Furt
Encyclopedia
"Furt" is the eighth episode of the second season
of the American musical television series Glee
, and the 30th episode overall. It was written by series creator Ryan Murphy, directed by Carol Banker, and premiered on Fox in the United States on November 23, 2010. The episode features a guest appearance by actress Carol Burnett
as a Nazi hunter
and mother of cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester
(Jane Lynch
), who shows up for the first time in years, just in time to attend Sue's wedding to herself. The long-anticipated wedding of Burt Hummel
(Mike O'Malley
) and Carole Hudson (Romy Rosemont
) is also featured, and the bullying storyline reaches a climax that results in Kurt
(Chris Colfer
) transferring from McKinley High to Dalton Academy at the end of the episode.
The episode features covers of four songs; they received generally favorable reviews. Three were featured during the Hummel–Hudson wedding sequence, and the two songs by Bruno Mars
, "Marry You
" and "Just the Way You Are
", charted both on the Billboard Hot 100
and internationally. Burnett's appearance, and her song with Lynch, were lauded by most critics, as was the central wedding of Hudson and Hummel, but Sue's wedding to herself was widely panned. Additionally, a few reviewers, including The Atlantic Kevin Fallon, thought the bullying storyline had been stretched over too many episodes.
Upon its initial airing, this episode was viewed by 10.41 million American viewers and garnered a 4.0/12 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic, its lowest for the second season to that point, and down substantially from the previous episode, "The Substitute
".
(Mike O'Malley
) and Carole Hudson (Romy Rosemont
) tell their respective sons, New Directions glee club members Kurt
(Chris Colfer
) and Finn
(Cory Monteith
), that they are engaged. Kurt insists that New Directions perform at the wedding and reception. Principal Sue Sylvester
(Jane Lynch
) announces her intention to marry herself, and glee club member Sam Evans
(Chord Overstreet
) tells fellow member Quinn Fabray
(Dianna Agron
) that he loves her and would like to marry her in the future, by offering her a promise ring.
Kurt is menaced by school bully Dave Karofsky
(Max Adler) and badly shaken; while Sue sympathizes with Kurt's plight, she cannot punish Karofsky unless he physically attacks Kurt. Glee club co-captain Rachel Berry (Lea Michele
) convinces the glee club girls to have their football-playing boyfriends defend Kurt, but her own boyfriend, Finn, refuses, concerned that it may jeopardize his position as quarterback. Artie Abrams
(Kevin McHale) and Mike Chang
(Harry Shum, Jr.
) do confront Karofsky, and demand that he leave Kurt alone. Karofsky retaliates, and Sam defends them by fighting with him. Quinn is impressed by Sam's actions, and decides to accept his promise ring. Karofsky later sees Kurt and Finn practicing a wedding dance and taunts them in front of Burt. Burt is angered by this, but becomes livid when Kurt admits that Karofsky has threatened to kill him. He instigates a meeting with Sue, Karofsky's father (Daniel Roebuck
) and the two boys, at which Sue expels Karofsky.
The day of the wedding, Santana Lopez
(Naya Rivera
), who wants another chance at Finn, suggests that he reveal that they had sex to boost his popularity at school.This took place in the season one episode "The Power of Madonna
". He is unwilling to do so, as he truly loves Rachel, who recently admitted to him that she lied when she claimed to have slept with her then-boyfriend Jesse (Jonathan Groff
); Finn also lied at the same time, by saying he had not had sex with Santana.
At the wedding, New Directions perform "Marry You
" by Bruno Mars
as they, and then Burt and Carole, dance down the aisle, after which the two of them marry. During the reception, Finn uses his best man speech as an opportunity to apologize to Kurt for not defending him, and promises to do so in the future; he announces that Finn and Kurt are now "Furt". He and the other glee club members dedicate a performance of Mars' "Just the Way You Are
" to Kurt, and the new stepbrothers dance together. Following the wedding, Kurt and his parents learn that the school board has reversed Karofsky's expulsion and given him a verbal warning, thus allowing him to return to school. Sue resigns as principal in protest, and Burt and Carole use their honeymoon savings to transfer Kurt to Dalton Academy, an all-male
school with a zero-tolerance
policy against bullying. It is also the school that Kurt's friend Blaine
(Darren Criss
) attends.
While the Hummel–Hudson wedding is being arranged, Sue advances her own marriage plans. She is surprised when her mother arrives in town. Doris (Carol Burnett
), a recently retired Nazi hunter who was an absentee parent to Sue and her sister Jean (Robin Trocki), attempts to make amends for her long absence, but is nevertheless so critical of her daughter that Sue calls her a bully and disinvites her during the wedding ceremony. Doris leaves, and Sue and Jean comfort each other.
episode "The Power of Madonna
". According to Lynch, Sue's mother left her two daughters to pursue her career, and returns home retired after the last Nazi has been captured. On working with Burnett, Lynch said, "I'm a little nervous, but I can't wait to get in scenes with her ... It's like playing tennis with a master." The origin behind Sue's antagonistic personality was explored in this episode; plans at the time were for Burnett to reappear on the series in a future episode. This is Burnett's and Lynch's second time working together, the first being the 2009 comedy film Post Grad.
