Well Gleeks, we knew this day would come eventually and its finally here. Tonight Glee is going off the air and its been a very bittersweet week for me. Though I am firmly in the camp that knew this should be the final season, I am going to miss having this show on the air. So rather than wallow in despair, I decided to celebrate the show by saying why I loved it so much.
1. It gave us amazing covers every week. I have 125 songs from Glee in my iTunes and all of them have at least 30 plays in my iTunes since I switched my laptop. My favorite cover on the show is probably Paradise by the Dashboard Light, because of what it meant (a Nationals trophy!) and cause its so high energy.
2. It was a musical, full stop. For all the shade that musicals get in general, Glee is unapologetically a musical and proud of it.
3. That pilot. One of the best openings of any TV show I’ve ever seen and that Don’t Stop Believing cover at the end is still magical.
4. The characters were awesome. I mean we will forever remember Rachel’s evolution from driven but naive girl to grown woman, Kurt’s wrestling with his sexuality to him getting married and living with Blaine, Mercedes’ energy, Santana’s takedowns, Finn’s leadership, Britney’s airheadedness, and the many other characters we met along the way. Every character brought a new wrinkle to the show.
5. The plot lines, while messy as hell, tackled some real shit. I cannot tell you how many times I guffawed or rubbed my temples at Glee for tackling certain stories, but there was never a moment I wasn’t happy the show was. Glee is one of the few shows that’s so message and social driven and gives not a single fuck if you don’t like it. Ryan Murphy charged head on into so many things and while everything didn’t come together always, the effort was always there.
6. The diversity. Where else on Tv were you gonna find this kinda diversity? Certainly now the landscape has changed but Glee made a point to show the wealth of diversity in America (and set in Ohio!)
7. For introducing me to Chris Colfer, Amber Riely, Naya Rivera, Cory Monteith, Darren Criss and most recently Samantha Marie Ware.
8. Burt Hummel, the best TV dad since Santos on Ugly Betty.
9. Because it rolled with the growing pains and righted itself when it mattered most.
10. Glee aired in 2009 right when I started getting back into the arts in a way I hadn’t since I was younger. I cannot express how vital it was to me moving towards a career in film and TV by just airing weekly. Whether subconciously or not, Glee very much was a catalyst and for that I will be forever grateful. It will be tremendously missed but I am so much better in my life for having the show.
Well said. The show got tired after a while but I’ll still cherish it for all the reasons you described.