Glee was a ratings juggernaut for much of its earlier seasons. Following a plucky group of high schoolers in their efforts to win the national group singing competition while at the same time battling teen pregnancy, homophobia, infidelity, and so much teen drama, the show relied heavily on its reworkings of pop songs for its success.
The cast of the show was an eclectic bunch of fashion models masquerading as Hollywood’s perception of geeks and losers. And it was them that the audience connected with and traveled besides on their 121 episodes long journey. Here are 10 hilarious memes about those characters.
The Glee Bunch
One of the biggest complaints about the show was what fans of famous singers frequently saw as the butchering of their favorite songs when performed by members of the show. This was not always a fair criticism. Often, the original singers themselves reached out to the show’s makers to congratulate them on the cover versions of their songs on the show. But many hardcore fans continued to insist that any song which was covered on Glee was automatically ruined for them. It was really inevitable that something as subjective as music would become such a divisive part of the show.
Glee Did It First
Glee mixed an impressive combination of song genres on their show, from rock and rap to pop and classical. That meant fans of the show were frequently in a position to blurt out that a random song on the radio or on TV was covered on Glee recently.
It was an annoying trend since people who were not fans of the show had no interest in who had covered the song on the show in what manner. And so the Gleeks were forced to keep their knowledge to themselves to avoid risking the anger and irritation of their non-gleek brethrens.
Artie Got the Beat
Wheelchair-bound Glee club founding member Artie Abrams was played by Kevin McHale. The actor was a former member of a boy band called NLT, where he proved his singing as well as dancing chops. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the character he played on the show, McHale was not able to show his moves on Glee, save for a dream sequence set in a mall where he was finally able to take part in a flash mob and show off his sweet moves. It’s debatable whether he was a better dancer than famous dancer Harry Shum Jr., who was also a cast member, but we certainly wish we had seen more of Artie breaking it down on the dance floor.
Brittany’s Musings
The show had a lot of breakout characters, and arguably the biggest surprise was Brittany S. Pierce, the spacey cheerleader with the killer dance moves and a habit of saying some of the show’s most hilarious lines in the most deadpan manner. It was even more impressive to consider that the actress who played the character had a dance background instead of acting when she first became a part of the show. Meant only to swell the club’s numbers and dance in the back at first, the writer’s gave Brittany a single line in an early episode, and so funny was the actress’s delivery that she kept getting more lines, her role kept getting bigger, and she eventually became a full cast member.
Because Sue Says So
Another breakout character was Sue Sylvester, the cheerleading coach at the high school where the Glee club operated. The character was played by veteran actress Jane Lynch, who took the stereotypically villainous role to new heights, adding dollops of humor and withering contempt to every line she uttered. Lynch proved that there was room for more than just singing and dancing on the show, and she inevitably stole every scene Sue was written in while making you wonder how such an abusive and mean-spirited teacher was allowed to stay on at the school, and even become the principal at one point.
Perfect Blaine
It is a testament to the charm of actor Darren Criss that he played Blaine, a gay secondary character on the show with very little character development or central storylines, and was yet a huge favorite of the show’s female audiences. Thanks to his clear cut good looks, his dancing, and his great voice.
Blaine went from being Kurt’s boyfriend to a series regular thanks to that charm, and judging by the number of critically acclaimed performances Darren Criss has been dishing out on other shows and movies lately, his star is only going to climb higher than ever.
Super Crossover
There have been a surprising number of Glee actors making appearances on the CW’s collection of DC superhero shows, leading us to suspect someone on the CW’s production team is a huge fan of Glee. One of the best such appearances was when Glee club alumni Marley and Sebastian teamed up as Supergirl and Flash to take on Blaine, AKA Music Meister, the villain with godlike powers and gets strange, sick thrill out of making his enemies sing and dance, like an out of control DJ at a Broadway-themed rave party.
Not Beliebers
For a show that is all about acceptance and understanding, it was surprisingly anti-Bieber when it came to performing the boyish pop star’s songs. While admitting that there is something about Bieber’s songs that makes girls go inexplicably weak in the knees and results in copious amounts of female drooling, the Glee club’s male characters, 30-year-olds pretending to be in high school, contended that there was something unmanly and unartistic about singing Bieber songs. Which makes Rachel’s horrified reaction to Will’s announcement pretty understandable, but still not their worst choice for sectionals music.
The Long-suffering Brad
Brad was the adult piano player for the glee club and the character with the funniest, longest and yet simultaneously shortest arc on the show. Brad’s whole deal was that he had been sitting behind the piano for all those years, never being asked for his advice, and having to endure all the teen drama that made up about 90 percent of a Glee club session.
So quiet was Brad’s long suffering presence in general that it was a surprise when he did talk. Brad got to say his one seminal, hilarious line when upon learning that the club was officially canceled, he thankfully made his way out of the music room, only pausing to tell Sue how much he hated those Glee kids. Thus began and ended the saga of Brad’s arc with a single line.
Love-hate
This meme sums up the intense, complicated feelings the show conjured up amongst fans. When the show found its groove with a relevant plotline or inspired musical performance, it was spectacular. But too often the show got caught up in a surfeit of forced drama, pointless storylines, and music that was not to the taste of fans of the original songs. And that was why, to this day, many fans of Glee look back on the show with mixed feelings.
