Glee season 1
| Glee season 1 | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
| File:GleeS1.jpg Cover art for the Season 1 Blu-ray | |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Original release | May 19, 2009 – June 8, 2010 |
| Season chronology | |
The first season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee originally aired between May 19, 2009 and June 8, 2010 on Fox in the United States. The season consisted of 22 episodes, with the first 13 episodes airing on Wednesdays at 9 pm (ET) and the final 12 airing on Tuesdays at 9 pm (ET). The series is executive produced by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Dante Di Loreto; Murphy's production company helped co-produce the series alongside 20th Century Fox. The show features the fictional high school show choir New Directions competing for the first time on the show choir circuit, while its members deal with relationship, sexuality and social issues.
The musical scores used throughout the first season proved to be a commercial success, with over seven million copies of Glee cast single releases purchased digitally.[1] In 2009, the Glee remake of "Don't Stop Believin'" became their first hit, and other covers quickly gained similar worldwide popularity, while the albums topped the charts in Ireland and other countries. The season received generally favorable reviews, and was nominated for 19 Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, six Satellite Awards and several guild awards, winning the Golden Globe award for "Best Comedy".
Production
The season was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Ryan Murphy Television, and was aired on Fox in the U.S. The executive producers were series creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, and Dante Di Loreto, with John Peter Kousas and creator Ian Brennan acting as co-executive producers.[2] The first two episodes were co-written by Murphy, Falchuk and Brennan, with the remainder of the season written by them individually. Murphy and Falchuk also directed several episodes, while other episodes were directed by Elodie Keene, John Scott, Paris Barclay, Bill D'Elia and Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. Joss Whedon guest-directed the episode "Dream On".[3]
The pilot episode was broadcast as a preview of the season on May 19, 2009.[4] The series returned on September 9, 2009,[5] and after three episodes, Fox picked Glee up for a full season on September 21, 2009.[6] The initial run of thirteen episodes aired until December 9, 2009, with the series then taking a mid-season break until April 13, 2010.[7] After airing on Wednesdays at 9 pm (ET), the first season moved to Tuesdays in the same timeslot for the final nine episodes.[8] Due to a scheduling conflict with American Idol, the fourteenth episode, "Hell-O", was pushed back to 9:30 pm, before moving back to the earlier timeslot for the remaining episodes.[9] The commissioning of a second season was announced on January 11, 2010,[10] with the production of a third season announced on May 23, 2010.[11]
Episodes
- Series # refers to the episode's number in the overall series.
- Season # refers to the episode's number within that particular season.
| Series # | Season # | Title | Directed by | Written by | U.S. air date | U.S. viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Ryan Murphy | Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan | May 19, 2009[nb 1] | 9.62[13] |
| 2 | 2 | "Showmance" | Ryan Murphy | Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan | September 9, 2009 | 7.30[14] |
| 3 | 3 | "Acafellas" | John Scott | Ryan Murphy | September 16, 2009 | 6.64[15] |
| 4 | 4 | "Preggers" | Brad Falchuk | Brad Falchuk | September 23, 2009 | 6.63[16] |
| 5 | 5 | "The Rhodes Not Taken" | John Scott | Ian Brennan | September 30, 2009 | 7.40[17] |
| 6 | 6 | "Vitamin D" | Elodie Keene | Ryan Murphy | October 7, 2009 | 7.28[18] |
| 7 | 7 | "Throwdown" | Ryan Murphy | Brad Falchuk | October 14, 2009 | 7.65[19] |
| 8 | 8 | "Mash-Up" | Elodie Keene | Ian Brennan | October 21, 2009 | 7.15[20] |
| 9 | 9 | "Wheels" | Paris Barclay | Ryan Murphy | November 11, 2009 | 7.53[21] |
| 10 | 10 | "Ballad" | Brad Falchuk | Brad Falchuk | November 18, 2009 | 7.36[22] |
| 11 | 11 | "Hairography" | Bill D'Elia | Ian Brennan | November 25, 2009 | 6.10[23] |
| 12 | 12 | "Mattress" | Elodie Keene | Ryan Murphy | December 2, 2009 | 8.14[24] |
| 13 | 13 | "Sectionals" | Brad Falchuk | Brad Falchuk | December 9, 2009 | 8.13[25] |
| 14 | 14 | "Hell-O" | Brad Falchuk | Ian Brennan | April 13, 2010 | 13.66[26] |
| 15 | 15 | "The Power of Madonna" | Ryan Murphy | Ryan Murphy | April 20, 2010 | 12.98[27] |
| 16 | 16 | "Home" | Paris Barclay | Brad Falchuk | April 27, 2010 | 12.18[28] |
| 17 | 17 | "Bad Reputation" | Elodie Keene | Ian Brennan | May 4, 2010 | 11.62[29] |
| 18 | 18 | "Laryngitis" | Alfonso Gomez-Rejon | Ryan Murphy | May 11, 2010 | 11.57[30] |
| 19 | 19 | "Dream On" | Joss Whedon | Brad Falchuk | May 18, 2010 | 11.59[31] |
