subject: Glee: An Uplifting Series With Biting Humor [print this page] Author: cherry Author: cherry
GLEE is an uplifting series with biting humour that features a soundtrack of hit music from past to present. The show follows an optimistic high school teacher, WILL SCHUESTER (Matthew Morrison), as he tries to refuel his own passion while reinventing the high school's glee club known as New Directions and challenging a group of outcasts to realize their star potential. It's not an easy task when the pitch-imperfect club includes MERCEDES (Amber Riley), a forceful diva-in-training; ARTY (Kevin McHale), a geeky guitarist; KURT (Chris Colfer), a dramatic soprano; TINA (Jenna Ushkowitz), a punk rocker; and self-proclaimed "star" RACHEL (Lea Michele), a perfectionist firecracker. McKinley's cruel high school caste system prevents the glee club from flourishing, so Will recruits FINN (Cory Monteith), the quarterback with movie star looks, to join the group even though he wants to protect his reputation with his holier-than-thou girlfriend, QUINN (Dianna Agron), and his arrogant teammate, PUCK (Mark Salling). With harsh criticism from everyone, including Will's tough-as-nails wife TERRI (Jessalyn Gilsig) and McKinley's egotistical cheerleading coach SUE SYLVESTER (Jane Lynch), he is determined to prove them all wrong and lead the glee club to the greatest competition of them all: Nationals. The pilot episode of the show was broadcast after American Idol on May 19, 2009, and the first season began airing on September 9, 2009. On September 21, 2009, Fox officially gave the series a full-season pick-up. Glee aired its mid-season finale on December 9, 2009 and will have a 4-month hiatus before returning on April 13, 2010 with the remaining 9 episodes of the season. On January 11, 2010, Fox President, Kevin Reilly announced at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that Glee has been renewed for a second season. The show's creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan first conceived of Glee as a film. Murphy selects the series' music, maintaining a balance between show tunes and chart hits. Songs covered in the show are released on iTunes during the week of broadcast, and a series of Glee albums will be released through Columbia Records, beginning with Glee: The Music, Volume 1, which was released on November 3, 2009. The music of Glee has been a commercial success, with over two million digital sales. The response to the show has been generally positive. Alessandra Stanley in The New York Times highlighted the pilot episode's unoriginality and stereotyped characters, but praised the showmanship and talent of the cast. David Hinckley in The Daily News opined that the show was imperfect and implausible but "potentially heart warming", while Robert Bianco in USA Today noted casting and tone problems, but commented positively on the show's humor and musical performances. Mary McNamara for the Los Angeles Times wrote that the show had a wide audience appeal, calling it "the first show in a long time that's just plain full-throttle, no-guilty-pleasure-rationalizations-necessary fun." The series was nominated for four 2010 Golden Globe Awards including, Best Comedy Series, Best Actress (Lea Michele), Best Actor (Matthew Morrison), and Best Supporting Actress (Jane Lynch).About the Author:
