Pilot - Season 1, Ep 1
At McKinley High, an Ohio school where a competitive obsession permeates the faculty as well as the student body, alumnus-turned-Spanish-teacher Will Schuester yearns to rediscover his joy. When Glee Club teacher Sandy Ryerson is abruptly fired, Will (or “Mr. Schu” as his students call him) petitions Principal Figgins for the job. Figgins agrees… if Will can come up with the sixty bucks a month needed to fund the class. The only students to sign up are the socially outcast but vocally talented. They include: Mercedes, who channels Aretha Franklin; Kurt, the fashion-conscious falsetto; Tina, the punk-rock Asian lesbian; the wheelchair-bound Arty; and the determined diva-in-the-making Rachel, who was raised by her two gay dads to be a performer. Glee Club rehearsals get off to a rocky start; Rachel feels that without a formidable male lead to match her talent, they will never be taken seriously. Figgins then threatens to cancel the club in favor of renting the auditorium out. He and Schu strike a bargain: if the club earns a spot in Regionals, the club can stay.
Will runs into Sandy, who says his firing caused a nervous breakdown. He says the problem is under control thanks to a medical marijuana prescription which has led to a profitable side gig selling the pot to others; despite Will’s objection, Sandy gives him a free sample of “Chronic Lady.” Back on campus Schu tries to recruit more students; school nutritionist Emma (who harbors a crush on Schu) tells him that if he can get a couple of the more popular students to join, others will follow. Coach Tanaka agrees to let Schu talk to his football team. Will makes his pitch, but when the sign-up list comes back with names such as “Gaylord Weiner” and “Butt Lunch,” he thinks Glee Club is all but over. Will hears an incredible voice coming from the boys’ shower, and finds the school’s quarterback (Finn Hudson) singing. Despite his aversion to resorting to blackmail, Schu does exactly that. Telling Finn the Chronic Lady was found in his locker, Will says he’ll keep quiet if the jock joins Glee Club. At the next rehearsal spirits are on the mend, and the group begins to show improvement. That night Will tells his wife Terri he wants to take to club to watch Carmel High’s Glee Club perform; he asks her to help him chaperone, but she has to work. The next day Emma leaps at the chance to chaperone the Saturday field trip.
Finn tells Coach Tanaka he has to miss Saturday’s practice; he hides the real reason for his absence from his teammates. Outside the Carmel auditorium Rachel flirts with Finn, but is disappointed to learn he has a girlfriend. Meanwhile, Will and Emma discuss his marriage. He says Terri always pushes him to excel, but he wonders if he is excelling at the right things. The National Champion Carmel Glee Club takes the stage. Schu and the others are left stunned by the high caliber of the performances. Back at home Terri tells Will she is pregnant; on Monday he breaks the news that he is leaving McKinley to pursue a higher-paying job. The Club doesn’t think they can succeed without him.
Finn quits the Club, but realizes he loves singing too much. He admits the truth to his jock teammates, and bucks the status quo by deciding to pursue both activities. He apologizes for abandoning the Club and they take him back; despite the lack of a director they decide to pull together and work as a team. Emma sits with Will, and tries to convince him to change his mind; she plays him a recording of the 1993 Champion Glee Club, of which he was a member. He admits those were the happiest moments of his life, second only to learning he was going to be a father. He says he needs to provide for his family; she wonders if giving up his passion is providing the right lesson. In the auditorium Finn, Rachel, and the others rehearse. Through teamwork and the recent addition of the Jazz Club musicians, they show improvement. Mr. Schu is drawn in by the music; watching his students excel at doing what they love, he knows he cannot abandon his students or his own glee. He decides to stay.
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