Singing the praises of 'Glee'

  Okay Amy, take a deep breath. Calm down.

Do not, I repeat, do not over hype "Glee."

I'm going to try to remain calm while I tell you about "Glee," which gets a sneak preview after "American Idol" tomorrow night at 9 p.m.

Things you should know:

So, in full disclosure mode, "Glee" is made for a TV viewer like me. Broadway star Matthew Morrison ("Hairspray," "South Pacific") stars as high school Spanish teacher Will Schuester who, in the pilot, takes over the Glee Club. Will is married to his demanding wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig) and oblivious to the crush fellow teacher Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays) has on him.

Will recruits football star Finn (Cory Monteith), talented perfectionist Rachel (Lea Michele), belongs-in-the-spotlight Mercedes (Amber Riley) , the dramatic Kurt (Chris Colfer), and the geeky Artie (Kevin McHale) to join the glee club.

On "Glee" when the characters break out into song, it's because they are supposed to. And whether it's watching a rival club's take on Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" or their own version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing," the numbers are glorious. They're everything you would want a musical number to be. The singing is perfect. At the end of the episode, I had a big goofy smile on my face.

The show works because it hits its very specific tone just right. It's funny, but not a satire. The characters take glee club seriously and you will too. Morrison is convincingly optimistic and naïve. Gilsig is a pro at delivering ridiculous lines in a sincere way. Monteith puts a new spin on the jock with a heart of gold. Still need more convincing? In later episodes, Victor Garber plays Will's dad. How great is that?

The show is from executive producer Ryan Murphy, the man behind "Popular" and "Nip/Tuck." I'm hoping that "Glee" stays more on the "Popular" end of the spectrum than the darkly disturbing world of "Nip/Tuck." We'll have to wait until fall to find out because that's when "Glee" will return to the schedule.

Oh and let me make a fearless prediction -- my guess is that it won't be long until Adam Lambert makes a guest star appearance on the show.

After you watch "Glee," you must let me know what you think.

Season Finales

I'll have my full season finale wrap up later in the week but let's take a look at some key finales:

"Lost:" On scale of 1 to "we have to go back Kate," I'd put "The Incident" at about a five. Of course, I'm taking a little personally that the episode didn't reunite Jin and Sun. But I loved the scene with Rose and Bernard which seemed to be placed in there to just so fans like me would pipe down about their whereabouts. Plus it was totally fitting that the couple would have wanted to "retire" from all the drama that surrounds Sawyer, Jack, Kate, and Juliet. So my take on it is that Titus Welliver's character at the beginning of the episode is the same person who is now posing as Locke and probably posed as Alex and threatened Ben to do everything John Locke told him to do. So .by my calculations, that would make Titus Welliver the black smoke, right? And the island at the center of an epic battle between the black smoke and Jacob? Other thoughts:

"Dollhouse:" Well now that we know the show will be back next season (whoo-hoo!), I feel like it is safe to process. I like that Dr. Claire Saunders turned out to be a doll, but I think it has to stop now. It will quickly become a trite plot device, if one out of every three characters is a doll. I'm placing the show on a doll reveal time out. Also I'm a little wary about Detective Ballard joining the Dollhouse in its search for Alpha. I love the way Joss Whedon blurs the line between good and bad and that we aren't always sure who to root for, but we do need someone to root for and I don't know if I can actually root for the Dollhouse. Also, as much as I love Alan Tudyk as Alpha, I think the show would be wise to defeat him and bring on the next Big Bad.

"Desperate Housewives:" Yawn. I really don't have much more to say than that, do you? The Dave situation played out much as expected -- although the video tape thing was a little much. Unless we are to believe Dave wanted to get caught. I like that Mike was the hero but then again I like Mike. He's a good character and a good hero. Saving the day suits him. But it's kind of a lame cliffhanger to leave us wondering if he married Susan, Katherine or somebody totally new. And I don't really like how, for lack of a better word, desperate Katherine is to marry him. All the big plot developments seem set to make everything old new again -- Lynette and Tom as the parents of newborns, Gaby has a nemesis living under her roof (see the nun, the surrogate mom, or Justine Bateman's Ellie last season), and Bree making poor, poor choices in men. The season ended with me still feeling that after a strong season start, we are right back to where we started on Wisteria Lane.

What are your theories on "Lost?" Did you like the finale of "Dollhouse?" Were you bored by "Desperate Housewives?" Talk about them below.

Question of the Day

I was a little jetlagged when I watched the season finale of "Bones" (Did I tell you I actually had to take a half-hour nap in the middle of the "Grey's Anatomy" finale -- TiVo was made for moments like that). Anyway, I went back and watched the beginning of the "Bones" finale again. I know the episode is called "The End in the Beginning," but do you really think the Bones/Booth bedroom scene was from some moment set in the future? That it hasn't happened yet? After watching it a few more times, I'm still not convinced. How about you?

Highlights of the Week Ahead

All times listed are Eastern Time for May 18-24

"How I Met Your Mother" ends its season tonight at 8:30 p.m. on CBS. It's great to have Alyson Hannigan back (remember they filmed the finale before Hannigan's maternity leave). We finally get the scoop on the goat and how a chance run in with Stella lead Ted to meet the mother of his children. It's a strong episode although I don't think it reaches the comic heights of some of the other episodes this season -- it still leaves me anxious to see what happens next.

The gang is graduating on "Gossip Girl" tonight at 8 p.m. on the CW. And more and more, this show is becoming like a daytime soap. You can not tune in for weeks at a time and still know what's going on because so little changes. That's how I felt watching tonight's finale -- so little has changed for these characters all season long. Let's hope that's not the case when they are in college next year.

Deep breaths everyone. I know that Kim is at the center of the two hour season finale of "24" (Monday at 8 p.m. on FOX) but let's all try to remain optimistic. This could turn out okay. Whatever happens, I'm still holding out hope that Tony really is still good. You know how I get when I'm in denial.

Anjelica Huston is back as Cynthia Keener on "Medium" tonight at 10 p.m. on NBC. Balthazar Getty (the renegade Tommy on "Brothers & Sisters") and Rumer Willis also guest star.

I might be officially ready to declare Liam the worst bad boy ever. Who's with me? "90210" ends its season Tuesday at 9 p.m. on the CW. And everything about the episode is just a little off. Particularly the fact that the season ends on an Annie-centric cliffhanger. I simply cannot bring myself to care about her character. We'll chat about it more after if you've seen the finale.

Sprague Grayden has been up to no good as the President's daughter Olivia on "24" (I'm so ready for Aaron to bring her down). She also guest stars on "Law & Order: SVU" Tuesday at 10 p.m. on NBC.

You gotta love the fact that FOX is already planning for the results show of "American Idol" which contains less than a minute of information (the winner is . . . ) to run until 10:07 p.m. Wednesday night. It drives me a little crazy with how they drag everything out but Keith Urban is performing Wednesday night so you know I'll be tuning in.

The official TV season ends this Wednesday so let the summer season begin! FOX kicks off "So You Think You Can Dance" Thursday at 8 p.m.

That's all for today. I'm back on Wednesday with this week's familiar faces and thoughts on the season finales of "Ugly Betty" and "Southland." Have a question? Seen a familiar face? Want to nominate a quote of the week? Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com.