In the fall of 2009, a new musical series premiered on Fox and became an instant success. Created by Ryan Murphy of Glee followed a group of high-school underdogs who were part of a show choir. The series' mix of outlandish comedy and shamelessly contagious energy propelled it to the peak of success, although it wouldn't stay there for long.
Glee finished its six-season run as a shadow of what it once was. However, the show's first season remains a fan favorite, a nearly perfect blend of high-school drama and biting satire, elevated by a series of songs that continue to be popular to this day.
The Initial Setup
When it debuted, Glee presented the story of a group of underdogs coming together to rescue their high school's glee club from oblivion. Their peers subject them to all kinds of torment, including the now-infamous slushies that became one of the show's many trademarks.
Viewers responded to the characters' underdog status, leading the show to become an overnight success. Future seasons would lose track of the characters' lack of popularity in the world of the show, but the first season was remarkably consistent in depicting their everyday struggles.
The Guest Stars
Glee's first season featured guest stars who still rank among the best to appear in the series, including some who would return in future seasons. Kristin Chenoweth, Jonathan Groff and Idina Menzel are a few who would reprise their roles numerous times.
Some of the first season's best guest stars made only one appearance, including Neil Patrick Harris, who won an Emmy for his stint as Bryan Ryan. Broadway legend Victor Garber played Will Schuester's father in the episode "Acafellas." Memorably, Josh Groban and Olivia Newton-John played fictional, obnoxious versions of themselves.
Kurt And Burt's Relationship
Kurt Hummel is one of the characters who appears the most in Glee. He's also one of the show's best and most compelling figures, a young man coming to with his sexuality. Kurt's most meaningful relationship in the first season is with his father, Burt, a mechanic trying to understand and his son.
Kurt and Burt grapple with Kurt's homosexuality throughout the season, and it strengthens their relationship. Their father-son bond was wholesome and somewhat groundbreaking for the time. By having Burt Kurt unconditionally, Glee presented one of the most honest portrayals of familial love, one that remains as beautiful today as it was in 2010.
"My Life Would Suck Without You"
The first 13 episodes are Glee at its finest. Produced before the pressures of being the "hit show" and choosing earnestness over spectacle, the show delivered its best storyline, putting the glee club front and center. During the mid-season finale, the New Directions win sectionals and celebrate by performing an energetic rendition of Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You."
The characters honor their journey, performing choreo from previous musical numbers and, above all, having fun. It's a celebration of their hard work and one of the most wholesome and honest moments in the show. Future Glee performances would feature wild events and overstuffed production, losing sight of the show's initial setup, but "My Life Would Suck Without You" presents the New Directions in their truest form: a group of kids who love to sing and do it wonderfully.
The Mashups
One of Glee's trademarks are the mashups the club performs during the show's 121 episodes. The music supervisors chose eccentric combinations of songs to create unexpected but thrilling mashups, many of which rank as history.
"Umbrella/Singin' in the Rain," "Thriller/Heads Will Roll," "Halo/Walking on Sunshine," and "Rumour Has It/Someone Like You" rank among the show's most successful mashups. They showcase the cast's incredible vocals and provide a fresh look at familiar hits. Glee's best mashups remain popular, finding new audiences on YouTube.
The Madonna Episode
Tribute episodes were a key part of Glee's creative success. Devoting an entire hour to a single artist's oeuvre proved a winning formula for the show throughout Glee's six-season run. The cast paid tribute to many artists, but in season one, Madonna was the first star they honored.
Madonna granted the rights to her entire catalog, resulting in "The Power of Madonna," one of the show's most entertaining hours. The episode itself might be overstuffed with plot, but it also does a brilliant job honoring Madonna because it approaches her songs with a sense of both fun and sincere iration.
Sue Sylvester
Not everything about Sue Sylvester has aged well. In fact, the cheerleading coach from hell is one of Glee's most divisive characters thanks to her lack of boundaries and tendency to physically and emotionally menace the children she supposedly teaches. However, Sue was a breath of fresh air in the show's first season, a tornado of nastiness and absurdity that elevated Glee to the peak of hilarity.
Thanks to Jane Lynch's unhinged performance, Sue became the show's breakout character, establishing her as one of the best villains on television. Lynch won a slew of awards for her efforts, including the Primetime Emmy Award. Over time, Sue became cartoonishly exaggerated, but fans can always look back at the first season and how incredible the character was in her prime.
The Songs
Naturally, the most appealing aspect of Glee was its musical covers. The talented cast released more than 700 songs throughout the show's run, many of which entered the Billboard Hot 100. These songs gave the show a sense of relevance in the chaotic pop-culture landscape of the early 2010s, with the cast putting their spin on the work of everyone from the Beatles the Katy Perry.
Even after the series had overstayed its welcome, the songs remained catchy and relevant. These days, the hits of the Glee cast might be considered guilty pleasures, but they're pleasures nonetheless.
"Don't Stop Believin'"
covered several songs more than once, especially Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," which became something of an anthem for the fandom. However, none of the subsequent takes on the song ever came close to its first one, performed by the New Directions' original six during the final moments of the pilot episode.
Led by Rachel and Finn making full use of their juvenile attraction, the show's first version of Journey's hit is timeless. It lacks any of the overblown production that would characterize most of the show's future numbers, instead focusing on the kids' enthusiasm. The result became iconic, a spark of charm and wholesome eagerness that made audiences fall in love with the show.