Puck (Glee)

Noah "Puck" Puckerman
Mark Salling as Puck on the Glee Live! In Concert! tour
First appearance	"Pilot"
Created by	Ryan Murphy Brad Falchuk Ian Brennan
Portrayed by	Mark Salling
Information
Occupation	High school student
Significant other(s)	Lauren Zizes Santana Lopez Quinn Fabray
Children	Beth
Religion	Judaism

Noah "Puck" Puckerman is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Mark Salling, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Puck was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. He is Finn's best friend and football teammate, who initially disapproves of Finn joining the New Directions glee club at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, where the show is set, but he eventually joins it himself. In 2010, Salling was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Breakout Star Male for his work as Puck, and in 2011 for the Choice TV: Scene Stealer Male category.

Development

Casting and creation

Puck is played by Mark Salling. He has also been portrayed as a preschooler by Matthew Lepper in the episode "The Substitute". Salling had sent 100 packets to agents and managers, and "one called me and submitted me for Glee that day in her office."^[1] He had five auditions for Glee before being cast as Puck.^[2]

Characterization

Salling found it challenging to make the character "more than two-dimensional so he can be likable at the same time", which necessitated "find[ing] the balance between arrogance and cocky and sensible and likable".^[3] He recalled that "in the breakdown for the show, when they were describing his character in the very beginning, it's like Puck: a man-child."^[4] Salling explained that Puck has "stars in his eyes, he's hoping to get out of this small town."^[1] Salling gained 20 pounds (9.1 kg) before filming the pilot episode in order to better embody his football playing character. He then lost 30 pounds (14 kg) for a scene in the third episode that required him to be toned, which he described as "an extreme experience".^[3]

Relationships

Puck's main basis for relationships at the beginning is sexual rather than romantic. He has sexual encounters with his female pool-cleaning clients and fellow students, including a recurrent relationship with cheerleader Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) that seems to be casual, though Santana confronts both Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley) and Lauren Zizes (Ashley Fink) when Puck starts pursuing them in the first and second seasons respectively. He falls in love with Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) after he takes her virginity and impregnates her despite the fact that she's dating his best friend Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) at the time, but he can't give up flirting with and seducing others even when Quinn contemplates raising the baby-to-be with him as he wants rather than giving it up for adoption, since she refuses to have sex with him again. The brief pairing of Puck with Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) in the episode "Mash-Up", spurred by his mother urging him to find a Jewish girlfriend, dissolves because he wants Quinn and she wants Finn. Series creator Ryan Murphy was surprised by the positive fan response to their pairing, which he described as "strange and bizarre", explaining that he had believed fans would prefer Rachel to be with Finn. As a result of the response, Murphy planned to revisit their romance later in the season,^[5] though nothing much came of it.

In the second season, Puck recruits Lauren to join the glee club when the club needs a twelfth member in order to participate in the Sectionals competition. Within a couple of months, he has fallen in love with her, but she doesn't succumb to his blandishments, and he's forced to woo her over a long period of time, starting as friends. He supports her in her first solo for glee club and runs her campaign for prom queen. They are still a couple at the end of the school year. Television critics have responded positively to the pairing. Robert Canning of IGN wrote: "The absolute best part of 'Silly Love Songs' was Puckerman's unexpected longing for Lauren Zizes." He added, "The Lauren and Puck pairing came with a lot of laughs, but just as much heart. Puck singing Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls" induced a chuckle at first, then some toe tapping. But it was Lauren's reaction that truly made the moment: 'That's the first song you've sung to me and it made me feel like crap.' I can't decide if I want to root for this couple, but I certainly know I'm going to be rooting for Lauren."^[6] Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club commented, "For me, the episode's highlight was the very sweet, funny courtship between Puck and Lauren. This may be because the writers have trouble writing for a self-professed bad boy, even though his escapades are straight out of Archie comics and not actually all that 'bad' at all. But it’s always fun to watch Salling sing, and it’s always fun to watch him be smitten. Fink ends up being a good match for him, chemistry-wise, as she projects a confidence and certainty that makes it immediately obvious just what Puck sees in Lauren. The storyline also played out like both characters had something approaching real feelings."^[7] In the fourth episode of the third season, Puck and the adoptive mother of his child Shelby Corcorran kiss.

