GLEE 1.5 - "The Rhodes Not Taken"

WRITER: Ian Brennan
DIRECTOR: John Scott
GUEST CAST: Kristin Chenoweth, Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, Harry Shum Jr., Dijon Talton, Jayson Blair, Susan Leslie, Josh Sussman & Larry Udy

[SPOILERS] So far, so fun. I still think Glee's quality in-between its songs are relatively weak, but that's probably because I prefer some semblance of realism in high school drama (otherwise any flights of fancy feel less surprising), but Glee's all about the sustained, quirky vibe.

"The Rhodes Not Taken" saw Will (Matthew Morrison) try to fill the gap left by lead singer Rachel (Lea Michele), who's been lured into taking the lead in "Cabaret" by Sandy (Stephen Tobolowsky), where she feels her talent is better appreciated. Will realizes there's an educational loophole that will allow him to recruit ex-glee sensation April Rhodes (Kristin Chenoweth), the person who inspired him into joining glee himself when he was a student. Unfortunately, since leaving high school, April has developed a drink problem and is rarely sober. Of course, this being the world of Glee, alcoholics in their late-30s still retain a pitch-perfect singing voice, excellent coordination, and a radiance that could power New York for a month. They just act cute and tipsy.

Still, it was undoubtedly a great guest-star performance from Broadway singer Chenoweth, best-known to non-muso's as squeaky waitress Olive Snook from Pushing Daisies. She was equally idiosyncratic and comical here (a hybrid of Pamela Anderson and Tweety Pie), although Glee obviously gives her more opportunities to belt out show tunes. There's a wonderful "battle" between Chenoweth and Michele singing Cabaret's "Maybe This Time" (although more could have been made of the Michele/Chenoweth clash) , a super duet with Morrison at a bowling alley singing Heart's "Alone" (truncated on the show, so buy the album[*]), and a very entertaining pink cowgirl rendition of Carrie Underwood's "Last Name" on-stage.

Chenoweth was lots of bubbly fun and left a good impression. I particularly enjoyed seeing how April endeared herself to the frosty glee clique -- buying Kurt (Chris Colfer) alcohol, teaching Mercedes (Amber Riley) and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) how to shoplift items using their knees, and showering with the football team after a game. Hopefully she'll be back at some point.

With so much focus on the week's guest-star, there wasn't much else going on, really. Rachel was eventually persuaded to rejoin Glee after Finn (Corey Monteith) employed some reverse-psychology and convinced her everyone was missing her, only to immediately discover that her would-be boyfriend has gotten cheerleader Quinn (Dianna Agron) pregnant. Right now, I'm a little indifferent about this storyline, mainly because I think a pregnancy storyline has been introduced too early -- it's the kind of story that needs you to really care about the people involved, but Finn and Quinn are relatively think characters at the moment.

Rachel's by far the most developed person on the show, and Michele's doing a great job, but even her character's difficult to love outright because... well, she's ultimately very narcissistic. I find it a little tough to like someone who wants to hog the limelight and not let singers like Tina grow through experience and support -- instead pushing them aside, claiming they can only win competitions with her as top dog. She may be right, but she's not very diplomatic about it. Maybe this is just the American way of things, but speaking as a Brit I think Rachel comes across as conceited.

Overall, "The Rhodes Not Taken" was a good episode containing some of Glee's best song-and-dance numbers yet (particularly the terrific group interpretation of Queen's "Somebody To Love"), a memorable guest performance from effervescent Chenoweth, a respectable cautionary tale about people who never achieved their dreams and let their talent go to waste, and a fun way to take the wind out of Rachel's sails for awhile.

1 FEBRUARY 2010: E4 / E4 HD, 9PM

[*] Yes, I have bought the Glee album. I think this makes me a Gleek, but don't tell anyone, 'kay? I just like some of the songs.