CRITIC'S CUT: GLEE's Getting Crowded; Which Characters to Cut, Which to Keep

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Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Glee has become an eye-roll, a voice-crack, a televised wagging finger - and largely to its own doing. The current season, which has split its ridiculously sized cast into two completely different storylines, has reached a disjointed juncture: too many characters, not enough screen time.

What's worse: FOX had picked up Ryan Murphy's now-preachy musical dramedy for two more seasons. The only way for it to redeem itself, in any fashion, is to start trimming the roll call. And cut down on the auto-tune.

Below are five characters who need to stay for the show's sake, and five to cut for the audience's.

Characters to Keep

Rachel Berry (Lea Michele)
Rachel Berry Made Glee - correction: Lea Michele Made GLEE. Some may find her insufferable, but without Rachel's continuous dramatic breakdowns, voice, and disgustingly self-assured ways, Glee would be insufferable. The writers' decision to move Berry to New York, away from her Lima roots, and to the Broadway stage, allowed the show to become, somehow, fresh again.

Kurt (Chris Colfer)
Kurt's a two-sided scarf-wearing coin. He may be the embodiment of triumph in today's society, primarily thanks to Colfer, but at the same time, he's the embodiment of a big 'ol stereotype, as are many of GLEE's characters - despite the fact that it continuously pushes the idea of breaking boundaries. However, Glee admittedly wouldn't be Glee without Kurt and his affliction for ascots and vibrato. Plus, with Kurt gone, there'd be no Isabelle Wright.

Isabelle Wright/Klempt (Sarah Jessica Parker)
Parker's performance only underscores the fact that the New York story branch wildly overpowers the limping Lima side. Her addition to the series, while a blatant grasp for ratings, was a welcome one. She's outshone the other major season four guest star, Kate Hudson, and most of the regular cast as well. If GLEE's going to commit to Manhattan, it can't do it without Carrie Bradshaw.

SantAna Lopez (Naya Rivera)
Like Kurt, Santana's a fiery stereotype - but Rivera rises above the shoddy writing with her vocals. She's got the spark and snark that keeps Glee witty - and is a welcome addition to Kurt and Rachel's loft, no matter how improbable her packing up, picking up, and moving in really is. Come on.

Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith)
Finn taking over the New Directions was one of the best decisions GLEE's writers ever made. Not only did it give Finn a sense of purpose now that he's, well, alone, but it also got Will Schuester and his grease-head out of the halls of McKinley. Finn is undoubtedly a staple of Glee - and if the showrunners are planning on keeping the show at least partially posted in Lima, Finn needs to be a major part of it.

Characters to Cut

Marley Rose (Melissa Benoist)
The 'new Rachel' is no RacheL. Berry is a tongue-in-cheek ELECTION-esque take on perfection, a character so narcissistic she's equal parts hilarious and nauseating. Marley is none of these things. Marley is whiney, Marley never goes away, Marley is boring. Her characterization is representative of GLEE's fourth season: repulsively persistent, holier-than-thou, and fairly vacant.

Kitty Wilde (Becca Tobin)
Kitty, also known as, Quinn 2.0, is just Quinn without being Dianna Agron/likeable. Also, her name is 'Kitty Wilde.' Is there anything to even say about her? She caused Marley to develop an eating disorder. She's irredeemable. Give Kitty a write-off.

Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch)
Sylvester used to be a gem of terror and repressed emotion - but she's faltered. One of her finest lines came in the pilot, during Cheerios practice, when over a bullhorn, she screamed: "You think this is hard? Try being water boarded. That's hard!" Watching Sylvester morph from evil incarnate in a sweatsuit, to a wishy-washy inconsistent characterization of false morality is hard. Not water boarding hard, but still hard.

Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison)
Morrison has talent - but is Mr. Schue (as his students stupidly refer to him) really that likeable? Do you like him? Do you like the way he assigns asinine lessons to his students in order to try and teach them/you, the audience, something? Ditch Scheuster, and keep Finn as the coach of the New Directions - if the New Directions HAVE to stay at all.

On second thought, all of the new New Directions/Everyone in Ohio
This whole show-within-a-show business that Murphy and the Glee showrunners have adopted is just a mess. The show has become disjointed and superficial, indicative of the fact that the writers are hesitant to let the proven formula (New Directions) die, and continue with something new, something better (New York). The move to NYADA restored some of the creative urgency to the series that had long been gone. An integration of the two storylines, with more of the original New Directions heading to Manhattan (as improbable as it would be) could ultimately save the show. The story is unlike anything else on television (aside from SMASH, but there's no saving that show) - and that's what Glee was once about, right? Glee was once revolutionary, known for altering the creative boundaries of mainstream broadcast television - without taking itself too seriously. The characters, the wit, the underdog story Made you think, rather than told you what to think. It's a shame that this cultural phenomenon, once worshiped, has become a cultural blemish.

All Photos by Fox

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