W.E. is the last of our Golden Globe nominated scores, perfect timing as the show airs this Sunday, and by far the most unexpected. In fact before this nomination I didn’t even know this movie existed. The film is actually directed by Madonna, which is interesting but not all together important for a review of it’s score.

The composer is Abel Korzeniowski and I can see why his excellent work was recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press. The score is very well put together with an emphasis on large, sweeping strings in a few very choice places. Listening to the music gives me the sense that it probably dominates much of the movie. While I appreciate that sort of heavy handed musical touch, I can also see where it might have played a role in the films less than stellar critical reception.

I am happy to see it nominated though, as there has been a recent trend of nominating more subtle and subdued scores in the last few years. This is far from it, and it plays very nicely to my personal film musical tastes. Strong string work always has a tendency to grip me, and this score delivers that in spades.

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We all know the effect that Fox’s Glee has had on the nation. It’s brought the high school drama, soap opera, musical, and hour-long comedy together once a week, all while providing the world with a popular soundtrack every few episodes. It seems that Fox realizes what the have in Glee as they have picked up the show for an unprecedented two more seasons.

Before even finishing its first season, the genre-defying, award-winning, underdog comedy GLEE has been picked up through its third season, it was announced today by Peter Rice, Chairman, Entertainment, Fox Networks Group; and Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company.

“In just one year, GLEE has transcended the television landscape and emerged as a global pop culture phenomenon,” said Rice. “We are incredibly proud to have talent like Ryan Murphy and the GLEE cast in our FOX family, and we can’t wait to see where Ryan takes the show in Seasons Two and Three.”

This news comes as no shock to anyone who has seen Glee take over the lives of so many people, in both the TV and DVD world, as well as iTunes and CD. In the US alone, the first two Glee albums reached nearly 7 million downloads and their most recent album, The Power of Madonna, debuted at number 1, helping them surpass the power group U2 with the most Billboard charting songs of the past 10 years.

In tonight’s episode, entitled “Theatricality”, the gang delves into the world of Lady GaGa, and find out what it takes to become a true star, in every sense of the word. Catch the episode on Fox at 9PM ET/PT.

Last week, Fox’s Glee returned with a bang picking up a series high of 13.7 Million viewers, which was 44% more than those who watched the pilot last year. Fox boasts that this is the highest viewership of a freshman series, so why wouldn’t they continue the trend with a huge episode this week in “The Power of Madonna”?From Fox:

Mr. Schuester is concerned that the girls in the glee club are being disrespected and bullied by the guys. Looking to Madonna and her musical message of equality as inspiration, he challenges the entire team to choose Madonna songs as their next assignment in the hopes that the girls embrace her strength, independence and confidence and that the guys will see the error of their misogynistic ways.

The glee club takes the assignment to heart as they perform some of Madonna’s greatest hits, including “Express Yourself” and “Like A Prayer.” Meanwhile, Kurt and Mercedes give Sue a vote of confidence with a makeover that is definitely in “Vogue.”

Check out some brand new clips from tomorrow night’s episode after the jump, and be sure to catch an all-new Glee on Fox, Tuesday April 20th, at 9pm ET/PT.

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In today’s television marketplace the traditional paradigm of new shows in the Fall and then reruns all Summer has gone away. Now, we get new shows almost anytime during the year with the midseason being one of the most popular.

Case in point are our friends at NBC who have several new shows for the midseason and we’ve got preview videos of some of them for you today. Some of these shows include The Marriage Ref, Minute to Win It and Who Do You Think You Are?.

For The Marriage Ref we’ve got a preview where Madonna goes head-to-head with Larry David and the panel turns again host Tom Papa Plus, Kelly Ripa and Don Rickles hand out some marriage advice. Next up is Minute To Win It where we find out just how difficult the challenges can be and get a closer look at two of the challenges with a slow motion camera.

Finally, with Who Do You Think You Are?, watch celebrities such as Lisa Kudrow, Spike Lee, Emmitt Smith and Susan Sarandon experience very personal moments and get a preview of four of these stories as they discover their own pasts. Actually, of the three, this one looks to be the most interesting. But whatever your thoughts about these shows, be sure to check out all the previews after the break.

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