| 20 | 20 | "Theatricality" | Ryan Murphy | Ryan Murphy | May 25, 2010 | 11.49[32] |
| 21 | 21 | "Funk" | Elodie Keene | Ian Brennan | June 1, 2010 | 8.99[33] |
| 22 | 22 | "Journey" | Brad Falchuk | Brad Falchuk | June 8, 2010 | 10.92[34] |
Cast
The season had a cast of twelve actors who received star billing. Matthew Morrison played Will Schuester, director of the McKinley High glee club.[35] Jane Lynch played Sue Sylvester, head coach of the cheerleading squad and the glee club's arch-nemesis.[36] Jayma Mays portrayed Emma Pillsbury, a mysophobic guidance counselor with romantic feelings for Will.[37] Jessalyn Gilsig played Terri Schuester, Will's wife of five years.[38] Lea Michele played Rachel Berry, the star of the glee club.[38] Cory Monteith portrayed Finn Hudson, star quarterback of the school's football team, blackmailed into joining the club.[38] Also playing club members were Amber Riley as Mercedes Jones, Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel, Kevin McHale as Artie Abrams, and Jenna Ushkowitz as Tina Cohen-Chang. Mark Salling played Noah "Puck" Puckerman, a football player and bully who later joined the club, while Dianna Agron portrayed Quinn Fabray, Finn's girlfriend, who became pregnant with Puck's baby.[39]
The season also includes a number of secondary characters including Patrick Gallagher as Ken Tanaka, coach of the football team,[40] Iqbal Theba as Principal Figgins,[41] and Stephen Tobolowsky as Sandy Ryerson, the former glee club director.[42] Naya Rivera and Heather Morris played Santana Lopez and Brittany, cheerleaders who joined the glee club with Quinn,[43] and Harry Shum, Jr. and Dijon Talton portrayed Mike Chang and Matt Rutherford, football players who joined the club with Puck.[44][45]
The season featured a number of guest stars from musical backgrounds, including John Lloyd Young as wood shop teacher Henri St. Pierre,[46] and Victor Garber and Debra Monk as Will's parents.[47] Josh Groban and Olivia Newton-John appeared as themselves,[37][48] Kristin Chenoweth played former glee club member April Rhodes,[49] Jonathan Groff played the male lead of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline,[50] and Idina Menzel and Eve appeared as rival glee club directors Shelby Corcoran and Grace Hitchens respectively.[51][52]
Reception
Critical response
Metacritic gave the season a Metascore—a weighted average based on the impression of 18 critical reviews—of 77 percent, signifying generally favorable reviews.[53] James Poniewozik of Time ranked it the eighth best television show of 2009, deeming it "transcendent, tear-jerking and thrilling like nothing else on TV". He noted that the series did have faults, but praised its ambition and Lynch's "gaspingly funny" performance as Sue.[54] Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker ranked the season ninth, lauding its novelty,[55] while Lisa Respers France of CNN wrote that despite its "recipe for disaster" premise, the show's charm and bravado were enough to engage audiences.[56] Variety's Brian Lowry was critical of the season's early episodes, highlighting acting and characterization issues,[57] stating that the show's talent was squandered by its uneven tone and deeming Glee a one-hit-wonder.[58] Following the mid-season finale, Lowry wrote that while the series still had problems, its musical performances and cast were enough to keep him watching, and despite its issues, "TV would be poorer without Glee."[59] Jean Bentley of MTV found the season uneven, writing that it began with a promising plot and impressive musical numbers, but became too "cheesy" and excessively sentimental.[60] Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal agreed that the season had definite highs and lows, but called the finale a "warm embrace that — let’s face it — you just don't want to let go."[61]
Music
- Main article: Glee Cast discography
In total, five soundtracks were released to accompany the first season. Three albums released over the course of the season (Glee: The Music, Volume 1, Glee: The Music, Volume 2, and Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers) compiled various songs throughout the series, while two EPs (Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna and Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals) were released on the same day as the respective episodes aired. Virtually every song on the five albums has been released as singles with exception to bonus tracks and the entirety of Journey to Regionals, which had no singles.[62] Following the completion of the season, the Glee cast performed a 13-date concert tour in North America, Glee Live! In Concert!.[63] By its conclusion, tickets for all 13 performances had sold out, grossing $5,031,438.[64]
