Three Reasons Glee Should Exist, Even if You Don't Like it

When Glee first premiered, my wife, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law fell in love. Actually, almost all of the Internet seemed to fall in love. For the first few weeks anticipation for new episodes were at fever pitch both in my household and across my whole Twitterfeed.

Of course, over time that has changed. The die-hards are still around, but a growing group of dissenters has risen up to continuously inform us of how much they dislike the show. I've never been much of a fan, but I can watch it just fine without needing to complain about how awful it is. The show doesn't annoy me much at all, really. Actually, I'm debating whether or not I'm more annoyed at how excited my family gets over it, or how obnoxious the Internet acts whenever it is on.

So, considering I won't ever be able to affect how my wife acts, I'm going to tackle you guys. Here are three reasons why Glee is a worthwhile show and you should shut the hell up about it. Like I said, I'm not even a fan, but if I can make even a small dent in the amount of stupid hyperbole I see on my Twitterfeed, well, then I've done a service to the world.

It's original

You know how everyone loves to complain about movies and television not having fresh ideas? Well Glee is actually something new, yet people are still complaining because it's not exactly what they want. Just because a show isn't aimed specifically toward your sensibilities and interests doesn't mean it is automatically trash. Would you prefer there be one more serial drama about solving crimes instead?

It's inspiring

Music programs all across the country have been cancelled by schools unable to garner enough interest to fill the seats or get support. Now, after the immense success of Glee, the kids are suddenly all about glee clubs and bands. Should that sort of positive effect mean nothing just because you happen to think it's a dumb show?

It's diverse

Or at least it's trying to be, and succeeding more than quite a bit of television shows out there. It's not uncommon for a program these days to try to push the boundaries every once in awhile, but Glee just made those every once in awhile moments into main characters in the show and long-running plot lines. Sure, all of this stuff has been done before, but I respect that it's all just the norm for Glee instead of a sweeps week attempt at getting ratings.

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So there you go: three reasons to respect Glee a little bit, even if it isn't your thing. There are plenty of shows I don't like, but not a lot that I will publicly attack. Just because you don't like Glee, doesn't mean it's a terrible show. I don't particularly like it, but I like that it's on and that it found an audience, because I find some value in its existence. I can usually still respect it unless I see absolutely no value in it at all *cough* Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory *cough*.