October 6: Gagging on Glee

I understand that not all of us share the same likes and dislikes. I say "potato" and you say "potato," right? I like beef enchiladas and you like cheese enchiladas. I get it. What I don't get, however, is how the pop culture phenomenon known as Glee has gotten as big as it has.

Now, we're all entitled to our own opinions. Rarely do I meet someone that is still fascinated with Survivor. I'm crazy about it. I've seen every single episode of twenty-one seasons. I get emotional when introduced to every new cast. The difference between Survivor and Glee, though is that it is legitimately good television. I can relate to the characters. I enjoy watching them succeed and fail. The characters of Glee are obnoxious and flat out odd.

I'm not a professional critic by any means at all. In fact, I've only seen one episode of the show and it happened to be one that my dad admitted to not being very good. I don't know the back story of each character and I still don't really know what a Glee Club is. Choir? Drama? For these reasons alone, my opinion shouldn't be taken too seriously. But let's look at what I know:

A group of high school students sing popular songs. I like the music. I participated in my share of musical theatre while in high school so I guess I can kind of relate, but when I watch Glee I can't help but laugh at the show rather than with it. The football player is the same character as the lacrosse player in American Pie. There's the good looking brunette and the guy in the wheelchair. There's the overweight black girl and the overly gay guy. There might be a few others in the group, but I think these are the main people.

What I really don't like about the show is that it's like incorporating karaoke into story. Am I supposed to like the show because they're singing songs I know? Am I supposed to relate to them because I was once in high school? The one episode I saw was the one with Britney Spears songs. I saw it a week ago and I can't remember any storyline at all. It was nothing more than one Britney hit after another. Oh, and one of them had the guy in the wheelchair singing "Stronger" as he played football; with able-bodied athletes! Am I supposed to buy into this?

Survivor has twenty contestants stranded on a beach voting each other out while trying to maintain a level of civility toward each other. It's not the highest quality of entertainment, but for me, it's engrossing and amusing. It's psychological and hilarious. I would rather watch Survivor over Glee any day of the week and I can't understand how the latter could be so popular after the hour I spent watching it.