GLOW - Live Studio Audience

Deciding that they are going to tear the house down, Debbie and Ruth dedicate themselves to training with Carmen’s brothers (George Murdoch AKA Tyrus & Carlos “Carlito” Colon Jr.). The Jacksons have a wrestling ring in their backyard so it is the right kind of out-of-the-gym area for them to hone their craft when not in the G.L.O.W. gym Bash bought. Speaking of Bash, he has been cut off by his moneybags mother for spending too much on the ladies wrestling project. The hotel rooms, food, and gym have ballooned to $600,000 and Bash is concerned about continuing to get G.L.O.W. off the ground.

This episode is the unveiling of the show. It is about to be presented to the public for a taping, and with the budget now cut, there’s no sound system, lighting, or extra dollars for production value. The show looks poverty-row, and Sam is tasked with broadcasting duties. These duties Sam does with low-energy, low-enthusiasm sarcasm, equipped with plenty of one-liners designed to tell the audience that the show is not to be taken all that seriously. At first the folks that arrive are a smorgasbord of “freaks, children, a homeless guy…”, with Sam just not exactly thrilled with this whole project. I think you can tell he’s a bit bummed by how all of this has turned out. When Bash brings a Casio piano, and department store lighting, Sam is convinced this is a disaster. His spirit waning and diving quite deep sea, Sam’s mic work for the show indicates he’s going through the motions mostly. While Carmen gets stage fright, fleeing the building before getting in the ring (with Bash in pursuit), as “the Viking” stands on the canvas with a viewing public totally apathetic at her whole entrance and gimmick, Cherry and Tammé and Dawn and Stacey rile the crowd up with a shocking match pitting Bad Ass Pam Grier “Black Panthers” against two gals in Klu Klux Clan sheets! Junk Chain and Welfare Queen, sufficed to say, embarrass them much to the cheers of the audience. I laughed my ass off at this. We don’t see any other action but Arthie get a pinfall over (I think) Justine. The main event has a game Debbie and Ruth, fully into character but quite nervous, coming out as USA Heroine against Russian Commie with the “live studio audience” eating it up. Their moves are fluid and choreographed so well that referee Keith, Cherry’s husband (Bashir Salahuddin), complements them excitedly. But then Debbie’s asshole, cheating husband, Mark (Rich Sommer) shows up, ruining everything. Debbie is about to perform her middle turnbuckle crossbody when she sees him, her pride immediately turned crestfallen, abandoning Ruth, the ring, and the audience, leaving the show in a pickle. So Rhonda has been practicing her “GLOW theme” for Sam, deciding no better time than then to perform it for the audience. Soon this “rap” is a hit with all in the building, a kind of relieving salve for a wounded show that needed it. Soon all the ladies are singing in unison and the crowd does with them, leaving the entire show somewhat of a success instead of a surefire disaster. Debbie is served her divorce papers, condemned by asshole Mark for “returning to her trailer park roots”. Yeah, he continues to be a puss-filled sore on the ass.

With Sheila the She-Wolf playing one single tune on the Casio, only one side of a building occupied with a few off the street in the area with nothing to do, Rhonda just waiting for her cue to run her tune to the folks, and Sam barely able to summon any feeling in calling of the action; G.L.O.W. could have came off so much worse. As is, the show is poorly produced, with only one camera filming anything, girls still trying to figure out how to perform in the ring and what characters will eventually work, and Sam’s limited in what he can do with the meager production he’s handcuffed to. Sam maybe sees his career never recovering from this and is given the rundown on why the missing camera was found in Rhonda’s locker (Justine did it out of jealousy because she adores Sam). Marc Maron as Sam has been quite a gem on the show, a really cool surprise. He’s dealt with dwindling career prospects, prima donnas, and no budget to put a decent show together. Yet somehow he just keeps getting up in the morning and contending with it all. Now Bash has no cash, unbeknownst to Sam. Oh, boy.

Carmen getting a panic attack before a match turned out to be an interesting development because she seems destined for the ring. It's in her lineage. Her dad and brothers all performed in the squared circle yet she chickens out. She just can't bring herself to perform before the people, even when just about twenty or so folks, some of which came along through Sheila's haranguing.