In an interview after BAFTA/LA's Brittania Awards, Lynch told People
a wedding was in the future for her character. A tracksuit
wedding dress was created by personal costume designer Ali Rahimi.
Recurring characters in this episode include glee club members Mike Chang and Sam Evans, cheerleader Becky Jackson (Lauren Potter
), athlete and school bully Dave Karofsky, football coach Shannon Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones
), and local news anchors Rod Remington (Bill A. Jones) and Andrea Carmichael (Earlene Davis). In addition, Rosemont and Burnett star as Carole and Doris, the respective mothers of Finn and Sue, and Daniel Roebuck
plays Karofsky's father, Paul.
Four songs were covered on the episode and were all released as singles available for digital download
. The song "Ohio
" from the 1953 musical Wonderful Town
was covered as a duet between Burnett and Lynch. In an interview with TV Guide
, Burnett revealed that her husband suggested the possibility of her doing the song since her character was returning to Ohio after an absence; she then brought it to Glee creator Ryan Murphy's attention. Additionally, two Bruno Mars songs were featured—"Just the Way You Are" and "Marry You"—as well as Pablo Beltrán Ruiz
's "Sway
" as covered by Michael Bublé
. All songs except "Ohio" are included on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 4.
", which was watched by 11.70 million American viewers and acquired a 5.0/14 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic upon first airing on November 16, 2010.
The episode's Canadian broadcast, also on November 23, 2010, attained 2.10 million viewers, which placed Glee ninth in the weekly program rankings. Viewership declined slightly from "The Substitute", which was watched by 2.29 million, but also ranked ninth. "Furt" aired in Australia on November 29, 2010, where it drew 1.33 million viewers, and was the second-most-watched show of the night and third of the week. Here, viewership increased from "The Substitute", which attained 1.06 million viewers and ranked seventh for the night and nineteenth for the week. David Dale noted in The Sydney Morning Herald
that Glee faced weaker competition than usual, as Network Ten
was "the only commercial network showing new episodes of its top shows". In the UK, the episode aired on February 28, 2011, and was watched by 2.43 million viewers—2.03 million on E4, and 406,000 on E4+1—which made it the most-watched show on both channels and the second-most-watched show on cable for the week. Here again, viewership was down from the previous episode, which drew 2.55 million viewers and was the most-watched show across all cable channels.
Todd VanDerWerff called it a "largely terrific episode of television", and gave it a "B+". Lisa Respers France of CNN
was reminded of "how well this show marries plot with music", and Rolling Stone
Erica Futterman concluded, "The focus on the show's best characters, Kurt and Sue, kept the show balanced between heart and bite—just the way we like our Glee". IGN
Robert Canning was less enthusiastic; he called it an "unfocused jumble of an episode" and gave it a score of 7 out of 10. The BuddyTV
reviewers were split, with Jen Harper quite happy, and John Kubicek who wrote that he hated the entire episode.
Most reviews heaped praise on the guest appearance of Carol Burnett, who played Sue's Nazi-hunting absentee mother Doris. Bobby Hankinson of the Houston Chronicle
said Burnett was a "well-used guest star", and he "loved every minute she was on screen." Dave Itzkoff of the New York Times asked "who could not be charmed" by Burnett, and the Wall Street Journal Raymund Flandez lauded the "tour-de-force panache and sharp-tongued deadpan by Carol Burnett", and called her appearance the "best guest casting this season".
The marriage of Burt Hummel and Carole Hudson received generally good marks. VanDerWerff wrote, "it's rare that an episode of television can make a hurried wedding between two middle-aged people who are rarely on the show into something so well-conceived and thrillingly moving." Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times
noted, "Every character in that family rings emotionally true." Entertainment Weekly
Tim Stack was pleased with the performances of Mike O’Malley as Burt and Romy Rosemont as Carole; he also welcomed the episode's increased focus on Finn, and praised Cory Monteith as a "good, natural actor". Kevin Fallon of The Atlantic was unhappy with both weddings, and Canning said they "took up most of this episode, and unfortunately neither were entirely successful". Several reviewers noted the "homage" of the wedding procession dance, including Hankinson, Anthony Benigno of the Daily News and Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post
; the Wall Street Journal invited readers to compare the original viral "JK Wedding Entrance Dance
" YouTube video and the subsequent dancing procession from the "Niagara
" episode of The Office
with Glee version in "Furt", while Stack made his own comparison, and said Glee was "just about as good" as the original, and "a blast to watch".
