Joss Whedon takes the helm of 'Glee'

Joss Whedon directed Tuesday's episode of "Glee" (8 p.m., Ch. 13).

He has directed musicals previously. The creator and executive producer of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was at the helm of that show's musical episode. And, of course, his cult favorite is "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."

"Doing 'Buffy' and doing 'Dr. Horrible' were both great prep for something like this," Whedon told TV critics in a conference call. "It's not, obviously, my first rodeo. It's different, 'Glee,' but knowing a little bit of the realities of the difference in a day's work between shooting a musical number and shooting just a regular scene is very useful.

"It's the kind of thing that I would like to spend a lot more of my time doing. I love musicals deeply and dearly. So this was a return to home for me. Not my home, but a very welcoming one."

The episode, titled "Dream On," features a return appearance by Idina Menzel ("Wicked"), who sings a duet of "I Dreamed a Dream" with Lea Michelle (who plays Rachel). There's a dance number featuring Kevin McHale (wheelchair-bound Artie).

And Whedon is reunited with Neil Patrick Harris, who starred in "Dr. Horrible." Harris plays Bryan Ryan, Mr. Schuester's (Matthew Morrison) former high school nemesis, who makes trouble for the glee club.

"I am so tired of that guy! Why do they always make me direct Neil? Why the pain?" Whedon joked. "Neil is a consummate pro and a dear friend, which is a nice combination. … I feel like he's one of those people who expresses the way I wish I could express myself. He's like a muse.

"And he's friends with Matt (Morrison), so the sort of rivalry/affection between them just informed the whole thing so much. We had such a good time."

With the exception of a couple of episodes of "The Office," all of Whedon's previous TV directing credits have been for shows he created and produced ("Buffy," "Angel," "Firefly" and "Dollhouse").

"I think a lot of people assumed, because I've run shows, that I was going to go in there and be working with them on (the script). But honestly, I am just a visiting director in this situation," he said, crediting executive producers Brad Falchuk (who wrote the episode) and Ryan Murphy and co-executive producer Ian Brennan. "This is their world, and it's a privilege to walk in it, but I'm not going to walk all over it."

Other than a few "minor tweaks" to a "beautiful script," Whedon said he stuck to directing.