Its refreshing to see the show try something completely out of left field. This was the same old story line that seems to be used week in and week out. An hour episode was also a welcomed breath of fresh air. With the additional time, the plot line was able to fully develop and mature and not feel rushed like it can tend to at time with a 30min slot.
Story line aside take for instance every scene that the character JG was in. There was some sort of beat always going on. It set a tone for each scene with out adding any spoken words or imagery. Im not sure how you would repeat this successfully. Kudos to the producers for taking advantage of the music themed characters and story line.