There's NOTHING Ironic About Show Choir!

Let's talk "Glee."

It's my new favorite show, from one of my favorite TV masterminds, Ryan Murphy (the man behind cult-classic "Popular" and FX hit "Nip/Tuck"). I know that a lot of people have a lot of criticisms, many of which are valid ("The lip-synching is bad. Like High School Musical-bad") and some of which are not ("The show is too provocative"). Rather than a boring review, I'm going to give you some "Glee" Cliff's Notes, rather appropriate for a show about high school, no?

Five Unranked Reasons Why "Glee" Is My New Favorite Show

1. Ryan Murphy's Song Choices
Murphy writes, executive produces and also serves as the Executive Music Producer behind "Glee." And so far he has excelled in choosing great pop-cultural gems to score his latest series. I love anyone who incorporates rap into a show choir's repertoire, and isn't it about time the lil' 'uns learned about Salt & Pepa?




2. Jayma Mays.
Homegirl had a strike against her for perpetuating the popularity of those awful spoof movies because of her role in Epic Movie. But as Emma Pillsbury, William McKinley High School's guidance counselor, Mays is just neurotic enough to be endearing. Her crush on glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison, we'll get to him later) is entertaining, sensual and heartbreaking without being maudlin or superficial. Plus, she has bops (as evidenced in the above video). Below, watch her be cute without activating your gag reflex.



3. Matthew Morrison.
Looking at him in the promos didn't really jump my engine, but sure enough, now that I'm hooked into the show, I can't stop falling in love with him. He plays Mr. Schue with such earnestness, especially in the face of his thundercunt of a wife Terri, he's hard to dismiss. As the straight man, he anchors "Glee," which is even more impressive given the strong personalities that populate the cast. Plus, he's got rhythm.



4. Mercedes Jones.
I want to be her. I love a diva, especially one with a real voice and an attitude to match. She's not just a token one-dimensional black character, present to shuck, jive and lob the best zingers. Mercedes also has heart, which we'll see in the show's third episode. The actress who plays her, Amber Riley, seems pretty great too. (Disclaimer: I was this girl in high school, minus the confidence and talent. So I guess I really wasn't anything like her.)



5. Jane Lynch.
She is fantastically bitchy and egomaniacal as the school's cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester. Lynch seems to be Murphy's muse, and as such, she gets the best non-sequiturs. Emmy voters. take note now.




There about a million more things I could list (the fame-driven eyes of star Lea Michele as Rachel Berry come to mind first), but we'll get there in future posts. For those of you still not convinced to start watching or who are ready to give up in spite of the first two episodes, I still encourage you to hold on. Maybe the cast will get better at lip-synching (or the producers will be convinced to drop the lip-synching altogether). I hope soon even I'll get over the fact that Cory Monteith, who plays quarterback and bari-tenor Finn, looks WAY too old to be in high school (he's 27). And so much has happened with storylines in the first two episodes, any plot elements you aren't crazy about aren't guaranteed to last. Until then, I'll be practicing my vocal runs.
-Meryn, who would give anything to go back in time and transfer to a school with a show choir.