The show's musical performances proved to be a commercial success, with over seven million copies of Glee cast single releases purchased digitally.[1] The cast performance of "Don't Stop Believin'" reached number two in the U.K.,[65] and number four in the U.S. and Ireland.[66][67] It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on October 13, 2009,[68] achieving over 730,000 digital sales.[69] The cast had their first number one single with a cover of "Gives You Hell" in Ireland.[70] By June 2010, the cast were second behind The Beatles for most chart appearances by a group act in the Billboard Hot 100's 52-year history,[71] and seventh overall among all artists, with seventy-one appearances.[72] The series' cover versions have also had a positive effect on the original recording artists, such as for Rihanna; sales of "Take a Bow" increased by 189 percent after the song was covered in the Glee episode "Showmance".[73]
The series' debut album, Glee: The Music, Volume 1, reached number one in Ireland and the U.K.[67][65] and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA),[74] Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA),[75] and British Phonographic Industry (BPI),[76] and gold by the RIAA.[68] In December 2009, the second album, Glee: The Music, Volume 2, topped the charts in New Zealand,[77] Ireland,[67] and Scotland.[78] It has been certified platinum by the ARIA and CRIA,[79][75] and gold by the BPI and RIAA.[76][68] In 2010, the next two releases — Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna and Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers — both debuted at the number one position on the American and Canadian album charts.[80] With the releases reaching number one in the U.S. four weeks apart, the Glee cast beat the record previously set by The Beatles in 1966 for shortest span between first weeks at number one. This record was yet again beaten by Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals, when it reached number one in the U.S. three weeks later.[81] Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers also reached number one in Australia,[82], Ireland,[67] and Scotland,[83] acquiring a gold certification by the ARIA.[79] Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals also reached number one in Ireland.[67]
Ratings
The pilot episode of Glee averaged 9.62 million viewers.[13] Re-aired on September 2, 2009 in a director's cut version, it attained 4.2 million viewers.[12] The second episode, "Showmance", premiered on September 9, 2009, averaging 7.30 million viewers and achieving a 3.5/9 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic.[14] However, as Scott Collins for the Los Angeles Times noted, the other major networks besides Fox all opened the evening by airing a speech by President Barack Obama, disrupting regular viewing patterns. Furthermore, the official fall season had yet to begin, placing Glee against weaker competition in the ratings than the remainder of the season would experience.[84] The following eight episodes averaged 6.63-7.65 million viewers, falling to a series low of 6.10 million viewers with "Hairography" on November 25, 2009.[23] The episode aired the night before Thanksgiving, when all the major networks saw decreased ratings.[85] Viewership improved for the final two episodes of the first half of the season, with "Mattress" and "Sectionals" drawing 8.14 and 8.13 million viewers respectively.[24][25] Glee returned on April 13, 2010 with "Hell-O", which was watched by 10.92 million viewers,[26] the series' season high, up 46 percent on its previous season high with the pilot episode.[86] The following six episodes attained between 11.49 and 12.98 million viewers, falling to 8.99 million for the penultimate episode "Funk". The episode began with a 3.6/10 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic, rising to 4.1/11 in the last 30 minutes. It was down 21 percent on the previous episode, but was Glee's best 18–49 rating for an episode not following American Idol.[33] The final episode, "Journey", was watched by 11.07 million viewers and attained a 4.7 Nielsen rating in the 18-49 demographic, an increase of 18 percent on the previous episode, giving Glee the highest finale rating for a new show in the 2009–10 television season.[34]
Awards
During its first season, Glee was nominated for 83 awards, of which 32 were won. Murphy and Barclay were both nominated for the "Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series" award at the 2010 Directors Guild of America Awards for their work on "Pilot" and "Wheels" respectively.[87] The series was nominated for ten Creative Arts Emmy Awards and nine Primetime Emmy Awards.[88] It received eight nominations at the Gay, Lesbian and Bi People's Choice Awards, run by the gay media websites AfterEllen.com and AfterElton.com, of which it won seven.[89][90] It was also awarded three Dorian Awards by the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association.[91] Glee received four nominations at the 67th Golden Globe Awards, winning one,[92] and was nominated in six categories at the 2009 Satellite Awards, winning five.[93] Glee received three nominations for the Teen Choice Awards in 2009,[94] and 13 in 2010.[95][96] The series received four nominations for the 2010 TCA Awards,[97] winning three,[98] while Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy each received two nominations at the 2010 Writers Guild of America Awards.[99]