Sue Sylvester's marriage to herself was lambasted by many critics, including Vanity Fair
Brett Berk, who said it "was about as compelling as a hair lollipop". Patrick Burns of The Atlantic was also unimpressed, especially "because the main plot points of this episode are otherwise so effective"; his colleague Fallon was brief and to the point: "Blergh."
There was disagreement on the bullying storyline. Some critics, including Canning and Hankinson, praised it, while others had reservations, such as Brown, who characterized it as "heavy-handed", and Fallon, who considered it "well-acted" but "far too stagnant". The Sam and Quinn storyline was panned by VanDerWerff, who wrote "the series has wasted whatever chemistry the two had in 'Duets
' on scenes where Sam talks about how he wants to be the most popular kid in school", and by Kubicek, who criticized the lack of consistency in Sam's characterization.
The duet of Burnett and Lynch on "Ohio" was well received. Jean Bentley of AOL TV
praised it as "simply magnificent", Zap2it
Hanh Nguyen called it a "fantastic job" and Flandez said it was "lovely" and that "the bickering interlude was a delight." Others tempered their praise: Berk gave it three of five stars and noted the "bland staging", and Benigno graded it a "C" and called it "boring", though he said "their voices work well" together; Stack gave it a "B+" with the caveat that it was "a little too theatrical".
The dancing wedding procession and its accompanying performance of the Bruno Mars song "Marry You" were mostly praised. Stack gave it an "A" and Berk five stars out of five, and Amanda Hensel of AOL Music called it "easily one of the best performances of the season".. Benigno gave it a "B" primarily because the cast didn't "do anything particularly interesting with it" vocally, but called the performance "pure joy". Flandez wrote that "two Bruno Mars songs that were brilliant in execution and touching in sentiment", and Futterman agreed: "the Bruno Mars songs gave the show two of its best performances this season". While Benigno and Stack also praised "Just the Way You Are", and both gave the song an "A", Harper thought Monteith's vocals as Finn "aren't the strongest" and Bentley also wished Finn had not been the soloist. Additionally, Harper criticized the failure of the show to adjust the song's pronouns from feminine to masculine when Finn was singing to Kurt, and noted that Gywneth Paltrow had changed pronouns while singing Cee Lo Green's "Forget You" the week before. Hankinson was more impressed with "Just the Way You Are", and gave it a "slight edge" over "Marry You" for the episode's "best musical number", "given the emotional context".
Matthew Morrison's performance of "Sway" received the most divergent opinions. Some reviewers mentioned how closely it resembled Michael Bublé
's version: Benigno graded it "A-" and said "Matthew Morrison sounds EXACTLY like Bublé here, which is both unbelievably impressive (Bublé's got some pipes on him), and takes a little bit away from the number (easy to write it off as an impression)", Stack gave it a "B" and characterized it as "pretty simple, but Matthew Morrison does a mean Michael Bublé", and Bentley called it "a perfectly fine cover", though Futterman said it "can’t beat Michael Bublé’s take". Among those who did not compare Morrison to Bublé, Hensel called it a "beautiful solo performance", while Berk gave it two stars out of five and wrote "Shue sings it just like a real wedding singer", and Nguyen said the song felt "out of place".
, and appeared on other musical charts. On the Hot 100, the show's rendition of "Marry You" debuted at number thirty-two; it was number nineteen on the Canadian Hot 100. The other song on the Hot 100 was "Just the Way You Are" at number forty, which also made number twenty-four on the Canadian Hot 100. That same week, Mars's own single of "Marry You" also debuted on these same charts, though well below the Glee cover version, at number ninety-one on the Hot 100 and number eighty-nine on the Canadian Hot 100; his single of "Just the Way You Are" was in the top five on both charts that week.
Glee (season 2)
The second season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee originally aired between September 21, 2010 and May 24, 2011 on Fox in the United States...
of the American musical television series Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, and the 30th episode overall. It was written by series creator Ryan Murphy, directed by Carol Banker, and premiered on Fox in the United States on November 23, 2010. The episode features a guest appearance by actress Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
as a Nazi hunter
Nazi hunter
A Nazi-hunter is a private individual who tracks down and gathers information on alleged former Nazis, SS members and Nazi collaborators involved in the Holocaust, typically for use at trial on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity...
and mother of cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester
Sue Sylvester
Susan "Sue" Sylvester is a fictional character of the Fox musical comedy-drama series, Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Jane Lynch, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Sue was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian...
(Jane Lynch
Jane Lynch
Jane Marie Lynch is an American comedian, actress and singer. She gained fame in Christopher Guest's improv mockumentary pictures such as Best in Show and is currently best known for playing the role of Sue Sylvester in the television series Glee...
