"Can We Talk About...?" 'Glee'

If you haven't heard about Glee then you've been living under a rock.

I'm sorry to be harsh, but it's true.

Honestly, I can't believe that it has taken me this long to write about since I've probably watched the Sneak Peek Premiere episode about 10 times since it aired. Not kidding. And it's also currently sharing the throne with several other television series that are my favorites even though only one episode has aired thus far.

It aired on May 19th after the American Idol season finale and the rest of the season will continue on Fox "in the fall". The only reason I'm using quotes there is because I don't know the exact date in the fall it will be starting up. Personally, I hope that Fox's version of "in the fall" means "next monday" but I'm pretty sure that's what they call "wishful thinking".

Anyway, you've been reading this and you're probably thinking, "Laura, get to the point. Why should I watch this show? Why is it so apparently awesome?" Well, let me lay it out for you.

1) It's Not High School Musical
Whatever you think Glee might be, it's not. And I know lots of people who think it's going to be like High School Musical. But in those movies, characters have been known to break into song for absolutely no reason. With this show there's a reason for the music: the Glee Club. Also, the music in Glee is about 10 kajillion times better than HSM. In the premiere alone: 'Respect', 'Rehab' and 'Don't Stop Believing'. And believe me, I can't stop listening to the show's version of 'Don't Stop Believing'. It's incredible. Which brings me to my next point...

2) A Talented Cast
Most of the cast in HSM are marginally talented (kind of. Personally I think nails being scratched on a black board is preferable to Vanessa Hudgen's so-called singing) but the cast of Glee is WAY WAY talented. When you listen to the show's reditions of the songs mentioned above, that's the cast singing. There's no stand-ins or lipsynching to another singer's voice. Nope. That's their singing. Lea Michele, who plays Rachel Berry, has the most gorgeous voice of the cast (IMHO). She was in my favorite musical, Spring Awakening, as the lead Wendla and in the show she sings a song from Les Mis called 'On My Own' and it literally has given me chills every time I have watched the premiere episode.

3) Interesting Characters
OK, sure. You've got two of the high school standards: The Betchy Cheerleader and the Cool Quarterback. But they're with a twist. The Betchy Cheerleader is also the president of the Celibacy Club and the Cool Quarterback wants to sing and can play the drums. But there's also the cast of misfits that is the Glee club; Emma Pillsbury, the teacher who's a germiphobe but also has a huge crush on Will Schuester, (the lead adult) who's the spanish teacher but really wants to turn the Glee club around. The cheerleading coach, Sue, is coniving and enjoys the fame that the Cheerios (that's the name of the cheerleading team) have brought upon her. My personal favorite is Will's wife, Terry, who I am pretty sure is ligimately crazy.

4) A Good Message
I'm going to get cheesy for a moment, so prepare yourself. The message that this show is sending (so far) seems to be a pretty good one. It's all about being true to who you are instead of what other people expect you to be. Like Rachel says to Finn (who's the Quarterback, by the way) "You need to stop caring what other people think of it. You're better than all of them." The show is about fighting and working for your dream and what you believe in. And when they sing 'Don't Stop Believing' at the end of the episode, it's a really frigging uplifting moment.

Is that still not enough to convince you? Watch this:



Have I got your attention now?

Now, hurry over to Hulu and give it a watch. Of course, if you're not in the States, you'll need to find some other means to do so. Please? I'll mean a lot to me. Thank you.

xoxo

absolutely LEGENDARY

i am constantly under the impression that more people should be watching CBS's How I Met Your Mother, which quite simply is the best sitcom on television that has a laugh track.

Not only does Bob effing Saget provide the voice over for the main character Ted, but Neil Patrick Harris is one of the principal characters on the show. Also, this show has great potential to provide popular culture with sweet catch phrases that trumps the likes of "YOU'RE FIRED!" and "That's hot!"

I was upset by the fact that not many people I know have been watching it, so I recruited my sister into watching it, who in turn recruited her boyfriend into watching it. And recently, some of my friends have started watching it too. So at least I don't feel so lonely anymore when I say things like "LEGENDARY" or "Haaaave you met Ted?"

My favorite episode, by far, has been the Slap Bet episode in which Barney and Marshall make a bet and the wager is that the winner gets to slap the loser as hard as they possibly can.

As I said, this show has great potential to have an effect on popular culture.

I wouldn't go as far to call this show a "cult hit", but I don't know many people who watch this show despite the fact that it's currently in it's fourth season of being on the air.

Another really cool thing that show does is it draws you into the world of the show by making things that they mention actually exist. Such as the following websites that are mentioned in a couple of the episodes:

http://tedmosbyisajerk.com/
http://guyforceshiswifetodressinagarbagebagforthenextthreeyears.com/
http://marshallandlilyselltheirstuff.com/

If you haven't watched it, you probably should. That is, if you're a fan of good television and good comedy. It's awesome, legendary and you don't even have to suit up to go and watch it.


Also see the fan-blog:
http://have-you-met-ted.com/

EDIT:
My friend Amanda reminded me of another thing that makes the show so incredible. They brought back the HIGH FIVE. And not just your general high five. The specialty high fives - my favorite among them being the Freeze Frame Five. How can you go wrong with a show where the characters are giving each other high fives all the time? Answer: You can't.