Tag: Jane Lynch

‘Glee’ unsuccessfully strives to gain viewers back in Fox show’s final season

This blog was originally published on elkharttruth.com on Jan. 29, 2015.

Gleeks, rejoice!

“Glee” is back for its sixth and final season. And many of the main actors have returned to the Fox show at McKinley High.

Wait. Back up. How does that work? Wasn’t Artie (Kevin McHale) in film school? Wasn’t Rachel (Lea Michele) on her way to L.A. for a career in TV? Weren’t Blaine (Darren Criss) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) at the fictional NYADA? Wasn’t Mercedes (Amber Riley) about to go on tour?

That’s how season 5 ended … with tons of possibilities.

But that’s all been left behind for season 6. Because as the show lost viewers and focus, it has grasped on to old concepts, which is not a good thing.

After a time jump, Rachel is back leading the new New Directions, which means Sue (Jane Lynch) is back tormenting the glee club. Kurt is back, too. And Quinn (Dianna Agron). And Puck (Mark Salling). And even Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), who, let’s face it, never really had much to give to the show after her character admitted she lied about having a lisp in season 1.

Even stranger? Kurt and Blaine are no longer engaged. OK, that’s not strange considering the characters are around 19, but Blaine is now with Dave Karofsky, an old bully of Kurt’s. The relationship feels forced because, although Karofsky (Max Adler) had an important supporting storyline in season 3, his character didn’t need to come back. But he’s recognizable on the show, so why not bring him back? Almost every other character is back, as per showrunner Ryan Murphy’s not-so-wise plan to return focus to the original characters.

I’ll admit, I’ve seen every episode of “Glee” at least once. But I’ll also admit that somewhere around seasons 3 and 4, it lost its spark.

I hate to say this, but the show was hurt by the death of Cory Monteith, who played the lovable Finn Hudson. Obviously it was a shock. The tribute episode they did for him was stellar, but he was a huge component of the show. And his character’s relationship with Rachel was a key moment to the show’s series finale Murphy had originally planned.

But to go back to the old ways of the show feels stale and backward. Season 6 comes back to auditions, rival glee clubs and weekly themed lessons. The show was progressive in how it handled music and storylines, but now it’s just a rehash of season 1.

This show is supposed to be about dreamers. But with season 6, it’s just starting over with a new cast mixed with old stars who have lost focus. It’s not enjoyable anymore.

They should’ve just canceled “Glee” after season 5. Or found better ideas.

Emmys 2015: 3 takeaways from this year’s TV awards show

In preparation for Sunday’s 2016 Emmys, here is a blog about the 2015 Emmys, originally published on elkharttruth.com on Sept. 21, 2015.

If only I could hide in a cave and watch all these good TV shows.

The Emmys were last night, so in case you didn’t watch, here’s my take on the awards show.

WERE THERE ONLY THREE SHOWS ON TV THIS YEAR?

This year, the show was in three parts: one hour for comedy, one hour for reality/variety/etc. and one hour for drama.

I thought it was odd to be so focused on one category instead of mixing it up. It also made it seem like only three shows won Emmys: “Veep,” “Olive Kitteridge” and “Game of Thrones.”

In reality, this wasn’t the case. But let’s put it this way:

It’s not that these shows are bad. It’s just many other shows deserve praise, too. I haven’t watched everything, but I think the voters could’ve shared the love.

PEOPLE SEEMED GENUINELY HAPPY TO WIN

If you haven’t heard, history was made during this year’s Emmys.

But some, including Davis, made passionate speeches, and it was endearing to watch.

Uzo Aduba, who won for “Orange is the New Black,” cried during her speech, and she was thankful, especially for her sister.

HOST ANDY SAMBERG HAD FUNNY MOMENTS, BUT HOW ABOUT A DUO FOR 2016?

Samberg wasn’t the funniest host, in my opinion. The show overall had lower ratings. He could’ve brought Justin Timberlake, but Samberg said very early on in his monologue that the singer wouldn’t appear.

But hey, I’ll take an HBO Go password, which reportedly worked for a bit.

My favorite joke was when he said, “The red carpet: significantly less glamorous after you leave it.”

Some duos that presented during this year’s awards show would be excellent candidates for the 2016 host spot.

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey proved comedic gold at the Golden Globes, so it’s time for the Emmys to try it (hint hint, Poehler and Amy Schumer!)

What did you think of the 2015 Emmys? 

‘Hollywood Game Night’: The show you should be watching

This blog was originally published on elkharttruth.com on May 9, 2014.

I was bored one night, so I went to Hulu and found “Hollywood Game Night.”

I had heard about the show on Facebook, but I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into.

After one episode, I was hooked.

It’s a kooky show. It’s a game show. It’s a celebrity-filled show. But most of all, it’s super fun to watch.

The premise of the show is this: Jane Lynch (“Glee“) plays host and emcee. There are two teams made up of three celebrities and one civilian on each side. Each segment focuses on a game.

The civilian on the winning team then picks a celebrity to play in the bonus round, “celebrity name game.” If the civilian gets 10 names correct, they win $25,000. If they get less than 10 correct, they win $1,000 for each correct answer. And, to top it off, the celebrity whom the civilian picks wins $10,000 or $1,000 for each correct answer, which then is donated to the charity of his or her choice.

Some games are simple, some are challenging, some are … odd.

In the game Timeline, for example, one celebrity, with the help of his or her team, has to arrange six pictures in chronological order. This game usually involves lots of yelling as the group shouts out suggestions for what pictures to swap.

An odd game is Celebrity Fusion in which two players from each team is shown a picture of two celebrities with their features fused together. The two celebrities in the picture share a common name. For example, Steven Tyler Perry could be a correct answer. Because traits of both celebrities are fused together, the picture looks … well, odd.

Each episode is titled based on the theme or a celebrity on the episode. For example, the season 2 episode “How I Met Your Buzzer” featured Cobie Smulders, who played Robin on “How I Met Your Mother.”

The fun is not only in the games but in the celebrities’ antics. Many episodes feature at least two people who are co-stars, dating, married or friends, so trash talking or crying foul happens almost every episode.

I think it’s worth a watch, but let me know what you think.

“Hollywood Game Night“ airs Thursdays on NBC, and you can watch full episodes online.