Gleeful tribute to Houston
Glee focuses its once white-hot spotlight tonight on a music icon Whitney Houston, in an “up,” peppy, pop-happy outing called Dance with Somebody. Glee might not be the water-cooler conversation piece it once was, but, as tonight’s hour proves, it remains one of TV’S few series that can work both as an homage and as entertainment in its own right, without being accused of pandering or crass commercialism.
The plot, as usual, is bare bones. The New Directions song-anddance troupe tackles Houston’s greatest hits while, back in the relationship lounge, Emma (Jayma Mays) and Will/mr. Schue (Matthew Morrison) draw one step closer to their dream wedding. No room for sadness and soulful reflection here: weddings are supposed to be happy and a time for dancing.
In the real world, the Glee cast just marked a milestone, breaking their own record with 200 entries on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, the first and only act to do so, according to parent record company Columbia Records. Music purists will shudder at the fact that, in late 2010, the Glee cast topped the Beatles’ record of 71 entries in the Hot 100, then topped Elvis Presley last year, when their 113th entry topped the King’s record of 108 entries, officially making them the record-holder for most entries in Billboard’s 54-year history.
These are new times, though, when TV can galvanize an entire generation of viewers into doing more than just watch TV. Glee has come a long way since it singlehandedly revived the Journey single Don’t Stop Believin’. In its three seasons so far, the Glee cast has covered music ranging from Adele to West Side Story, and sold more than 12 million albums and two million DVDS. At its heart, though, Glee is still a TV show about high-school pupils putting their best foot forward while facing an uncertain future.
Cynics may scoff, but Glee continues to skate by on its bravado and quirky charm. Like many of the musical acts it pays homage to, it continues to be wildly uneven and frustrating one week, and exhilarating the next. Tonight is one more step on the road to season-ending graduation, which will see some of its aging highschoolers — Amber Riley is 26 in the real world; Lea Michele 25, and Cory Monteith 29 — step into the big, bad world beyond.
Glee’s high school year comes to an end on May 22, but tonight it’s all about Miss Whitney and the joy of dance. (Fox, Global – 9 p.m.)