Preggers (Glee)
Encyclopedia
"Preggers" is the fourth episode of the American
television series Glee
. The episode premiered on the Fox
network on September 23, 2009, and was written and directed by executive producer Brad Falchuk
. "Preggers" sees glee club
member Kurt
(Chris Colfer
) join the football team and admit his homosexuality
to his father, Burt
(Mike O'Malley
). Cheerleader Quinn
(Dianna Agron
) discovers she is pregnant and tells her boyfriend Finn
(Cory Monteith
) the baby is his, when in fact the father is his best friend Puck (Mark Salling). Faculty members Sue Sylvester
(Jane Lynch
) and Sandy Ryerson (Stephen Tobolowsky
) team up in an effort to bring down the glee club, luring away a disillusioned Rachel (Lea Michele
), who quits when club director Will
(Matthew Morrison
) refuses to award her a solo song.
"Preggers" features covers of two songs, and several dance performances of Beyoncé Knowles
' "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
". A studio recording
of Michele's cover of "Taking Chances
" was released as a single, available for digital download
and features on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1
. The scene in which Kurt comes out to his father was based on the personal experience of series creator Ryan Murphy. Murphy's intention was to move away from previous shows he has worked on in which gay characters have not been given happy endings, by allowing Kurt to succeed and be accepted.
The episode was watched by 6.624 million United States viewers and received mixed reviews from critics. Shawna Malcom of the Los Angeles Times
praised the show's fast pacing, however the New York Times Mike Hale felt that key characters were not given enough screen time. The football team's performance of "Single Ladies" and Kurt's coming out to his father were generally well received, however Rachel's actions garnered little sympathy, and several reviewers commented negatively on Quinn's pregnancy, with Eric Goldman of IGN
deeming it "a very soap opera plotline".
's "Single Ladies
" by his father Burt, and claims that it is a football
exercise, and that he is now part of the team. Fellow glee club member and football quarterback
Finn Hudson helps Kurt to practice, and finds him to be a skilled kicker
. Finn convinces coach Ken Tanaka (Patrick Gallagher
) to let Kurt try out for the team. Ken is delighted to find such an asset for the team and adds Kurt as the kicker. When Finn's girlfriend Quinn tells him she is pregnant, Finn worries that his future prospects will be diminished by fatherhood. He asks glee club director Will Schuester to coach the football team at dancing, believing it will help them to improve, increasing his chances of securing a football scholarship. Finn confides Quinn's news to his best friend Puck, who later confronts Quinn, claiming to be the baby's father, since she said she was a virgin when they had sex. Quinn rejects Puck, calling him a "Lima
loser" who could never support her and the baby like Finn. Will's wife Terri
(Jessalyn Gilsig
) reveals to her sister Kendra (Jennifer Aspen
) that she experienced a hysterical pregnancy and is not really carrying Will's baby. Kendra suggests that they acquire a baby, and when Terri learns of Quinn's pregnancy from Will, she confronts her, asking questions about her prenatal care
.
Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester approaches former glee club director Sandy Ryerson and enlists him in her plan to sabotage the club. She blackmails Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba
) into appointing Sandy as the school's new Arts director, and together they hold auditions for a school production of Cabaret
, hoping to entice away the glee club's star, Rachel Berry. Rachel feels slighted when Will awards Tina
(Jenna Ushkowitz) a solo song, so auditions for the musical and is given the lead role. When Will refuses to reassign the solo song to Rachel, she quits the club.
The football team puts their dance training into practice by performing the "Single Ladies" routine in the middle of a game, confusing and distracting the opposition, and with Kurt's help is able to win. Buoyed on by his success, Kurt comes out
to his father and tells him that he's homosexual, who tells him he knew all along and loves him just the same.
"Preggers" was written and directed by Glee executive producer and co-creator Brad Falchuk
. Kurt Fuller
guest stars as local news station owner Mr. McClung. The episode features covers of "Taking Chances
" by Celine Dion
and "Tonight
" from West Side Story
. Beyoncé Knowles
' "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
" is also featured in several dance performances. Kurt's backup dancers for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
" are series regular Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) and recurring character Brittany (Heather Morris). Dancer Morris was one of Beyonce's backup dancers for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
" appearing on The Today Show
, Ellen
, and others. A studio recording
of "Taking Chances" was released as a single, available for digital download
, and appeared on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1
. The track charted at number 79 in Australia, 73 in Canada and 71 in the United States.
