Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage an organism.  Foxici-Glee is the degree to which Fox’s musical comedy TV show, Glee, can cause damage to our educational system, America’s youth and yea even the very fabric of our society.  All these are charges that have been leveled at this TV show.

Fox’s Glee first hit the airwaves about a year and a half ago with the series’ pilot show.  The pilot neatly laid out the show’s tenants, high school setting, ensemble television comedy and one very important hook, musical theater.  Talent that was only hinted at in the pilot show was confirmed when the series began a year ago.  This hapless high school glee club teetered from one episode’s crisis to the next.  The glee club and its members faced an array of enemies, from the banal, grape slushies being tossed into their faces to the truly Machiavellian Sue Sylvester, coach to the school’s cheerleaders, the Cheerios.

Last January, Jane Lynch won a Golden Globe for her role as Sue Sylvester, in an otherwise disappointing awards ceremony for the show.  Not too surprising though, what with only half a season under their belts at that time.  The second half of last year’s season was similar to the first half, but with several important differences. The originally promised number of musical numbers per episode began to grow.  Their production values also started to increase.  Significant guest stars began to populate some of the episodes.  Finally, the musical numbers that once each had stood only on their own began to coalesce.  Sometimes an episode featured a particular musical artist, sometimes, like this week they featured an actual musical.    

This week’s episode, the Halloween show, featured The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  A backroom cabal and Sue Sylvester conspire to sabotage this glee club production.  At the end of this episode the show does not go on.  It is self-censored.  Disgression becomes the better part of valor, but not before we, the audience, get to watch all of their numbers performed.  This plotline would be consigned to the dustbin as most musicals plots should be.  After all, a musical plot’s prime function is to string together the musical’s numbers.  But, this episode’s plot is even now being played out in the news media.

Three of Glee’s cast members appear in this month’s issue of GQ magazine.  The two actresses are photographed scantily clad in a high school setting.  I listened to as much as I could stand of a late night radio show (on NPR even) that extolled all the evils of this spread, soft core porn, pedophilia, etc. etc. etc. 

First off, actresses are not role models.  I think that you have a problem if you believe so.  I offer two cases in point, Brittany Spears, with her recent problems and Marilyn Monroe, who is pictured in these City Diner paintings, she became just a candle in the wind, blown out before her time.

I’m not one to partake in conspiracy theories, but the juxtaposition of this week’s episode with the ongoing GQ controversy seems too coincidental.  I doubt that the episode could have been programmed in response to the controversy.  There was not enough time.  I doubt that Fox would be so cavalier with their hottest property, without some forethought.  A hack once said that there is no such thing as bad press, it is all just press.  An old newshound like Rupert Murdoch would know this.  I bet that he is just gleeful with all of this controversy.  I bet he is just giggling all of the way to the bank.