Re: 5x19 "Old Dog, New Tricks" Watch & Discussion thread

[ColferInspired]

Another review.

She writes for the Hudsucker. Don't know what that is. 

http://elizabethrosalyn.com/2014/05/06/glee-written-by-chris-colfer/

[valkeakuulas]

It was cute, maybe a little too cute for its own good, but I laughed and cried and was able to watch the entire episode without fast forward. And that is much considering this is Glee.

There were so many hits for the Kurt lover and I'm so happy that even for one episode Kurt gets to say what he thinks of things. Because it's only for episode Chris cannot fix all the things that have been dropped during the years but yay for Kurt talking about his mom, Sam having a personality and family and Kurt being frustrated and sad about him being used as a friend prop.

There were so many feel-good moments and just like others have said Sam was exceptionally well presented here, him spending meaningful time with Artie and Mercedes was such a bonus.

[ColferInspired]

The EP is number 7 on the Itune Charts.  

[ColferInspired]

[ColferInspired]

[ColferInspired]

Roger Neal is Tim Conway’s personal manager.

[Georgette888]

It had its faults- the story of mother/daughter was a little too neatly wrapped up, for example, and there were occasional clunky bits of dialogue that sounded like writing rather than natural speech, but the episode was funny, warm, good-hearted, well-characterised and had continuity. I really enjoyed it.

[ColferInspired]

I love that everyone is raving about this episode.   

I have seen so many wanting Chris to write more episodes.

I have yet to watch it, but should be able to in about an hour.

I have read comments from fans that left three years ago, saying they loved it and it reminded them of Season 1.

I have even read comments from some GA that loved it as well.

[ColferInspired]

“All in all, I thought the song choices were a little odd, but the performances were perfectly crazed; the jokes were more subtle than usual, but also had all the wit without the mean-spiritedness that can sometimes taint this show; and probably most unique to his writing style, Colfer showed a real respect for the characters we’ve come to know and love/hate. Not bad at all for a first-time TV writer, I’d say. I would definitely be up for more Colfer-penned episodes in Glee’s final season (final season!). Would you?”

—	TV Guide recap (via heyerchick)

[ColferInspired]

“
Let’s focus on the task at hand: the littlest Renaissance man that could, Chris Colfer, wrote this week’s episode, “Old Dog, New Tricks.” In addition to Emmy winner and New York Times bestselling author, Colfer can add “very competent Glee writer” to his freakish list of accomplishments by the age of 23. This wasn’t a plot heavy episode of Glee, but given that last week saw Rachel go from being the hottest new thing on Broadway to being totally **over it** we were probably due for a little break from overworked plot. Rather, this episode gave us a kind of consistency and continuity from its characters and storylines that we’ve come to no longer totally expect from the writing on Glee. It may not have been the most important hour, but Colfer brought a truly unique storyline to the table for his own under-served character, Kurt, and what proved most interesting was seeing the surprising way he connected with the other characters for whom he was writing.

And then, of course, there were Tim Conway, June Squibb, and a lot of puppies.
”

—	TV Guide recap

[Glorfindel]

It had its faults- the story of mother/daughter was a little too neatly wrapped up, for example, and there were occasional clunky bits of dialogue that sounded like writing rather than natural speech, but the episode was funny, warm, good-hearted, well-characterised and had continuity. I really enjoyed it.

This is how I feel about the episode too.

Some of the dialogue felt a bit off or too heavy handed, and the mother/daughter reconciliation was a bit too sugarcoated (although this also fitted neatly in Glee's feel-good quickly fixed and wrapped-up PSA-like 1-episode-only storylines), but overall it was enjoyable and so much fun.

What stood out for me very positively was the continuity, the perfect characterisations, the serious talks and genuine interaction between the characters in their friendships, the dark, dry humor, the underdogs theme, the good fitting of and the transitions to the songs in the storylines:
These are all skills and qualities that Glee used to have but the writers have forgotten (or stopped bothering) over the seasons. And that's what makes this a good episode and Chris a damn good writer, certainly for his first try in writing a script for a tv show that wasn't his creation to begin with.

Seriously, with the wiggle room Chris was given for this episode he did great, and it's good to see so many people, especially old/former Gleeks liking it.


I have to rewatch the episode later today, as I only watched via a crappy livestream last night and missed a lot of details. So I'll probably write more about my thoughts on the episode later.