The scene in which Kurt comes out to his father was taken verbatim from series creator Ryan Murphy's own life. Murphy felt that the scene was "a great thing to put on television", as, while audiences have seen gay characters isolated and attacked, they have rarely seen them ultimately winning and triumphing. He commented that: "The show is about making you feel good in the end. It's about happy endings and optimism and the power of your personal journey and making you feel that the weird thing about me is the great thing about me. I’ve done other shows with gay characters, and I will say that in many of those cases, the gay characters didn't have a happy ending. And I thought you know what? Enough." Colfer has commented that his biggest challenge was in ensuring the scene felt "honest" and not comical or "used as a punchline". He explained: "I think it's probably the first time a character's sexuality has been respected and almost dignified in a way, and I think that's really important, and there needs to be more of that on TV."
, the episode was watched by 1.804 million viewers (1.397 million on E4, and 407,000 on timeshift), becoming the most-watched show on E4 and E4+1 for the week, and the most-watched show on cable for the week, as well as the most watched episode of the series at the time. The episode received mixed reviews from critics. Shawna Malcom for the Los Angeles Times
reviewed the episode positively, praising the football team's performance of the "Single Ladies" dance and Kurt coming out to his father. Malcom also commented positively on the show's fast pacing, however Mike Hale of the New York Post
was less favorable, deeming the episode "overstuffed with story lines". He felt that key characters did not receive enough screentime, and that: "There was so much exposition going on that there didn’t seem to be much room for laughs."
Tim Stack for Entertainment Weekly
wrote that, although the dancing in the episode was fun, "Preggers" was lacking in "big singing moments" apart from Rachel's performance of "Taking Chances". He deemed Quinn's pregnancy "a good dramatic twist", but hoped that it would not be a long-lasting storyline. Eric Goldman of IGN
rated the episode 8.8 out of 10. He called the "Single Ladies" performance "a memorable TV moment", and wrote that Quinn's pregnancy was a "very soap opera plotline" however commented: "luckily Glee is the kind of show to handle it with humor."
James Poniewozik for Time
deemed Kurt's coming out "beautifully handled", commenting: "the fact that Dad (Mike O'Malley, who has turned out to be a pretty good character actor) ends up not being the boor we think he's going to be is one of the first signs that Glee is growing up as a series, that having established a world of primary-color stereotypes, it's now willing to subvert those expectations." Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal
criticized Rachel's actions in the episode, and felt that: "Rachel has become insufferable. The disagreements with Mr. Schue about her own development as a bonafide triple-threat have branded her as an overbearing prima donna to the rest of Glee."
The comedic pairing of Sue and Sandy attracted some praise, with Stack deeming them "the best villains ever". Goldman said that: "Tobolowsky is terrific in this role, as Sandy manages to make everything he says [...] sound amazingly disturbing." Hale criticized Lynch as Sue, however, writing that she gave a "one-note performance", suggesting that she had been miscast in the role.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
. The episode premiered on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox 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...
network on September 23, 2009, and was written and directed by executive producer Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk is a television writer, director and producer. He is best known for his work on the television series Nip/Tuck, Glee, and American Horror Story.-Early life:...
. "Preggers" sees glee club
Glee club
A glee club is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs—glees—by trios or quartets. In the late 19th Century it was very popular in most schools and was made a tradition...
member 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...
) join the football team and admit his homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
to his father, Burt
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...
). Cheerleader Quinn
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...
) discovers she is pregnant and tells her boyfriend 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:...
) the baby is his, when in fact the father is his best friend Puck (Mark Salling). Faculty members 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...
) and Sandy Ryerson (Stephen Tobolowsky
Stephen Tobolowsky
Stephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, as well as portraying Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood for nine episodes and Bob Bishop in Heroes for eleven episodes over the second and third seasons...
) team up in an effort to bring down the glee club, luring away a disillusioned Rachel (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...
), who quits when club director Will
Will Schuester
William "Will" Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Matthew Morrison and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Will was developed by Glee...
(Matthew Morrison
Matthew Morrison
Matthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated...
) refuses to award her a solo song.
"Preggers" features covers of two songs, and several dance performances of Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
' "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
"Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the...
". A studio recording
Studio recording
The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.-Studio cast recordings:...
of Michele's cover of "Taking Chances
Taking Chances (song)
"Taking Chances" is a single by Celine Dion and written by songwriter Kara DioGuardi and ex-Eurythmics member Dave Stewart's band Platinum Weird, taken from their unreleased self-titled album. The song was originally released in February 2007, and later made famous by a cover version by Céline...
" was released as a single, 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...
and features on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1
Glee: The Music, Volume 1
Glee: The Music, Volume 1 is the debut soundtrack album by the cast of the musical television series Glee, which airs on Fox in the United States. It features cover versions from the first nine episodes of the first season and was released on November 2, 2009 by Columbia Records and 20th...
