5 Top Reasons TV's Glee is Not as Bad as Your Friends Think

Bad television ignites a fury in my soul that could destroy a thousand suns. Because of my extreme adverse reaction to bad television, I tend to avoid watching anything that seems like it would probably be bad. Set in a high school, centered around the activities of a failing glee club, and peppered with painful pop tunes, the breakout hit Glee certainly seems, at first glance, to be bad television.

To my dismay and occasional delight, I share the television with family who watch Glee religiously, which means that Glee is on whether I like it or not. For this television curmudgeon, despite the repertoire of old, forgotten songs bursting forth straight from Autotune hell, Glee is actually a watchable show.

5. The music choices and audio production in season 2 of Glee have improved.

Season 1 of Glee featured cheeseball, pitch-correction-laden, lo-fi versions of a lot of incredibly terrible songs, and a few that were okay. The best song in season 1 of Glee was Journey's "Faithfully", from the season 1 finale episode. After only a few episodes of Season 2, it is clear that production has already improved; the Season 2 episodes Britney/Brittany and Audition featured some songs that sounded hip and relevant, with modern-sounding beats.

4. Season 2 has gotten a little naughtier.

With relationships developing into that of a slightly more racy nature and upgraded costumes that show a little more skin than last season (hello, Catholic schoolgirl dance sequences), Season 2 of Glee has turned up with something to offer television viewers who don't mind that sex sells.

3. Undeniable visual appeal.

Whether you think the show's plot is terrible or not, it is difficult to deny the visual appeal of (what appears to be) attractive high school students doing advanced dance performance sequences. The show is shot well, lit well and costumed beautifully, although some episodes of Season 2 make it look like the Glee producers may have woefully cut the makeup and clothing budget of neurotic cutie Emma Pillsbury, who is played by the girl-next-adorable Jayma Mays.

2. Deceptively complex characters.

Though the characters in Glee may at first glance seem flat, gimmicky and stereotypical, many of the characters in Glee have contrasting personality traits that challenge the stereotypes that the characters seem to be. From time to time, a character steps completely out of the flat personality to do something that goes completely against who they seem to be. In this way, Glee has a touch of reality. Look out for Coach Bieste, the new female football coach, to tug at your heartstrings.

Finally:

1. Jane Lynch (as Sue Sylvester)

As the often-malicious, sometimes helpful cheerleading coach with a cutting wit and a hidden heart of gold, Jane Lynch is the only part of Glee that is consistently entertaining to me. When the episode goes bad, the dance sequences flow relentlessly and the story centers around some ridiculous high school nonsense, Lynch's Sue Sylvester is always there to say something snarky, biting and completely inappropriate, which helps to break up the show's pop absurdity.

There you have it, concrete proof that Glee is a watchable show, from a truly cranky television viewer who normally hates that kind of thing. You may now commence watching Glee without shame and forwarding this list to any naysaying Glee haters who make fun of the show but refuse to watch it.