- EW recap.
Was the TVline recap posted yet? And what the hell does the AV Club reviewer have against Chris? (because his review was too harsh and sour to be in any way unbiased)

[ColferInspired]

“Mercedes doesn’t think it’s (genius) Sam. At least she doesn’t imply that she thinks Sam has the brains and maturity to pull off taking care of a dog when she arrives back home, furious to find McConaughey the tamed beast still around. Sam finally stands his ground and says Mercedes is treating him like a boy, not a man. He can take care of a dog – he took care of his whole family when his parents lost their jobs and they were homeless, after all. Mercedes probably really had let that slip her mind; I know I had. In the fourth and fifth seasons, Sam became a caricature of himself: just a silly guy who seemed like he could barely take care of himself. But he’s not that, and it’s interesting that Colfer took the time to remind us of that, and as a result, take the Sam/Mercedes relationship to a much more mature level. There’s actually conflict here: Sam says he can handle it but Mercedes knows that, with their busy lives, it’s would be fair to McConaughey. Under normal circumstances, I would side with Mercedes immediately, but…puppy! And responsible Sam!”
—   TV Guide recap (via heyerchick)

[ColferInspired]

It had its faults- the story of mother/daughter was a little too neatly wrapped up, for example, and there were occasional clunky bits of dialogue that sounded like writing rather than natural speech, but the episode was funny, warm, good-hearted, well-characterised and had continuity. I really enjoyed it.

This is how I feel about the episode too.

Some of the dialogue felt a bit off or too heavy handed, and the mother/daughter reconciliation was a bit too sugarcoated (although this also fitted neatly in Glee's feel-good quickly fixed and wrapped-up PSA-like 1-episode-only storylines), but overall it was enjoyable and so much fun.

What stood out for me very positively was the continuity, the perfect characterisations, the serious talks and genuine interaction between the characters in their friendships, the dark, dry humor, the underdogs theme, the good fitting of and the transitions to the songs in the storylines:
These are all skills and qualities that Glee used to have but the writers have forgotten (or stopped bothering) over the seasons. And that's what makes this a good episode and Chris a damn good writer, certainly for his first try in writing a script for a tv show that wasn't his creation to begin with.

Seriously, with the wiggle room Chris was given for this episode he did great, and it's good to see so many people, especially old/former Gleeks liking it.


I have to rewatch the episode later today, as I only watched via a crappy livestream last night and missed a lot of details. So I'll probably write more about my thoughts on the episode later.


Was the TVline recap posted yet? And what the hell does the AV Club reviewer have against Chris? (because his review was too harsh and sour to be in any way unbiased)

The AVClub one read like a Blaine stan, pointing out that Kurt had the internship at Vogue.com, that he was getting married, Nyada, as these are things Blaine stans keep pointing out time and time again.

But these are not successes for Kurt.

He is not a fashion designer, and marrying Blaine is not success.

So, that review is just nasty and stupid.

[Glorfindel]

^That's the EW recp, not TVguide.
-ETA- This was a response to the first post of colferinspired,, with the quote from @heyerchick.


Yeah, the AV club guy thinks that Kurt being allowed to marry now (to Blaine!) is a personal win and triumph for Kurt.   
That sort of says it all about this reviewer's bias.   

"Glee" felt a little more sentimental in its penultimate Season 5 episode, "Old Dog New Tricks," didn't it? That's probably because it was written by star Chris Colfer, who has penned feature films and books, and now his first TV episode.

The main storylines followed Kurt as he sought appreciation outside of his friend group by playing Peter Pan in a nursing home production of the musical, and Rachel trying to rehab her image by picking pet adoption as her charity cause of choice.

Rachel eventually learned that she can't fake sincerity and found it was most important to stand by her friend, while Kurt realized the value of hard work and staying close with your family and friends -- all set to "Glee"-ified '80s-tastic tunes.

Awww! It had a little more heart than usual, probably because most of the episode's barbs were directed toward himself rather than others. It still had that trademark "Glee" humor, it was just a little softer around the edges.

Zap2it


Most of the reviews are positive, thankfully.  

[ColferInspired]

“
"Glee" felt a little more sentimental in its penultimate Season 5 episode, "Old Dog New Tricks," didn’t it? That’s probably because it was written by star Chris Colfer, who has penned feature films and books, and now his first TV episode.

The main storylines followed Kurt as he sought appreciation outside of his friend group by playing Peter Pan in a nursing home production of the musical, and Rachel trying to rehab her image by picking pet adoption as her charity cause of choice.

