Saturday, October 23, 2010

Everything I need to know I learned from TV

As with most TV shows I don’t always see them right away. I work at night so I’m not home when TV is on. I finally watched the first season of Glee.
I knew that I would love Glee. I love music and my mom raised us on a healthy diet of musicals. Plus I work in theater. The idea that people just spontaneously break out in song is part is part of my job. I can’t carry a tune, I can’t sing on key, so I was never in a Glee club. I did run spot lights for some of my college’s show choir show.
You may think “Oh Carrie it can’t be that bad” but let me tell you that I have family members who couldn't find parts for me in children’s choir shows when I was a kid. My first backstage gig was when I was 12, assembling a clubhouse on stage while the rest of the kids sang. It is probably how I ended up backstage.

I was watching Glee and thinking it may be the most perfect thing to come out of my TV in years. I love the music. I love the costumes. I love all the Journey songs.

Glee got me thinking about villains. Sue Sylvester is the Glee club’s rival. She is constantly putting roadblocks in the Glee Club’s way on their road to the regional competition.

But she isn’t only a villain bent on bringing down the Glee Club. She is a complex character. She is an award winning cheerleading coach. She has interests. She likes Madonna and Olivia Newton John. (I named my home made cabbage patch kid Olivia Newton John) She has a sister who she takes care of. She has feelings. Her feeling can get hurt.

I think what makes Sue's character so fun is that she is a three dimensional character and we see that in the show.

It got me thinking about my own WIP. Is my own villain three dimensional. Do they have things they want outside of making life hard for my MC?




2 comments:

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Glee is fun and yes Sue is brilliant. It's good to try to keep the three dimensional element in all our characters :)

Lisa Galek said...

I just discovered Glee about a month ago too and I am loving it. The current season is pretty much my new obsession.

I love Sue, too. I think she's a really well done villain and her lines are just incredible. Whoever writes her insults is my writing hero :)