Glee

'Glee' may not be everyone's cup of tea, but in my opinion, it's a great feel-good teen comedy. The casting is without a doubt great, and each member brings something individual to the show - Lea Michele does an especially great job in her role as Rachel. I also think that the musical numbers add another dimension to the show - they are often fun and done well, and I think they are a good way of introducing many aspects of music to the younger generation... I like the way that this show deals with a wide range of different issues, such as bullying, loss, homosexuality and the various kinds of pressure that many teens face today. I would say that the only thing that lets down the show in places is an occasionally over-cheesy script - I think that some of the more emotional scenes have been slightly tainted by over-doing it a little on the dialogue front.

Overall, though, I have really enjoyed watching this show and at times I have found myself getting quite involved with the characters and their journeys - however I wouldn't recommend it for the cynical amongst us - you might find it quite tiresome...

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...

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.

I will be the first to admit that i was slightly embarrassed that i was as hooked on Glee as i was yet the more i watched the more i began to realise its a teen drama with some good bloody covers. The music is the star of the show and the performances are generally top notch. The first 3 seasons are by far the best however season 4 is still very good. Unfortunately, the show begins to fall off in the latter series' and the storylines become duller which overall drag the other elements down with it. That being said, the early years of Glee are very hard to fault and if you give it a chance it might just surprise you.

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 most look forward to watching out of any other. For this reason, "Glee" gets an A+ in my heart and I hope to form a "Glee" club of my own taking place Tuesday nights on my living room couch.

Glee is certainly a welcome summer booster shot of summer fun.