Rachel eventually learned that she can’t fake sincerity and found it was most important to stand by her friend, while Kurt realized the value of hard work and staying close with your family and friends — all set to “Glee”-ified ’80s-tastic tunes.

Awww! It had a little more heart than usual, probably because most of the episode’s barbs were directed toward himself rather than others. It still had that trademark “Glee” humor, it was just a little softer around the edges.
”

—	Zap2It (via heyerchick)

[Delight]

It had its faults- the story of mother/daughter was a little too neatly wrapped up, for example, and there were occasional clunky bits of dialogue that sounded like writing rather than natural speech, but the episode was funny, warm, good-hearted, well-characterised and had continuity. I really enjoyed it.

^ I agree with the part about the mother/daughter Banks story being too neatly wrapped up-- and too quickly at that-- but given the limitations of the amount of screentime that can be allocated to tell this side story, I think it was a good effort. Realistic would be to have the mother and daughter still estranged despite Kurt's good intentions (kinda like Coach Bieste going back to her abusive husband); but such an ending would be too sad for what is intended as a heart-warming episode. And Chris only has this one episode to tell this story, so it really would need to be wrapped up quickly.

Maybe it's because I've skipped too many Glee episodes to know the non-Kurt characters all that well now, but the way Santana was portrayed/written in this episode didn't gel well with my impression of her. She's a bit too supportive of Rachel, and her landing an impromptu role as Rachel's publicist came as quite a surprise to me. The interview scene right at the end of the episode could be easily left out, I think. I suppose its just too un-subtle a way to tell the audience that Rachel had learnt to appreciate her friends more and was willing to share her spotlight with her friends.

Also, there had been scenes that came across as somewhat repetitive, in its intentions, to me. I'm referring mainly to the scenes whereby Rachel and Santana failed to be supportive of Kurt-- first when they excluded him from the Broadway Bitches event, and later when they didn't want to see his performance of Peter Pan because it clashed with their charity event. Twice Kurt blew up on Rachel for casting him aside; and twice someone pointed out to Rachel that she was only using the dogs in the shelter to save her image instead of being genuinely concerned about the welfare of dogs. I can't quite put my finger on as to why I feel somewhat dissatisfied about how the scenes were handled. Mind you, I'm all for Kurt finally having a voice and venting his frustrations over how badly Rachel treats him sometimes. I suppose it may be a matter of how I prefer certain storytelling elements to be done-- subtly.  

Some lines were cut out of the episode, weren't they? I noticed that the 'Martin Luther Queen' line that was in the trailer wasn't featured; but I suppose it's not a big loss.

Ah, I apologize for all these critical remarks. I swear, despite some of the faults (or what I perceive to be faults anyway) that this episode have; it is still miles ahead of most of the episodes of Glee of late. It has funny moments (such as Mercedes' reaction to McConaughey chewing on her hair extensions). It has continuity (such as Sam actually remembering that he used to be a responsible adult who was single-handedly looking after his young siblings). It has good characterization (aside from Santana being too nice and mellow in this episode, I like how the rest of the characters are portrayed). It is full of heart (it really was nice to see the topic of neglected elderly being touched on so delicately in this episode). It has songs that fit the story (the Memory performance was beautiful and the song was so apt).

In this episode, we finally have characters who are real underdogs; as opposed to superstars-in-the-making characters whom hardly anyone can relate to. After watching this episode, I don't feel too bad even if Kurt never gets his big wins on a Broadway stage. As Chris has said in a recent interview-- if Kurt can find validation within himself, and knows not to seek validation from external sources so desperately; then he would be happy.

I will have to rewatch this episode, mainly to catch the bits of dialogue that were said too fast for me to understand the first time round. It would be a pleasure to do so, and Glee hasn't been like that for me for a long time.

[Glorfindel]

^No need to apologize, @Delight, you pointed out the same weak spots I (and others) noticed too.
As for Santana: after all the Fanny understudy fights before the 100th episode the last few episodes showed that Santana was a full blown Rachel stan again, even telling Rachel that she (Santana) was a crappy friend and not worth being friends with, so there's no telling how supportive Santana is to Rachel from one episode to the next.   

Chris' episode wasn't perfect, but it was a very good first effort, and compared to the usual crap the Glee writers give us it was practically a masterpiece.  

All in all, I thought the song choices were a little odd, but the performances were perfectly crazed; the jokes were more subtle than usual, but also had all the wit without the mean-spiritedness that can sometimes taint this show; and probably most unique to his writing style, Cofler showed a real respect for the characters we’ve come to know and love/hate. Not bad at all for a first-time TV writer, I’d say. I would definitely be up for more Colfer-penned episodes in Glee’s final season (final season!). Would you?

