Give in to the Glee, by Megan Clinard

What you might have gathered thus far from my minimal reviews is that I have a strong passion for A) music and B) social outcasts. Though I promise to broaden my critical horizons in later blogs, there is a new series that I must geek out on. This fall, the creators of the whacked-out and sometimes intriguing “Nip / Tuck” have blended my two loves into the hour long comedy with a heart, “Glee.” Now, I know what you might be thinking. A show about teen drama mixed in with both showtunes and mainstream radio hits… it’s as if “High School Musical” vomited on the CW.

But the saving grace of “Glee” is the talent, the writing, and the pitch perfect satire. If “Glee” wasn’t in on the joke, it would be a painful, false gimmick in the vein of Disney’s 80s “Kids Inc.” (Though the six year old in me will defend that show till the day I die). Even as the bright vocal ingénue Rachel Berry, played by Leah Michele, snaps “There’s nothing ironic about show choir”, the words bleed with hilarity because the creators not only understand the ridiculousness of poppy songs with jazz hands, they milk the joke for all it’s worth.

Not even the “normal” kids are safe, as jock Finn Hudson says, “We’re all losers.” And the show takes every stereotype of high school and bedazzles it with sarcasm. Comedic talent like Stephen Tobolowsky, Jayma Mays, and Jane Lynch milk every laugh out from their roles, while the majority of the cast of newcomers are still trying to find the truth in the characters without letting the comedy slip by.

“Glee” will pass or fail depending on the heart of the show. And with music on their side and Broadway talents like “The Light in the Piazza’s” Matthew Morrison and “Spring Awakening’s” Leah Michele, you can get there in seconds. But both worlds must fit together, and in the first episode, they are still finding that mix. Michele can get to the soul of her character and why the audience should route for a bratty over achiever within three minutes of her Les Miserables audition song “On My Own”. Though when glee club instructor Will Schuester, played by Morrison, opens up about the happiest moment of his life being in show choir as the background plays “That’s the way I like it”, it feels more pitiful than hilarious. Yet, my hope- and I’m sure the hope of the Fox network- is that you’ll give these pathetic losers a chance. You will embrace the cheese and new takes on familiar tunes without the petty judgment of American Idol, but stories and feelings that can only be expressed in my favorite two languages: humor and melodies.