The Sugar Shack

So are we to believe that Sugar could possibly love anyone but herself?? After the buildup of the spoiled, off pitch, silly, dimly lit, daddy's little rich girl that we have seen in recent episodes? Now she's cute and happy and loving and everyone's sweetheart? Huh?

I am truly mystified. Mystified that my favorite show could produce such a BOMB, like last night's episode. The only redeeming thing about last night were Sugar's numerous Valentines Day inspired fashions...and even that's going out on a limb. After many seasons of waiting, we finally get to see Rachel's "dad's", and they are even more ridiculous than I could have imagined. (although, Jeff Goldblum really plays a spot on, gay man) and their story line left me in doubt of where this is all going.

So when in doubt, we still have the music.

"L.O.V.E."-Mike Chang sings...and dances! This cute little montage with Tina and Mike served to highlight the ridiculous love triangle of Sugar/Artie/Rory. I say ridiculous because two episodes ago, didn't Sugar tell Artie he wasn't her type. "Your handicapped and I'm able. We'd look weird together." I guess we weren't supposed to remember that.

"Let Me Love You"-Artie, he of the best pipes on the show, slayed this tune and thank goodness. Because it served as the special elixir that made Sugar fall for him and look past his handi-disability. Good for him. The boys coming in and serving as backup made this one even more enjoyable.

"Stereo Hearts"-Sam, Quinn, Mercedes and new comer Joe (The Glee Project's co-winner, Samuel Larsen) The God Squad group decides to fund raise by doing singing Valentines for students at McKinnley. While the new kid looks like a dread-locked version of Jesus, he's got chops and I love this ensemble production of the song.

"Home"-Rory, seemingly tells a fib about his student Visa expiring at the end of the school year and belts out this bomb. While his vocals were good, for me this rendition of the song brought the whole mood down and put a damper on the happy little Valentine vibe. The good news is, it worked and Rory won over Sugar, as she asked him to be her date to her party at Breadstix.

"I Will Always Love You"-Mercedes, true to her diva-licious form, nailed this Whitney Houston classic. Appropriate for the episode ,but eerily impeccably timed to air so soon after Houston's untimely death. Was it just me, or did Mercedes version pop in and out of HD and seem sloppily edited in comparison with the rest of the show? I was thinking that it was hastily added, to seem as if it were always part of the script. Just a theory. Conspiracy theory's aside, this is My Download Pick Of the Week for obvious reasons, and she did one hell of a job singing it.

"Cherish"/"Cherish"-Sam, Joe, Quinn and Mercedes sing to Brittnay and Santana for all the same sex couples out there. While I love this mash up, I can't help but hope that the creators of Glee don't ruin a perfectly innocent love between two girls by "militantly" shoving it in our faces. I love the fact that Santana and Brittnay are a couple and in love, but I wish they would lay off Santana's angry lesbian vibe a bit and stop pushing the two girls kissing envelope. Even if it is a Valentines episode.

"Love Shack"-Blaine is BACK! Thank God, because I couldn't stand one more minute of a Blaine-less Glee episode. With Mercedes, Brittnay, Rachel and Kurt as back up, this one manages to give new life to the old party anthem. Let's touch a bit here on the creepy Karofsky/Kurt story line, now that Karofsky has professed his love to Kurt with "secret admirer" Valentines he mistook to be from Blaine. It's not working for me. At. All.

Good, bad and ugly, that's what it was for me last night. But if we are talking about love, which we are, I'm giving Glee the benefit of the doubt, all in the name of love.

Glee-ful Noise

(don't click to watch, it's disabled)

Glee returned true to musical form last night, in the episode entitled "Yes/No" and kicked off the show with a sentimental favorite, Grease's "Summer Nights". Sam and Mercedes, pursued by their friends to tell the story of their romance, sing this adorable classic to perfection and keep to the original. To say I LOVED it, is an understatement, and any self respecting Grease fan was loving it right there with me.

Love and marriage was in the air when Coach Bieste tells Emma that she and Cooter eloped! This news sends Emma scrambling for answers as to why Will/Mr. Shue hasn't proposed. Emma goes into an internal song, singing the Laura Nyro and the 5th Dimension "Wedding Bell Blues" with Bieste and Sue as back up. While this song was cute, nothing was funnier than Sue waltzing down the hall behind Emma, dressed in full on bridesmaid, wearing Princess Beatrice's abominable hat from last year's royal wedding. It's the little things like this that make me love Glee.

