TV 2009/2010: Glee

Glee.

I shouldn’t like this show. It’s about high school. It’s a musical. There are a number of silly-- to ludicrous-- plotlines…


But I highly enjoed it. I’ve laughed out loud more at this show than at almost any other show this year.

There is an incredible type of magic working behind this show. The characters are broad and stereotypical at first (and at second and third), but the actors and the writers somehow make them feel fresh. They manage to find that perfect song for the moment that makes it very difficult to not stand up and clap after it’s sung. If you would have told me a year ago that I would think Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” or Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” are great songs, I would have laughed. But somehow, in the context of the show and how the songs work into the plot, they are pretty great.

[Of course, the show may be beginning to suffer from “too much of a good thing” as the back half of the season had musical numbers jammed into the episodes a bit more noticeably than the front half. I hope the show doesn’t go overboard with songs just to sell a few more of them on iTunes.  In fact, had it not felt so cluttered in the back-half of the season, it would have been in the running of my favorite show of the year.]

Even the fact that the show absolutely plays on my emotions is magical. I know that certain scenes or lines were done just to get me to feel one way or another. I can see it coming a mile away. But I can’t help feeling how I am “supposed” to feel when the moment arrives. I fight that kind of blatant manipulation as much as I can with everything I watch or read—but this show hooks me damn near every time.

It’s wonderful to just, plain feel good while watching a show.

Of course, I’m making it sound like it’s all sunshine and roses, and this show is not. One of my favorite elements is the dark humor. These kids are kids. They constantly rip on each other. No one can ever get a break. That’s how teenagers behave; they can’t let someone else get the upper hand.

And while the entire cast is capable, for the most part, I have to single out Jane Lynch as being one of the most reprehensible, evil villains in my many years of television watching. Her cheerleading coach is so wildly over-the-top, you have to love her. You can’t look away. Lynch is usually excellent in any role I’ve seen her in, but this may be a career highlight for her. Loud, sarcastic, and sharp as a knife.

And I also have to mention my favorite character, Brittany. The prototypical dumb cheerleading blonde. She doesn’t get to say much, but I looked forward to her one line an episode, such as “Dolphins are gay sharks” or “I think my cat is reading my diary.” Never makes sense, never has anything to do with anything. She’s just, plain hilarious.

So, yeah, the show has its silly moments-- and its downright “what the Hell were they thinking?” moments (fake pregnancies, anyone?)-- and the cast doesn’t always ring completely true… But the show is fun, it’s smart, it makes you feel for the characters and the situations, it uses music in ways that not many other TV shows (or movies) have used it, and it has made pretty great use of guest stars or recurring actors (Mike O’Malley really impressed me). It’s definitely worth watching.