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 Glee

(May 20th, 2009.  Editor)                Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Jenna Ushkowitz co-star in the musical comedy series Glee, airing Wednesdays this fall on FOX.

McKinley High School’s Glee Club used to be at the top of the show choir world, but years later, it has turned into a haven for misfits and social outcasts. But at McKinley, things for the Glee Club are about to change. This Musical Comedy series follows Will Schuester (Morrison), an optimistic high school teacher as he tries to refuel his own passion for singing while reinventing the school’s glee club and challenging a group of underdogs to realize their star potential. Scheuster has offered to take on the Herculean task of restoring McKinley’s Glee Club to its former glory with the help of fellow teacher and germaphobe Emma Pilsbury (Mays). It’s a tall order when the brightest stars of the club include Kurt (Colfer), a nerdy soprano with a flair for the dramatic; Mercedes (Riley), a dynamic diva-in-training who refuses to sing back-up; Artie (McHale), a geeky guitarist who spends more time avoiding bullies than chasing girls; and Tina (Ushkowitz), an awkward girl who needs to suppress her stutter before she can take center stage. Will’s only hope lies with two true talents: Rachel Berry (Michele), a perfectionist firecracker who is convinced that show choir is her ticket to stardom; and Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), the popular high school quarterback with movie star looks and a Motown voice who must protect his reputation with his holier-than-thou girlfriend and head cheerleader, Quinn (Agron), and his arrogant football teammate, Puck (Salling). Driven by his secret past, Will is determined to do whatever it takes to make Glee great again, even though everyone around him thinks he’s nuts. He’s out to prove them all wrong, from his tough-as-nails wife Terri Schuester (Gilsig) to McKinley’s scheming cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Lynch) to an über-hip world that thinks jazz hands and sequined tuxedos litter the road to infamy rather than pave the way to Hollywood dreams.

It would be very easy to pass by this one as a rip-off of "High School Musical" but this series is trying very hard to be more than that. In between some great musical numbers there is a script with some real situations and some dialogue that challenges the cast to be more than singers and dancers. Balancing this is a strong performance from Jane Lynch, who steals the show as a tough cheerleading coach with a deadpan delivery. The comedy provided by her character is a much needed break from the drama that helps to keep this show light and fun.

The pilot episode of the series does a very good job to embrace and humanize the stereotypical characters. Every member of the cast is a real person, even if they are in a somewhat unreal situation. The intended audience of young women and female teens should create a solid audience base for this fun series. The challenge will be to take the plot somewhere that this audience wants to follow.

 

Editor

 

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