This week, Glee said farewell to Finn Hudson (played by the late Cory Monteith) in “The Quarterback”.
In this tearful tribute, the past and current members of the New Directions Glee Club came together for a special memorial in honour and remembrance of their dearly departed friend, and they expressed their immense feelings the best way they could – through song.
Songs from “The Quarterback” can be purchased through iTunes. All proceeds will go to Project Limelight, a performing arts program for the kids and youth of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and an organization very close to Cory’s heart.
In 1964, The Beatles‘ first live television performance in the US on The Ed Sullivan Show sparked the explosion of Beatlemania, which had a monumental influence on how we listen to and interact with music. In our pop culture today, Glee uses songs to tell their stories of friendship, heartache, and what it’s like to be a young adult in the twenty-first century.
It makes perfect sense for these two musical phenomenons to one day come together, and now they finally have! For their two-week Season 5 premiere, Glee is dedicating two episodes (“Love Love Love” and “Tina in the Sky with Diamonds”) to a massive tribute of the Fab Four, dividing their expansive songbook by their early works (the British Invasion) and their experimental eras (where things got a little more introspective, socially-aware, political, and revolutionary in tone).
I love The Beatles. I love hearing new renditions of their songs from other musicians. And I love many of the Glee Cast’s covers. Therefore, I was VERY excited to hear this group of very talented singers perform some of the best songs (with some of the greatest lyrics and melodies) ever written and recorded. So, what did they sing and how did they do?
The show may be called Mad Men, but the most compelling characters on this show are the Mad Women. As men like Don Draper continue to fall behind and find themselves increasingly out of touch with the modern day, it’s the working girls and society ladies who are on the rise, taking charge of their domains (be it in their careers, their families, and/or their relationships) and ultimately, of their lives as women of the 1960s.
To Peggy, Joan, Megan, Betty, Sally, Trudy, and Dawn – I raise a sparkling glass to you!
Those who were in attendance at the panel discussion were treated to a very special surprise – a screening of the never-aired alternate ending to the abruptly (and wrongfully) canceled series.
The epilogue picks up three years after Season 3 finale, with the show’s leading lady Meg Pryor heading to the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. Along her journey, she reminisces on memories with her family and friends, and through conversations with fellow travelers, reveals the fate of show’s main characters: her best friend, Roxanne, is married to Luke, and they have a baby together; her sister, Patty is attending Radcliffe College, and her good friend, Sam, has just graduated from university, and will be joining her at Woodstock. The final scene is a flashback of Meg visiting home for the first time in three years, and reuniting with her Mom and Dad on the evening of one of the decade’s most pivotal moments – the Apollo 11 moon landing.
This epilogue has been a long time coming for fans of the nostalgic and underrated television show. While I’ll always wonder what would have happened to the characters if the show had been renewed for a fourth season (and beyond), I am happy with how this alternate ending played out on a hopeful note. It’s terrific to finally have proper and satisfying closure for my absolute favourite television show.
Congratulations to Candice Glover, the winner of American Idol Season 12!
On May 16th, Idol fans witnessed the coronation of Candice Glover, who now joins the ranks of Idol Queens Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia Barrino, and Jordin Sparks.
Elizabeth Rosalyn 