), who shows up for the first time in years, just in time to attend Sue's wedding to herself. The long-anticipated wedding of Burt Hummel
Burt Hummel
Burt Hummel is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Mike O'Malley, and first appeared on Glee in the fourth episode of the first season, "Preggers". Burt was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
(Mike O'Malley
Mike O'Malley
Michael Edward "Mike" O'Malley is an American actor and playwright who has appeared in films and television series. He hosted Nickelodeon GUTS, and he starred in the CBS comedy Yes, Dear...
) and Carole Hudson (Romy Rosemont
Romy Rosemont
Romy Rosemont is a television actress who has appeared in multiple TV series, including Shark, Grey's Anatomy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Prison Break and Private Practice. She got her break in 2010, playing Carole Hudson in the musical series Glee...
) is also featured, and the bullying storyline reaches a climax that results in Kurt
Kurt Hummel
Kurt Hummel is a fictional character and one of the male leads in the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied at school...
(Chris Colfer
Chris Colfer
Christopher Paul "Chris" Colfer is an American actor and singer known for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television series Glee, for which he won a 2011 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and was also nominated twice for an Emmy...
) transferring from McKinley High to Dalton Academy at the end of the episode.
The episode features covers of four songs; they received generally favorable reviews. Three were featured during the Hummel–Hudson wedding sequence, and the two songs by Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
, "Marry You
Marry You
"Marry You" is a song by American recording artist Bruno Mars, released as the fourth single internationally from his debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Mars wrote the song with his production team The Smeezingtons, who also produced the track. "Marry You" incorporates influences of Reggae...
" and "Just the Way You Are
Just the Way You Are (Bruno Mars song)
"Just the Way You Are" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, and is the lead single from his debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. It was released in the United States on July 20, 2010. It has also received airplay from AOL Radio's New Pop First station. The song was written by...
", charted both on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and internationally. Burnett's appearance, and her song with Lynch, were lauded by most critics, as was the central wedding of Hudson and Hummel, but Sue's wedding to herself was widely panned. Additionally, a few reviewers, including The Atlantic Kevin Fallon, thought the bullying storyline had been stretched over too many episodes.
Upon its initial airing, this episode was viewed by 10.41 million American viewers and garnered a 4.0/12 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic, its lowest for the second season to that point, and down substantially from the previous episode, "The Substitute
The Substitute (Glee)
"The Substitute" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the 29th episode overall. It was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Ryan Murphy, and premiered on Fox on November 16, 2010...
".
Plot
Burt HummelBurt Hummel
Burt Hummel is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Mike O'Malley, and first appeared on Glee in the fourth episode of the first season, "Preggers". Burt was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
(Mike O'Malley
Mike O'Malley
Michael Edward "Mike" O'Malley is an American actor and playwright who has appeared in films and television series. He hosted Nickelodeon GUTS, and he starred in the CBS comedy Yes, Dear...
) and Carole Hudson (Romy Rosemont
Romy Rosemont
Romy Rosemont is a television actress who has appeared in multiple TV series, including Shark, Grey's Anatomy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Prison Break and Private Practice. She got her break in 2010, playing Carole Hudson in the musical series Glee...
) tell their respective sons, New Directions glee club members Kurt
Kurt Hummel
Kurt Hummel is a fictional character and one of the male leads in the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied at school...
(Chris Colfer
Chris Colfer
Christopher Paul "Chris" Colfer is an American actor and singer known for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television series Glee, for which he won a 2011 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and was also nominated twice for an Emmy...
) and Finn
Finn Hudson
Finn Hudson is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Cory Monteith, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Finn was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
(Cory Monteith
Cory Monteith
Cory Allan Monteith is a Canadian actor and musician, best known for his role of Finn Hudson on the Fox television series Glee.-Early life:...
), that they are engaged. Kurt insists that New Directions perform at the wedding and reception. Principal Sue Sylvester
Sue Sylvester
Susan "Sue" Sylvester is a fictional character of the Fox musical comedy-drama series, Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Jane Lynch, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Sue was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian...
(Jane Lynch
Jane Lynch
Jane Marie Lynch is an American comedian, actress and singer. She gained fame in Christopher Guest's improv mockumentary pictures such as Best in Show and is currently best known for playing the role of Sue Sylvester in the television series Glee...
) announces her intention to marry herself, and glee club member Sam Evans
Sam Evans
Sam Evans is a recurring fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Chord Overstreet, and appeared on Glee starting with the second season premiere episode entitled "Audition", first broadcast on September 21, 2010, and ending with that...
(Chord Overstreet
Chord Overstreet
Chord Overstreet is an American actor, singer and musician, best known for his role as Sam Evans on the television series Glee.-Early life:...
