Ranking the New TV Shows: #14 – Glee

The 14th best show is something of an anomaly in that the pilot was released this spring, but the rest of the series will not air until next fall. With just one episode to judge, it probably got docked a few points. Looking purely at potential, we could have put it a few spots higher. Either way, from 14 on is a huge step up from the bottom of the rankings. All of the shows from here on out show a lot of promise.

The show: “Glee“
Synopsis: A quirky version of “High School Musical” for Prime Time television from the creator of “Nip/Tuck“. Teacher and all-around great guy, Will Scheuster (Matthew Morrison) fights to keep the Glee Club alive and recruit new talent in a high school focused on popularity, cheerleading, sports, etc.
Debuted: May 19th, 2009 (Official Series Premiere: September, 16, 2009)
Our take: The show is pretty funny, with humor ranging from Jane Lynch’s macho cheer coach to the eccentricities of the nerd crowd.  The primary core of characters each have a distinct voice.   There’s the Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron), the super achiever who’s got the perfectly contradictory balance of insecurity and overconfidence.  Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) is the yin to her yang as the nice guy jock who dares to join the uncool Glee Club to the chagrin of his fellow football players. It goes on like that with other characters. Each one has their own idiosyncrasies and comedic style. On the other hand it’s a little black-and-white with the good guys and bad. The puppet strings are obvious. Will is too nice, and his wife is clearly an excuse for an obstacle, not a real person.
What it would need to do to keep me watching: The pilot of “Glee” climaxes, of course, with a big song and dance routine. I felt they missed a huge opportunity to show the talent of the cast by way overproducing it. Earlier musical numbers stood out because they seemed (and were) real. I know they wanted to really blow everyone away with the grand finale, but the outcome was phony. This was a chance to stand out from other tv shows and even movies by having an organic vocal performance that the audience could connect with. They could have had a comedy series with a touch of Broadway. Instead they have a comedy series with a touch of Britney Spears. Will I watch next year? It’s iffy.