That and little things like casting reality star, Real Housewives of Atlanta's NeNe Leakes, as the synchronized swimming coach. Sam, determined to get a letter man's jacket to win Mercedes' heart, joins the synchronized swim team. While most of her lines were overly cliche and questionable, "I had a dream," and "40 acres and pool", NeNe was spot on and surprisingly worthy of the role.

Becky decides that Artie will be the object of her affections as we learn in her internal dialogue, complete with Dame Helen Mirren's elegant voice overs, "In my mind I can sound like whom ever I want, so lay off haters!"Not wanting to hurt Becky, Artie invites her to come and see him perform the mash up, "Moves like Jagger/Jumping Jack Flash". Could you guess that this would be My Download Pick Of the Week? Am I that predictable? Maybe so, but even though I was moving like Jagger myself, it's a toss up for two songs this week, this one being the first. This was pure magic. Artie, the strongest male voice on the show, handled it with ease and I can hardly wait for this one to make it onto my beloved iPod.

Finn learns that the truth sucks. He grew up thinking that his dad was a war hero, and he tells Mr. Shue that he is contemplating enlisting in the army so he can honor his father. A concerned Mr. Shue calls his parents and Finn's mom breaks his heart by telling him the truth. His dad was dishonorably discharged and then died of a drug overdose in Cincinnati. Poor Finn. Why must they turn this kid into a loser? A depressed Finn, Rachel and Kurt console each other over dinner and Rachel sings David Guetta's "Without You" to Finn. I'm a sucker for love and this one pulled me right in, as it was intended to and my second Download Pick Of the Week.

A somber girls chorus sings Roberta Flack's, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" for Mr. Shue. Rachel, Santanna, Tina and Mercedes do this sultry classic justice with the right amount of emotion and soul and prove that soulfulness transcends generations.

Sam tell Mr. Shue he has an idea about his proposal to Emma, and the next thing you know we are at the pool, with the synchronized swim team and the glee club while they serenade Emma with Rhianna's "We found Love". At first, I thought this was an adorable way to propose(even if Artie and his wheel chair made it into the pool), then they ruined it. Mr Shue in a cheesy white tux with a white satin top hat walking on water? No..please...because if that wasn't bad enough, he then dives into the pool and comes out soaking wet for the proposal. A little too much for me, and I love this show. Emma evidently didn't feel the same way I did, because she said yes.

But will Rachel say yes? Finn proposes to Rachel and while the actual proposal does not seem out of place, the fact that the story line has left Finn with nothing else even slightly redeeming for his future is tragic. He went from hero to zero, all in the span of 4 seasons. The show ended without Rachel's response so we will have to wait till next week for Rachel's answer.

But for now, we have the music. Ah yes, the glorious music.

Merry Music

It was a heck of a Glee-full Christmas last night, power packed with plenty of holiday music for every Christmas music fan. Matthew Morrison's (Mr. Shue) Glee directorial debut was a holiday "special" about the making of a holiday special. Plot lines-a-plenty, I'm reviewing the music today because it truly was a holiday treat, disguised in a retro, Star Wars themed, weird, but politically correct world of Artie's holiday TV special.

My girl Mercedes got the show off on a bang, like only she can, with a Mariah holiday anthem, "All I Want for Christmas is You." Man, this girl is good. Too good, and she covered the Carey instant classic with just about the same amount of range and passion as the original. Was it predictable? Yes, but who cares, because I loved the high energy and cheer this song provided for the beginning of the episode.

Rory, the new kid, (and Glee Project winner Damian McGinty) crooning "Blue Christmas" with a smooth and tender soul, way past his teen-aged years. I enjoyed his celtic, folksy spin on this blues-y great. Channeling a boy in a foreign country, without his family at Christmas set up a Sam/Rory buddy story line based upon their mutual hard luck. Sam invites Rory to spend Christmas with his family.

