Some series seem so easy to
summarize that one might be inclined to dismiss them without a second thought.
One such new show would appear to be Rise,
NBC's replacement to fill This is Us'
time slot. Set in a working class Pennsylvania
high school where an idealistic history teacher (Josh Radnor, tweaking his How I Met Your Mother personality just a
bit) takes over the flagging theater department, determined to shake things up,
by producing the controversial musical Spring
Awakening. Upsetting the high-strung
replacement Tracey Wolfe (Rosie Perez, playing a character for the first time
in decades that doesn't seem a variation of her own personality), he assembles
a production, putting the divas in lower level roles, trying to cast the
quarterback Robbie Thorne as a lead, and putting one of the better performers
Simon in a gay themed role. One could say without having to try that hard that
this is just a version of Glee meets Friday Night Lights. And considering
that Jason Katims, the man who created the beloved NBC series is the head
writer, its an easy assumption to make, and to dismiss as a knock-off.
But, as inevitably seems to be the
case with any Jason Katims series (this is the man who brought us Parenthood and cut his teeth on My So-Called Life) , you'd be
underselling the show. For one thing, the buoyancy and camp that was always
present in Glee isn't there,
replacing with an underlying grittiness that Katims has made a critical element
of all his shows. Lou, the teacher is considerably more of a nudge than Mr.
Schue ever was, and a lot more enemies.
Unlike Mr. Schuster, he actually has a happy marriage with a supportive
and Broadway-loving wife (Marley Shelton). His problems lie with his son, Gordy
(Casey Johnson). Not in love with show music, he clearly has a drinking
problem, and it is becoming obvious that neither of his parents can control
him.
Furthermore, the acceptance that
ran through Glee, doesn't seem to be
there. Robbie isn't supported for appearing in the play, mainly because this
high school football team is successful,
and he's seen as a kid with a future. He's being pushed by his father as well
as his coach, and when the two worlds collide,
as they did last night in an aftergame party, its clear that Robbie is
risking exposing himself on two fronts. Furthermore, when Simon is shown to be
appearing in a gay role, his very religious father puts him in an academy, and
seems on the verge of tearing him away from everything. There's also a teenager
named Michael on the verge of transitioning from boy to girl, and he has to
fight for his acceptance even within the theater community. There are far worse
consequences here than being doused with Slushies.
Rise
is a lot less sure of itself than many of the other Katims' series were
right off the bat, even though its origins are based on a true story. The
singing and musical performances are very good, but unlike Glee, they're not the highpoint of the series. In many ways, Rise is about a high school musical
production in the same way Friday Night
Lights was about high school football. There isn't the same level of
confidence present in this that there have been, but you definitely see the
potential in it, much in the same way Lou sees potential in his performers. Its
unclear where the show will go if it survives this season, but there's more
potential in this, and more rage and real emotion than you get in a lot of
network dramas these days. And considering it airs after The Voice, there's more of a complimentary placement than there
have been for any reality/dramas shows in awhile. I hope Rise takes more of a grip. We could use more series like this.
My score:3.75 stars.
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