Pilot (Glee)
| "Pilot" | |
|---|---|
| Glee episode | |
New Directions performs "Don't Stop Believin'" on stage, convincing Will not to leave the school.
|
|
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Ryan Murphy |
| Written by |
Ryan Murphy Brad Falchuk Ian Brennan |
| Featured music | "Shining Star" "Where Is Love?" "Respect" "Mr Cellophane" "I Kissed a Girl" "On My Own" "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" "Can't Fight This Feeling" "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" "You're the One That I Want" "Rehab" "Leaving on a Jet Plane" "Don't Stop Believin'" |
| Production code | 1ARC79 |
| Original air date | May 19, 2009 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
|
| Episode chronology | |
"Pilot" is the pilot episode of the American television series Glee, which premiered on the Fox network on May 19, 2009. An extended director's cut version aired on September 2, 2009. The show focuses on a high school show choir, also known as a glee club, set within the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. The pilot episode covers the formation of the club and introduces the main characters. The episode was directed by series creator Ryan Murphy, and written by Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. Murphy selected the music featured in the episode, with the intention of maintaining a balance between showtunes and chart hits.
The episode achieved 9.619 million viewers on first broadcast, and 4.2 million when the director's cut version aired. Critical response was mixed, with The New York Times's Alessandra Stanley highlighting the episode's unoriginality and stereotyped characters, but praising the showmanship and talent of the cast. The Daily News's David Hinckley opined that the show was imperfect and implausible but "potentially heartwarming," while USA Today's Robert Bianco noted casting and tone problems, but commented positively on the show's humor and musical performances. Mary McNamara for the LA Times wrote that the show had a wide audience appeal, calling it: "the first show in a long time that's just plain full-throttle, no-guilty-pleasure-rationalizations-necessary fun."
Spanish teacher Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) learns that Sandy Ryerson (Stephen Tobolowsky), the head of William McKinley High School's glee club has been fired for inappropriate sexual behavior toward student Hank Saunders (Ben Bledsoe). The school principal, Figgins (Iqbal Theba), gives Will permission to take over the club, and he plans to revitalize it, naming the group New Directions. The club consists of fame-hungry Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), diva Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), flamboyant countertenor Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), paraplegic electric guitar player Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale) and stuttering goth Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz). Will's efforts are derided by Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), head of the school's successful cheerleading team, the Cheerios who soon plans to abolish the Glee club to restore her money funded towards the spoilt Cheerios. His wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig) is also unsupportive, suggesting that Will become an accountant to increase their income and give up teaching. Rachel threatens to leave the club if Will cannot find a male vocalist with talent comparable to hers. When the school's football coach Ken Tanaka (Patrick Gallagher) allows Will to try to recruit football team members, in return that he put a good word for Emma for him (because Ken likes her), he discovers that quarterback Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) is secretly a talented singer. He plants marijuana in Finn's locker, and blackmails him into joining New Directions. Finn, determined not to disappoint his widowed mother, complies.
...
Wikipedia