Storylines

Season 1

Mark Salling (pictured) plays Puck

Puck is introduced as a football player and bully at William McKinley High School; he is frequently seen throwing fellow students into dumpsters, or tossing slushies in their faces. It is later revealed that he is Jewish. He is the best friend of Finn, the quarterback,^[8] and has a summer pool-cleaning business that leads to sexual encounters with his adult female clients. He also has sex with fellow students, including in an on-again, off-again relationship with Santana, a cheerleader, which doesn’t end for good until the middle of the second season.^[9] Puck initially acts homophobic and mocks Finn for joining the school glee club, New Directions, but later becomes a part of glee club director Will Schuester's (Matthew Morrison) all-male a cappella group, the Acafellas, hoping to impress the mothers at a performance for the school's PTA meeting.^[9] When Finn's girlfriend Quinn becomes pregnant and tells Finn the baby is his, Puck realizes that he is the true father, and offers to support Quinn. She turns him down, calling him a "Lima loser".^[10] Puck briefly dates Rachel, the glee club lead vocalist, after his mother urges him to find a Jewish girlfriend; Rachel is initially resistant, but agrees after Puck sings "Sweet Caroline" for her in front of the glee club.

When the glee club holds a bake sale to pay for a wheelchair-accessible bus so Artie (Kevin McHale) can ride with the club to Sectionals competition, it only succeeds because Puck makes a special, popular cupcake recipe—he secretly adds pot, which gives everyone the munchies. He offers a wad of cash to Quinn to show he’d be a good father and provider; she figures out that it’s the money from the bake sale, and refuses to accept it, though she thanks him and apologizes for calling him a "Lima loser".^[11] Quinn reconsiders her plan to have the baby adopted and gives Puck a chance to prove himself by helping her to babysit Terri Schuester's (Jessalyn Gilsig) three nephews. Puck impresses her, but Quinn later learns that he spent part of the time sexting Santana. He claims that he would be a good father, but he cannot remain in a committed relationship with Quinn if she refuses to have sex with him; Quinn returns to her original plan of giving the baby to Terri, who is faking a pregnancy to hold on to Will.^[12] Rachel begins to suspect that Puck is the father of Quinn's baby and tells Finn. Finn attacks Puck and confronts Quinn, who admits the truth. Puck again offers to be with Quinn, but she turns him down and tells him she wants to be alone,^[13] though she moves in with Puck's family since her parents had kicked her out and she can no longer stay at Finn’s house.

In the episode "Laryngitis", when Puck's mohawk is shaved off by his doctor, he finds the other McKinley students no longer respect him as a badass. He briefly dates fellow glee club member Mercedes, then a popular cheerleader, to restore his status. His plan works, but he and Mercedes ultimately have little in common, and break up when she quits cheerleading and he returns to his bullying ways. In the first season finale, "Journey to Regionals", Quinn goes into labor immediately after the club performs at the Regionals competition, and Puck is in the delivery room when Quinn give birth to a baby girl, whom Puck names Beth. When Puck and Quinn visit their baby in the hospital nursery, Puck tells Quinn that he loves her. Beth is adopted by Rachel's birth mother Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel), the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, the show choir that defeated New Directions at Regionals.

Season 2

In the season opener, "Audition", Puck is interviewed by blogger Jacob Ben Israel (Josh Sussman) and reveals that he had a vasectomy over the summer, saying it was the only responsible thing to do. Soon after the school year begins, Puck is arrested and sent to a juvenile detention center for driving his mother's car through a convenience store window and driving off with the ATM. He returns in "Never Been Kissed", but he is now on probation and helps Artie out in an attempt to satisfy his community service. Though he acts tougher than ever to his classmates, Puck eventually confesses to Artie that he was terrified in juvie, and the two come to the agreement that Artie will tutor Puck, who has to pick up trash to fulfill his community service requirements. In "Special Education", Puck is asked by Will to find a new glee club member to replace Kurt (Chris Colfer), who has left McKinley and New Directions. He tries to recruit from the football team, but they lock him in a port-a-potty; he is rescued the next day by Lauren Zizes, who becomes the club's new twelfth member. Puck makes out with Rachel at her instigation, but leaves abruptly, realizing that he doesn't want to betray Finn for a second time, though Finn breaks up with Rachel when she confesses to him about it. Puck and Finn finally settle their differences in "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle", and work together to help the football team win its first-ever championship.

