A Gleek Who Doesn't Like 'Glee'?

c. October 2010


I want to like Glee. I really do. In fact I should love Glee, be a diehard ‘Gleek’, if you will. As a former High School theater devotee and chorus member who loves musicals I’m part of the show’s target audience (the rest of the target being tween girls). So I tune in most weeks, but usually watching feels more like a chore than a treat. Watching the antics of The Breakfast Club version 2.0 characters has become something done by rote with the hope that this time will be different. More often than not, I am disappointed and after tuning in to the first two episodes of season 2 I’ve realized that I need to let it go. I just can’t help but feel like this show is practically made for me, so what’s the problem?

I have come to realize that my overarching aversion to the show is the very thing that should be the highlight: the singing. The standard argument against musicals, heard, primarily, from straight males, is that the singing is too random. “No one breaks out in song like that in real life.”, they argue. Well, true enough, but at least when a character breaks out in song during ‘Oklahoma!’ or ‘West Side Story’ said song compliments the plot and, importantly, sounds natural. It works because the action and progression of the plot don’t come to a grinding halt while a song is sung and, most likely, a dance is done. Instead the story continues and is furthered by the musical interlude.

On Glee it seems the exact opposite is true. Sure, every once in a while the musical selection is poignant or meaningful to the plot, but more often than not it isn’t. The performances are jarring speed bumps come upon at random intervals over the course of the hour. Worse, the show uses auto-tune like it’s going out of style, which, to my ear, in this application, makes the musical selections sound so fake and overproduced that I am not able to enjoy what should be the most enjoyable part of the show.

So, with a twinge of remorse, I’m erasing the Glee season pass from my TiVo. Sure, I’ll miss Sue Sylvester and Kristin Chenoweth’s boozy guest spots, but I can’t take another season of hollow, forced Glee. Besides, I’ll always be a ‘Gleek’ at heart.