New Series on Fox Can't Decide What it Wants to be

Glee, the new comedy/musical series has begun its first seasons on Fox, and is much different than anything else on TV. The basis of the show is that a high school Spanish teacher, Will Schuester (played by Matthew Morrison), has become the new director of the “Glee” club to try to help a group of outcast students to realize their potential, and at the same time bring back passion into his own life.

 However, the cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (played by Jane Lynch) is Schuester’s co-director and is doing everything she possibly can to make things harder for him. Because the show is also a musical and not just a comedy, throughout the episodes students break into intricate song and dance numbers usually brought on by significant events in the plot. The show is also strewn with numerous sub plots such as Schuester’s wife faking a pregnancy, a cheerleader trying to hide a pregnancy, and love connections between multiple students.

Based off watching the 6th episode in the series, the easiest way to sum up Glee would be to call it a less annoying “High School Musical”, with a small element of comedy. The plots of secret pregnancies and fake pregnancies does draw you in making you wonder what exactly is going to happen when people learn the truth, but the main plot of the show which is trying to jumpstart this musical group is somewhat boring. The interaction between the students is more interesting than anything to do with the Glee club itself. The Spanish teacher Will Schuester is an interesting character which leaves the audience wanting to know more about him and how he’s going to handle situations, but not enough to drive a show.

As for the musical aspect of the show, while watching the episode, it was tolerable to see the first two or three musical numbers, but after that it just seems to be ridiculous and unnecessary. To the shows credit, the musical numbers are very well sung, and well produced, but it’s very hard to mix a comedic drama and a musical into one show.

And when it comes to the comedy side of the show, Lynch’s character Sue Sylvester is hilarious playing the over the top, extremely intense and at times ignorant and racist cheerleading coach, but besides her character the show lacks any other element of comedy. Schuester is the tightly wound and timid Spanish teacher, and all the students just seem to be dealing with problems in their life. Sylvester is the only one that brings the comedy to the table.

With all this being said, if you’re into musicals and TV drama’s this would be the perfect show for you. If you’re looking for a good new comedy, this will not satisfy you. It has an easy to follow storyline and it’s easy to watch, but this would not be a show I would regularly watch. If you want to give Glee a chance you can catch it every Wednesday at 9pm on Fox.