The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 6, 2012 2 coverstory By Kyla Brewer TV Media U Fox breathes new life into prime time with clean-cut youngsters who are ready to sing. Get ready for the return of "Glee," Tuesday, April 10. The students and staff of McKinley High continue the drama, comedy and, most im- portantly, music with brand new episodes from the show's third season. "Glee" has broken new nbridled enthusiasm is rare these days, espe- cially in teenagers. But Hit Fox series returns with new episodes Gleeks rejoice Jenna Ushkowitz stars in "Glee" ground, thanks to its blend of melodramatic teen angst, comedy and cheesy musical numbers that range from classic show tunes to contem- porary pop songs. The show has become a powerhouse for Fox, even spawning a wildly popular concert tour and seemingly endless merchandise. Hope- lessly devoted Gleeks can en- joy not only the DVD and Blu- ray releases, but also a young- adult book series, iPad apps, video games and much more. It's been a long winter for "Glee" fans -- aka Gleeks -- who are dying to know what's happening with the McKinley High crew since the show's winter finale on Feb. 21. Put- ting such a popular show on hiatus for more than a month might seem like an unusual move, but splitting up the sea- son this way appears to follow a new prime-time trend. In fact, another Fox hit, "Bones," returned to the schedule on April 2, following a hiatus that began on Jan. 12. Matthew Morrison leads the cast as Will Schuester, a dedicated teacher who takes over the school's New Direc- tions glee club and tries to in- spire his young charges to be- lieve in themselves and reach for the stars. who was on Broadway before being cast in "Glee," plays ambitious pitch-perfect sing- er Rachel. Canuck Cory Mon- teith (rumored real-life boy- friend to Michele) portrays cool quarterback Finn, while Chris Colfer plays gay teen Kurt. Also, Kevin McHale's Artie doesn't let his wheel- chair hold him back. Breakout star Lea Michele, include Amber Riley as pow- erhouse vocalist Mercedes, Jenna Ushkowitz as Goth chick Tina and Harry Shum as dancer Mike. Dianna Agron portrays cheerleader-turned- glee-club member Quinn, alongside fellow cheerleaders Heather Morris as Brittany and Naya Rivera as Santana. Of course, every show needs a villain, and Jane Lynch fills that role to a T as conniving cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. "Glee's" buzz-worthy spring premiere has the blo- gosphere heating up with speculation as to which songs the show will be covering. In the past, the cast has per- formed songs by everyone from Michael Jackson and Madonna to Barbra Streisand and John Lennon. With pipes that rival some of today's hot- test stars, the show isn't afraid to tackle musical the- Other glee club standouts ater either, having performed numbers from "Guys and Dolls," "Les Misérables" and "Grease." The music from the series may be more popular than the series itself. Shortly after the winter finale, Fox an- nounced that the show had earned yet another groovy distinction: Soundscan ranked the show's performances at No. 8 among the Top 10-sell- ing digital U.S. artists of all time. It might surprise non- Gleeks to know that the cast rivals such hugely popular acts as Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and the Black Eyed Peas, thanks to more than 32 million digital downloads in the U.S. "Glee" versions of the hits "I Will Always Love You," "Bad" and their trademark anthem "Don't Stop Be- lievin'," have earned the show the record for most charted songs by a single act in the Billboard Hot 100 chart history. So far, the cast has 193 Hot 100 entries. That's more than Elvis Presley, the Beatles and James Brown. "Glee: The Music, Volume 4" earned a Grammy nomina- tion for Best Compilation Soundtrack. The recordings have reached well beyond U.S. borders as well. "Glee" has sold more than 12 million albums worldwide. The show as a whole has earned plenty of other acco- lades as well. "Glee's" debut season, which premiered in September 2009, earned a whopping 19 Emmy nomina- tions, including wins for Lynch and guest star Neil Patrick Harris. It snagged Golden Globes for Best Television Se- ries -- Musical or Comedy -- for two years running in 2010 and 2011. The sophomore season netted 12 Emmy nom- inations. The irony there is that many of the young glee club members are far from popular among their McKinley High classmates, but the show's popularity is undeniable. This past fall, "Glee" celebrated a milestone 300th musical per- formance. Although there are plenty of critics out there, the Fox comedy has done well, per- haps because viewers are looking for a dose of sunshine in an otherwise dreary prime- time landscape. Feel-good TV is a rare commodity these days, and those who like it obviously like it a lot. It turns out the feel-good feeling extends beyond the ratings game. "Glee" gives back, too. The series recently partnered with the National Association for Music Educa- tion to award deserving pub- lic schools with grants worth anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000. That's all the more reason to give "Glee" a chance. For those who haven't, check out Fox on April 10. This time the series runs straight through until May 22, which is when the season finale is scheduled to air. Chirstopher's Coins 2 x 2 hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Can you think of any spinoff series that lasted longer than the original? A: Surprisingly, there are plenty. "Happy Days" is a good ex- ample. The legendary, family-friendly hit ran for 11 seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1984, surpassing its parent show, "Love, American Style" by six seasons. "Happy Days" debuted as a segment on "Love, American Style," which was an anthology series that featured two or three stories per episode. Another ABC sitcom, "Family Matters," ran for nine sea- sons -- one season longer than its predecessor, "Perfect Strangers." ("Family Matters" matriarch Harriet Winslow originated as an elevator operator at the newspaper office on "Perfect Strangers.") NBC's "Frasier" also tied its parent series, "Cheers," at 11 seasons. In the reality-TV genre (and again on ABC, which has done well in the spinoff business), the critically acclaimed and popular "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," which just wrapped its ninth and final season, far outlasted its four- season parent, "Extreme Makeover." Q: Did anyone ever try to make a TV show out of "The Shadow"? A: No, though the great crime-fighting character ap- peared in just about every other medium available to him. The character is best known from his radio days, which is where he started, but not where most people would think. The series "The Shadow" was one of the biggest shows in the history of the medium, running from 1937 to 1954; how- ever, it was actually a spinoff. The character of the Shadow debuted in 1930 as the nar- rator of a show called "Detective Story Hour," an anthology show based on stories from the pulp magazine "Detective Story." The character was voiced for more than a year by ra- dio legend Orson Welles before Bill Johnstone took over the microphone. The character proved popular and actually earned his own magazine, "Shadow Magazine," in 1931, six years be- fore his radio show began. There have been several films as well, starting with "The Shadow Strikes," which also premiered in 1937 and starred silent-era great Rod La Rocque. Six films followed in the '40s and '50s, and the character Have a question? E-mail us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. was then ignored by Hollywood for decades, until he reap- peared again in a 1994 movie, simply titled "The Shadow," starring Alec Baldwin.