SOUND OFF: GLEE's Scandalous Spin On Santa & The Supremes

By: Dec. 06, 2013
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Today, in honor of the holiday-centric winter finale of Season Five of FOX's hit musical dramedy series GLEE, we are checking off the top twelve reasons to celebrate Glee beneath the Christmas tree this year - complete with shirtless Santas, erotic elves and drunken eggnog debauchery.

Love Child

12. "Rough Trade Santa"? No, not quite - "Previously Unaired Christmas" instead! Indeed, Jane Lynch's hilarious announcement prior to the episode proper was a merry meta-narrative single-handedly justifying the entry itself, more or less - directed by Wendey Stanzler and written by Ross Maxwell.

11. "Green is good!" An especially eco-conscious, earth-embracing and justifiably jolly slogan for Christmas 2013, for sure - particularly as it pertains to traditional tree murder as it occurs this time every year. Nonetheless, a PSA could have given it a bit more weight. Then again, this was a light holiday show - pretty much all frills.

10. A Classic Christmas! Yes, that's Matthew Morrison's new Christmas album's title, but it also describes the divine song-stack of last night's show, too - including tunes originally made famous by The Chipmunks, Andy Williams, Gene Autry, Brenda Lee and beyond...

9. ...not to mention The Supremes! What wit! What panache! What utter, awe-inspiring fabulosity - with blue-sequined baby bump, to boot! Unique (Alex Newell) rocked the Christmas tree and much more with this spirited, sensational cover, perfectly fitting into the Glee universe as a holiday jam. Bossy, brilliantly blue - and too too!

8. Rachel (Lea Michele), Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Santana (Naya Rivera) as Christmas color-coded mall elves! "Equity card attitude" or not, the trio's two show-stoppers did just that with "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "The Chipmunk Song", not to mention the stirring concluding all-in New Directions/NYC chorus of an (almost) acapella "Away In A Manger". A delectable drunk scene near the end, as well! Cheers.

7. The children revolt at Santa Land! Mean Santa and the island of misfit toys have nothing on this collection of brat supremes - although Santana-Santa certainly dished out the 'tude to match. Seasonally sassy - and, by the way, just exactly how sexy did Rivera look in that elf get-up? Jingle... bells.

6. Marley (Melissa Benoist), Mr. Schue (Matthew Morrison), Artie (Kevin McHale) as well as the rest of the New Directions's delightful "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" - in a moose-y musical moment instantly evoking the celebratory and celebrated Christmas eps of Glee Christmases past. Cool yule.

5. Becky as Baby Jesus! An image I'm not sure I will ever be able to forget, for better or worse - but a befittingly outrageous bonus for a strong and surprisingly sweet and restrained ep, in any event. So bizarre, but certainly not missing the pulse of GLEE's beat.

4. "Mary's Little Boy Child" - a carefully choreographed, reggae-accented take on the lesser-known Christmas earworm. Those sets! Those costumes - and their transformations! What a wonderfully white Christmas!

3. POPULAR meets GLEE! Believe it or not, the ferociously fit and scantily-clad Santa who saved/ruined the day and befriended/robbed the NYC crew was none other than the lead jock, Josh Ford, on Ryan Murphy's previous high school-set series, POPULAR, which ran for two seasons on The WB over a decade ago - played by Bryce Johnson (aka Cody Tolentino). A merrily meta-meta-narrative if there ever were any! Plus, after all, "This Santa swings both ways!"

2. The nativity scene - succinctly summing up Glee in one single shot. Also: Blaine (Darren Criss), Sam (Chord Overstreet), Jake (Jacob Artist) and company in full Biblical costumes while observing Unique, Marley and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) doing full diva justice to "Love Child". A true Christmas Culture Clash.

1. That living, breathing, singing, dancing, slightly creepy window display - wow! When can we get one of those on 5th Ave. - especially one with performers this talented?! 'Tis the season!

That's all for Glee 2013 - it's been a fun ride so far! See you back here for the rest of Season Five when the show returns at its old timeslot on February 25, 2014 at 8 PM! Until then... happy holidays and a gleeful new year!


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