Glee-full Wednesdays

Last week after I read a surprisingly depressing book, I said I needed to find something to make me laugh.

I found it in "Glee." It's a new hour-long comedy on Fox Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. Usually when I watch a new show it takes a few episodes for it to grow on me, but "Glee" had my attention at episode one.

The main reason I wanted to watch the show is Jane Lynch who has had minor roles in more movies and television shows than I can mention. She is best in kooky, off the mark characters like the ones she played in Christopher Guest's "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind." Her role in "Glee" as cheer coach Sue Sylvester is a perfect fit.

Another stand out is Jayma Mays, who plays a guidance counselor who might be a little bit misguided about her own life. She starred as Betty's competition for Henry in "Ugly Betty" for a couple seasons, but her vulnerable role as Emma suits her better than the scheming ex-girlfriend role, especially with her wide-open doll eyes.

Of course, the main plot of the story is that Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) is trying to make glee club into something cool, with no budget, little talent and a wife who wants him to give up teaching altogether. His group so far is made up of an overacheiver (Lea Michele), a football star (Cory Monteith), as well as actors Kevin McHale, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley and Jenna Ushkowitz.

As with most high school shows, there are the same clique cliches - the cheerleaders, the football players, the nerds - but it's just funnier than most high school series. One of the things I love about the show so far is that some of the laughs are understated. You really have to listen to the dialogue to catch it all.

Hopefully this is a show that will last past the first season because it's pretty funny. Oh yeah, and the last episode brought back some memories of junior high with Bel Biv DeVoe and Color Me Badd renditions.