Pilot (Glee)

Spanish teacher Will Schuester learns that Sandy Ryserson, the head of William McKinley High School's Glee Club, has been fired for inappropriate sexual behavior towards a male student. The school principal, Figgins, gives Will permission to take over the club, which angers Sue Sylvester, the head of the school's successful cheerleading squad, Cheerios. Will also faces resistance from his wife, Terri Schuester, who urges Will to abandon teaching and pursue a more financially stable career to increase their income.

Undeterred, Will sets out to rejuvenate the glee club, renaming the group New Directions, which attracts the attention of the ambitious Rachel Berry, powerhouse vocalist Mercedes Jones, fashionable Kurt Hummel, paraplegic Artie Abrams, and shy Tina Cohen-Chang. When Will tries to convince the school's football players to join glee club, he overhears selfish, unkind football quarterback Finn Hudson singing in the locker room showers; he blackmails Finn by planting his marijuana in his locker as a way to help him change. Not wanting to upset his widowed mother, Finn agrees to join New Directions.

Will and school guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury take the group to witness a performance by Vocal Adrenaline, a rival glee club. They perform an impressive rendition of Amy Winehouse's " Rehab," which leaves the New Directions apprehensive about their own chances in the upcoming regional show choir competition. Following the performance, Terri reveals to Will that she is pregnant. Believing he needs to support his family, Will regretfully tells the club he is resigning, and applies for a job as an accountant.

Finn is attacked by the football team for his involvement with New Directions, and he initially decides to quit the club. When Finn watches the team trap Artie in a portable toilet, Finn refuses to take part and rescues Artie. He apologizes to the glee club members, and the group resolves to continue without Will. Meanwhile, Emma urges Will to reconsider his decision to leave by showing him a video of him performing in Glee Club when he was at McKinley High. Will then comes across the New Directions performing "Don't Stop Believin'" in the auditorium. Impressed by the performance, Will decides to stay at McKinley, telling the club he couldn't bear to see them win Nationals without him.

Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan created Glee. Murphy drew inspiration from his own childhood, which saw him play the lead role in all of his high school's musicals. Brennan and producer Mike Novick were also highly involved in their own schools' glee clubs.^[5] Brennan originally wrote a script for a Glee movie, but Murphy believed the concept would work better as a TV series.^[6] Fox picked up the series pilot within 15 hours of receiving the script, which Murphy attributes in part to the success of the network's American Idol, commenting: "It made sense for the network with the biggest hit in TV, which is a musical, to do something in that vein".^[5] Murphy intended the show to be a form of escapism, explaining: "There's so much on the air right now about people with guns, or sci-fi, or lawyers running around. This is a different genre, there's nothing like it on the air at the networks and cable. Everything's so dark in the world right now, that's why 'Idol' worked. It's pure escapism."^[5] With regards to Glee's audience, Murphy intended for it to be a family show that would appeal to adults as well as children, with adult characters starring equally alongside the teenage leads.^[5] Glee is set in Lima, Ohio. Murphy chose a Midwest setting as he himself originates from Indiana, and recalls childhood visits to Ohio to the Kings Island theme park.^[7] Although set in Lima, the show is actually filmed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.^[8]

The episode features covers of numerous songs sung on-screen by the characters. Musical segments take the form of performances, as opposed to the characters singing spontaneously, as the intention is for the series to remain reality-based.^[9] Murphy has commented that his interest lay in creating a "postmodern musical", rather than "doing a show where people burst into song", drawing on the format of Chicago.^[10] Murphy is responsible for selecting all of the songs used, and strives to maintain a balance between show tunes and chart hits, as: "I want there to be something for everybody in every episode. That's a tricky mix, but that's very important – the balancing of that."^[6]

Songs featured in the pilot include: "Where Is Love?" from Oliver!, Aretha Franklin's "Respect", "Mister Cellophane" from Chicago, Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl", "On My Own" from Les Misérables, "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" from Guys and Dolls, "You're the One That I Want" from Grease, REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling", Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" and "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" by Journey.^[11] The director's cut version also includes an acoustic rendition of John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane".^[12] Murphy was surprised at the ease with which use of songs was approved by the record labels approached, and explained: "I think the key to it is they loved the tone of it. They loved that this show was about optimism and young kids, for the most part, reinterpreting their classics for a new audience."^[9] The score of the episode features a cappella covers of instrumental songs provided by The Swingle Singers.^[13] Dance routines were choreographed by Zach Woodlee.^[14]

Four of the songs featured in the episode were released as singles, available for digital download. "On My Own" charted at number 42 in Ireland and 73 in the UK,^[15] and "Can't Fight This Feeling" charted at number 117 in the UK.^[16] "Rehab" charted at number 93 in Australia,^[17] 38 in Ireland, 62 in the UK and 98 in America.^[18] "Don't Stop Believin'" reached number 2 in the UK, 4 in America, 50 in Canada, 5 in Australia, 4 in Ireland and 16 in New Zealand.^[19] It sold 177,000 copies in the US in its first week,^[20] and went on to sell the most copies of any Glee single: it was certified gold with 500,000 sales in the US in October 2009, and reached one million in sales and platinum certification in March 2011; it has also been certified platinum in Australia.^[21][22]

In casting Glee, Murphy sought out actors who could identify with the rush of starring in theatrical roles. Instead of using traditional network casting calls, he spent three months on Broadway, where he found Morrison, who had previously starred on stage in Hairspray and The Light in the Piazza, Michele, who starred in Spring Awakening, and Ushkowitz, from the Broadway revival of The King and I. The role of Rachel was written specifically for Michele.^[23] Colfer had no previous professional experience, but reminded Ryan of the character of Kurt from The Sound of Music, and was thus cast as Kurt Hummel.^[24] He originally auditioned for Artie with the song "Mr. Cellophane", however Murphy was so impressed by his performance that the role of Kurt was created for him.^[23] Colfer commented on his casting: "I'm so happy to be a part of something that is so new and different and so needed at this time. It's good to have something positive, especially for kids in small towns, like myself, who need a little pick-me-up. It's true: You can be famous – even if there's no money left in the world."^[6]

Auditioning actors with no theatrical experience were required to prove they could sing and dance as well as act. Mays auditioned with the song "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me" from The Rocky Horror Show, while Monteith initially submitted a tape of himself acting only, and was requested to submit a second, musical tape, in which he sang "a cheesy, '80s music-video-style version" of REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling".^[24] Monteith has deemed his casting "spot on" as: "I'm just like my character. I've never trained or had any lessons. I can just do it – with some adjustments, obviously."^[25] McHale came from a boy-band background, having previously been part of the group Not Like Them. He auditioned with the song "Let It Be" and tested alongside Colfer and Ushkowitz.^[23] He explained that the diversity of the cast's backgrounds reflects the range of different musical styles within the show itself: "It's a mix of everything: classic rock, current stuff, R&B. Even the musical theater stuff is switched up. You won't always recognize it."^[24] Lynch was originally intended to be a guest star, but became a series regular when a Damon Wayans pilot she was working on for ABC fell through.^[26]