Reviews

TV Review: Glee

16 July 2019

By Lauren E. White

tv-review-glee

5/5

As co-creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuck and Ian Brennan say in the very first episode of Glee, the literal definition of the word is: “open delight or pleasure”. Glee – the show and the word itself – is all about sheer happiness and joy. To be gleeful is to watch Glee – that is one thing I’m certain of.

The show is centred around a group of students involved in their high school’s performing arts club – the Glee Club – who have to fight tooth and nail to make sure their club is valued at their school. Each one of the students is an outcast somehow, and most of them experience bullying.

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Netflix has just added Glee to its programmes worldwide, meaning that like thousands of others, I am rewatching this absolutely amazing TV creation. I first watched Glee when I was about 11 and missed at least half of the hilarity involved. Glee is quick-witted, sharp and joyfully adult.

Everything about Glee is exceptional, unique and exciting. The characters are ones you have never seen before, ranging from the crazy-yet-adorable Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), the sassy black teen Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), the strong, gay boy who grows into a man, Kurt (Chris Colfer), the quarterback who puts love before pride, Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) and pretty much everyone else in the cast. Each character is dynamic, unique and genuinely special. Glee represents so many communities and ethnicities and religions and it works.

Glee is a far cry from the political correctness kind of TV show. It doesn’t preach – it educates. There is no PC humour in this show, in fact, most of the humour comes from Jane Lynch’s exceptional portrayal of Sue Sylvester who is the irresistable villain of the show. It’s this cruel and savage humour that makes the show work as well as it does.

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Also, though, this show deals with all kinds of issues, which explains why it is so adored by millions around the world. There’s the teenage pregnancy of Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron), the dealings of sexuality with Kurt, Santana and Brittany, Arty’s disability, as well as virginity and mental health issues, delivered perfectly by Jayma Mays as Emma Pillsbury.

This show is hilarious, genuinely inspiring and utterly crazy. We need a bit of crazy in our lives, as well as something that is so unashamedly vibrant and cheesy as Glee. Also, they can all really, really sing.

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