EW

[Lottie2303]

Okay, I am properly awake now for a real review (I watched the episode when I got back from work - at 6.30am!).

I think the episode was a big mix for me. The emotional moments were the highlights. Chris really can write deeper scenes. The Mercedes/Sam conversation was one of the highlights and also a great reminder for Sam, who was in S2 such a great character (I never really was a Sam/Kurt shipper, but the potential of those two sometimes gets so obvious. So two could have been so beautiful, with a much more intriguing SL). I loved the continuity. I think Kurt finally told off Rachel and I was most certainly cheering.

All the shade? Epic. I guess we can say now that Chris got not cast for NBC . On an interesting note, the Blind Item actually was about true events, showcasing how PR tries to falsify those rumors. Take from that what you will. Also Chris is Kurt's number one fan, which is obvious.

I loved memory and the idea of the performance. But honestly, the way it was shot, it looked a bit amateurish. Which is obviously not Chris fault.
Peter Pan was a lot of fun. The senior citizens also were a great addition.

I hated the June/daughter SL. Sorry. I really hated it and it was way too much wrapped with a bow. I am also a firm believer children are allowed to cut ties with parents, as not all parents are actually worth it. Also I found Kurt in that scene very disrespectful and the 'Mom-card' really was unfairly used. Honestly, I understand Chris intentions, but the SL should have cut and instead more of the musicals should have been shown.

For a TV episode, I think it was a nice first effort. I actually want Chris to write a more serious episode, as those scenes were also the highlights in SBL. I also cheered that for once there was a serious and mature relationship talk. I think Chris alone managed to sell Mercedes and Sam as couple.

[Ranwing]

Given that Maggie and Clara will never be seen again, I don't think that Chris had any choice but to wrap up their reconcilation on a happy note. It might have worked better with a quick line from Clara that she loves her mother, but they have stuff to work on but I'm not going to complain. The sentiment about friendship and family was in the right place.

Some of the reviews (obviously not the one from the AV club and TWOP because they are just out of line with the venom towards Kurt/Chris) have pointed out that Kurt's behavior is definately keeping in line with his character. I don't think it was a stretch for Kurt to want to reach out to Maggie's daughter and try to get her to come see her very lonely mother. It was when he met Clara and got the other side of the story that things got a bit dicy for Kurt because he still wanted to help Maggie, but now he also had to help Clara. Despite acting as if she didn't care, it was pretty apparent to me that Clara was carrying around a lot of hurt from her childhood. Using the loss of his mother might seem like a cheap shot, but again it fits with Kurt's character because this event (while not always referenced) had such a profound impact on Kurt's life. He could admit to missing her all the time and the regret of not having her in his life for all the pivitol moments that she missed (and that Maggie had missed as well). In a way Kurt and Clara are a lot alike in having to grow up without a proper mother in their life, but while Kurt never lost the want and need to have his mother, Clara protected herself by making it that she didn't need her mother. Both had the same hurt, but responded very differently.

I think it was Clara's initial reluctance to even entertain the idea of seeing her mother that got Kurt to reach out to Rachel. Not that Rachel deserved it (as far as Kurt knew - he didn't know that she was in the audience waiting to see him). But he's had enough of regrets. Rachel is a pill to deal with, but he loves her and he has a choice of either accepting that she's going to be a self-centered ninny on occasion or he has to write off their friendship. The fact that Rachel not only came to the show, but arranged for Kurt to bring all of his new friends to the benefit really shows that Rachel gets it. No one told her that she needed to make things right with Kurt. She might lose her head up her own ass far too often, but she does get it. And she doesn't want to lose Kurt any more than he wants to lose her.

There was a lot going on here and I think that it's remarkable that Chris was not only able to give well rounded storylines to pretty much everyone (with the sole exception being Blaine ) and also have his guest stars well-fleshed characters with their own storyline to play out. That's not at all easy to accomplish and Chris really deserves a lot of credit for what he was able to pull off. It wasn't perfect, but it's a damn sight better than what we've had shoved down out throats the past few seasons.

[Glorfindel]

I hated the June/daughter SL. Sorry. I really hated it and it was way too much wrapped with a bow. I am also a firm believer children are allowed to cut ties with parents, as not all parents are actually worth it. Also I found Kurt in that scene very disrespectful and the 'Mom-card' really was unfairly used. Honestly, I understand Chris intentions, but the SL should have cut and instead more of the musicals should have been shown.