) tells fellow member Quinn Fabray
Quinn Fabray
Quinn Fabray is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Dianna Agron, and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. She is a former cheerleader at the fictional William McKinley High School in...
(Dianna Agron
Dianna Agron
Dianna Agron is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Quinn Fabray on the television series Glee.-Early life:Dianna Agron was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in San Antonio, Texas and San Francisco, California. She is the daughter of Mary and Ronald S. Agron, a general...
) that he loves her and would like to marry her in the future, by offering her a promise ring.
Kurt is menaced by school bully Dave Karofsky
Dave Karofsky
David "Dave" Karofsky, often referred to as Karofsky, is a recurring fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Max Adler, and has appeared in Glee since its first season episode "Mash-Up", first broadcast on October 21, 2009...
(Max Adler) and badly shaken; while Sue sympathizes with Kurt's plight, she cannot punish Karofsky unless he physically attacks Kurt. Glee club co-captain Rachel Berry (Lea Michele
Lea Michele
Lea Michele Sarfati , known professionally as Lea Michele, is an American actress and singer. Michele began working professionally as a child actress on Broadway in productions such as Ragtime and Les Misérables. She originated the role of Wendla in the musical Spring Awakening and currently plays...
) convinces the glee club girls to have their football-playing boyfriends defend Kurt, but her own boyfriend, Finn, refuses, concerned that it may jeopardize his position as quarterback. Artie Abrams
Artie Abrams
Artie Abrams is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Kevin McHale, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Artie was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
(Kevin McHale) and Mike Chang
Mike Chang
Michael "Mike" Chang, Jr. is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor and dancer Harry Shum, Jr., and has appeared on Glee since the fourth episode in the first season, "Preggers", first broadcast on September 23, 2009...
(Harry Shum, Jr.
Harry Shum, Jr.
Harry Shum, Jr. is an American dancer, actor, and choreographer. He is best known for his role as Mike Chang on the FOX television show Glee. He has appeared in dance films such as Stomp the Yard, You Got Served, Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D...
) do confront Karofsky, and demand that he leave Kurt alone. Karofsky retaliates, and Sam defends them by fighting with him. Quinn is impressed by Sam's actions, and decides to accept his promise ring. Karofsky later sees Kurt and Finn practicing a wedding dance and taunts them in front of Burt. Burt is angered by this, but becomes livid when Kurt admits that Karofsky has threatened to kill him. He instigates a meeting with Sue, Karofsky's father (Daniel Roebuck
Daniel Roebuck
Daniel James Roebuck is an American television film actor, writer and producer, primarily in films, soap operas and television.-Life and career:...
) and the two boys, at which Sue expels Karofsky.
The day of the wedding, Santana Lopez
Santana Lopez
Santana Lopez is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Naya Rivera, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Santana was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
(Naya Rivera
Naya Rivera
Naya Marie Rivera is an American actress and singer known for her role in the musical comedy television series Glee, as cheerleader Santana Lopez.-Early life:...
), who wants another chance at Finn, suggests that he reveal that they had sex to boost his popularity at school.This took place in the season one episode "The Power of Madonna
The Power of Madonna
"The Power of Madonna" is the 15th episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on April 20, 2010...
". He is unwilling to do so, as he truly loves Rachel, who recently admitted to him that she lied when she claimed to have slept with her then-boyfriend Jesse (Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Drew Groff is an American singer-songwriter, stage, television and film actor. He originated the role of Melchior Gabor in the stage musical Spring Awakening and appeared as Jesse St...
); Finn also lied at the same time, by saying he had not had sex with Santana.
At the wedding, New Directions perform "Marry You
Marry You
"Marry You" is a song by American recording artist Bruno Mars, released as the fourth single internationally from his debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Mars wrote the song with his production team The Smeezingtons, who also produced the track. "Marry You" incorporates influences of Reggae...
" by Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
as they, and then Burt and Carole, dance down the aisle, after which the two of them marry. During the reception, Finn uses his best man speech as an opportunity to apologize to Kurt for not defending him, and promises to do so in the future; he announces that Finn and Kurt are now "Furt". He and the other glee club members dedicate a performance of Mars' "Just the Way You Are
Just the Way You Are (Bruno Mars song)
"Just the Way You Are" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, and is the lead single from his debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. It was released in the United States on July 20, 2010. It has also received airplay from AOL Radio's New Pop First station. The song was written by...