In the episode "Silly Love Songs", Puck unexpectedly falls for Lauren, and performs the song "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen, which expresses his love of Lauren's bigger body type, but Lauren is offended by the song. Santana, unhappy with being deserted by Puck, slaps Lauren in front of him to warn her away, and Lauren tosses her around like she was nothing, leaving her dazed. Puck immediately begs Lauren to go out with him. She ultimately agrees to go on a pre-Valentine's date with him, but stands him up. Puck clumsily tells Lauren he likes her, not because of her looks but because of her "badass-ness"; Lauren says she is not looking for something casual. They go out on Valentine's Day "as friends", though Puck is clearly hoping for more in the future. In the episode "Sexy", Lauren tells Puck she's decided to make a sex tape to help her become famous, to his delight, but their plans are dashed when substitute sex education teacher Holly Holliday (Gwyneth Paltrow) informs them that as both are underage it would be considered child pornography. As part of a class assignment in the episode "Original Song", Puck writes and sings a song for Lauren—"Big Ass Heart"—that she likes. In "Born This Way", Puck discovers that Lauren had been a child beauty queen; he tells her he will run a campaign for her to become that year’s prom queen, and be her king. After candidate Quinn insults Lauren’s candidacy, Puck helps Lauren dig up dirt on Quinn, but the tactic backfires.^[14] Neither Puck nor Lauren win the race for prom queen and king,^[15] but they remain a couple; they fly with the rest of New Directions to the nationals competition in New York City, where the glee club comes in twelfth out of fifty teams.^[16]

Musical performances

As Puck, Salling features in many songs that have been released as singles available for digital download and are also featured in the show's soundtrack albums. He usually accompanies himself on the guitar for solo songs, including "Sweet Caroline", "Only the Good Die Young", "Fat Bottomed Girls", and the song ostensibly composed by Puck, "Big Ass Heart".

Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" was his first solo number, in the episode "Mash-Up", and received favorable reviews from critics, and also from Diamond himself, who had initially been reluctant to license the number to the show.^[17] Following the episode's broadcast, Diamond posted his approval on the social networking website Twitter, writing: "Hey, so who's this guy Puck singing 'Sweet Caroline' so good, so good, so good on #Glee? Loved it!!"^[18] Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal described Puck's voice on the song as "earthly, sensual and full", and Entertainment Weekly's Michael Slezak said that Salling did "more than a serviceable job".^[19][20] "Sweet Caroline" was released as a single, available for digital download, and charted at number 34 in the US, 22 in Canada and 37 in Australia.^[21]

Reception

Critical response

Salling as Puck has received some positive reviews. Flandez said of Puck in the first season episode "Mash-Up" that we finally saw him "emerging from his bonehead-punk exterior", and that he "wows us with his sensitive, cool guy turn as a solo singer" performing “Sweet Caroline”.^[19] In his review of the following episode, "Wheels", Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club wrote, "Mark Salling just seems to have a ridiculous amount of chemistry with all of the female cast members in the show, and it's fun to see him and Dianna Agron get in that food fight. Again, fun stuff, but a serious emotional core that keeps the show grounded."^[22]

