REVIEW: The Glee Project: The Final Twelve Casting Call

                    The Glee Project: “Individuality”

Rating: ★★★★★

 Airdate: June 12, 2011, beginning 8/7c on Oxygen

The Final 12

The Glee Project should appeal to a number of audiences. Glee fans who can’t get to the live show currently touring and can’t wait for the promised 3D concert movie, can get a weekly fix of Glee music with The Glee Project. Fans of reality tv, such as American Idol and The Voice have a new crop of hopefuls to cheer for.

 What I like about the show says a lot about me as a television viewer. I’m a proud Gleek, so I’m happy to be getting something similar to one of my favorite shows. As Nikki Anders (Vocal Producer on Glee) says “seeing all of these kids in one place is almost like seeing Glee right in front of you. That’s what makes this so special.” I’m not a huge fan of reality tv competition shows because I always feel badly for the contestants who don’t win. My reluctance to embrace the genre is based on a dislike for the competition aspect – having a winner and a loser, and often multiple losers.

And that’s what The Glee Project is: a competition with the winner getting a seven episode story arc in season three of Glee. The unique aspect of this competition is the winner won’t be the best dancer or singer, but the performer the judges feel “will inspire the writers” the most. Ironically, this competition aspect is exactly what Gleeisn’t about. Glee’s storyline revolves around losers and that’s one of the reasons the show is so popular.

The first hour – “The Glee Project: The Final 12 Casting Call” – is a prequel of sorts and sets the stage for the series, taking the audience through the casting process with Casting Director Robert J. Ulrich. There are lots of fast cuts and footage of the Glee cast, including clips of auditions from original cast members Amber Riley and Jenna Ushkowitz.

Casting director Robert Ulrich and special guest Darren Criss

Some 34,000 video auditions were submitted via MySpace. Ulrich seems to like a lot of them, yet still holds an open casting call. One of my favorite aspects of the show is getting this behind the scenes look at how the television industry works. This segment is very reminiscent of American Idol. Unlike A I ’s tryouts, however, these are all feel-good auditions. No one is humiliated or made fun of.

The top 83 contestants are invited to LA to work with several people from Glee: Zach Woodlee, the choreographer; Nikki Anders; and Brad Ellis, the accompanist. One of the giddy contestants describes Ellis as having “this vibe like Elton John and Jesus Christ.” Their enthusiasm and joy at having made it to this stage is infectious. We only see kids having fun though. Even the ones who can’t dance take gentle ribbing and make good-natured fun of themselves. But what makes this less enjoyable for me is, by the time we get to the final cut, I want them all to stay. Even the cuts are made in a less painful way than other reality competitions as only the “You made it” phone calls are included. However, there were a few kids sent home I would have liked to see stay and a few kept I thought were questionable.

The second hour of the night, “Individuality,” has a more serious tone than the first as this is where the real competition begins. The most interesting thing about this episode is it provides great insight into how Glee is shot each week. Contestants are shown working with Woodlee on choreography and with Ellis and Anders on the stage and in the studio. The competition itself even mirrors aspects of the Glee storyline. Contestants are given a theme of the week and a homework assignment – much like the Glee kids. But these kids are expected to be professional so the fun turns into work. Erik White, a well-known video director, appears to film their weekly video.

Fully half of the show is devoted to the sudden death performance for Ryan Murphy, creator and producer/writer of Glee. This section is much like the “dance for your life” performances on Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. Ulrich, Anders, and Woodlee have chosen contestants Ellis, Damian and Bryce as the bottom three.

Ellis is chosen because she is struggling with how to express herself. Her rendition of “Hey Big Spender” is easily her best performance vocally, but it is awkwardly performed and slightly overacted for me.

Damian is chosen because the judges feel he hasn’t really developed a strong enough character. Damian sings “Jessie’s Girl” and does a credible job delivering it despite the fact he’d never heard the song before and only has two hours to learn and prepare it. He actually gets the words wrong, singing “I wish I was Jesse’s girl,” not “I wish I had Jesse’s girl.” Murphy is charmed by both Damian’s mistake and his response when it’s pointed out. My feeling is, of all the kids, Samuel is the one to completely disappear in the video they shoot for “Fireworks.”

The Final 12 perform "Firework"

The final contestant for sudden death is Bryce, who performs “Just the Way You Are.” He’s in the final three because of “attitude” problems. I think Bryce’s concerns over his character treatment in the video are well founded. The kids are told to develop their characters, so it seems contradictory to punish him for doing as he was instructed. His final performance is strong though.

The final scene in which a contestant is sent home is as painful as I expected. In contrast to the other announcements during “Casting Call” and “Individuality,” Ulrich posts a list and then goes to the green room to tell them the list is posted rather than breaking the news himself. Each of the three is shown walking down a long hallway as the camera closes in on their somber faces as they discover who is going home.

I’m disappointed Bryce is going home – I think he is more talented than some of the others. Glee is about unusual characters, but I hope they don’t simply choose the most unusual or quirky contestants. I think it’s possible Bryce was penalized because he is too good-looking and perhaps too similar to current Glee cast members.

It is interesting to watch the process as they consider not only the talent of the performers but also who is going to be a good fit to write for and work with on a daily basis. The singing and dancing are not as polished as we are used to seeing on Glee every week, but the great thing about The Glee Project is watching that develop and to see what, at least in part, goes into making the show every week. I’ll be enjoying the performances even as I, no doubt, will increasingly dread who will be next to get the axe.

Do you think the right contestant was sent home? Let me know in the comments below.

Tune in next week at 9/8c on Oxygen.

All photos ©2011 Oxygen. All Rights Reserved.

[imagebrowser id=64]

Glee fans who can’t get to the live show currently touring and can’t wait for the promised 3D concert movie, can get a weekly fix of Glee music with The Glee Project. Fans of reality tv, such as American Idol and The Voice have a new crop of hopefuls to cheer for.