Frontlines:IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE to properly gauge the success of the television programme Glee. With four sold-out live shows coming up in the O2 on July 2nd and 3rd, Gleeshows that there's success beyond the TV screen too.
Tens of thousands of tweens and young teens will populate the Dublin venue over the two days, some with their parents, some in massive groups of friends, sporting their Gleehoodies, and T-shirts depicting their favourite characters, Gleeheadbands, and holding handmade posters with messages to their heroes. With ticket prices starting at €60, it's a massive sell-out. So why has this programme become one of the biggest brands not only in television, but also in the music industry and now in a live setting?
The true success of any television programme or film is its real-life impact. Do viewers just think it's a great show, or does it resonate beyond that? Does it change people's behaviour? The answer with Gleeis a resounding yes. In the same way that Saturday Night Feversaw American suburbanites rush to disco clubs, and Come Dine With Mesparked a new wave of dinner-party culture, you can't swing a mic these days without hitting a Gleeclub or a Gleesummer camp, where youngsters can attempt to act out and emulate what they've watched their favourite characters do in the TV show. They're not just dancing in front of the mirror with a hairbrush any more; the fantasy is being brought to life.
Glee's range of diverse of characters has been seen as remarkably progressive for a programme aimed at youngsters – race, religion, sexuality, death and disability are all dealt with directly. There's something for everyone to identify with. For this Lady Gaga generation, where previously children were encouraged to be the same and now they're encouraged to be different, Glee's pick-and-mix of characters ensures everyone has a favourite. Gleealso doesn't particularly play to stereotypes; the jock is sensitive, the gay teen is strong. And essentially, the Gleeclub is a rather nerdy pursuit, but the programme has made the idea of the underdog as the most popular kid in school plausible.
Glee's money shot is presenting familiar music in a different setting. Since Dawson's Creekand The OC, programme-makers have been astutely aware of the importance of music in programming. Music is, of course, intrinsic to Glee, and it's not too challenging either. The material is already popular, Gleejust pushes it over the edge.
Six Gleealbums have been released, not counting a Glee Rocky HorrorEP, and Little, Brown is publishing five Glee-related books as part of a series. Add to that an endless array of clothes, electronics, computer games, household items, skateboards and everything else you can possibly think of in the merchandising realm, and the fans – Gleeks – can own a little bit of the show.
After each episode, the tracks performed in the programme are available to download on iTunes. Directing viewers straight to the music service provides instant revenue and skews the charts appropriately. So far, Gleehas sold 21 million singles and nine million albums.
The brilliant script that makes up Glee's dialogue is often overlooked. While most of the storylines are familiar from teen programming and teen novels, it's the smart, witty dialogue that makes it endlessly watchable. At the centre of this is Jane Lynch's magnificent Sue Sylvester character, the cheerleading squad coach and the ultimate overgrown Mean Girl. Her cutting one-liners are worthy of a programme of their own. Lynch won an Emmy earlier this year for best supporting actress in a comedy series.
Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, the writers of Glee,first envisioned it as a "post-modern musical". It has the perfect mix of music, drama and comedy, accompanied by the ever-popular high-school setting. It's hard for something with all those elements properly measured and well done not to get an audience. Which is probably why a 3D concert movie is now in the works.
