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As medical drama Nip/Tuck was reaching its end, showrunner Ryan Murphy turned a new project that would become one of Fox’s most popular shows of all time. Inspired by his own time in high school glee club, Murphy created Glee, a teen comedy-drama featuring the struggles of a show choir team in Lima, Ohio.
The show premiered in 2009 and was an immediate success, receiving praise for its comedy and ensemble cast, and most importantly, for its musical covers, which ranged from classical eighties rock to contemporary pop songs. While Glee was championed for its take on controversial social issues, it also received some flak over some of its storylines, particularly after its first season.
10 Extraordinary Merry Christmas Pays Homage To Black & White Holiday Specials (7.3)
Directed by actor Matthew Morrison, who plays Mr. Schue in the show, “Extraordinary Merry Christmas” follows the New Directions as they star and produce in their own holiday special for their local TV station. When Sue tries to recruit them to help out a homeless shelter, they must decide between stardom and holiday spirit.
“Extraordinary Merry Christmas” was the second Christmas episode in the series. It included various covers of popular Christmas songs, including a rendition of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby,” and paid homage to celebrity-led holiday specials from the 1950s.
9 A Night Of Neglect Marks The Return Of Two Beloved Guest Stars (7.3)
In “A Night of Neglect,” the New Directions struggle to raise money for their upcoming trip to New York, where they will compete at Nationals for the first time. As the Academic Decathlon team is also in need, Mr. Schue proposes holding a ‘Night of Neglect’ concert where glee club members will perform songs by ‘neglected’ artists.
Aside from serving as a filler episode with few plot developments, “A Night of Neglect” only has four musical performances. Gwyneth Paltrow and Filipino singer Jack Zyrus reprised their roles as Holly Holiday and Sunshine Corazón and covered Céline Dion’s “All By Myself” and Adele’s “Turning Tables,” respectively.
8 Tested Discusses Sex Ed With Glee’s Signature Comedy (7.2)
The male New Directions alumni discuss STDs, sex, and relationships in “Tested,” the sixteenth episode of Glee‘s fifth season. Blaine and Kurt’s relationship suffers as the former continues to excel at NYADA while the latter struggles. Meanwhile, Sam discusses taking the next step with Mercedes, and Artie discovers why safety and health should always come first when it comes to one-night stands.
“Tested” had four musical covers, including Blaine and Kurt’s “Love Is A Battlefield” and Mercedes’ “I Want To Know What Love Is.” Taking on serious topics and adding its signature comedic spin to them isn’t new to Glee, but the episode seemed to rub many viewers the wrong way with its badly-written sex ed.
7 The Back-Up Plan Has Rachel Ruining Her Career Over Quick Fame & Money (7.1)
When Rachel is offered an audition for a Fox TV show, she debates whether she should risk her role in the revival of Funny Girl in order to pursue this new opportunity to stardom. Meanwhile, Mercedes and Santana work together on Merdedes’ upcoming music, and a wealthy socialite takes an interest in Blaine’s career.
“The Back-Up Plan” was the last Glee episode written by Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Rachel’s controversial decision to put her Broadway career on the line in favor of money and mainstream fame, despite finally obtaining her dream role, lost the show many of its dedicated viewers.
6 Puppet Master Has One Of The Most Ridiculous Premises (7.1)
As the National Championships get closer, Blaine and Kurt face their controlling tendencies with the New Directions and with his own cover band, respectively. While Blaine’s alone in the choir room, a suspicious gas leak makes him hallucinate all his friends as Jim Henson-like puppets.
“Puppet Master” is one of Glee‘s most infamous episodes for its laughable premise and ridiculous cover of Ylvis’ viral hit “The Fox.” Other performances include Will and Sue’s cover of “Cheek to Cheek,” and the New Directions’ “You’re My Best Friend.” Singer and actor Demi Lovato also guest-starred as Santana’s girlfriend, Dani.
5 The End Of Twerk Consolidates Mr. Shue As A Terrible Teacher (7.1)
After a video of Blaine twerking goes viral, Mr. Schue introduces his worst assignment yet in “The End of Twerk.” When Sue finds out that he’s encouraging his students to twerk on school property, she declares war on their deviant ways and seeks to ban twerking once and for all.
Matthew Morrison’s character, who had already become one of the show’s most disliked characters, fully consolidates himself as one of the worst teachers in television history in “The End of Twerk.” Aside from a terrible cover of Robin Thicke’s questionable song “Blurred Lines,” the only stand-out performance is Unique’s cover of Beyoncé’s “If I Were A Boy,” where the character expresses her struggles with transitioning in an unaccepting institution.
4 A Katy Or A Gaga Is The Show’s Worst Tribute Episode (7.1)
In “A Katy Or A Gaga,” the New Directions pay tribute to the two titular pop divas while trying to decide on their setlist for Nationals. The cast performed two of Lady Gaga’s hits, “Applause” and “Marry the Night,” and two of Katy Perry’s, “Wide Awake” and “Roar.”
Glee is no stranger to episodes that highlight one or two pop acts—its Madonna and Britney Spears episodes are fan favorites for their song covers and sincere homages—but “A Katy Or A Gaga” completely fails where the others succeed. Not only are the musical performances mediocre in comparison, but having Mr. Schue give Marley a club suspension for not wearing a bra onstage immediately made this one of the show’s worst episodes.
3 Sadie Hawkins Introduces A Problematic Relationship (7.1)
McKinley hosts its first girls’ choice dance in “Sadie Hawkins,” the series’ seventy-seventh episode. Empowered, the girls set out to ask their crushes to the event while, in New York, a newly-single Kurt meets Adam, the leader of NYADA’s show choir club.
“Sadie Hawkins” features one of Tina’s few solos, a cover of “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar. At the dance, the New Directions boys perform TLC’s “No Scrubs,” and the girls sing Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven.” Fans greatly disliked many of the storylines in the episode, including Tina’s crush on Blaine and Puck’s relationship with Kitty, who was underage at the time.
2 Lights Out Mishandles A Character’s Traumatic Experience (7.0)
Written by creator Ryan Murphy, “Lights Out” has the New Directions singing acoustic songs during a power cut at the school. Meanwhile, in New York City, Kurt, Santana, and Rachel volunteer at a Vogue event alongside Kurt’s boss, Isabelle, who’s portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker. Together, they perform A Chorus Line‘s “At The Ballet.”
The episode continues the contentious catfishing plotline involving Unique and Ryder, reaching a peak towards the end. It also mishandled a serious topic when Ryder confesses he was sexually molested as a child. In a strange, out-of-character moment, the New Directions boys don’t even sympathize with him and simply express their confusion, not understanding why Ryder found it so traumatic.
1 Previously Unaired Christmas Should’ve Stayed Unaired After All (6.7)
By far the worst Glee episode, “Previously Unaired Christmas” features Kurt, Rachel, and Santana dressed as elves, a horrifying performance of “The Chipmunk Song” that is barely distinguishable from the original, and a conman dressed as ‘sexy Santa.’
Unlike other Glee Christmas specials, “Previously Unaired Christmas” didn’t deliver a single heartfelt or gleeful message about the holiday, choosing to go in a raunchier direction instead. The episode’s gimmick was that it had been held back by Fox for being ‘too controversial’ and was being released a year later after several revisions, but given its terrible reception, perhaps it should’ve stayed unaired forever.
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