Talk about “too little, too late.”
It has been far from perfect and still a far cry from season one, but the creative quality of the current third season of “Glee” has represented a vast improvement over that of season two. Following the solid “Asian F” episode, “Glee” delivered its best hour since season one with last week’s “The First Time.”
It followed up with “Mash Off.” Though technically an uneven episode plagued by the inane Quinn/Puck/Shelby storyline and the most ridiculously-odd take on dodgeball in the history of pop culture, it also featured a compelling handling of Santana’s sexuality, with a rattled Finn setting the wheels in motion for an unwanted, humiliating “outing” of the conflicted lesbian character.
“Mash Off” also featured a welcome return to the contemporary music covers that fueled the show in its early days. The “Rumour Has It/”Someone Like You” Adele mashup will be the best performing single of the season, indicative of how fans longed for the show’s ability to deliver creative, vocally-strong takes on popular songs.
Still, the ratings do not reflect the uptick in quality, and it appears “Glee” has no chance of recapturing the excitement it had at the beginning of season two. Tuesday’s episode scored a 2.9 adults 18-49 rating; if not adjusted up in the finals (as is often the case with “Glee”), it would be the worst-performing segment since the Thanksgiving week episode in season one.
Viewership came in at 7.1 million.
FOX’s “New Girl” has definitely fallen from its initial, monster levels, but it looks stable at a 3.5 and 6.9 million viewers, and it is basically a lock for a second season. “Raising Hope” followed with a 2.2 and 4.8 million.
