“GLEE” takes hiatus until April: What the Fox?

The Fox network has decided to replace the ever popular show of marginalized singing misfits with another group of performing flakes, nutcases, and screwballs.  THIS is American Idol.  Yep, it’s the most wonderful time of the year, time for the ratings behemoth of average pop wannabe’s and casted freaks of exploited reality to reappear from dormancy as if a bad virus with no vaccine.  Fox has accomplished what GLEE‘s wonderfully sinister Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) couldn’t secure at “Sectionals”, knocking the McKinley High Glee Club from all standard regional appearances…eastern, central, mountain, and pacific.

Please don’t think that I am so naive that I can’t realize the money element here.  Filling in this unexcused absence of scripted entertainment with the pseudo reality of American Idol is a business decision made all too often these days.  Though AI has seen it’s ratings share decline over the past few years, so has the rest of the network industry, therefore, the cast-less singing competition has remained number one in it’s time slot with two hours of prime time over two nights – Oy vey!  This season the producers of Idol gave the show a shot to the diaphragm in hopes of hitting that proverbial high note.  America’s favorite train wreck, Paula Abdul, was replaced by America’s favorite lesbian, Ellen Degeneres.  Now, I love Ellen’s humor and respect her accomplishments, but when guest participating on these types of panels she is a bit of a locomotive of mangle herself.

Fox promises a bit of a mash-up in April’s syncopated time slots.  GLEE will return Tuesdays at 9:00 PM sandwiched between the musical theater of the light-hearted 24 and the downhill roll of America’s favorite talent show.  Greater promise is the rumor that Idina Menzel will appear for all nine of the remaining GLEEful episodes with a chance of returning next season. Fans are campaigning that Menzel appear as the biological mother of Rachel Berry (Lea Michele).  For those of you who haven’t watched the show, Rachel has two daddies.  Idina is reportedly a big fan and would relish the chance to defy gravity with Lea Michele.  Be still my GLEEk heart, but considering this is a fan initiated request, an Idol contestant has a better chance of hitting that high C.

Out of sight, out of mind?  Only time will tell.  It would be an absolute shame to see yet another quality cast with scripted dialogue, other than what appears on cue cards, go down to the alternate reality of a super-hyped game show.  GLEE is a rare song bird on network television that addresses such subject matter as sexual orientation, social outcasting, pregnancy, bullying, intolerance, and yes, acceptance.  The Club finds a creative and GLEE-inducing way to demonstrate we are all some degree of a square peg just trying to fit in on this round planet.  Come on Fox, don’t screw this one up…don’t bring around a cloud to rain on my parade.