warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Glee Encore Delivers, Despite Minor Flaws

Lindsay Berg |
April 17, 2011 | 10:55 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Glee Encore (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC)
Glee Encore (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC)
In 2010, the cast of Fox's hit series, "Glee," surprisingly surpassed The Beatles with the most hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart by a non-solo artist.

On April 19, "Glee's" marketing team will release yet another moneymaker, Glee Encore, a compilation of the top 35 musical performances from the show’s first season.

Like the show, the DVD has a fun mix of ballads and mash-ups from artists like Journey and Madonna.

It is good for the occasional dramatic sing-a-long, and allows us to relive moments that we have forgotten about, given the new characters and plot twists of the second season.

With fadeouts and no plot explanations in between each song, this DVD is not for the Glee rookie.

The performances are in chronological order, and are constant reminders of how far the Glee cast has come – from underdogs to this year’s winner of regionals.    

Still, if you are the proud owner of all of the Glee CD’s, this purchase may be a bit repetitive.

It's pretty easy to find all of the episodes online, but for those who think it’s a pain to search through Hulu commercials or don’t want to hit their Megavideo limit by searching through countless episodes to get to their favorite songs, Glee Encore is your perfect buy.

At $16.99 on Amazon, the DVD is very affordable, especially if it contains your favorite songs.

Some of the song choices were not what was expected, and certain cast members and guest stars got more songs on the DVD than others.

For example, Kristin Chenoweth has a beautiful voice, but three duets by her character April Rhodes and Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) is a bit excessive. It also serves of a reminder of how many songs Rachel (Lea Michele) and Finn (Cory Monteith) sang during the first season. Chenoweth's co-star from "Wicked," Idina Menzel, was absent from Glee Encore altogether.

As the set list goes on, the songs choices get better, with three songs from “The Power of Madonna” and solos from Mercedes (Amber Riley), Kurt (Chris Colfer) and even Puck (Mark Salling). Guest star Jonathan Groff also makes an appearance for five songs. Unfortunately, a much loved episode from season one, “Funk,” was not featured at all on the set list. 

Lately, “Glee” has been criticized for its racy subject matter and Degrassi-like plot points. But for parents who think their kids are not ready to see the show, they will be able to safely purchase this DVD as an alternative. The songs and scenes are family friendly, with the most risqué songs being the All-American Reject’s “Gives You Hell” and David Geddes’ “Run Joey Run.”

If you love “Glee,” Glee Encore will be a worthwhile and affordable buy that will remind you of why you watch the show week after week, despite its very lengthy breaks in between each episode. The DVD’s release date conveniently coincides with the show’s Tuesday return, after a break of more than a month.

“Glee” airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox.

Reach Lindsay here.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.

 
ntrandomness