Join the Club: 10 Reasons Why It's OK To Like "Glee"

Imagine the collective horror seen on Comic Con 2010 attendees’ faces when they realized that Glee’s cast was in the building. It’s not exactly geek-approved, but the show’s animated cash-in does share in-store real estate with the works of Robert Kirkman and J. Michael Straczynski. And, if you think about it, the comic itself isn’t all that different from some of the more traditional favorites: There’s an arch-villain (Sue Sylvester) pitted against a Professor X-like teacher (Will Schuester) and his super-team of antiheroes. Plus, prima donna Rachel looks a little like a young Diana Prince, so Wonder Woman fantasies aren’t a problem.

Yes, Jennifer Lopez has climbed back from her fall-off thanks to American Idol; she even looks as good as ever. But J. Lo is old news—FOX’s hottest Latina is without a doubt Glee’s Naya Rivera. As the bi-curious, feisty cheerleader Santana, she’s the show’s resident drama-setter, always ready to hook up and down to play for both teams. Adding to her appreciation of sexy female club-mates, let’s move on to the next one...

It’s nowhere near as steamy as Black Swan’s Mila Kunis/Natalie Portman credible girl-on-girl action, but we’re talking teen-friendly network television here. Thus, we’ll take any girl-on-girl we can get, and last October’s controversial touch-feel-and-kiss session between horny cheerleaders Santana (Rivera) and Brittany (Heather Morris) bodied all other shows in the TiVo department. Who’s to say these two cuties won’t have a round two before season’s end? There’s only one way to find out, and, yup, that means watching Glee instead of clowning it.

Around here, we stick with the creative minds who’ve won us over in the past, sometimes headfirst into defeat. Why else do you think we watched the entirety of Treme’s snail-paced first season? David Simon earned that camaraderie with The Wire. Similarly, Glee mastermind Ryan Murphy proved with FX's salacious Nip/Tuck that he’s a one-of-a-kind talent. So what if Nip/Tuck’s opening credits sequence is racier than an entire episode of Glee? Skills are admirable whether PG-13 or R-rated.

Primetime television is replete with funny women, many of whom are also quite easy on the eyes. There’s busty spitfire Sofia Vergara on Modern Family, naive sweetheart Alison Brie on Community, and 30 Rock’s librarian-sexy Tina Fey, yet the sharpest of them all is one who doesn’t need the benefits of pin-up looks. Glee’s Emmy winner Jane Lynch keeps the disses coming on a weekly basis. She’s the show’s spokeswoman for all those who hate on Glee’s feel-good crooners, firing off scathing one-liners with an impeccable matter-of-fact delivery.

Here are two irrefutable Glee facts: Many of Hollywood’s biggest names are dying to guest star on it, and the music industry’s top hit-makers are quick to give the show access to their discography (aside from Kings of Leon, that is). The reasoning behind both truths is simple—FOX’s mega-hit series has become a cultural institution that rests on the entertainment world’s pulse. While MTV—once our supplier of all things pop-cult—pushes overpaid guidos and sex-crazed teens, Glee continues to act as a melting pot of all that’s hot. If The Situation ever guest stars as Santana’s latest boy-toy, however, then we’ll have some problems.

Let’s be clear: Glee’s frequent raping of hip-hop music is painful to watch. There’s no denying that; we were all for that online petition to get Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) to stop rapping. But the undeniably atrocious versions of “Gold Digger” and “Empire State of Mind” shouldn’t prevent rap dudes from giving the show a fair chance. After all, those hip-hop-abusing fast food commercials are just as bad, yet you still chow down on discount burgers, right?

It’s pretty amazing that we don’t loathe the character of Rachel Berry, a needy, arrogant, abrasive, and clingy diva. Back in our high school days, girls like her would’ve received swirlies if not for their gender-awarded immunity. So how is it that Rachel can’t get enough screen time as far as we’re concerned? Just redirect your eyes upward, to the photo, for a second—now do you understand? Michele could speak her complaints in Fran Drescher’s voice and we’d still want to give her some extra credit.

We get it: Musicals, by design, are softer than feathered pillows and taboo for guys to enjoy. Truthfully, we don’t even like Glee’s numerous song-and-dance interludes; the show is must-see-TV because of its clever writing, interesting characters, and plethora of fetching ladies. It’s the quintessential DVR series, one that’s best enjoyed with your hand gripping the remote control, ready to skip through the tunes and get to the narrative point. Which is why there’s no entry on this countdown showing love to the chart-topping Glee albums, or, as we like to call them, “ear poison.”

Have your last few dates been exercises in awkward silences and feminine indifference? We’ve got a tip for your next attempt: Ask your dinner partner to name some of her favorite TV shows, listen to her rattle off titles like Grey’s Anatomy and Real Housewives, and then say, “My boys make fun of me, but I don’t care—I’m a fan of Glee.” Making some in-the-know judgments (“I hope Quinn finds a good guy,” for example) will only help your cause. Even if she’s not a fellow Gleek, she should value your lack of prehistoric machismo, and, hopefully invite you to her place to watch Desperate Housewives together. The rest is in your hands, grasshopper.