" to Kurt, and the new stepbrothers dance together. Following the wedding, Kurt and his parents learn that the school board has reversed Karofsky's expulsion and given him a verbal warning, thus allowing him to return to school. Sue resigns as principal in protest, and Burt and Carole use their honeymoon savings to transfer Kurt to Dalton Academy, an all-male
Single-sex education
Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, is the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools. The practice was predominant before the mid-twentieth century, particularly in secondary education and...
school with a zero-tolerance
Zero tolerance
Zero tolerance imposes automatic punishment for infractions of a stated rule, with the intention of eliminating undesirable conduct. Zero-tolerance policies forbid persons in positions of authority from exercising discretion or changing punishments to fit the circumstances subjectively; they are...
policy against bullying. It is also the school that Kurt's friend Blaine
Blaine Anderson
Blaine Anderson is a fictional character from the American musical comedy-drama television series Glee. Played by Darren Criss, Blaine was introduced in the sixth episode of the second season as the openly gay lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers, a rival show choir to New Directions, the...
(Darren Criss
Darren Criss
Darren Everett Criss is an American actor, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and a founding member and co-owner of the theater company StarKid Productions. He currently portrays Blaine Anderson, an openly gay high school student, on the FOX television series Glee...
) attends.
While the Hummel–Hudson wedding is being arranged, Sue advances her own marriage plans. She is surprised when her mother arrives in town. Doris (Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
), a recently retired Nazi hunter who was an absentee parent to Sue and her sister Jean (Robin Trocki), attempts to make amends for her long absence, but is nevertheless so critical of her daughter that Sue calls her a bully and disinvites her during the wedding ceremony. Doris leaves, and Sue and Jean comfort each other.
Production
Sue's parents were mentioned and their occupations as Nazi hunters revealed in the season oneGlee (season 1)
The first season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee originally aired on Fox in the United States. The pilot episode was broadcast as an advanced preview of the series on May 19, 2009, with the remainder of the season airing between September 9, 2009 and June 8, 2010...
episode "The Power of Madonna
The Power of Madonna
"The Power of Madonna" is the 15th episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on April 20, 2010...
". According to Lynch, Sue's mother left her two daughters to pursue her career, and returns home retired after the last Nazi has been captured. On working with Burnett, Lynch said, "I'm a little nervous, but I can't wait to get in scenes with her ... It's like playing tennis with a master." The origin behind Sue's antagonistic personality was explored in this episode; plans at the time were for Burnett to reappear on the series in a future episode. This is Burnett's and Lynch's second time working together, the first being the 2009 comedy film Post Grad.
In an interview after BAFTA/LA's Brittania Awards, Lynch told People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
a wedding was in the future for her character. A tracksuit
Tracksuit
A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with front zipper. It was originally intended for use in sports, mainly as what athletes wore over competition clothing and would take off before competition. In modern times, it has become commonly worn...
wedding dress was created by personal costume designer Ali Rahimi.
Recurring characters in this episode include glee club members Mike Chang and Sam Evans, cheerleader Becky Jackson (Lauren Potter
Lauren Potter
Lauren Potter is an American actress best known for her role as Becky Jackson on the hit show Glee.-Biography:Lauren was born May 10, 1990 in Inland Empire, California, U.S.A. She is currently 21 years of age...
), athlete and school bully Dave Karofsky, football coach Shannon Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones
Dot Jones
Dorothy-Marie "Dot" Jones is an athlete and actress who has had multiple roles in television. She attended California State University, Fresno, where she set records for shot put. Jones is also a 15-time world arm wrestling champion...
), and local news anchors Rod Remington (Bill A. Jones) and Andrea Carmichael (Earlene Davis). In addition, Rosemont and Burnett star as Carole and Doris, the respective mothers of Finn and Sue, and Daniel Roebuck
Daniel Roebuck
Daniel James Roebuck is an American television film actor, writer and producer, primarily in films, soap operas and television.-Life and career:...
plays Karofsky's father, Paul.
Four songs were covered on the episode and were all released as singles available for digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
. The song "Ohio
Ohio (1953 song)
"Ohio" is a song from the 1953 Broadway musical Wonderful Town, sung by the protagonists, bemoaning the fact that they had left Ohio for New York.It was written by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green....
" from the 1953 musical Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town is a musical with a book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein...
was covered as a duet between Burnett and Lynch. In an interview with TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, Burnett revealed that her husband suggested the possibility of her doing the song since her character was returning to Ohio after an absence; she then brought it to Glee creator Ryan Murphy's attention. Additionally, two Bruno Mars songs were featured—"Just the Way You Are" and "Marry You"—as well as Pablo Beltrán Ruiz
Pablo Beltrán Ruiz
Pablo Beltrán Ruiz was a Mexican composer and band leader most famous for composing the Spanish language song "¿Quién será?", a hit made famous internationally by Dean Martin as "Sway" in 1954, and later by Bobby Rydell in 1960, with English lyrics by Norman Gimbel.Pablo Beltrán Ruiz was born in...
's "Sway
Sway (song)
"Sway" is the English version of "¿Quién será?", a 1953 mambo song by Mexican composer and bandleader Pablo Beltrán Ruiz. The most famous version is that of Dean Martin recorded in 1954. English lyrics are by Norman Gimbel...