The series won "Outstanding TV Program of the Year" at the 2009 AFI Awards,[100] "Favorite New TV Comedy" at the 2010 People's Choice Awards,[101], "Outstanding Comedy Series" at the 21st GLAAD Media Awards,[102] "Future Classic" at the 2010 TV Land Awards,[103] a Peabody Award for excellence,[104] and "Do Something TV Show" at the VH1 Do Something Awards.[105] It was also nominated for the "NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Comedy Series" at the NAACP Image Awards,[106] the "Comedy Series Episode" PRISM Award for "Vitamin D",[107] and short–listed for the "YouTube Audience Award" at the BAFTA Awards.[108] The cast won "Favorite New Television Cast Ensemble" at the Diversity Awards,[109] and "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" at the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards.[110] In 2009, the crew won an Artios Award for the casting of "Pilot".[111] They also won "Outstanding Musical Supervision – TV" at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards,[112] and the "Outstanding Contemporary Television Series" award at the CDG Awards,[113] and were nominated for the "Single Camera Television Series" Art Directors Guild Award for "Pilot",[114] and "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Television Series" at the Cinema Audio Society Awards for "Wheels".[115] In 2010, David Klotz won "Best Sound Editing: Short Form Music in Television" at the Golden Reel Awards for his work on "Pilot",[116] "Wheels" won a "Television With a Conscience" Television Academy Honors award,[117] and Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy jointly won "Comedy Writer of the Year" at the Just for Laughs Awards.[118]
DVD and Blu-ray releases
Glee – Pilot Episode: Director's Cut was released on Region 1 DVD in America on September 1, 2009, exclusively to Wal-Mart.[119] It was released on Region 4 DVD in Australia on November 25, 2009,[120] and on Region 2 DVD in the United Kingdom on January 25, 2010.[121] The DVD includes a preview of the episode "Showmance", plus a deconstruction of the series by creator Ryan Murphy.[119]
Glee – Volume 1: Road to Sectionals contains the first thirteen episodes of the first season. It was released as a four-disc box set on Region 1 DVD in America and Canada on December 29, 2009.[122] It was released on Region 4 DVD in Australia on March 31, 2010,[123] and on Region 2 DVD in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2010.[124] Special features include full length audition pieces from the pilot episode by Michele as Rachel and Riley as Mercedes, plus casting and choreography featurettes.[125] Glee – Volume 2: Road to Regionals will contain the final nine episodes of the first season, and is due for release on Region 2 DVD in the U.K. on September 13, 2010,[126] Region 1 DVD in America on September 14, 2010,[127] and on Region 4 DVD in Australia on September 22, 2010.[128]
Glee – The Complete Season 1 is scheduled for release on Region 2 DVD on September 13, 2010,[129] Region 1 DVD on September 14, 2010,[130] and Region 4 DVD on September 22, 2010.[131] The seven-disc box set will contain the full 22 episode first season, including extended episodes, sing-along karaoke, a behind-the-scenes look at "The Power of Madonna" episode, Glee makeovers, never-before-seen 'Sue's Corner' segments and a dance tutorial.[130] It will also be released as a 4–disc Blu-ray box–set.[132]
| Glee – Pilot Episode: Director's Cut | ||||||
| Set details | Special features[119] | |||||
|
| |||||
| Release dates | ||||||
 United States,  Canada
|
 United Kingdom
|
 Australia,  New Zealand
| ||||
| September 1, 2009 | January 25, 2010 | November 25, 2009 | ||||
| Glee – Volume 1: Road to Sectionals | ||||||
| Set details | Special features[125] | |||||
|
| |||||
| Release dates | ||||||
| United States, Canada
|
United Kingdom
|
Australia, New Zealand
| ||||
| December 29, 2009 | April 19, 2010 | March 31, 2010 | ||||
| Glee – Volume 2: Road to Regionals | ||||||
| Set details | Special features[133][134] | |||||
|
| |||||
| Release dates | ||||||
| United States, Canada
|
United Kingdom
|
Australia, New Zealand
| ||||
| September 14, 2010 | September 13, 2010 | September 22, 2010 | ||||
| Glee – The Complete First Season | ||||||
| Set details | Special features[133][131] | |||||
|
| |||||
| Release dates | ||||||
| United States, Canada
|
United Kingdom
|
Australia, New Zealand
| ||||
| September 14, 2010 | September 13, 2010 | September 22, 2010 | ||||
Notes
- ^ An extended director's cut of the pilot was broadcast on September 2, 2009 as a lead-in to the series premiere. On its broadcast, the extended episode attracted 4.2 million viewers.[12]
References
