Glee

The problem is that almost none of the characters appealed to me; when they do something nice, they screw it up. The characters are too twisted for my taste. Hallelujah USA! I'm only rooting for the overly clean-cut teacher and Will. The rest is such uninteresting gravy, with the occasional good bark out of it in the form of a song or some performance – that's why I watch it. I like movies where there's singing, even the surrounding stuff is usually fine. Here it's lengthy, fist-pumping, occasionally rushed, unengaging, and probably a little too American for my taste and Far Eastern mindset. To the point that I was disgusted by some of the stuff in there at times. By which I don't mean the gay guy, because that's one of the characters that kept me hooked. A weaker 3 stars, and we'll see what other disasters and music it brings us. EDIT.: Saw it all, it was a bit too far-fetched in the end, by the end the songs didn't really grab me either... some stuff was okay, but a lot of stuff wasn't. I'm lowering the rating to 2 stars. And I’m done. (2012-05-16)

Rating after half of the first season. I’ve been watching an episode or two here and there, but there’s no chance I’ll become addicted. It’s a cute, nice show with naive twists and fine musical numbers – though there could, and should be more of them (two dances in 45 minutes is really not enough). One very good thing is that, even though most of the characters fit into negative categories (weakling, arrogant, gossip), I was still able to establish a positive bond with them. I will surely watch the rest of the first season. Finished the first season: it’s alright, it didn’t make me suffer much, thanks to the nice and sharply sarcastic Sue, but I won’t bother with the second season. (2010-10-23)

When in the middle of the summer holidays in 2010 I came across a series with the strange name Glee, I didn't know that I would be so influenced by this initially bland show. I know that there have been some objections like "It's High School Musical in a different package, but still with a thick layer of sugar!". I think that this statement and many others are accurate in their own way, Glee is indeed a sweet musical icing on a huge cake surrounded by sugar and a layer of naivety. But, unlike High School Musical, Glee is many classes above. Glee is actually a much idealized look at one high school trying to bring back a school choir made up of many minorities. It can't all be taken for real, but with a certain perspective and the use of rose-colored glasses it's a proper fairy tale that is not to everyone's taste, which I totally understand. The first season was absolutely amazing and some of the episodes were truly breathtaking. The second unfortunately only had a few of those breathtaking episodes. The problem is that what was a modest series became a commercial series with a moralising undercurrent that often came to nothing. And I'm really sorry to have to lower the rating by two stars after the fourth season, because this series has sadly disappointed me. Many of the characters (sometimes almost all of them) started to annoy me quite a lot, the plot didn't develop much, the songs weren't as engaging and nicely performed as they were in the first season. In short, a series that for me has fallen from its peak into a grey average, from which it probably won't get out again. (2010-08-10)

The strongest aspect of Glee is, of course, the musical one. The notoriously familiar songs, often better performed than the original. Add to that the colorful atmosphere and the crazy ensemble, which I just love. Story-wise, I rate the second season as better than the first. Favorite characters: Rachel, Puck, and in season 2, Santana. (2011-02-07)

In retrospect, it seems almost unbelievable how often I return to various musical selections from Glee. They are, after all, small bits of the history of modern music in a nutshell. You can smell both the classical musical and the generational music of the last decades. The youth is very talented, and some of the guests are really great. It is, after all, Ryan Murphy. It somewhat fell apart towards the end, because high school can't last forever, but we can see many of these faces, especially from the last few seasons, in the Arrowverse today. Definitely worth mentioning from the adult cast are Gina Jessalyn Gilsig, Kristin Chenoweth, and especially Gwyneth Paltrow. From the kids, Chris Colfer ("Victor Victoria") and Melissa Benoist ("Holding Out For A Hero"). It wasn't until Season 4 that Don't Speak came along, but I did get to see the famous "Tell Him" from Ally McBeal. (2012-07-09)