" as covered by Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
. All songs except "Ohio" are included on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 4.
Ratings and viewership
"Furt" was first broadcast on November 23, 2010, in the United States on Fox. It was watched by 10.41 million American viewers during its initial airing—Glee lowest viewership for the second season to that point—and was the fifteenth-most-watched show of the week across all channels. It garnered a 4.0/12 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic, which made it the highest-rated show in its timeslot, and the third-highest-rated scripted show of the week amongst adults aged 18–49. The total viewership and ratings for this episode were down significantly from those of the previous episode, "The SubstituteThe Substitute (Glee)
"The Substitute" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the 29th episode overall. It was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Ryan Murphy, and premiered on Fox on November 16, 2010...
", which was watched by 11.70 million American viewers and acquired a 5.0/14 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic upon first airing on November 16, 2010.
The episode's Canadian broadcast, also on November 23, 2010, attained 2.10 million viewers, which placed Glee ninth in the weekly program rankings. Viewership declined slightly from "The Substitute", which was watched by 2.29 million, but also ranked ninth. "Furt" aired in Australia on November 29, 2010, where it drew 1.33 million viewers, and was the second-most-watched show of the night and third of the week. Here, viewership increased from "The Substitute", which attained 1.06 million viewers and ranked seventh for the night and nineteenth for the week. David Dale noted in The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
that Glee faced weaker competition than usual, as Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
was "the only commercial network showing new episodes of its top shows". In the UK, the episode aired on February 28, 2011, and was watched by 2.43 million viewers—2.03 million on E4, and 406,000 on E4+1—which made it the most-watched show on both channels and the second-most-watched show on cable for the week. Here again, viewership was down from the previous episode, which drew 2.55 million viewers and was the most-watched show across all cable channels.
Critical reception
"Furt" received a generally positive reception from critics, though there were some dissenting viewpoints. Meghan Brown of The Atlantic wrote that the episode "worked beautifully." The A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
Todd VanDerWerff called it a "largely terrific episode of television", and gave it a "B+". Lisa Respers France of CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
was reminded of "how well this show marries plot with music", and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Erica Futterman concluded, "The focus on the show's best characters, Kurt and Sue, kept the show balanced between heart and bite—just the way we like our Glee". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
Robert Canning was less enthusiastic; he called it an "unfocused jumble of an episode" and gave it a score of 7 out of 10. The BuddyTV
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
reviewers were split, with Jen Harper quite happy, and John Kubicek who wrote that he hated the entire episode.
Most reviews heaped praise on the guest appearance of Carol Burnett, who played Sue's Nazi-hunting absentee mother Doris. Bobby Hankinson of the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
said Burnett was a "well-used guest star", and he "loved every minute she was on screen." Dave Itzkoff of the New York Times asked "who could not be charmed" by Burnett, and the Wall Street Journal Raymund Flandez lauded the "tour-de-force panache and sharp-tongued deadpan by Carol Burnett", and called her appearance the "best guest casting this season".
The marriage of Burt Hummel and Carole Hudson received generally good marks. VanDerWerff wrote, "it's rare that an episode of television can make a hurried wedding between two middle-aged people who are rarely on the show into something so well-conceived and thrillingly moving." Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
noted, "Every character in that family rings emotionally true." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
Tim Stack was pleased with the performances of Mike O’Malley as Burt and Romy Rosemont as Carole; he also welcomed the episode's increased focus on Finn, and praised Cory Monteith as a "good, natural actor". Kevin Fallon of The Atlantic was unhappy with both weddings, and Canning said they "took up most of this episode, and unfortunately neither were entirely successful". Several reviewers noted the "homage" of the wedding procession dance, including Hankinson, Anthony Benigno of the Daily News and Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
; the Wall Street Journal invited readers to compare the original viral "JK Wedding Entrance Dance
JK Wedding Entrance Dance
On July 19, 2009 a viral video called JK Wedding Entrance Dance was uploaded to YouTube that received significant media attention, using "Forever" by Chris Brown as the song for the wedding march. The wedding was between Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz.....
" YouTube video and the subsequent dancing procession from the "Niagara
Niagara (The Office)
"Niagara" is an hour-long episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office. It is the 4th and 5th episodes in the season's episode count and the 104th and 105th episode of the series overall. The episode was written by executive producer Greg Daniels and Mindy Kaling, and was...
" episode of The Office
The Office
The Office is a popular mockumentary/situation comedy TV show that was first made in the UK and has now been re-made in many other countries, with overall viewership in the hundreds of millions worldwide. The original version of The Office was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. It...
with Glee version in "Furt", while Stack made his own comparison, and said Glee was "just about as good" as the original, and "a blast to watch".
