the group as her backup is the only beneficial scenario in her mind. She doesn't need help coming out of a shell or finding her voice. Regrettable as it is, she is right. Sort of.

     Musically, there are only two numbers, likely the lowest amount of any Glee episode. Rachel's "Taking Chances" is every bit as good as any of the other songs she belts in other episodes. Tina's "Tonight" is actually pretty good, too, other than the ending. This is surprising, because in season two, Tina's solos are usually something of a joke, with a cheap laugh taking precedence over showcasing talent. Time to change that, no?


     Random bits time!

     In a flashback to the scene where Finn and Quinn have their hot tub fun time, Finn prematurely ejaculates as Quinn yells at him to "think of the mail!" This is a reference to an earlier episode when Finn talks of remembering his mom hitting the mail carrier with her car to stop himself from climaxing. This is hilarious and should be brought back the very next time Finn has sex, hopefully sometime in season three.

     Finn helps Kurt join the football team. The two who will become brothers are growing closer already! Of course, they have very different reasons for working together.

     Quinn tells Puck his pool cleaning business isn't worth much because they live in Ohio. While I was unable to find an exact ranking, and Ohio may not have as many pools per capita as other, more Southern states, there are a fair amount of swimming pools. Trust me. I grew up there. We had one, and so did many of my friends. Though, admittedly, we didn't hire a cleaner.

     All but forgotten is the brief one episode appearance of Sue's radio boss, Mr. McClung (Kurt Fuller, Better With You, Psych). Though he only gets one scene, Fuller is a comedic pro. Maybe he could come back some time?

     Figgins's Mumbai Air commercial is as confusing as it is funny. Why is an American principal doing an Indian ad campaign? Ah, well. It's good for a laugh.

     Heather Morris was actually a backup dancer for Beyoncé both before and after the "Single Ladies" hit. She appeared dancing the song on several television programs and on concert tours. Then Glee hired her. Good use of prior knowledge!

     This episode marks the first appearance of the twelfth glee club member, Matt Rutherford (Dijon Talton). He is shown when joining the glee club along with Puck and Mike Chang (Harry Shum Jr.). I guess the rule is last in, first out, since he is the last one of the original 12 to be shown on screen, and is the only one who does not return for season two.


     Look for a review of the next episode this weekend!

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Article first published as TV Review: Glee - "Preggers" on Blogcritics.