A Presentation by Andrew B. Linsley GLEE

ABOUT THE SHOW Glee’s pilot episode premiered on May 19 th, 2009, however, the entire first season did not begin airing until September 9 th of that year. It initially received quite positive reviews from critics, with an overall combined rating of 77/100. Albums containing songs performed on the show have ranked fairly high on the music charts, being #1 in some countries at times. Glee is about a glee club at William McKinley High School, a school in the fictional town of Lima, Ohio. The show follows the group’s struggle to find and keep members (13 are needed in order to keep the group going) and rehearse for competitions, and it also follows the lives of many of the people involved in the group. The main actors in Glee are: Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Harry Shum Jr., Jenna Ushkowitz, Dianna Agron, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley, Heather Morris, Naya Rivera, Jayma Mays, Mark Salling, Matthew Morrison, and Jane Lynch.

SETTING Glee is set in the fictional town of Lima, Ohio, and most scenes takes place at William McKinley High School. The fact that Glee takes place in a high school is important to the overall plot of the show as it stresses the fact that the show is a high school drama and not just a teenage drama.

RACHEL BERRY Rachel Berry is the most “dramatic” character in Glee, having a huge passion for music and theatre, and not being afraid to make a scene when her thoughts on those two things are not heard, having threatened to leave the glee club numerous times after not having her way. Rachel could be considered a major protagonist in the show, as many plot lines deal with her striving for what she wants. However, due to her dramatic and over-the-top nature, she could also be considered the “diva” of the show. While she tries to maintain a friendly and bubbly personality, she only appears to get along well with people who are willing to put up with her high-energy and sometimes unpredictable personality, resulting in a limited circle of friends. Her only real friend throughout the entire duration of the show appears to be Kurt.

ARTIE ABRAMS Artie Abrams is the wheelchair-bound member of the glee club, due to a spinal cord injury at age eight. Initially somewhat uncomfortable with the fact he’s a paraplegic, he grows more comfortable with it as the show progresses. Originally dreaming of becoming a dancer, he comes to accept the fact that that is near impossible due to his disability. This makes him one of the more realistic characters in the show. He is friends with most of the members of the glee club, although he is closer to some more than others.

SUE SYLVESTER Sue Sylvester is the main antagonist of the show, always plotting ways to either cast the glee club in a bad light, hijack a performance, or just make the lives of the glee club members miserable. She is the cheerleading coach at William McKinely High School and is almost always with one or all of her cheerleaders. Sue is very rude and sarcastic to most people, bluntly calling out people’s flaws and never being afraid to say how she really feels about someone or something. However, there are rare moments when her sensitive side is shown, such as when she is visiting her sister with Down Syndrome in the hospital.

TEEN ISSUES Glee has dealt with many teen issues throughout its run, including (but not limited to): teen pregnancy, sexuality, gender identity, social status, and relationships. When these topics are explored, the right message usually results. A very strong theme in regards to the sexuality, gender identity and social status issues is “be yourself, not what others want you to be.” Other issues presented relay the idea that in real life, you will be faced with many tough decisions and events that cannot be solved easily, but through determination, perseverance and support, you can make your way through it.

VIEWERS An episode of Glee would technically average 9.2 million viewers per season based on statistics, however, ratings have fluctuated over the course of the show’s run. Ratings were high during seasons 1 and 2, but dropped significantly afterwards. About only half of the number of viewers who tuned in to the season 1 and 2 premiers tuned in to subsequent ones. Despite that, I believe the show is so popular because of its unique format (a musical drama-comedy) and the lack of attempt to “glamorize” high school.

COMPARISON (TO ONE TREE HILL) Glee’s ratings are much higher than One Tree Hill’s ratings are. One Tree Hill never had more than 4.3 million viewers per season, less than half of the average amount of Glee’s viewers per season, making Glee the more popular show. I personally like Glee more, mostly because of the incorporation of music into the show, and because it seems to cover a wider range of teen issues. I would also say that Glee is more teen friendly because of how many teen issues it covers.