Glee

Media: Musical Comedy Television Show
Creators: Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk
Executive Producers: Dante De Loreto, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk
Network: 20th Century Fox

Plot Summary: A group of kids at William McKinley decide to start a glee club, with the help of teacher Will Schuester. Unfortunately, the cheer coach Sue Sylvester does not appreciate the new club, that is taking away funding and resources from her cheer squad. The group is in constant risk of being disbanded, both through problems within the circle of teens that make up the club, and through the evil plotting of Sue. Glee is a 60 musical comedy that uses an ensemble cast, with most of the storyline revolving around the glee kids, their teacher Mr. Schuester, and Sue Sylvester, the shows villain.

Critical Evaluation: Often silly and over the top, this show still seems to capture what life in high school is like, despite the fact that most of the cast has at one point or another broken into song while wandering down the school hallways. Despite the fact that this is a comedy, the show still manages to tackle tough issues, like teen pregnancy, sex education versus abstinence educations, physical and mental handicaps, and the many layers of relationships both with friends and with significant others. The show tackles all of these issues, with varying levels of success, but always with a lot of heart. The dialogue is often ridiculous and hilarious, and Sue Sylvester is a gem of a character. The diverse group of teens that make up the Glee club almost ensures that every teen will be able to relate to someone on the show, and there are plenty of attractive actors and actresses for teens to develop crushes on. A fun show that still manages to slip in life lessons, Glee is definitely on my recommendation list for teens.

Reader's Annotation: Glee Club versus the Cheerios. Which team will reign supreme?

Creator Information: Ryan Murphy has had careers as a journalist, script writer and televsion producer. He has created three popular shows, Nip/Tuck, Glee, and Popular. He also wrote and directed the cult hit Running With Scissors, a movie based upon author Augustan Burroughs' memoir with the same title. (Information taken from the creator's wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Murphy_%28writer%29)

Curricular Ties:Theater

Genre:Musical comedy, television

Book talking ideas:

• Why does Sue hate Will so much?
• Do you think Will's relationship with Emma is appropriate? Why or why not?
• Why was Terri so afraid to tell Will that she was not pregnant?
  

Challenge issues:n/a

Interest Age: Grades 6 and up

Why I selected this piece: The show is cheesy and fun, while still managing to talk about important teen issues.