Preview of Next Week’s GLEE with Neil Patrick Harris, Directed by Joss Whedon

I’m the target audience for GLEE. A former high school and college gleeker myself, I have no problems telling you all that after a particularly stressful day you might find me standing (sitting) center stage (in the front seat of my car) belting out show tunes for my adoring audience (commuters traveling on 93 South in Boston). I’m a gleek through and through. So much so that these days my Broadway CDs have been replaced by the three GLEE soundtracks that have already been released during this first season of the show. (My duet with Chris Colfer on ‘Defying Gravity’ is breathtaking and the way I channel my inner Rachel Berry on ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ is something to behold…assuming you have the appropriate noise canceling headphones, of course.)

Bottom line, I love GLEE.

Now I’m not saying the show is perfect. Far from it. If he were willing I’d love a little one-on-one with Ryan Murphy during which I could point out the oh so obvious flaws that if fixed would make the show shine even brighter. That’s not going to happen, so it’s about making the necessary adjustments on my end to keep the relationship going. It’s about accepting GLEE for who it is. Love isn’t perfect. You forgive flaws in order to move forward and love more deeply.

If you’re a long time GiveMeMyRemote.com reader then this second bit of news isn’t going to be a shocker either. I love Neil Patrick Harris. Oh yes, I’m an NPH fan from way back in the day. Doogie Howser was the very inspiration for this blog (ok, maybe not, but it paints a nice picture so just go with it.) Many (many) a trip to Los Angeles, CA I kept my eyes peeled in the hopes of seeing from afar the talented (and ridiculously handsome) actor. After far too many nearly-missed encounters (if it weren’t so frustrating it would be hilarious) I have resigned myself to the fact that I may never meet Mr. Harris (sigh), but that doesn’t diminish my affection – it only makes it stronger.

Given my love for all things GLEE and NPH, you can imagine my joy when it was revealed that the two would be coming together for a glorious union this season. If that weren’t enough, the show had to increase its awesomeness by bringing creative genius Joss Whedon on to direct*. Well the wait is over (well for me anyway, the rest of you will have to wait until next Tuesday, May 18th at 9pm)! Having just seen the Whedon-directed, NPH starring GLEE episode that we’ve all been waiting for, I can tell you…it sucked. What?! No, I’m kidding, it was fantastic! I loved every fun loving minute of it! Neil Patrick Harris was phenomenal and he fit so well into the world of GLEE. I’d go as far to say that it was legen… (oh, I can’t do it).

*Going Alan Sepinwall-style hear to let you know that I was lucky enough to be at a Fox party in L.A. and talking with Cory Monteith when Joss Whedon came over to tell him he was a big fan of the show. It was definitely one of the great ‘what the hell am I doing here and how did I get so lucky’ moments of my life. Whedon said that if the show was picked up for the back nine, he was going to ask about possibly directing. It got picked up, and here he is behind the camera. Isn’t life grand?!

I don’t mean to be a tease, but I’m not going to be spoiling any of the major plot reveals (emphasis on the word “major”), nor am I going to spoil any of the song selections. I will however tell you that next week’s episode, “Dream On”, was one of the more emotional episodes of the season. While the episode lacked a bit of its trademarked sassy wit, it made up for it in cohesive storytelling and character development. I’m not sure how much of the credit for the episode goes to the writers or to Mr. Whedon, but the pacing of the episode and its linear path made GLEE feel a bit more well-rounded, grown up and sophisticated . While I love GLEE, the way the A, B, C (….J, K, L) plots jump around it often makes me feel like I’m stuck in a pinball machine. It’s one of my criticisms of the show. In the uber-capable hands of Joss Whedon, the characters were given room to breathe. The musical numbers felt organic to the plot rather than forced in, as they have a bit too often since the show’s return.

As for those signature musical numbers, I think a few will have people talking (and downloading from iTunes of course). There is one in particular that was so moving and so powerful that I was reduced to tears. For risk of spoiling a big plotline, I’m not going to say anymore, but I think you’ll know it when you see it and hear it.

For those of you like me who have been waiting quite some time for this special episode, I’m going to be as bold to say that it’s one of the best episodes of GLEE all season.

While I go set my DVR to NEVER delete the episode, here are a few more teasing tidbits from next week’s GLEE.

• We’ll see a character do something we never thought we’d see him or her do.

• NPH and Matthew Morrison sound fantastic together during not one but two duets.

• For those of you who are like me and missed Jonathan’s Groff’s Jesse St. James, I’m happy to report that he’s back from his Spring Break with Vocal Adrenaline (and he seems to have had a lovely time)

• It probably wasn’t intentional, but there is a connection to one of my favorite daytime talk show moments ever!

• A flashback gives us a brief glimpse of Will Schuester in high school. More of that please!

• A far too brief appearance from one of Jane Lynch’s former co-stars made me want to see him more!  If only they hadn’t show us a picture of Rachel’s fathers…this guy would have been fantastic!

• Mike Chang is referenced as “Mike Chang” (as opposed to ‘the other Asian). No, he still didn’t speak…but I hear it’s coming sometime this season.

• I seriously missed Brittany this episode. She was there but her role was limited. I didn’t realize how crucial she was to my GLEE experience.

• This might be semi-spoilery to some, but a big moment that we all were speculating on but hadn’t yet been confirmed (as far as I know) came to be. It was WELL worth it! Believe me!

I hope you’ll bookmark this post and come back to share your thoughts and comments after next week’s “Dream On” episode of GLEE. Until then…have a GLEEful week and may all your Neil Patrick Harris dreams come true.