Last night the 100th episode of our favourite musical-dramedy Glee aired – and as a result this Gleek is feeling inevitably nostalgic.
While Glee hasn’t always had a smooth run over its 5-year run – the significant influence it has had on pop-culture cannot be denied. I thought it would be interesting to explore ten of the shows greatest triumphs and ten of the shows worst failures.
Disclaimer: The piece is clearly opinion, and by no means an exhaustive list on either side – I would love to hear what you have to say in the comments.
Triumphs
1. The Casting
Looking back, it is really quite remarkable that a short five years ago the majority of this cast were completely unknown. The cast immediately built an obvious rapport with each other on screen and off that served the show and their characters very well.
2. The Pilot
The Pilot episode of Glee is one of the most remarkable I have ever seen. It had relatable characters and was obviously new and original.
3. The Music
More hits than the Beatles. There really isn’t much more to say. Everybody said that musical television wouldn’t or couldn’t work – Glee definitely proved them wrong!
4. The Ships
It would be difficult to write a post about this show without mentioning the Ships. While there were definitely many “end-game” relationships set up early – the almost incestuous dating of all the students in the glee club definitely provided for some interesting combinations. (I am going to just leave it there, so I do not cause any controversy.)
5. Chris Colfer
Chris actually auditioned for the part of Artie and was so ridiculously charming that he convinced Ryan Murphy to write a character for him. He is now a best-selling author, screenwriter, will soon write his very own episode of Glee and his character, Kurt Hummel, has probably had the largest influence on pop-culture from the show.
6. Guest Stars
From big Broadway stars to some of the biggest pop acts ever, Glee has had it covered on the Guest Star front – Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Jonathon Groff, Gwenyth Paltrow, John Stamos, Kate Hudson, Britney Spears, Matt Bomer, Neil Patrick Harris, Olivia Newton-John, Ricky Martin, Sarah Jessica Parker and Whoopi Goldberg, just to name a few!
7. Not taking itself too seriously
Glee’s individual and specific humour was one of its most unique qualities and what made the early seasons exceptionally funny – especially Sue’s snarky comments and monologues that were pure gold.
8. Its influence on pop culture
This cannot be denied. It created a musical movement in 2009 and basically changed the television format.
9. Finn / Cory
This is a pretty sensitive topic for me to talk about, but it needs to be said. Finn Hudson was one of the greatest characters that this show produced and his and Cory’s absence has been felt over the last 8 months – they both will be an important part of the show’s legacy.
10. The Heart
Bonus: Utilising the cast of Spring Awakening
Failures
1. Neglecting the continuity completely / Thinking that joking about it is okay
In the beginning, I thought that the self-awareness jokes that Glee made about itself was endearing. In fact, it was one of my favourite parts about the show (See above: not taking itself too seriously). However, as the show developed, it seemed like the creators used this self-deprecating humour to justify, quite frankly, ridiculous storylines and changes in character.
2. Blaine’s age / Blaine’s Transfer / Villianising the Warblers / The slow transition to Blee
Ah, poor Darren. I think he has now played about five different versions of Blaine Anderson. The popularity of this character is a testament to Darren (and the Klainers and StarKids for that matter) but it also shows the Glee creators’ tendency to overkill popular things.
3. Not utilising the StarKids
I feel like there is lost potential here.
4. Not hiring Lindsay Pearce
They just should have hired her. She has an amazing voice, incredibly talented and I think that a potential dynamic between her and Rachel Berry would have made some amazing television – and better storylines for Rachel that didn’t involve her over-dramatic love life.
5. Not splitting the third season into two
To me, at the time, it seemed like a simple solution. All high school shows have encountered the dilemma of when the characters need to graduate. Delaying the inevitable goodbye to the original glee club seemed like a good idea, spreading their senior year over two seasons rather than one.
6. Not introducing the ‘Newbies’ in season 3
Introducing the so-called ‘newbies’ earlier just would have made more sense – not only would it give the audience more time to develop emotional attachments to the characters – it would have also created more tangible connections between them and the graduating seniors.
7. Not doing the New York spin-off when they had the chance
The idea of a New York only spin-off was a very popular one towards the end of season 3. The fans were particularly vocal about a show with Rachel, Finn, Kurt, Blaine and Santana following their adventures in the Big Apple. This is clearly the direction that they have chosen to go in almost two years later. However tonally, a spin-off would have made more sense.
8. Will
I think the neglect of Will’s character is largely due to the fact that once he was in a committed and healthy relationship – he just stopped being interesting. It could also be due to the fact that Terri Shuester was one of my favourite characters and I think the show suffered without her.
9. Neglecting story lines / friendships / relationships that had serious potential
For me, this is probably Glee’s greatest sin. There are so many potentially great storylines and character moments that were then immediately dismissed and forgotten – eg. Quinn’s car crash. Also, friendships like the one between Quinn and Mercedes and the romance between Mercedes and Sam (Samcedes) were neglected without any real explanation. These are clearly not the only examples, but perhaps they will be revisited in the future.
10. The show forgot it had something important to say
“Being a part of something special makes you special, right?” I think it was themes like these that got forgotten along the way amidst all of the drama.
Bonus Failures: Sam’s haircut this season and the lack of a Disney episode (I don’t care how much the copyright costs – please just pay it!).
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