Why Glee Fills Me With... well.. Glee

There's a lot of crap on television, which is why, when something fresh and smart comes along, it leaps off the screen like a slice of toast popping out of a tightly wound toaster. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of those shows. Glee is another.

And this is why:

• There are straight characters AND openly gay characters
• They talk about sexuality
• One of the characters is a person with a disability
• The cast is multi racial AND comes in all shapes and sizes
• Some of the characters have open and honest relationships with their parents
• They sing!
• And dance!
• Jane Lynch
• Intriguing little plot twists
• Sometimes they sing crapola 70's and 80's schlock music and IT SOUNDS GOOD!
• One of the lead characters is played by a Canadian
• They performed a version of Proud Mary in wheelchairs
• They do some really clever musical mash ups
• Jane Lynch
• Without diminishing all the misery that many of us experienced in high school, it really does shine a light on the possibility for change (see points 1 through 5)
• Did I mention the great singing?
• There's usually at least one good cry per episode
• It makes the memory of being a dork and an outcast in high school an easier pill to swallow
• I actually look forward to tuning in every week (and not in the way one looks forward to some of those hideously addictive and trashy reality shows like ANTM or The Bachelorette. And by typing that confession, I realize that you have all now lost respect for me....)
• and finally: Jane Lynch