Fox's 'Glee': We Admit, It Makes Us Feel Kind Of...Gleeful

by Mark Blankenship

As I write this, it's been approximately sixteen seconds since the pilot episode of Glee -- Fox's new comedy about a high school teacher trying to redeem himself and his students by coaching their glee club -- finished airing on the east coast.

Already, the cast rendition of Journey's masterpiece "Don't Stop Believin'" is top five on the iTunes sales chart. Already, I've seen 400 Facebook status updates and 43,000 tweets about the show. What will happen when it airs in California? Will the Lakers spell the word "GLEE" on the basketball court?

Considering the publicity blitzkrieg they've launched for this thing, Fox execs have got to be sobbing for joy. And lord knows, from the moment I heard about this series, created by Nip/Tuck's Ryan Murphy, I wanted it to succeed. Sure, the dorks-make-good premise smacked of Election and Saved! and every other teen narrative, but the commercials suggested Glee could be the Platonic ideal of those familiar parts.

It has some growing to do, but after watching the first episode, I'm delighted to report that overall, Glee lives up to its hype.

Jane Lynch, complex neat freaks, and taking theater very, very seriously, after the jump...

The pilot offered many things to love, including Jane Lynch's brilliantly understated performance as an unhinged cheerleading coach; a rival glee club's freakish precision during a performance of "Rehab;" and a young diva's insistence that "there's nothing ironic about glee club."

I laugh at that last one because I relate. When I was a freshman in high school, I was in Raggedy Ann and Andy at the Chattanooga Theatre Center, and during one rehearsal, I glared at some kids who were horsing around and said, "This is community theater, but we should act like professionals." I was certain I had shamed them into higher standards.

"Your resentment is de-li-cious:" Hard-charging cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch, above) commands the lion's share of attention and resources, but optimistic teacher Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) learns to compete as he struggles to revive the school's glee club. Fox

Awesome jokes aside, my favorite element of the episode was its blend of sincerity and snark. It's a tricky balance, and the pilot doesn't always get it right, but things are clearly headed in the right direction.

For me, the tonal high point comes with Emma (Jayma Mays), one of glee club coach Will Schuester's (Matthew Morrison) fellow teachers. At first, Emma is all quirks. She's such a neat freak that she wears disposable plastic gloves to eat her lunch, and she's so mousy that when she unwraps a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she apologizes for the fact that the tinfoil is so loud.

And yeah... that's funny, especially because Mays plays each moment sincerely, instead of begging for laughs. But just when it seems like Emma exists only to be mocked, she becomes a major player. Will is about to quit glee club so he can make more money to support his family, but Emma sees how much that will crush him. She digs up an old video of him singing in glee club himself, and she eloquently explains why he shouldn't teach his baby-on-the-way that making money is more important than doing what lights you up.

But Emma's not just some chick character who only exists to bolster a dude. She's also falling for Will -- a married man -- which complicates her work on his behalf. Inside this germophobic wallflower, there's an articulate woman with a complex heart.

Very few series give us characters with so many layers, let alone in episode one. That, plus the great jokes, adds up to a whole lot of potential. Here's to the new episodes arriving in September.

Read more from Mark Blankenship at The Critical Condition.