Glee is going mute. The hit FOX comedy is planning an upcoming episode that will be an homage to classic silent movies, featuring absolutely no dialogue. Even more surprising, the episode will also silence the singing.

The very special episode of Glee, scheduled to air April 31, will center on New Directions’ quest to communicate with each other without words. BuddyTV spoke to someone involved in the show about the episode, but he asked to remain anonymous, so I’ll just refer to him as Myan Rurphy.

“Writing dialogue is so exhausting that we never have any time to work on plots, so the only way we could actually have something happen on the show was to remove all the talking,” Rurphy said in between sips of a virgin watermelon mojito while sunbathing in the nude beside his infinity pool. “Plus, I’m sick and tired of getting in trouble with Lindsay Lohan for all the lines on the show about how she’s a dirty, thieving skank. Which she is.”

The special silent Glee will also feature a storyline where, to preserve her vocal cords for Nationals, Rachel Berry spends the entire episode with duct tape over her mouth. “I know it’s a dumb idea,” Rurphy said, “But she ruined 28 takes because she couldn’t not sing, so muzzling that diva was the only way to make it work.”

While there won’t be any dialogue in the entire hour, the episode will feature musical accompaniment to set the mood. If you’re sad that this means a week without any new Glee songs to download on iTunes, don’t worry. The episode is going to feature instrumental covers of hit songs, including the holiday classic “Silent Night,” Bjork’s “It’s Oh So Quiet” and No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak.”

Glee‘s daring new episode is clearly inspired by the classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Hush,” which featured the residents of Sunnydale having their voices stolen by evil fairy tale monsters known as the Gentlemen. That episode earned Joss Whedon his only Emmy nomination for the show and is generally regarded as one of its best.

Will Glee‘s silent episode be as successful as Buffy’s? Fans will have to tune in to find out, but by being forced not to rely on snappy dialogue or singing, perhaps Glee can focus on plot and, ironically, find its voice.

UPDATE: Happy April Fools’ Day!

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(Image courtesy of FOX)

John Kubicek

Senior Writer, BuddyTV

John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire DiariesSupernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.