Show 7.

Glee


Starring: Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Jane Lynch, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Dianna Agron, Jayma Mays, Jessalyn Gilsig, Mark Salling...




Focused around a group of social underdogs who join the glee club to find acceptance with their peers, this is a musical comedy drama with real heart. The glee club is headed by McKinley High's Spanish teacher, Mr Schuester (Morrison). A former student at the school, he took charge of the club to bring it back to the level that it was when he was involved. His story is shown throughout the first series to include a blossoming romance with the school guidance councillor (Mays) and his wife having an hysteric pregnancy which she doesn't tell him that isn't real, causing great pain. He seems to use the club as a form of escape from these things. He shares this with his students in the club.
Things happen at McKinley High that seem improbable (to me) in real life but somehow they seem to work in this setting. The head cheerleader, Quinn Fabray (Argon) gets pregnant by the school's quarterback, Finn Hudson (Montieth), but it's later reveal that the baby is Finn's friend, Noah 'Puck' Puckerman (Salling) (its like Jeremy Kyle for pretty people). Teenage pregnancy is in the news, what seems every other day, but surely this situation isn't a regular occurancy? If it is, god, we are screwed.
Love triangles seem to be a mainstay of the writer's outlook for the show. The club's two leads; Rachel Berry (Michele) and Finn have a thing whilst he is thought to be the father of his girlfriend's baby. Also, the Schue and the mysophobic guidance councillor get close while he's married to his wife, a crazy bitch.
There seems to be so many subplots in any one single episode it seems impossible to keep up, but i think it is possible to create some sort of series arc in your head if you try your hardest.
To be fair to the writers - Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan - choose to tackle lots of different issues such as; homosexuality and peers' view of them, paralysis, teenage pregnancy etc. they could do something that could be twee and even MORE cheesy, instead the issues portrayed have given the show a level of creditability.
Other characters like Kurt Hummel (Colfer), Mercedes Jones (Riley), Artie Abrams (McHale), Tina Cohen-Chang (Ushkowitz) give the show's cast massive diversification of race and sexuality but at points it seems like they are just there to fill the gap to stop critics pointing out a lack of ethnicities. There are a couple of people in there that have a line every 7 episodes or something stupid, I just hope that the second series includes them all in enough detail to show the audience new things about them, giving the show a fuller feel. I am glad to hear that the recurring characters of Santana (Naya Rivera) and Brittany (Heather Morris), cheerleaders that have taken over from Quinn as the most popular people in school, have been promoted to season regulars as of the beginning of the second series. 
I like this show because of many reasons; the music, SUE SYLVESTER! but the main reason is that Glee really doesn't take itself seriously at all, its a campy form of escapism from the outside world full of disappointment and despair. You can sit down for an hour and watch an episode and come out of it and feel so much better for it.
The introduction of Glee is a breath of fresh air at a time when the world needs it, and for that, Ryan Murphy, I salute you.