Glee season 1 review

Who out there thought a series about a group of high school misfits combined in a musical program would be successful? Who besides the "creative" minds behind High School Musical, that is.

Glee has been one of the huge success stories of this past TV season. It is one show that Fox actually hasn't cancelled. Though it never hurts following American Idol, even if it was the most boring season ever. Glee just finished up with last night's season finale. The first half of the season has been available on dvd for a few months. The show has managed to become a marketing machine. There are already three different soundtrack albums for the show with more on the way. At this rate, if the show goes for 5 seasons (which it won't, i'll get into that later) they could be shoving 15 volumes of Glee music down your throats. They will soon catch up with "Now That's What I Call Music 49!" And people are buying these cd's in droves. (what are droves?) Hey, I love Queen, Journey, and Vanilla Ice as much as the next guy, but I don't need the songs to get cuter and over-sung by these gleeks.

There is no singular main character in Glee. Though the plots tend to follow the music teacher - Mr Schuester, the former football star turned choir boy - Finn, and the girl who lives for the stage - Rachel. These characters are surrounded by many cookie cutter fringe-sterotype misfits. You have the gay kid who cries when he sings, the black girl who is loud and always has something to prove, the skinny cheerleader who gets pregnant, and the jock who is a idiot meathead but has a heart of gold. The characters that make up this show are likeable enough and even get into some good characterization, but unfortunately plot lines are recycled week after week. In one episode they all sang Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" which is all about being different but exceptional because of that fact. Every episode feels like a rehash of that. Yes, I know high school is hard and you're different but quit weighing down what could be a fun show week after week.

I think one of my biggest criticisms is that I can't relate to anyone on the show. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely one of the weird kids that belonged in drama club. Though there is no regular average high school kid who is just under the radar. Instead there is only the extreme of each stereotype.

Speaking of characters, one of them absolutely steals the show. Yes, I'm talking about Sue Sylvester. Though she only appears for a few minutes each show she manages to be the best part. She constantly has funny quips and is as good a villain as you can get in high school. I'm just worried that her one-note act might get tired.

Glee is a somewhat lighthearted show that is easy to watch. I wouldn't say it was a comedy by any means. There is usually 1.5 jokes per episode, usually said by Sue or the dumb cheerleader. So why watch? The songs. I might not be the biggest fan of the show but I do get curious about what song they'll do next. Which brings me to my next criticism.

Why is it that when they start singing, it becomes a music video and they lip sync worse than Milli Vanilli? (RIP Vanilli) I know they're trying to be as entertaining as possible and sell some more glee albums, but it throws me off everytime. It's too produced. It's just like on Barney and Friends when they would start singing, and it sounded like someone turned on a cd player and the kids tried to mouth the words. The "kids" (average age 24) on glee have great voices and I wish the music sounded more genuine, more rough even.

Have I made it clear where I stand on this show yet?

All this said, I am a massive TV consumer and have seen more than my fair share of this show. It's not the worst by stretch, but not the best. It's like eating at Fazoli's, which is semi-decent, but wishing it were a fancy Italian Restaurant.

P.S. I really don't see this show going for more than 3 seasons. The kids need to graduate sometime right? I'm not ready for Glee: The College Years. Also, how many 80's songs can there really be? Duran Duran is crossing their fingers for their themed episode.

Glee gets 2 stars out of 5. Sorry Glee. I tried to like you, I just don't think we have that much in common.