. The scene in which Kurt comes out to his father was based on the personal experience of series creator Ryan Murphy. Murphy's intention was to move away from previous shows he has worked on in which gay characters have not been given happy endings, by allowing Kurt to succeed and be accepted.
The episode was watched by 6.624 million United States viewers and received mixed reviews from critics. Shawna Malcom 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....
praised the show's fast pacing, however the New York Times Mike Hale felt that key characters were not given enough screen time. The football team's performance of "Single Ladies" and Kurt's coming out to his father were generally well received, however Rachel's actions garnered little sympathy, and several reviewers commented negatively on Quinn's pregnancy, with Eric Goldman of 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...
deeming it "a very soap opera plotline".
Plot
Glee club member Kurt Hummel is caught dancing to Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
's "Single Ladies
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
"Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the...
" by his father Burt, and claims that it is a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
exercise, and that he is now part of the team. Fellow glee club member and football quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Finn Hudson helps Kurt to practice, and finds him to be a skilled kicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
. Finn convinces coach Ken Tanaka (Patrick Gallagher
Patrick Gallagher (actor)
-Career:Gallagher is best known for his television roles as Det. Joe Finn in Da Vinci's Inquest, the alcohol salesman in Entourage, Leon in The Line, Farhod the Fierce in Pair of Kings, and Ken Tanaka in Glee, and his film roles as Awkward Davies in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World...
) to let Kurt try out for the team. Ken is delighted to find such an asset for the team and adds Kurt as the kicker. When Finn's girlfriend Quinn tells him she is pregnant, Finn worries that his future prospects will be diminished by fatherhood. He asks glee club director Will Schuester to coach the football team at dancing, believing it will help them to improve, increasing his chances of securing a football scholarship. Finn confides Quinn's news to his best friend Puck, who later confronts Quinn, claiming to be the baby's father, since she said she was a virgin when they had sex. Quinn rejects Puck, calling him a "Lima
Lima, Ohio
Lima is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern Ohio along Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton and south-southwest of Toledo....
loser" who could never support her and the baby like Finn. Will's wife Terri
Terri Schuester
Terri Schuester is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Jessalyn Gilsig, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Terri was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian...
(Jessalyn Gilsig
Jessalyn Gilsig
Jessalyn Gilsig is a Canadian actress known for her roles in the television series Boston Public, Nip/Tuck and as Will Schuester's ex-wife Terri Schuester in Glee...
) reveals to her sister Kendra (Jennifer Aspen
Jennifer Aspen
Jennifer Aspen is an American actress best known for her roles as Daphne Jablonsky in Fox's teen drama Party of Five , as Trina Hamilton in ABC's family comedy Rodney and as Kendra Giardi in the first season of the show Glee.-Personal life:Aspen was born in Richmond, Virginia, and resides in Los...
) that she experienced a hysterical pregnancy and is not really carrying Will's baby. Kendra suggests that they acquire a baby, and when Terri learns of Quinn's pregnancy from Will, she confronts her, asking questions about her prenatal care
Prenatal care
Prenatal care refers to the medical and nursing care recommended for women before and during pregnancy. The aim of good prenatal care is to detect any potential problems early, to prevent them if possible , and to direct the woman to appropriate specialists, hospitals, etc...
.
Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester approaches former glee club director Sandy Ryerson and enlists him in her plan to sabotage the club. She blackmails Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba
Iqbal Theba
Iqbal Theba is a Pakistani-American actor. Theba currently has a recurring role as Principal Figgins in the show Glee.-Life and career:Theba became a familiar face in the 1990s when he appeared in various TV shows and commercials in the United States....
) into appointing Sandy as the school's new Arts director, and together they hold auditions for a school production of Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
, hoping to entice away the glee club's star, Rachel Berry. Rachel feels slighted when Will awards Tina
Tina Cohen-Chang
Tina Cohen-Chang is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Jenna Ushkowitz, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Tina was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian...
(Jenna Ushkowitz) a solo song, so auditions for the musical and is given the lead role. When Will refuses to reassign the solo song to Rachel, she quits the club.
The football team puts their dance training into practice by performing the "Single Ladies" routine in the middle of a game, confusing and distracting the opposition, and with Kurt's help is able to win. Buoyed on by his success, Kurt comes out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
to his father and tells him that he's homosexual, who tells him he knew all along and loves him just the same.
Production
Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk is a television writer, director and producer. He is best known for his work on the television series Nip/Tuck, Glee, and American Horror Story.-Early life:...