Chris does have the tendency to write stories about people (moms/strong women) who have done very wrong and then otheres (the ones who got wronged) giving them forgiveness.
But I don't think he's doing that so much to excuse their actions (as he also does not excuse Maggie here), but more to show that forgiveness is a good thing to do (although it's not mandatory or a requirement to be able to move on, nor is it a weakness if people can't forgive).

Which is quite odd but also fascinating, especially considering Chris never really forgave his old bullies. I think it's something he personally strives for but can't always accomplish, like an inner battle he calls out to himself in his stories.
It's also interesting that he repeatedly now has counterpoised the characters of strong women with them doing ruthless and/or selfish things. Maybe it's his own guilt feelings for being so ambitious and driven while he knows the consequences of that is him (involuntary) neglecting his friends and family.
(pure speculation from my part, obviously)

I love this insight in his mindset when he can elaborate and flesh out the storyline (like in his TLoS books, and also in SBL, although Carson is not shown forgiving his mom), but I admit that the Maggie/daughter story in 5x19 didn't really come to its full bloom and was too easily solved. But that's more due to the restrictions of writing a short storyline in a tv show than shallowness or a lack of intentions from Chris. Hopefully it's an experience Chris can learn from.

And who knows how much landed on the cutting/editing floor. As @Ranwing said: just 1 line of her daughter being hesitant would have made a world of difference. Although they showed Maggie apologizing for all the things she did wrong.

[Buenos]

I thought the Mother/daughter SL had potential but alas it was a single shot episode arc and had to have a happy conclusion so that severely limited what Chris could do with it. That he had an interesting premise was brought out that he deliberately pointed out how Maggie had neglected her daughter previously. One of the things about pursuing dreams is how much that can impact your loved ones, and that was one of the few times on Glee that it was shown that always going for it may not have the desired consequences down the line.

So in hindsight, it might have been better to have discarded that SL, but the show wanted some kind of a happy ending. Perhaps more cracky humor and not sentimental resolutions, but with old folks and dogs it's like saying that you want water that is not wet.

For a freshman effort it was very , very impressive and it was better than most episodes this season. Kudos to Chris!

[Ranwing]

I've seen several people point out parallels between Maggie and Rachel and that it would have been interesting for Rachel to get some perspective from someone who did make the kinds of personal sacrifices for success that Rachel is and it ends up with her alone and forgotten because she's burned all her personal bridges. Had there been more time or we could get June to stick around for another ep or two, there would have been a great chance for Rachel to learn from someone who was in her shoes and the regrets she had about the choices she made in life. Oh well...

Am just thinking that working with Maggie and the old folk will look great on Kurt's CV for volunteer services.

[Buenos]

http://tvrecaps.ew.com/recap/glee-recap-season-5-episode-19/

this episode gave us a kind of consistency and continuity from its characters and storylines that we've come to no longer totally expect from the writing on Glee. It may not have been the most important hour, but Colfer brought a truly unique storyline to the table for his own under-served character, Kurt, and what proved most interesting was seeing the surprising way he connected with the other characters for whom he was writing.

All in all, I thought the song choices were a little odd, but the performances were perfectly crazed; the jokes were more subtle than usual, but also had all the wit without the mean-spiritedness that can sometimes taint this show; and probably most unique to his writing style, Cofler showed a real respect for the characters we’ve come to know and love/hate. Not bad at all for a first-time TV writer, I’d say. I would definitely be up for more Colfer-penned episodes in Glee’s final season (final season!). Would you?

[Ranwing]

I will have to say that despite my still hating Blaine with the passion of a thousand suns, he's more tolerable when Chris writes him than the regular writers (who can't help from constantly gushing how wonderful he is). Blaine was... almost decent here. Sure, he did some name dropping about just what he was missing in order to support Kurt, but the fact remains that he was there and no one was guilting him into attending or telling him that he needed to support his fiance. So... achievement?

[brisallie]

Didn't in last episode Santana said to Rachel she wants to use her bitchiness protective her friends? Yeah, I know is still weird that after the understudy drama they're in good terms now, but remember there were monthe we didn't know anything about Santana, and probably in those months she and Rachel talked to each other and somehow solved their issues. In the opening night episode already seemed to me they were getting along. So at least for me wasn't so sudden this characterization, besides Santana was doing a job and as manager has to be convincing, more nice.

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