When Artie is tapped to produce the local PBS station's Christmas special for under $800.00, he auditions the Glee club for musical numbers. Rachel belts out a Joanie Mitchell tune, "River", complete with sparkling Christmas trees and lots of falling snow. I felt like I was thrown back to the days of a celebrity variety show, with musical guests performing Christmas songs. Rachel was stunning, as usual, but safe and minimally memorable. Too bad, because there are so many great choices for a power house like Leah Michelle.

Rachel and Blaine perform for the Glee Club, "Extraordinary Merry Christmas". Anything with Blaine singing and count me in, but this was unexciting and just ok but I don't hate it. I LOVE both of them, and I will still download this song in the spirit of the season. But the real Christmas gold came from Artie's Christmas TV special.

Opening in black and white, Kurt and Blaine's bachelor chalet provided the perfect backdrop for the duet, and yes, My Download Pick Of The Week, "Let it Snow" . I loved the whole big band feel with the perfect blend of Kurt's mezzo soprano and Blaine's dreamy Dean Martin-esque pipes. These two have scored another holiday classic that rivals last year's, "Baby It's Cold Outside". And the dance number? Sensational and entertaining.

When did Roger's and Hammerstein's "Favorite Things" become a Christmas carol? This double team group number with Rachel, Mercedes, Kurt and Blaine was pleasant and festive but seemed a bit out of place to the Christmas music die hard. Musically this number solidifies the talent that this cast has and their star power.

Next, a ridiculously dressed Finn and Puck, as Luke Skywalker and Hans Solo, enter this pseudo soiree and perform my second favorite of the night, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". This Springsteen version of the song is great, even if they didn't change it up at all, but I'm not sure the Star Wars thing worked. It was awkward and pointless, and I'm not sure of the significance, yet Finn and Puck jamming with their instruments made me forget about their costumes momentarily.

The Cheerios and Brittnay rocked some sexy, Santa's helper's costumes with "Christmas Wrapping" and some rhythmic ribbons for effect. Great fun this was, and those girls made me smile and Brittnay was singing LEAD!!! I did not loose the power of the message of Rory's Christmas reading, and thank you to the creators of Glee for helping us to remember the peace that true Christmas story brings us.

The show wrapped with the Glee club showing up, unannounced at Sue's homeless shelter dinner for families, and made amends for canceling on her to film the PBS special. They performed the famous, celebrity packed recording "Do They Know it's Christmas". Inspirational and carried by the entire cast of Glee, I enjoyed the unity this song stands for. I even saw a tender moment where Sue Sylvester's Grinchy heart was touched by the kids from the glee club, sharing their passion to benefit others.

I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for a cute, sappy, Christmas story. Couple that with some great Christmas classics and my heart is filled with all the joy of the season. This episode did just that for me, and I have all the merry music to remember it by.

Sweet Sixteen

Just like the legendary John Cougar Mellencamp song says, you have to hold on to "sixteen as long as you can", and those changes will come around real soon making us all women and men for sure. Sam (a reinstated Chord Overstreet) knows this only too well, as he had to become a man real fast by becoming a stripper (named White Chocolate) to help support his family. Rachel and Finn convince Sam and his parents, (was that Luke Duke from Dukes of Hazard?) to let him stay with them and help the Glee club win sectionals.

Quinn, armed with her dirty little secret about Puck and Shelby sleeping together, decides she's going to hold on to her quest to destroy Shelby's life and get Beth back. Interestingly enough, it is Rachel who provides Quinn with the morality lesson she needs to change her course. She tells Quinn that by getting Shelby fired and Beth taken away from her, she would only be destroying Beth's life in the process.

The boys are pretty much all that is left of the New Directions, save for Tina and Quinn, (Rachel has been suspended from sectionals because of last weeks disciplinary action) so they take control but not without controversy. They immediately clash over dance choreography, resulting in a division of Finn and Blaine. Finn, always the moral grown up, admits to Blaine that he has been hard on Blaine because he was jealous of his "crazy talent". They align and decide to do whatever it takes to win Sectionals.

Sam seeks out Mercedes and lets her know he is hot for her and that he will fight to get her back, which I hope happens soon, because Mercedes had been short in the story line lately and she is one of my favorites. Tina decides that she is going to be a "Tiger Girlfriend" to Mike and she goes to see Mike's dad. With a bit of attitude, she tells a displeased Mr. Chang that Mike was born to dance and that he should be allowed to pursue his dream and "honor his gift".

