Ah, now that's better. This week we had a decent collection of musical numbers and the attention returned to what's actually going on with the glee club. An added bonus: We had a little character development and some plot progression. Special super-duper bonus: It was also pretty funny. Glee is starting to find its balance. After five episodes, it's about time it hit that stride point.

See, television is an expensive, risky business. Networks dump millions of dollars into a show without any real indication of whether or not it'll work. Sure, there are focus groups and the like, but there's no way to duplicate the conditions of actually airing a program and facing public opinion. Focus groups are being compensated for their time, or at least not given a choice. People have to decide to tune into Glee every week amid a vast array of other options. This means people need a reason to come back every week and stay. For me, it's all about whether this musical comedy features a respectable amount of music and is, ya know, funny.

So, music. There were four, count 'em, four musical numbers in tonight's episode. Well, three and a half, actually. Will and Drunky McSkank's karaoke performance was really just a portion of a song. But we still got a full song from Cabaret (with a two-part vocal, no less), and a proper stage show at the end of the episode with back-to-back songs. This is what Glee is supposed to be. It's what made the pilot so strong. You've got a huge cast of people with very good voices. Use them.

And now, the comedy. I've always liked that Glee hasn't been afraid to go downright bawdy for its laughs, so introducing a middle-aged lush into the school population actually resulted in some entertaining moments instead of descending into a worthless After School Special about how you'll ruin your life if you drink the alcohol, take the drugs and have the sex. Sure, our guest star, who I'm calling Drunky McSkank, was a complete mess, but she was a very talented mess. While I can't say that talent counts for everything in the world of Glee, it still does count for a lot.

I'm also happy that Glee has stuck with its mean-spirited humor. There are always a handful of cruel gems delivered just under someone's breath in any given episode. Those mean jokes provide just enough bite to keep this show from being too sweet.

As for plot, it looks like Quinn's pregnancy wasn't a fakeout and now it's quickly becoming common knowledge. As long as this doesn't turn into an all-singing, all-dancing rendition of Juno, I guess I'm on board. Dianne Agron will at least have a chance to show more range than the usual prissy cheerleader character. Rachel pops back and forth between wanting to return to glee and sticking with the lead in the school play, but she ends up choosing the former by the end, which is good and necessary. That little bit of conflict was thin to begin with and now it's time to move on.

Best Moment: Drunky McSkank's montage of tricks to engriate herself to the glee club. It's all just so wonderfully wrong considering that these are all supposed to be high school kids.

Favorite Song: The Cabaret number was excellent with its dual vocals. I liked the closing song, too, but I was a bit distracted by the row of stage light crosses behind the performers. Really, Fox?

Episode Rating: 4/5- The Drunky McSkank bits grew very tired by the end, but it helped move the story along and fill in some of Will's backstory. Otherwise, I said it before; music, comedy, in a musical comedy.