Although I’d heard lots of raving reviews about Glee after its premier episode aired last May, I didn’t actually watch it until sometime in October, when I logged onto Hulu and watched the first episode. As a whole, I didn’t really care for it — it seemed to be sort of all over the place, but it pulled together at the end, when Emma lectured Will on what values he wanted to teach his son, and then — oh my god, my inner gay — that finale musical performance of Don’t Stop Believing.

But, honestly, the show just hasn’t been doing it for me. I’ve been faithful, I’ve given it a chance — if I haven’t been able to watch an episode when it airs, I catch it on Hulu. If you don’t know, the show is about a glee club at a high school in a run down Ohio town. But when I think of the shows that I’ve loved that are set during high school?

I think of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Veronica Mars. Okay, and maybe Saved By The Bell, but that one only out of nostalgia and not for any reason relating to, y’know, quality.

So I guess what I’m saying here is that if a show set in a high school doesn’t have a cast led by a petite blond who slays vampires and/or solves her best friend’s murder, it just isn’t worth my time. Which is a bit of a lie, because neither of those two shows were about people going to high school, they were about people fighting vampires and demons while going to high school.

Which is a snarky way of saying that musical numbers and quirky characters aren’t enough to keep my interested in investing in a television program if there’s no story reason. No compelling plot, no story arcs, give me something, some reason to keep watching.

Is it just that a show about people in high school won’t work? I’m going to say no, because damn did I love David E. Kelley’s Boston Public, which was, guess what? A show about faculty, administration, and students in a high school in Boston. Guess what else? Jessalyn Gilsig was in that series. And I loved Boston Public, and you know why? Because David E. Kelley is responsible for some damn fine dramas (including The Practice, and Picket Fences), imaginative characters, creative plots, and amazing story arcs.

And last week, Glee, you did give me a reason to keep tuning in: I loved Somebody to Love (as edited down as it was). So much did I love it, I paid the $1.29 to download it from iTunes (yep, did the same thing with Don’t Stop Believing). But the episode itself? Was just a total, unbelievable mess.

Sorry Glee. I just don’t think I’m going to keep trying to watch you. I’d rather watch Picket Fences on Hulu.