Then we get to the best part of last night's episode: THE MUSIC!

Starting with Sam's triumphant return song, "Red Solo Cup." This Toby Keith song I was not familiar with, but I thought Sam's vocals were spot on as he sang this fun and light hearted song. The subject matter was perfect and it was nice to see Sam back with the New Directions.

Sectionals were held at McKinnley High, the first time since 1963, and the show opened with the show choir The Unitards, singing "Buenos Aires", Madonna. Glee project co winner Lindsay Pierce lead the Unitards in this Vegas style performance. I think this girl has crazy talent and is destined to be a star.

The Trouble Tones took the stage, but not before pissing off the New Directions by announcing before that after the New Directions loose, they can join the Trouble Tones for Regional. They performed a new twist on an old classic by mashing up "I Will Survive/Survivor". This was great and got the crowd going. With plenty of high energy vocals and lots of "hairography" the Trouble Tones put on quite a show.

They always save the best for last, and The New Directions did not disappoint. 3, count em, 3 songs, all Jackson songs, "ABC/Control/Man In The Mirror" just about performed to show choir perfection. Tina, Blaine, Kurt, Finn, Quinn, Artie and even Mike Chang all had their moment in the spotlight. Seriously, can we have more Artie? The guy has one of the best voices in the cast and most of the time he is seriously under utilized. But not here. It is for sure my Download Pick Of The Week and no surprise that The New Directions took home first place.

Lady Love

Lady love is in the air at McKinnley High and the Glee club helps Santana find acceptance with her sexual identity. It's all about Santana, and as much as she resists. she is shown the glee club's support support by dedicating an entire weeks lesson of music to her. This is lead by none other than "fetus face" himself, Finn.

Finn saves Santana from certain suspension, after slapping him across the face for outing her in public, then bribes her into getting the Trouble Tones and the New Directions to come to a "summit" two weeks before sectionals. Meanwhile Brittnay is bribing the student body with Pixie Styx for votes in the Student Body President race with Kurt. "But they are so delicious, " a sugar high Principal Figgins exclaims. Everyone is certain she will be crowned the winner and Kurt actually contemplates cheating by stuffing the ballot box to ensure the win which will be a "brass ring" resume piece essential for acceptance to NYADA.

Sue, interestingly enough, confesses that she is not gay, in her journal writings, even though people mistake her for a lesbian. She plots to get a guy so that she can show the voters that she is not a "friend of Ellen's", and gets out her little black book. Her secret Weapon? Cooter Mankins, Coach Bieste's new object of affection.

Blaine and Kurt dedicate the first song of the week to Santana and sing, Pink's "F**king Perfect"and it might just have been that if it were only Blaine singing. Sorry I love Chris Colfer, and I loved his asymmetrical sweater, but Blaine is a freaking rock star here and YES! I want some more of that, please. Then Puck knocks out a sexy,"I'm the Only One" to the glee club and sings almost entirely to Shelby, who is clearly not pleased with this performance. Quinn seated in font of Shelby, picks up on this sexual tension immediately and questions Puck about it after, in the hallway. She then tries to use her sexuality to seduce him by offering herself, to which he turns her down and even insults her.

Finn tells Santana that she means something to him and that he cares about what happens to her, and I'm thinking "cut the bi*ch loose" after the way she had insulted and humiliated him in the past few weeks, but he ends up singing her a classic girl anthem, turned ballad, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Finn sounds great and Artie and the boys take this version to a whole new level. I really like this unique take on this song and it seemingly broke down the wall between Santana and Finn.

While Sue seems to have stolen Cooter from Coach Bieste, the show stealer and My Download Pick of The Week is, "I Kissed A Girl and I Liked It". This Glee cast ensemble pug the swagger back in Santana's step and showcased all of the talent this show has to offer. It was fun, it was naughty, it was sexy and it worked. The boys really seemed to like it too.

Kurt gets called into Figgins office where he is told that although he won the election by 119 votes, there were more ballots than seniors and that they think he cheated. Kurt admits to thinking about cheating, but swears that he did not do it. He did not cheat. Unless he can prove that he did not stuff the ballot box, Kurt will be suspended and Brittnay is named Class President.

