A Heap of Ketchup - Glee

So, Friday Jay1 and I were talking about the awesomeness that is Party Down (a show that we will really have to write about at some point) and I mentioned how the show Greek existed in the same tv universe (which, being a fan of both shows, slayed me).

Only Jay1 thought I was talking about Glee. So for a solid minute we were talking, responding and conversing, but we weren't communicating. Once we figured out that we weren't talking about the same show I said; "Yeah, I've been meaning to give Glee a try."

So I did.



>I've got to admit that Glee is kinda dope. Granted I'm a guy who enjoys the occasional musical. I dig Westside Story and Moulin Rouge is my secret weapon to scoring on a first date.

Seriously, that flick works better than roofies.

Anyway, Glee completely won me over. Like, it won me over to the point where I blew through all five episodes on Hulu in a day. The show is that entertaining. It's got some great characters, decent writing and it can be really funny at times.

If I had to give you sum up the show in one sentence I'd say it's Election with musical numbers. That's not completely accurate, but it's definitely got a tone that's similar to that great film. You've got a teacher who's trying to inspire his students, through song.

No, it's really not that cheesy.

The pilot was your standard uplifting high school underdog story, but I'm pretty sure I became a fan when four middle-aged members of the faculty joined together as the Accafellas and started singing hit songs by Montell Jordan.

Oops, I meant "hit song."

Anyway that was goofy fun. They've also used songs by Jazmine Sullivan and Beyonce. It's a show that's at least trying to stay current.

There are really a couple of characters that completely steal every scene they're in. First, Jane Lynch's "Sue Sylvester" is awesome. If she's in the episode, she's got the quotable from that episode. Sylvester's got the swagger and arrogance of Ted Knight, but without the bumbling. She's just the perfect match of actor and writing combining to create a great character.

Another great character is Stephen Tobolowsky's "Sandy Ryerson." Ryerson's a flaming closet case that elicits laughs whenever he even appears onscreen. He's actually the teacher who's ousted from supervising the Glee Club in the first episode, but he's popped up in most of the episodes thus far.

Then you toss in funny guest stars like Kristen Chenowith and Josh Groban and you've got a really solid program. Because it's a niche program, I'm going to bestow it with "the best show that you're not watching" status, but if you're even a bit curious, you should check it out.