Glee (2009)

What I really liked about "Glee" in its first two seasons was that the characters and their situations were so easy to relate to, especially for someone like me (and many others, naturally) who went to a conservative, small-town school and never seemed to fit in. Despite the odd ridiculous moment or some bland covers of already bland songs, "Glee" became a true guilty pleasure, and I put the emphasis more on pleasure than on guilty. However, the whole premise of it involving a group of pupils at a high school would mean that it was never meant to last that long, and I do think it should have stopped once the main characters had left the school. Now the ridiculousness has become more and more pronounced, and I've stopped paying attention to the series. Sorry.

Even though it has lost its spark, Glee did something huge: it changed the way people see TV. With music, well written characters and a simple storyline, Glee changed the game. This show made people talk and made people sing. It could've been a mess from the beginning, but Ryan Murphy did a pretty good job until the last three seasons. I would like to remember Glee as a TV series that helped others in a way no other TV show could at that moment. We have to be honest, even if you hated it or liked it: before Glee there were no other show as open minded as this one. Glee, at the end of the day, is an optimistic, happy, and simple show. It doesn't try to be more than what it is, but as far as Glee can go, it had a pretty good run.

I can just picture the creator, Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck) tossing ideas around with producers or writers or what-have-you and just saying "Let's do something happy." If this is the goal, "Glee" delivers.

With the combination of dreary times and warm weather "Glee" is just what the doctor ordered! Was the plot amazing? Not according to what we're used to. Shows these days seem to continually descend in to a deeper and deeper spiral of darkness. Don't get me wrong, I love it! Prickly characters are called "love-to-hate" for good reason, but there's a reason there is more than one category on the food pyramid. "Glee" is the perfect answer to a well- rounded entertainment diet.

At the very least "Glee" has set itself up to be a showcase for amazing talent including Lea Michele who rightfully earned a name for herself on Broadway with the hit "Spring Awakening" as Rachel Berry and newcomer Cory Monteith as Finn Hudson who may not be as talented as Michele, but was perfectly cast for the part. He does exactly what he's supposed to do which is to keep up with and support Michele who will send chills down your spine.

"Glee" seems like a familiar tale "The football player wants to sing and the unpopular girl also wants to sing!" but when was the last time we really saw this? Okay... disregard "High School Musical." This isn't "HSM." This is "HSM" done right--with real talent--and not actually a musical. The songs are all time-tested and well loved familiar tunes, i.e. Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and the show isn't designed around the songs or for the songs like a musical... you'll know what I mean when you see it!

*Synopsis* A bright eyed and optimistic teacher, Will Schuester (played by Matthew Morrison) decides to revamp the Glee club. He dreams of making it something truly great around which the school can come together. From where we, the audience stand, he came into a glee club already filled with tremendous talent including Rachel Berry who dreams of fame and carving a niche for herself, but what was missing was a strong male lead. To do this Will (nefariously) recruits the star football player who finds himself right at home. *End Synopsis*

There may be moments in the pilot where the not-instant-fan may consider "I'll bet this moment was meant to make me laugh out loud... but I'm not," but I say to you that is not what this show is about. It's about the average... the conceivable, but if you and the people around you just wanted to sing and were good at it too. Most importantly it's a showcase just meant to keep you smiling.

Even if characters were to, in the course of time in the sometimes unpredictable television world, jump into bed with each other or perform a murder, I take comfort in the feeling this show will not be about that. It will be about happy entertainment with an "I wish I could buy the world a Coke" attitude.

Because this show does not have the (ironically) familiar twists, dips, flips, turns and drama other shows offer, I feel the logical grade to assign this show would have to be a B- for being somewhat "undeveloped" by modern standards. (Nobody has been abused to speak of yet.) However, despite the undeniable likelihood this show will never be listed in my top five, even for the year, I can pretty much guarantee it will be the show which I m

Season 1 was fantastic. The plot was amazing and the characters where like able (or at least relatable). Then season 2 came along. It wasn't as brilliant as season 1 but it was still enjoyable. Season 3 started well but then became a downward spiral. The characters were starting to loose what made them, them. I could still watch all of it but sometimes I just couldn't stand some parts. Now we're on season 4 and I just cannot stand the show anymore. I could barely make it through the first episode. The new characters are just awful and there's nothing like able. They tried to make a new Puck with Jake but they failed because no one can be Puck. I just wanted so bad to keep watching the show in hopes that it would get better but now I'm on episode 2 and I'm done. Season 1 episode 1 had me Immedietly but this newest season is a complete disaster. And worst of all is that all the returning characters have completely lost their spark. I wouldn't be surprised if the show got canceled after this season.

