"Rocky Horror Picture Show" Gets "Glee" Treatment
NEW YORK (CBS) Hot patootie, bless my soul! I really love...last night's "Glee" episode, which paid homage to "The Rocky Horror Show."
Usually, the "Glee" tribute episodes, while fun, seem so out-of-place in the "Glee" lexicon - capsule episodes that don't really further the plot. But last night's show paid tribute to the cult classic, incorporated the songs and fit well into the season's storylines.
The pretense for the tribute had less to do with Halloween (though we did get to hear Brittany's choice of costume - "I'm going as a peanut allergy") than with Mr. Schuester wanting to put on the show for the school musical to get closer to Emma, who is a fan of the film.
Now, onto the numbers!
"Science Fiction Double Feature" - Right off the bat, we're in "Rocky Horror" territory. They cut out most of the song (hey, we do have a whole show to get through here). But the red lips, the overlapping credits - it's a well-done replica of the movie's opening.
"There's a Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place)" - The glee club kids are on stage, in costume and rehearsing Schue's production of "Rocky Horror." It's a decent cover, until it's interrupted by Carl, in Eddie garb, calling out Schue for trying to steal Emma. Caught red handed, the show turns into a flashback, revealing Will's "Rocky Horror" intentions. Sue allows the show to go on so she can report on it for "Sue's Corner" - an idea that comes to her after the two cable news scouts (guest stars Barry Bostwick and Meat Loaf) encourage her to instill fear into her viewers (and, as Sue says, that's the true meaning of Halloween).
"Damn It, Janet." Most of the glee kids are psyched about doing the show. Rachel casts herself and Finn as Brad and Janet immediately, Artie guesses "I'll be playing the guy in the wheelchair, right?", Mike Chang volunteers to play Dr. Frank-N-Furter and Sam gets to don the gold lame briefs of Rocky Horror himself. Finn and Rachel perform this number in the choir room, with help from Kurt as Riff Raff and Quinn as Magenta.
"Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?" Schue invites Emma to be the show's costume designer and Carl to play a role in the show. He calls for the always-present piano dude to start playing this number, and in typical "Glee" fashion, a whole band magically appears. The kids get up and dance, Emma is charmed and Will just gets jealous. But Uncle Jesse becomes our Eddie.
"Sweet Transvestite" Other Asian has to back out of playing Frank-N-Further when his parents read the script. Mercedes volunteers to take over the part, and while she rocks the corset and fishnets, the changed lyrics ("Sensational, Transylvania"?) and the soulful, un-Tim-Curry-like delivery don't do it for me.
"Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me" - Finn almost gets suspended for walking through the McKinley High halls in his costume (boxer shorts - not quite the white briefs Bostwick sported in the film), but finds he's no longer self-conscious about his body. Sam, meanwhile, gets more self conscious about playing Rocky and asks for a more conservative costume. Will tells Emma that he should play Rocky Horror instead, so that the show isn't as scandalous, and asks her to practice this sexy number with him.
And Holy Shirtless Schue, she does. Minus more blasted lyrics changes ("Heavy sweating"? Come on.), this was a great number - bonus points for Santana and Brittany channeling Magenta and Columbia in the background while Emma is writhing and dragging Will around the room. When the song is over, she runs off, horrified.
"The Time Warp" Big final number! The flashback's over, and we're back on stage with the Carl-Will confrontation. Will apologizes to Emma for using the play to get close to her, and says that since he really loves her, he'll leave her and Carl alone. He also discovers Sue's plan to report on the show (she was starring as the Criminologist), and thwarts her by deciding to scrap the show. But because "The Rocky Horror Show" is for fun-loving misfits like our New Directions-ers, he doesn't cancel it entirely - they'll just perform it for themselves, instead of the whole school.
So the episode ends with Will in the audience, watching his students do the classic number. A jump to the left, a step to the right, and the show is over.
What did you think? Did the show pay proper homage to "Rocky Horror" or could it have been better? Share your thoughts in the comments.