Puck gets a call during class, which he rudely takes and leaves class citing a "family emergency". Shelby is at the hospital, distraught because Beth had fallen, causing her tooth to go through her lip. Puck demands that she see a plastic surgeon and a ridiculously helpless Shelby is seemingly grateful for Puck's assistance. We all know what that means...and of course, it happens. Shelby has post-coital regret and decides to throw Puck out before it goes any further. Puck is pissed off so he goes to the next best place, Quinn's house. After anger sex and some pillow talk Puck tells Quinn that he slept with Shelby. He tells her to keep it a secret. Like that's going to happen...

Santana tells her Abuelita, you know, the one that "raised" Santana on insults, that she is gay, and for the first time in a while I see Santana relax and come out of her nasty shell. But, her abuela is horrified, preferring Santana kept it a secret and she bans her from her home and her life forever. She sings a montage to "Constant Craving" with both Shelby and Kurt craving for their own resolutions.

The episode ended with some big wins and losses.
Burt won the Congress election.
Brittnay won the Class President election.
Santana lost her grandmother and
Rachel admitted to stuffing the ballot box for Kurt and is now suspended for one week, and lost for sectionals.

What's going to happen at sectionals now?

Back To Basics

Glee finally got it right last night.

It was back to the basic reason that I love the show, in that last night's episode was all about the music. So instead of telling you who did what and why, I'm going to tell you about the musical mash-up melodies that made last night's episode so great!

Right from the get go-the show opened with Puck's slammin' rendition of the Van Halen classic, "Hot For Teacher". His latest obsession, Shelby, being the object of this student's desire but, hold on...Blaine and Mike Chang singing and dancing backup??? Can you say HOT for back up? I mean is there anything that Blaine (Darren Chriss) can't do? This was just smokin hot on all aspects, with Puck playing front man and Finn holding court on the drums.

Shelby and Shue then tried to bring together the competing Glee clubs by presenting a united front. They performed a mash up of "Just You and I/You and I". How genius of producers to mix up current Lady Gaga mega hit, "You and I" and the Crystal Gayle/Eddie Rabbit cult favorite, "Just You and I". Shue and Shelby worked the mash up accompanied by guitar and Shelby showcased her pitch perfect vocals on the Gaga song. This number has something for everyone, but the Glee clubbers are not so convinced.

So much at odds are the two competing clubs that they decide a dodge ball showdown is the way to settle this score. Finn and Santana have a seemingly simmering rivalry and the entire dodge ball game is showcased to a fitting mash up of"Hit Me With Your Best Shot/One Way Or Another". Pat Benetar and Blondie, sung lead by both Santana and Finn, was a power packed montage of face slammin, body flying, world rocking dodge ball that was at times, hilariously fun. Of course, it's always funny until someone gets hurt. A victorious Santana finishes off Finn then, she and the Troubletones take it too far when they gang up on the new kid and he ends up with a bloody nose. Santana got some anger issues, that's for sure.

The Mash-Off begins with the New Directions rendition of the Hall and Oates 80's classics "You Make My Dreams Come True/I Can't Go For That". The costumes were great with some of the guys sporting neon t-shirts with Miami Vice Blazers and others rocking cheezy moustaches ala Oates. It was an 80's spectacle with big hair and lots of sparkle that was a lot of fun to watch. Especially if you grew up in the 80's like I did.

BUT was it good enough to win the great McKinnley Mash-Off?

Sorry, but the Troubletones brought the house down with, my Download Pick Of The Week, "Rumor Has It/Someone Like You". Sexy, sultry, Adele mash up lead by Santana and Mercedes, had not only relevance (cuz who doesn't love Adele right now), but with Santana's character struggling with her sexuality, it gave this number a hauntingly engaging element that was emotionally palpable.

I will say that the episode ended on a sour note when Santana viciously attacked Finn and slapped him across the face for "outing" her in public. I'm sorry, but if Finn doesn't punch her in the face I'm going to. Really? She keeps attacking him with a venom filled tongue, so what does she expect? I would have flattened that bit*h out 3 episodes ago. Just sayin.

Anyway, I got the music in me today because last night was a virtual playground for my iPod.
Keep the mash up's coming Glee, and we'll keep coming back for more.

