Joss Whedon to direct next Glee; Neil Patrick Harris cameos

OK, so this is yesterday's news, but dang, I'm excited. Joss Whedon! Neil Patrick Harris! Glee! Talk about a triple threat.

The announcement comes just in time, in my opinion. Glee's been suffering from Sloppy Second Season Syndrome. OK, I made that term up, but 30 Rock and Lost suffered the same (plus, Overthinking It shares my position on this season, and we all know they are never wrong about anything).

Here's how it works: a great first season leads to high expectations, and the wait between the first and second seasons elevates fans' excited feelings beyond a point where the the bar can be met. And thus, a second season that isn't mind-blowingly awesome suddenly seems ... lame, even if it's not that bad really. I'm sure Glee will pick back up again and find new ways to make us laugh, but until then, we've got to sit through some weird one-off episodes and convoluted drama-ful reasons why the various couples are breaking up and making up. At least the musical arrangements are still good.

Anyway, I think it's safe to be excited about Joss Whedon's episode. Will he introduce a Strong Female Character who kicks a bunch of supernatural ass? Will he kill off half of the characters? Probably neither, but come on. Neil Patrick Harris!

Unfortunately, Glee is on at the same time as Lost. Sorry, but the latter takes precendece. Don't worry, NPH, I will worship at your altar on Hulu.

Lastly, what do we think about all of the spec that Idina Menzel's character is going to turn out to be Rachel's mom? Not to influence your opinion or anything, but I think that spec is stupid. Menzel is awesome on the show, though. Hope she sticks around.