. Kurt Fuller
Kurt Fuller
Kurt Fuller is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Stockton, California in 1971.-Career:...
guest stars as local news station owner Mr. McClung. The episode features covers of "Taking Chances
Taking Chances (song)
"Taking Chances" is a single by Celine Dion and written by songwriter Kara DioGuardi and ex-Eurythmics member Dave Stewart's band Platinum Weird, taken from their unreleased self-titled album. The song was originally released in February 2007, and later made famous by a cover version by Céline...
" by Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
and "Tonight
Tonight (1956 song)
"Tonight" is a popular song with music written by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and was published in 1956.It was introduced in the Broadway musical West Side Story. The song was revived in 1961 on single records in versions by Ferrante & Teicher and Eddie Fisher, whose...
" from West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
. Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
' "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
"Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the...
" is also featured in several dance performances. Kurt's backup dancers for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
"Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the...
" are series regular Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) and recurring character Brittany (Heather Morris). Dancer Morris was one of Beyonce's backup dancers for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
"Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the...
" appearing on The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
, Ellen
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
, and others. A studio recording
Studio recording
The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.-Studio cast recordings:...
of "Taking Chances" was released as a single, 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...
, and appeared on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1
Glee: The Music, Volume 1
Glee: The Music, Volume 1 is the debut soundtrack album by the cast of the musical television series Glee, which airs on Fox in the United States. It features cover versions from the first nine episodes of the first season and was released on November 2, 2009 by Columbia Records and 20th...
. The track charted at number 79 in Australia, 73 in Canada and 71 in the United States.
The scene in which Kurt comes out to his father was taken verbatim from series creator Ryan Murphy's own life. Murphy felt that the scene was "a great thing to put on television", as, while audiences have seen gay characters isolated and attacked, they have rarely seen them ultimately winning and triumphing. He commented that: "The show is about making you feel good in the end. It's about happy endings and optimism and the power of your personal journey and making you feel that the weird thing about me is the great thing about me. I’ve done other shows with gay characters, and I will say that in many of those cases, the gay characters didn't have a happy ending. And I thought you know what? Enough." Colfer has commented that his biggest challenge was in ensuring the scene felt "honest" and not comical or "used as a punchline". He explained: "I think it's probably the first time a character's sexuality has been respected and almost dignified in a way, and I think that's really important, and there needs to be more of that on TV."
Reception
"Preggers" was watched by 6.623 million United States viewers and attained a 3.0/8 rating/share in the 18-49 demographic. It was the twenty-second most watched show in Canada for the week of broadcast, with 1.39 million viewers. In the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the episode was watched by 1.804 million viewers (1.397 million on E4, and 407,000 on timeshift), becoming the most-watched show on E4 and E4+1 for the week, and the most-watched show on cable for the week, as well as the most watched episode of the series at the time. The episode received mixed reviews from critics. Shawna Malcom for 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....
reviewed the episode positively, praising the football team's performance of the "Single Ladies" dance and Kurt coming out to his father. Malcom also commented positively on the show's fast pacing, however Mike Hale 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...
was less favorable, deeming the episode "overstuffed with story lines". He felt that key characters did not receive enough screentime, and that: "There was so much exposition going on that there didn’t seem to be much room for laughs."
Tim Stack for 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...
wrote that, although the dancing in the episode was fun, "Preggers" was lacking in "big singing moments" apart from Rachel's performance of "Taking Chances". He deemed Quinn's pregnancy "a good dramatic twist", but hoped that it would not be a long-lasting storyline. Eric Goldman of 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...
rated the episode 8.8 out of 10. He called the "Single Ladies" performance "a memorable TV moment", and wrote that Quinn's pregnancy was a "very soap opera plotline" however commented: "luckily Glee is the kind of show to handle it with humor."
James Poniewozik for Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
deemed Kurt's coming out "beautifully handled", commenting: "the fact that Dad (Mike O'Malley, who has turned out to be a pretty good character actor) ends up not being the boor we think he's going to be is one of the first signs that Glee is growing up as a series, that having established a world of primary-color stereotypes, it's now willing to subvert those expectations." Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
criticized Rachel's actions in the episode, and felt that: "Rachel has become insufferable. The disagreements with Mr. Schue about her own development as a bonafide triple-threat have branded her as an overbearing prima donna to the rest of Glee."
The comedic pairing of Sue and Sandy attracted some praise, with Stack deeming them "the best villains ever". Goldman said that: "Tobolowsky is terrific in this role, as Sandy manages to make everything he says [...] sound amazingly disturbing." Hale criticized Lynch as Sue, however, writing that she gave a "one-note performance", suggesting that she had been miscast in the role.
External links
- "Preggers" 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...