Tony And Maria's First Time

Do you remember your first time? I do and I think that would make for a great blog post at another time. This blog post is about Glee's episode last night entitled "The First Time". McKinnley High's Glee clubbers, Rachel and Blaine are starring in the school's production of, "West Side Story". While rehearsing, Artie notes that the two leads lack a certain passion that comes with having experienced the "most basic primal experience", sex. He questions that without having had sex, could they convince an audience of their connection on stage.Rachel being Rachel, decides this form of character study is worth pursuing. Blaine, decides that he and Kurt should not rush to have sex and that they should both be ready when it happens.

As a viewer, I'm watching all of this with great anticipation but as a parent of two high school students, I'm thinking and wondering if my children are having these conversations also. I know I thought about these things, talked about these things, and experimented with these things in high school. Why wouldn't they? And now here it is, played out by their peers on TV. This episode, for me now takes on a whole new meaning and will be a catalyst for an open conversation with my kids. Thanks Glee.

Blaine returns to Dalton Academy in time to find my Download Pick Of The Week, Billy Joel's, "Uptown Girl" by his old group the Warblers. They embrace him with open arms and beg for his return and Blaine meets Sebastian, the new Warbler hottie. Sebastian is not shy and he openly flirts with Blaine, telling him he now believes the hype about Blaine's legend at Dalton. This is played out accompanied to a TV mash up of sorts, with Rachel and Santana performing, "A Boy Like That" from West Side Story. Sebastian asks to see Blaine again. They meet for coffee and Kurt comes in surprised to see his guy talking to Sebastian. Blaine invites him into the conversation and Sebastian offers up some fake ID's and an invitation to do some underage drinking at the gay club on the other side of town. Kurt, seemingly a bit jealous, accepts Sebastian's offer. Apparently Burt taught him that you keep your friends close and your enemy's closer.

Rachel and Finn decide to use Finn's house for their first time destination, seeing that Burt and Carol are campaigning around the district for Burt. When things start getting heated, Finn stops to question why Rachel decided that now is their time? Why is she offering herself to him now? After a mumbo jumbo of excuses, Rachel blurts out that she needs to "get it over with" before opening night and Finn puts the brakes on that pronto. He's not interested in competeing with her ambition for a little something something...

Rachel then holds an emergency meeting of the Celibacy Club and asks the girls for their opinion. Quinn tells her to wait. That obviously (Beth) unprotected sex can have extreme consequences, and that it changes everything. Santana tells her that she should wait because Finn is terrible in bed and Tina gives us a look into what the teenaged "First Time" experience should be when two people are consenting and in love and want to make it special and memorable. She makes it sound so wonderful that I am almost swept away by the touching and poignant way she described her "absolutely perfect" experience. I said almost because the mother in me jumps out and reminds me that the girl and her moving story has a direct effect on my very own kids. I'm so having that conversation with them. Thanks again Glee. Rachel is clearly swayed by Tina's story.

Kurt and Blaine have their own near-sex experience, when they meet Sebastian at the gay bar and Blaine gets a little tipsy; er, um, I mean drunk. He accosts Kurt in the parking lot and tells him he wants to do it right there in the parking lot, in the back seat of the car. Kurt is not amused and being sober he finds nothing sexy about this offer of Blaine's affections. They fight and Blaine then walks home form the bar leaving Kurt alone with his thoughts.

On a story line side note, Coach Bieste has the hots for Cooter Mankins, the college scout who's coming to look at her team. Finn gets excited at the prospect of possibly playing college ball, and Artie plays matchmaker for Bieste and the Cooter successfully. Sadly it is not all happily ever after for everyone. Bieste gets her man, but Finn is passed over and is heartbroken that his life will at best be average. Rachel then tells Finn that he is special and she proves it to him by giving him something that "no one will ever get again", her virginity. Simultaneously, Blaine and Kurt also cross over into their first time experience.

While I thought the story line was handled with truth and candor, I couldn't keep the mother in me from rearing her head. Arguably, the first teen, gay couple to have sex on TV was handled with care and compassion, and ditto for Rachel and Finn.

Call me crazy, but I couldn't help but feel like I'm never going away for the weekend with my husband and leave my teens home alone.

Sex and underage drinking and fake id's? Nothing good can come of it.

Thanks Glee.

What The F?