Accolades

In 2010, Salling was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Breakout Star Male for his performance as Puck. His Glee castmate, Kevin McHale (Artie), was also nominated in that category, but neither actor won the award.^[23] In 2011, he was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Scene Stealer Male along with Glee castmate Chris Colfer (Kurt); again, neither actor won.^[24]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Thomas, Rachel (September 2009). "An Interview With Mark Salling (Puck, 'Glee')". about.com. The New York Times Company. http://tvdramas.about.com/od/glee/a/marksallinginter.htm. Retrieved August 26, 2011. 
2. ^ "Mark Salling Bio". http://www.marksallingmusic.com/bio.php. Retrieved August 26, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Steinberg, Jamie (May 2009). "Mark Salling - Good Glee". Starry Constellation Magazine. http://starrymag.com/content.asp?ID=4322&CATEGORY=INTERVIEWS. Retrieved June 2, 2009. 
4. ^ Jensen, Michael (October 22, 2009). "Mark Salling Makes "Sweet" Music on "Glee"". AfterElton.com. Logo. http://www.afterelton.com/people/2009/10/mark-salling. Retrieved August 22, 2011. 
5. ^ Godwin, Jennifer (December 19, 2009). "Glee Boss on Showmance: "We Have Some Plans to Give the People What They Want"". E! Online. http://uk.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b158760_glee_boss_on_showmance_we_have_some.html?sid=twitterfeed_kristin&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=twitterfeed&utm_campaign=twitterfeed_kristin. Retrieved December 19, 2009. 
6. ^ "Glee: "Silly Love Songs" Review". IGN. February 9, 2011. http://tv.ign.com/articles/114/1148604p1.html. Retrieved May 15, 2011. 
7. ^ ""Silly Love Songs"". The A.V. Club (The Onion). February 9, 2011. http://www.avclub.com/articles/silly-love-songs,51406/. Retrieved May 15, 2011. 
8. ^ "Pilot". Ryan Murphy (director, writer), Brad Falchuk (writer), Ian Brennan (writer). Glee. Fox. September 2, 2009. No. 1, season 1.
9. ^ ^{a b} "Acafellas". John Scott (director), Ryan Murphy (writer), Brad Falchuk (writer), Ian Brennan (writer). Glee. Fox. September 16, 2009. No. 3, season 1.
10. ^ "Preggers". Brad Falchuk (writer, director). Glee. Fox. September 23, 2009. No. 4, season 1.
11. ^ "Wheels". Brad Falchuk (writer, director). Glee. Fox. November 11, 2009. No. 9, season 1.
12. ^ "Hairography". Brad Falchuk (writer, director). Glee. Fox. November 25, 2010. No. 11, season 1.
13. ^ "Sectionals". Brad Falchuk (writer, director). Glee. Fox. December 9, 2009. No. 13, season 1.
14. ^ "Born This Way". Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (director), Brad Falchuk (writer). Glee. Fox. April 26, 2011. No. 18, season 2.
15. ^ "Prom Queen". Eric Stoltz (director), Ian Brennan (writer). Glee. Fox. May 10, 2011. No. 20, season 2.
16. ^ "New York". Brad Falchuk (director, writer). Glee. Fox. May 24, 2011. No. 22, season 2.
17. ^ Morris, Christopher (December 4, 2009). "Keeping 'Glee' in tune". Variety. Reed Business Information. Archived from the original on February 12, 2011. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118012245.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&ref=bd_tv. Retrieved December 6, 2009. 
18. ^ Dos Santos, Kristin; Godwin, Jennifer (October 22, 2009). "This Just In: Fox Pulls Dollhouse; Neil Diamond Hearts Glee". E! Online. E!. Archived from the original on February 12, 2011. http://uk.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b150096_this_just_in_fox_pulls_dollhouse_neil.html. Retrieved February 15, 2010. 
19. ^ ^{a b} Flandez, Raymund (October 22, 2009). "“Glee” Season 1, Episode 8: TV Recap". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/10/22/glee-season-1-episode-8-tv-recap/. Retrieved October 27, 2009. 
20. ^ Slezak, Michael (October 22, 2009). "'Glee': Rating the iTunes downloads from episode 8, 'Mash Up'". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc.. Archived from the original on February 12, 2011. http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/22/glee-episode-8-itunes-downloads/. Retrieved October 27, 2009. 
21. ^ "Glee Cast - Sweet Caroline". aCharts.us. Archived from the original on February 12, 2011. http://acharts.us/song/51431. Retrieved February 15, 2010. 
22. ^ VanDerWerff, Todd (November 12, 2009). ""Wheels"". The A.V. Club. The Onion. http://www.avclub.com/articles/wheels,35290//. Retrieved September 2, 2011. 
23. ^ "Teen Choice Awards 2010 Nominations". Celebglitz. June 15, 2010. http://celebglitz.com/38419/Celebrity-Gossip/teen-choice-awards-2010-nominations.aspx. Retrieved August 11, 2011. 
24. ^ Votta, Rae (June 29, 2011). "Teen Choice Awards 2011 Nominees Announced: Harry Potter vs Twilight". The Huffington Post (AOL). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/29/teen-choice-awards-2011-nominees_n_887197.html. Retrieved August 1, 2011. 

External links

• Puck at Fox.com
• Puck at the Internet Movie Database