Brennan Suen, Staff Writer

In the spirit of High School Musical, Fox’s Glee takes primetime television and adds high school drama and catchy music. However, Glee’s high school includes teenage pregnancy, homosexuality and drug-filled brownies.

Fortunately, it includes these things without being extremely obscene – it’s simply taking on more real world issues that Disney failed to address.

Glee is about a newly formed high school Glee Club filled mostly with school outcasts. The club is under-funded and barely scrapes by the principal’s strict rules and opposition by the show’s hilarious antagonist Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), coach of the school’s cheerleading squad.

The acting is sometimes stereotypical, but it works well for the characters. Lea Michele plays young theater-diva Rachel with enough exaggeration to be funny and still realistic (as far as over-the-top teenagers go). Her top-notch Broadway resume and near-flawless voice make her perfect for the role.

Other stereotyped characters include gay fashionista Kurt (Chris Colfer), wheelchair-bound Artie (Kevin McHale) and pregnant cheerleader/president of the Celibacy Club, Quinn (Dianna Agron). Colfer and McHale both bring sensitivity and humor to their roles, but Agron can sometimes be a little off with her acting. She generally does well but failed to commit to a key scene where her conservative parents kicked her out of her house.

The best actor on Glee has to be Broadway veteran Matthew Morrison, who plays Will Schuester, Spanish teacher and director of Glee Club. His dedication to his students, excitement in their triumphs and impeccable kindness are well-developed and acted. One of his most important scenes this season, a complete breakdown, showed some incredible acting chops.

In addition to the many hilarious characters, another highlight of Glee is the music, ranging from full group versions of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” to solo versions of “On My Own” from Broadway musical Les Miserables. The show hired some incredible vocalists, and everyone sings his own songs. Aside from the already established musical talents like Morrison and Michele, there are new talents such as Amber Riley, who plays the sassy, big-voiced Mercedes, and Cory Monteith, who plays football star Finn.

The many styles of singers manage to mesh into incredible covers and mash-ups of songs old and new, popular and unknown. The show has covered almost all genres – country, rap, R&B, Broadway, pop, rock and more. According to guardian.co.uk, Glee has sold more than 2.5 million songs on iTunes. Fox has already released a full CD of music and is in the process of releasing a second. Radio stations like Alice 107.7 and even XM 20 on 20 have started playing songs from Glee.

Glee’s plot manages to roll in tons of laughs in addition to a lot of drama. In one episode, the entire football team engages in the “Single Ladies” dance; soon after, Kurt comes out to his father. These tone shifts are a recurring part of nearly every episode.

Although the drama is sometimes sappy, it’s generally entertaining and definitely necessary for the show. It does a great job at pulling at the emotions of the viewer. However, Glee’s main strength and focus is in its comedy.

Overall, Glee is one of the best shows on television this fall. It is aimed at the teen demographic, but it is definitely a smarter and more interesting watch than many other shows made for teenagers. Its hilarious characters, interesting plotlines, and diverse music make it a must-watch.