2010 in Review: Glee

This is just one post in my wrap up of the year 2010. If you would like to read the rest, click here to the main post.

Like I mentioned in my Best of 2009 blog post, the moment I saw the preview for Glee, I knew it would be my new favorite show. My then-boyfriend couldn't see the preview (because he was sitting across from me), but he even said that Glee was definitely a Sarah show just from hearing the choral arrangement of Journey's reassuring "Don't Stop Believin'" and the brief sound bites from the show.

"Let your little glee kids have their little club, but don't pretend that any of them are something they're not."

That sentence right there said by the ruthless bully herself Sue Sylvester (play by the brilliant Jane Lynch) perfectly depicts most of the hate that Glee gets. Of course, I got a lot of hate for loving the show. Every time someone finds out I live for this show, I usually get the eye roll or a disgusted "Why? It's just show tunes."

Why?

Because I can relate to it. I love Glee because it makes me feel better about my high school experience.

Sure, a high school glee club singing show tunes and pop hits with jazz hands and choreographed dance routines would make anyone uncomfortable or immediately disregard the show. But Glee is more than that. It's not just about what pop song the students are going to cover in the upcoming week or if they're going to win sectionals.

The show is about the underdogs. I know. How many TV shows and Lifetime movies can be made that feature the underdog succeeding? We get it. "Don't pick on the little guy," but yet people still do it.

I was that teen that loved to perform in band (it wasn't a rock band) and choir. And while my high school was more accepting than William McKinley High School (which is sad because they weren't that accepting), being a band nerd didn't exactly mean high status to my classmates, and choir was only cool if you were one of the pretty popular kids, just like Glee's Santana (Naya Rivera) and Brittany (Heather Morris).

I never had slushes thrown in my face (but I've had worse done to me) or no one slammed me in a locker, but I know how it felt to have no one appreciate you because your talent didn't come in sports or you weren't an upper class beautiful person. I could have used those pep talks Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) gives his students week after week as a reminder to ignore all that crap. Not to mention, having my homework be to dress like Lady Gaga and sing "Bad Romance" would have made my semester.

I know it's been 10 years since high school for me so you are probably saying I should just fucking move on and get over it and you're right. I should just man up and forget that those whispers and comments and laughs directed at me ever happened.

Then those former jocks and cheerleaders need to put away their varsity jackets and pom poms and get over their glory days. Whether we admit it or not, those high school years are probably, if not, the most influential years in someone's life. High school is especially rough to those underdogs that the show features at that impressible age.

Sure, Glee has its flaw. I think Lea Michele is seriously overrated. Emmy nominations for playing overachiever Rachel Berry? Any girl can play a whiney spoiled brat. I know I bring out my inner Rachel Berry every month for three to five days. It's called PMS.

And I'm pretty sure it's in Matthew Morrison's contract to look emotionally moved to tears in every epsiode.

But if you remove all the cheesy over-the-top musical numbers that make the eyes rolls from every episode, Glee is actually a great high school TV show with amazing storylines. Each character has their own dramatic gut-wrenching backstory that represent just a handful of situations everyday high school students deal with. How they deal with their problems though is through song.

But what makes it more annoying that the two of the most popular TV shows right now, American Idol or Dancing with the Stars? It's still the same type of renditions of those broadway show tunes or current pop hits. Is it because those songs are taken off the stage to the hallways of a high school that make it cheesy? Is it too much High School Musical for your liking?

Why yes, it does seem like the same plot as High School Musical. But as I mentioned earlier, some of the storylines deal with the same situations that are currently being dealt with that are too real for Disney's perfectly-created world.

There's the talented vocalist who is so determined to get what she wants whether it's to be the next Barbara Streisand or date the hot quarterback that she will do anything to get what she wants (Berry). Even if it means annoying the hell out of everyone, including the audience. While I feel this selfishness has been drilled into our heads every single episode to make me want to crawl into my TV and punch Berry in the face, the creators have at least shown that they recognize this annoying trait. The other characters also make it a point to call her on her shit. If that didn't happen, I would have checked out of this show a long time ago.

Then there's the popular head cheerleader that quickly falls off the top of her world when she discovers she's pregnant (Quinn Fabray). A cliche teen pregnancy storyline. There's a shocker. However, with the always high teen pregnancy rate, it is a reality that needs to be brought yet again to people's attention. Some of the top baby names are inspired by those Twilight movies. Obviously, this country has problems with teen pregnancies.

But one can't forget the storyline with the gay teen Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer). A gay guy singing in glee club? Of course. And yes, he is the stereotypical gay teen we would expect. He lives for Liza Minnelli. He dresses better than I could ever afford and does a great impersonation of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" dance routine. So well that it got him on the football team. Wait, what? Yeah, watch the show for that one. That's totally unrealistic in a small town a la Friday Night Lights, but it was entertaining nevertheless.

The creators behind Glee did an amazing job with Kurt's coming out and how it effects the people in his lives. The Emmy nominations for the actors that play Kurt and Kurt's dad (Mike O'Malley) were definitely justified. Kurt's dad could have been like other parents who just cut their children off and kick them out of the house (although that happens with the pregnant cheerleader), but his father accepted it. After all, he's known since he was three. All he wanted for his birthday was a pair of sensible heels.

He does his best to be accepting and make Kurt happy now that he was out and free to be himself. Of course, there were some bumpy speedbumps along the way, but what parent knows exactly what to do when their teenager is discovering themselves, gay or straight? Parents aren't handed an instruction manual when their child is born.

It was the use of a song ("Rose's Turn") that not only helped Kurt get his frustrations out when his dad seemed to be favoring Finn (Cory Monteith) more than him, it also helped Kurt's dad finally understand just how Kurt felt about the situation. So even if you cut out all the show tunes and pop songs from the show, sometimes a song is the only way to really express how you really feel. Just like with poetry or a letter or a text message. The only different here is that it's said with music.

So yeah, Glee is a little too happy and cheesy for the average person who doesn't like their manhood threatened. But this isn't the first show about the underdogs and it definitely won't be the last. Some shows like to keep it real (Degrassi). Glee just likes to use song and dance.

You can hate on Glee all you want. You can hate on me for loving the show and wishing I could sing and dance like those kids all you want.

At least give the show a chance before you claim it's cheesy crap. That's what bothers me the most. Most of the people who give me crap have never sat through an episode. They see the quick 15 second previews between the shows they are watching and think they'll hate it. Because if you did give the show a chance, you would realize there is more to it. There hasn't been a show like this that brings out my inner music geek, tears to my eyes, and gut-busting laughter all in one episode.

The ironic part of the whole Glee teasing? The ones that hate on the show were usually the ones that teased those students the show is bringing attention to. Sadly, I can't say that I'm surprised.