Last night's episode, entitled "Asian F" left me thinking, "what the F is wrong with what used to be the best show on television?".

Mike Chang and his dad are in Principal Figgins office because Mike's dad is concerned over Mike's A-, an Asian F, on his chemistry test. He demands Mike be drug tested and insists that he is on fast track to academic ruin. He wants him to quit the Glee club and all other extra curricular activities, including his girlfriend, and focus on his studies.

When Mercedes new boyfriend Marcus spies her hugging Rachel in the cafeteria, he questions why she would hug her rival for the female lead in the school play right before the audition. He tells her to believe in herself because he believes she is better than Rachel and something inside Mercedes changes. She pulls out the Diva within her and nails her audition with a wonderful rendition of "Spotlight". A more serious Mercedes impresses Coach Bieste, Emma and Artie.

Will finds a stash of bridal magazines in the pantry and confronts Emma. He agrees that, yes, they are possibly headed for marriage, so he wants to know why has he not met her parents? Emma wants to avoid the topic completely and tells Will, her parents are dead. "They're ghost parents," she replies when Will explains that she was just on the phone with them the night before.

While Mike continues to be conflicted over his father's disappointment in him, Tina is the opposite. She encourages him to audition for "Riff", the second male-lead, a role that is more than just dancing and tells him to be honest with his father about his love of the performing arts. Mike ends up in the dance studio working out the demons in his head and decides to audition despite his father's strict protests. He performs, "Cool" from West Side Story with some help from the football team as backup dancers. This was a treat for all major theatre geeks like myself and a validation of the talent of this young cast.

Then there's Kurt. He confides in Rachel that while no one else has entered the race for class president, he believes he has the clear edge over Brittany. No one takes her seriously anyway. Santana and Brittany, trying to win votes, play the war of the sexes card and point out that the school presidency has been strictly male for years and look where it got them. "Oil spills, a recession, the war in Afghanistan," Brittany says. They then rally the female student body with a pep rally and sing "Run the World (Girls)". Kurt is shocked by the show of female camaraderie and this race is going to be a hot one.

And so here's where it gets good, so I think.

Beiste, Emma and Artie can't decide between Mercedes and Rachel in who to cast as "Maria", the female lead, so they have a " Ultimate Maria off" and give the ladies the same song to sing. "Out here on my own", from the musical Fame, sets the stage, but it's really Mercedes who sets the tone when she refuses a good luck hug from Rachel with a snarky, "hug me after I've landed the part."

Both ladies are stunning, and although Rachel decides that Mercedes was better than her, and that she will not land the part, the role is double cast for both Mercedes and Rachel. Mercedes asks if any other roles were double cast, to which the answer is no and Mercedes pulls the ultimate power play and declines the role. She confronts Rachel and forces her to admit that she was better than her. Citing the fact that she will not be part of "The Rachel Berry" show this year, Mercedes walks out on a lot more than the role. She pulls the diva act at Booty Camp and Mr. Shue isn't going to put up with it. Mercedes cops a serious tude, calls Shue out for always picking on her and trying to make her look like a fool, then pulls the ultimate diva move by telling Shue and the rest that she has out grown them. But this time Shue tells her if she walks out, she's out of Glee for good. Evidently Mercedes keeps going because the cast then performs a dream sequence from Dream Girls, "It's Over."

Haven't we been here before with Mercedes? I feel like the Diva act is getting old and just when I think they will take an episode or two to kiss and make up, Mercedes walks into Shelby's choir room and joins the other glee club. "You're going to need some star power," she tells Shelby and I'm left wondering where this will go.

Emma comes home to find Will with both her parents awaiting her arrival for dinner. Emma has a mini meltdown when her mom somewhat lovingly refers to Emma as her little "Freaky Deeky" and she admits to Will that she is embarrassed by them. "Ginger Supremacists", is how Emma describes them and they admit to living a lifestyle that will further the future of redheads as a "species". When they criticise Emma's compulsive cleaning and her mother says she thinks it "weird", Will explodes and explains that if Will and Emma are blessed with a child, he wouldn't care what it looked like and that OCD needs to be treated with compassion not criticism.

