I should like "Glee." I really should. I love music. I love musicals. I enjoy pop music. I like musical numbers and ones that are well-sung. I was in show choirs. The show celebrates diversity, of which I am a fan. And it seems like "Glee" appeals to a number of gay people, and I am, after all, gay. But I just can't seem to get aboard the "Glee" train. I've tried to board several times, and I just don't seem to connect with the show.
I've tried watching a few episodes, and I've seen clips of musical numbers from the show. While I appreciate the hard work that obviously goes into the show and the talents of those involved, ultimately the show is just too cheesy for my tastes. I find the writing to be a bit weak, and although the show tries to create three-dimensional characters, they more often than not, come off as very two-dimensional and more like stereotypes than real people. Granted, I'm basing this assessment on the few episodes and clips I have seen.
I want to like the show. But I don't. That being said, I am glad people do enjoy it and that it brings them happiness. I'm also grateful for a show, whether I personally enjoy it or not, that celebrates music and dance and tries in its best way to deal with current social issues. I'm glad it's popular. It's just not my cup of tea. My apologies to any Gleeks out there.
5 comments:
I am a Glee fan! And there is no need to apologize :)
The writing is dreadful at times, and often the message feels forced.
That being said I love the dynamics of the ensemble. You love and hate all of them in different ways. I like to watch it because its campy and so incredibly impossible.
Funny that my least favorite characters are the gay ones (If Santana doesn't count...). Kurt and Blaine are annoying.
Hahaha so that's me ranting about Glee :P Your probably a better person for not watching it!
Okay, I'll admit that I'm an intellectual light-weight, but I love Glee just for being Glee. I could care less about the writing and the plot development. Whether the characters are one-dimensional or six-dimensional doesn't bother me.
I watch Glee because I love the singing, the dancing, and the general silliness of the program.
And I love watching a gay story line on network television that is simple, saccharine, and predictable. (Kurt and Blaine, just keep that luvin' comin'...)
To each his own. lol
To really enjoy Glee I think you have to understand two things.
1. Glee is not about the writing. It just isn't. Those little stories in between numbers are just there to get us from song A to song B. Anything good in that time period is just a bonus to the other moments of the show.
2. The characters are huge stereotypes on purpose. If you only watch a few episodes, you'll never get a chance to see what they do with/teach us about these stereotypes.
I suppose that's exactly why I don't enjoy it, El Genio. I like television that's well-written, and in spite of the the fact that the writing is designed to get the viewer from musical number "A" to musical number "B," I don't consider that a good excuse for poor writing.
As a musical theatre lover, there are a lot of musicals out there with great scores and crappy books, and even though I can enjoy the the shows on some level, it frustrates me to see really bad writing. I far more enjoy a musical with a really great score, a really well-written book, and well-defined characters (and preferably something deep and meaningful).
I can appreciate what "Glee" is, but because it isn't well-written and because the characters seem so contrived and unreal to me, I have a hard time enjoying it.
I completely understand its style, but I don't particularly enjoy it. If they had done a show with a similar concept, but which was well-written and multi-dimensional (and maybe with a sense of reality that isn't so far-fetched), I probably would. But I fully realize that is not the style of the show. That is not what "Glee" is. I also believe that it probably wouldn't have succeeded as well as it has had it been done the way I would have liked to have seen it.
In any case, I'm glad there are people out there who really enjoy it. I'm just not one of them.
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