Glee

The best and worst of the new TV season

Heather Havrilesky — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:01:00 PDT

New TV shows usually suck. Take it from someone who watches every single one of them, every single year. Slogging through a herd of untested pilots can feel like speed dating for speed freaks: Twitchy people tell you their life stories in three seconds flat -- they laugh, they cry, they knock over their drinks, stuff blows up, ambulances arrive, roll credits. You're lucky if you escape without a migraine, let alone a venereal disease.

Fear of a gay planet

Heather Havrilesky — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:12:00 PDT

I'm glad there are more gay characters on TV these days. But I don't want to single the gay ones out, because that would imply that I think gay people are different than everyone else. They're not different! Gay people are just like straight people, only they're smarter and funnier and more interesting.

Best new TV: "Glee"

Heather Havrilesky — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:15:00 PDT

Mainstream popularity doesn't necessarily make you insipid and weak. Just ask Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron), head cheerleader, general-purpose mean girl and president of the Celibacy Club (Its motto? "It's all about the teasing and not about the pleasing!"). Just as it's easy to assume that Quinn, with her pert, virginal, beribboned exterior, is just another bland cheerleader cliché, you might guess that "Glee" (9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9), the incredibly hyped high school show-choir dramedy that premiered as a preview episode after "American Idol" this spring, might match the sugary style of its juggernaut booster.

Embrace your inner show-tunes nerd

Heather Havrilesky — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:16:00 PDT

"There's nothing ironic about Glee Club!"