The Future of Glee: Living Without Cory Monteith

Today has been a long day for everyone.

In a time span of four hours, we learned that George Zimmerman walks away a free man after the jury decided he was not guilty in the murder of Trayvon Martin. We also came to terms with the surprising death of Cory Monteith, our beloved Finn Hudson from NBC's Glee.

While we know it will be hard for family, friends, and co-stars who knew Monteith to move on from the shocking news that came from left field at around 2 AM this morning, there is one looming question yet to be answered. How will Glee proceed without Finn Hudson?

Present in all 88 episodes that have been released to date, Monteith is considered a pivotal protagonist in the successful series. Finn represented the jock, a group known for its low in intelligence and highly respected athletes, that learned he didn't have to stay within the confines of jock-ness. He was allowed to explore and find that he had a love for music deeper than he had realized. To many, Finn was a role model for breaking the status quo and following your heart, something that a lot of teenagers in today's world needed to hear from someone that was just like them.

Now, creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan must face the ultimate task of keeping the glee in Glee and moving on without their star. How do you deal with the ultimate curveball in show business with the next season already partially filmed?

Unfortunately, we all know the saying--the show must go on.

While we all must pause and reflect on what has happened, the world does not stop turning. Murphy will have to alter the script dramatically to take this into account, and it will most likely not be an easy task. I'm curious to see how he will handle the change.

How will they write this into the script? It's happened before, no doubt, but the thing about death is that there is no transition out of it, especially in cases where the death come out of nowhere.

The most prominent that comes to mind is the death of John Ritter while he was shooting 8 Simple Rules. It was written into the script that his character had died as well in an episode they fittingly titled "Goodbye." There is also the question of replacement. Can they bring someone new in to play Finn Hudson? Will the Gleeks go for someone who isn't the Finn that they know and love? This will be a hard decision to make and an even tougher one to follow through with.

Cory will be missed dearly by everyone he touched, including those who knew him only onscreen. But we can't think of this as the end. We must look forward to the future and regard it as a new beginning.

Rest in peace, Cory.

Musicals, Maids, and Failed Marriages: This Week's Sunday Night Sadism

I know I'm a day late, but it's still Sunday somewhere, right?

That excuse only works when you're a raging alcoholic because it really is 5 o'clock somewhere...but I suppose a DeLorean could do the trick.

Anyway, after a fun weekend in West Palm beach where I rode this monster (and didn't die, may I add):

I watched Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. Both in one night! And I know you must be thinking, "You sat down and watched two movies that run for two and a half hours? You must be crazy." My answer is, "Yes, I am absolutely crazy." I've already seen Phantom. Les Mis was absolutely beyond beautiful. Though I wasn't too hot about Russell Crowe's crowing, I can cry for days about Anne's performance. Buuuuut let me not go on forever about this because THIS is about Sunday Night Sadism!

Drop Dead Diva was a bit of a tear jerker for me. This show is famous for coincidental cases that just happen to align with whatever that character is going through, and I know that you know what I'm talking about. Oh of course, Kim is helping a pregnant woman and Owen is the new partner and Jane gets assigned to a jilted bride. Thanks, Owen. Real subtle.

But you know what? I think this needed to happen for Jane. As Jane was practically begging on her knees for Owen to take her back, I almost didn't want him to agree to her terms. We have been rooting for her to be with Grayson for five long seasons. I'm not going to give up on her now.

Now about Devious Maids...

Poor, poor Sam. Adoring a woman who uses him time and time again (and we're only three episodes into the first season...) that is selling herself out to get her dream with some creep of a producer that is just interested in sleeping with her. And what about Olivia the crazybitchofanex spilling Taylor's dirty laundry in the middle of a supermarket? How overdone yet still amazingly bitchy.

At first, I doubted Genevieve's motives when she said she would help Valentina and Remi get together, I get the feeling that she actually wants them to be together, despite Zoila's negative experience with Genevieve's brother. And that was quite the shock.

Why am I not surprised to hear that Adrian Powell gives prostitutes to his friends? He has his mind permanently installed in the gutter. Quite disgusting, if I do say so myself. If only they could see what we see and know what we know. But I think Marisol is getting closer to the answers she's looking for. Hopefully she does very, very soon,