Later Will tells Emma he was wrong for not getting why she didn't want him to meet her parents. Emma gets down on her knees to pray and Will, unsure of what to do, does the same in support of Emma. He sings, "Fix You" by Coldplay and during the song the cast list for West Side Story is revealed. No secrets there and I'm not sure if this dividing of the Glee clubs is a good thing.

One thing I do know? Last night's episode, while it furthered the plot lines for some characters, it was a sleeper at best. The music was uninspiring and sub par.

Where did all the magic go?

What the F?

A Unicorn Is Just A Horse With A Horn

Isn't there a song that ends with, "and sure as you're born, the loveliest of all is the unicorn.."?

I seem to remember singing it at some drunken Cape Cod happy hour once a long time ago.

Anyway, in the happy little world of McKinnley High, it would seem that our boy Kurt is confused about who he is. Running for Student Body President and trying out for the lead in the school production of West Side Story is creating problems for the school's first openly gay student. But Brittany has no problems with who she the thinks Kurt is and she offers her help with a campaign platform based on the premise that he is a unicorn. God bless her little pure soul. The writers of Glee and Heather Morris (Brittany), brilliantly make us believe that in her cute, clueless, blond, little head, that's what she truly believes.

But Kurt is much smarter and gayer than that, and he struggles to find his "not gay" place in this race to define who he is. Struggling too, is our self imposed Glee club outcast, Quinn. As the newest member of "The Skanks", Qinn's purple haired, nose ringed rebel is quickly trying to leave her mark as head Skank fast. She has alienated her former Glee club friends and has decided that this is who she really is, even though everyone else sees her obvious cry for help. Of course, Sue Sylvester sees the opportunity in this for her political advancement in her quest to end the arts in public schools. Quinn becomes the subject of a Sue Sylvester "mockumentary" showcasing how Glee club has ruined her life and turned her into a Skank.

Mr Shue throws some cold water on Quinn and Sue's quest when Quinn goes into Shue's office and announces that he and Glee have ruined her life. With Sue filming, he totally calls Quinn out for her selfish behavior and lets her know she's not fooling anyone with this charade, and that she is alienating the only people who have been there for her through all her high school troubles. It was a poignant moment for Shue and Quinn, especially when he pointedly tells her to grow up.

And right when I think this Quinn story line couldn't go anywhere more, Shelby Corcoran, (Idena Menzel) Rachel's birth mother shows up to save the day. But does she? Seemingly all wise, reformed and maternal, Shelby has decided she's coming back to right some of the wrongs she has committed. Hired by Sugar Motta's, rich dad (the chick with Asberger's with the horrid voice), she has been brought in to McKinnley to start a rival show choir to the New Directions. Ok, so I'm not sure how this new show choir thing is going to play out, but Shelby's presence brings more story line drama with Rachel getting a mother who rejected her and Quinn and Puck's illegitimate child they gave up to her for adoption.

The music in this episode is weak at best, but my download pick of the week has got to be the Shelby and Rachel duet from West Side Story, "Somewhere There's A Place For Us." Reading through the obvious tension between a mother and a child she gave up for adoption, this rendition was powerful and moving. Especially when they held hands and sang in unison. Stay tuned for more Rachel/Shelby drama.

With the rest of the Glee club going through "Booty Camp" working on their dance moves, and Rachel focused on securing the lead in the McKinnley production of West Side Story, Finn curiously has become the boob of the Glee club. I'm not sure I'm buying this new blue collar, regular guy image they are trying to stuff down my throat because they just spent three seasons convincing me that he was the romantic lead. I don't like it. Obviously, Rachel and I are in agreement, because she tells Finn that she knows he could be more than the guy who changes tires at Burt's garage. Which brings me to Burt.

The writers and creator's of Glee couldn't have cast a better father for Kurt and somehow he always manages to say EXACTLY the right thing to his son, and steal the show. Kurt, confused by the fact that an overtly gay actor will have a hard time getting leading romantic roles, much less class presidencies, seeks Burt's advice. Burt tells Kurt to embrace his inner unicorn and forge the road ahead for unicorn's like him.

"You're gay and not like Rock Hudson gay," he tells Kurt.

Just when Kurt decides that the unicorn suits him just beautifully, his muse Brittany drops the bomb that she too is running for class president. Against him.

Oh the drama of a theatre Gleek's life and kudos for a much better episode this week.

Now just give me more music.