Glee presents a nascent high school glee club ready to blossom with the right talent and encouragement.

The lead characters from the adviser to the historically unpopular glee club members are genuinely engaging and attractive, albeit even as occasional subjects of hyperbole.

Our family found it hard to resist the show's charm. From teenagers to parents we were hooked and are anxious for more.

It will be challenging to keep up the level of production demonstrated in the pilot episode, but if Glee manages, Fox will have a truly great hit on its hands.

Lea Michele deserves special mention for her clear, powerful voice and high energy whether moving or standing still. As a sophomore desperate for fame she's credible and her dream doesn't seem impossible when you hear her sing.

I started binge watching this show everybody was talking about only a few weeks ago and grew to love it, for the music, dancing and humor... Santana was really cruelly funny, Brittany a hell of a dancer, Rachel and Mercedes have an amazing voice, Kurt is your bff... They lost me early in season 4 with the new (some of them flat boring) characters but the "older" cast were never far away so the pill ended up easy to swallow. It's a great show, you just feel like shaking it and dancing all the time while watching... It's just so sad to know that some of the lead actors are no more...

Glee is a great drama/comedy show to binge. Seasons 1-3 were really fun to watch and kept me interested, but 4-6 really went downhill. It was still a fun watch, just not the same quality and character development. Still worth a watch for the first 3 seasons and the great music!

I've been watching and rewatching glee since it first aired in 2009 when i was 5. I'm now 15 and I still watch it on a regular basis. It tackles so many touchy subjects in a really good way, it has really good humor (which is one of my favor parts), i like 99% of the songs they do in it. I will say the first three seasons are the best ones but like all high school shows it's obviously not going to be as good as it was when they were all in high school, like gossip girl, one tree hill (still really good after time jump, etc. it's cheesy but it's purposefully cheesy and makes it fun. the teen romance is fantastic, Finn and Rachel are absolutely adorable, they did however cause a lot of drama between the two which stressed me out as a hardcore Finchel shipper. the show definitely went downhill when Cory Monteith died since he was the heart of the show and after the tragic loss it just didn't feel the same anymore. i still 100% recommend this show if you like cheesy high school shows with musical numbers (especially show tunes)

As someone who gets hives when a Journey song comes on the radio, I was taken by surprise at how good Glee is. An exceptionally attractive and talented cast focuses a spotlight--both figuratively and literally--on the ultimate dweebs of high school: glee club.

It is no surprise that this show arises from the same writer for "Popular" . . . that short-lived and underrated second-tier network series with a similar setting. What is surprising is how well they integrate the music with the story line. What keeps it from being saccharine is the self-awareness and not-even-close-to-subtle wink to the camera that "yes, we are manipulating your feelings from high school." It is remarkably effective. At the same time it is a parody, it still connects us to that time when we all felt like the outcasts in High School. And make us feel like we could have had a voice if we only had a glee club like this one.

OK...so the plot line of the new Fox TV series "Glee" leaves a lot to be desired. In many instances, plot points from earlier episodes are ignored entirely in later episodes (like the mandate that all songs be about God or balloons after the club put on a sexed-up routine to "Push It" at a pep rally) and the story seems to be based more on recurring themes than a cohesive plot line. But who cares?! The real magic of the show lies in its two strong points: the characters and the music.

The characters are hilarious, and obviously a masterful fusion of great acting and clever writing. They are over the top, extreme, and purposefully cliché. Whenever any of the characters gets a section of internal dialogue in the show, it usually leaves me breathless with laughter.

The music is brilliant. Kudos to Fox for their continued clever use of iTunes that they started with American Idol. The cast covers songs from all genres and are unerringly original and 100% fun. I'm seriously impressed with all members of the cast. (Especially as it becomes apparent that ALL of the cast can sing, as Emma revealed in last week's episode). It makes me wish fervently that there had been a glee club in my high school.

So the plot is lacking...I really can't bring myself to care.