Sue Sylvester's marriage to herself was lambasted by many critics, including Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
Brett Berk, who said it "was about as compelling as a hair lollipop". Patrick Burns of The Atlantic was also unimpressed, especially "because the main plot points of this episode are otherwise so effective"; his colleague Fallon was brief and to the point: "Blergh."
There was disagreement on the bullying storyline. Some critics, including Canning and Hankinson, praised it, while others had reservations, such as Brown, who characterized it as "heavy-handed", and Fallon, who considered it "well-acted" but "far too stagnant". The Sam and Quinn storyline was panned by VanDerWerff, who wrote "the series has wasted whatever chemistry the two had in 'Duets
Duets (Glee)
"Duets" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the 26th episode overall. It was written by series creator Ian Brennan, directed by Eric Stoltz, and premiered on Fox on October 12, 2010...
' on scenes where Sam talks about how he wants to be the most popular kid in school", and by Kubicek, who criticized the lack of consistency in Sam's characterization.
Music and performances
The musical performances and cover versions in the episode attracted generally positive reviews, though a few reviewers noted that the program had been on for twenty-three minutes before the first song appeared. While Fallon said it was an "interminable wait" for the first musical number, "Ohio", and Reiter cited the delay as flaw, James Poniewozik of Time thought it a "credit to the episode" that he had not noticed the absence of music to that point. Flandez and Futterman commented favorably on all the musical numbers, though Canning felt the songs were a "disappointing aspect of this episode", and none were "exceptionally memorable".The duet of Burnett and Lynch on "Ohio" was well received. Jean Bentley of AOL TV
AOL TV
AOL TV was the name of both a thin client which uses a television for display , and the online service that supports it, both of which were launched in June 2000 to compete with WebTV....
praised it as "simply magnificent", Zap2it
Zap2it
Zap2it is an American website and affiliate network that provides news, photos and video, local TV listings and movie showtimes. The site is produced by Tribune Media Services , part of the publishing division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
Hanh Nguyen called it a "fantastic job" and Flandez said it was "lovely" and that "the bickering interlude was a delight." Others tempered their praise: Berk gave it three of five stars and noted the "bland staging", and Benigno graded it a "C" and called it "boring", though he said "their voices work well" together; Stack gave it a "B+" with the caveat that it was "a little too theatrical".
The dancing wedding procession and its accompanying performance of the Bruno Mars song "Marry You" were mostly praised. Stack gave it an "A" and Berk five stars out of five, and Amanda Hensel of AOL Music called it "easily one of the best performances of the season".. Benigno gave it a "B" primarily because the cast didn't "do anything particularly interesting with it" vocally, but called the performance "pure joy". Flandez wrote that "two Bruno Mars songs that were brilliant in execution and touching in sentiment", and Futterman agreed: "the Bruno Mars songs gave the show two of its best performances this season". While Benigno and Stack also praised "Just the Way You Are", and both gave the song an "A", Harper thought Monteith's vocals as Finn "aren't the strongest" and Bentley also wished Finn had not been the soloist. Additionally, Harper criticized the failure of the show to adjust the song's pronouns from feminine to masculine when Finn was singing to Kurt, and noted that Gywneth Paltrow had changed pronouns while singing Cee Lo Green's "Forget You" the week before. Hankinson was more impressed with "Just the Way You Are", and gave it a "slight edge" over "Marry You" for the episode's "best musical number", "given the emotional context".
Matthew Morrison's performance of "Sway" received the most divergent opinions. Some reviewers mentioned how closely it resembled Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
's version: Benigno graded it "A-" and said "Matthew Morrison sounds EXACTLY like Bublé here, which is both unbelievably impressive (Bublé's got some pipes on him), and takes a little bit away from the number (easy to write it off as an impression)", Stack gave it a "B" and characterized it as "pretty simple, but Matthew Morrison does a mean Michael Bublé", and Bentley called it "a perfectly fine cover", though Futterman said it "can’t beat Michael Bublé’s take". Among those who did not compare Morrison to Bublé, Hensel called it a "beautiful solo performance", while Berk gave it two stars out of five and wrote "Shue sings it just like a real wedding singer", and Nguyen said the song felt "out of place".
Chart history
Only two of the four cover versions released as singles—the two songs by Bruno Mars—debuted on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, and appeared on other musical charts. On the Hot 100, the show's rendition of "Marry You" debuted at number thirty-two; it was number nineteen on the Canadian Hot 100. The other song on the Hot 100 was "Just the Way You Are" at number forty, which also made number twenty-four on the Canadian Hot 100. That same week, Mars's own single of "Marry You" also debuted on these same charts, though well below the Glee cover version, at number ninety-one on the Hot 100 and number eighty-nine on the Canadian Hot 100; his single of "Just the Way You Are" was in the top five on both charts that week.
External links
- "Furt" at Fox.comFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...