The Oswegonian

The Independent Student Newspaper of Oswego State

DATE

Dec. 23, 2024

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‘Glee’ is music to viewer’s ears

Glee2

From the creator of "Nip/Tuck" comes Ryan Murphy’s new fall series, "Glee," a series about a group of misfit high school students who all share one thing in common: the Glee Club. The Glee Club is about singing and performing songs, while also competing against other show choirs. The show follows a Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), Spanish teacher determined to keep the Glee Club from hitting rock bottom. He takes over as director of the Glee Club, choreographing and arranging the musical numbers for this group of talented students. Each episode features numerous musical numbers, all covers of popular hits.

Fox decided to introduce the nation to "Glee" in an unorthodox manner. Instead of letting wait, they gave a special pilot airing in May. Fox made the right decision. By showing the viewers the first episode, they fell in love with the series, thus gaining the most attention even before the actual season began.

The wonderful supporting cast contributes to the show with their own quirky problems. Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) has two goals in life: to become a famous singer, and to convince the high school quarterback, Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), that she’s the girl for him. Rachel constantly tries to prove herself to the world by insisting on the lead parts in the Glee Club, and recording herself singing and posting her videos on Myspace.

Michele does a great job playing a quirky girl obsessed with show choir and her crush. She has the over-expressed optimism perfected, while turning into all business when she sings. The viewers can’t help but stop whatever they’re doing and listen to her voice ring. Monteith plays Finn like a pro because not only does he have the handsome part down, he has the singing voice down. He too is optimistic, and it shows when he performs.

Finn knows he can sing, but he’s being held back from his true potential. Being the quarterback of the football team puts a pressure on him not to sing in the club, but he soon overcomes that obstacle, and joins the club, regardless of what the team thinks of him. He is the classic "Prince Charming" with his good looks and moral standards. He has a voice of a pop singer: soft and melodic.

With talented actors like Chris Colfer (Kurt), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Kevin McHale (Artie), and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) compose the supporting cast but their characters and their voices stand out just as much as the stars, if not more.

While all seems well in the "Glee" haze, there is an antagonist waiting to crush the dreams of these high school students. Played by Jane Lynch ("Role Models"), Sue Sylvester is the malicious cheerleading coach bent on ruining Schuester’s dream of bringing the Glee Club back to life.

Morrison’s Shuester’s passion for the Glee Club is played well. He puts on a good show when it comes to singing and dancing. It’s evident that he keeps up with the "Glee" standards. His character was recently featured in an episode rapping to the ever popular song, "Gold Digger," and by the looks of iTunes purchases, he impressed the masses. Meanwhile, Lynch adds to the comedy by showing off her hatred toward the Glee Club, and spitting out snappy insults that make the viewers chuckle at her sassiness.

The song choices for "Glee" never fail to impress. In the pilot episode, the one that got the nation in an uproar, there was a cover of "Don’t Stop Believin’" performed by the "Glee" cast. It was instantly popular, appearing on the iTunes top ten list the next day. With Michele and Monteith taking the reins as lead singers and the supporting cast taking back-up vocals, it was obvious that "Glee" was introducing the nation to something fresh and original.

As new songs become available for fans on iTunes, "Glee" gains more popularity. In every episode, a popular chart-topper is rerecorded and performed by the cast. Songs like, "Take a Bow" (originally performed by Rihanna), "Rehab" (originally performed by Amy Winehouse), and "Gold Digger" (Originally performed by Kanye West), are transformed into the new "Glee" format, which actually makes the songs better than the original.