Critical response The
review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season an 88% with an average rating of 7.94/10, based on 49 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Entertaining, snarky, and full of heart,
Glee is an addictive, toe-tapping musical dramedy that hits all the right notes." On Metacritic it received a score of 78 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Following the season preview in May 2009, Alessandra Stanley for
The New York Times called the show "blissfully unoriginal in a witty, imaginative way", finding the characters to be stereotypes but noting "a strong satiric pulse that doesn't diminish the characters' identities or dim the showmanship of a talented cast". The
Daily News David Hinckley wrote that the show "isn't close to perfect" but "has likable characters, a good sense of humor and a reasonably deft touch with music." Mary McNamara for the
Los Angeles Times found the series to have a wide audience appeal, deeming
Glee "the first show in a long time that's just plain full-throttle, no-guilty-pleasure-rationalizations-necessary fun." James Poniewozik of
Time ranked
Glee the eighth best television show of 2009 out of ten reviewed, deeming it "transcendent, tear-jerking and thrilling like nothing else on TV". He noted that the series did have faults, but praised its ambition and Lynch's "gaspingly funny" performance as Sue.
Entertainment Weekly Ken Tucker ranked the season ninth out of ten, lauding its novelty, while Lisa Respers France of
CNN wrote that despite its "recipe for disaster" premise, the show's charm and bravado were enough to engage audiences.
Variety Brian Lowry was critical of the season's early episodes, highlighting acting and characterization issues, Following the mid-season finale, Lowry wrote that while the series still had problems, its musical performances and cast were enough to keep him watching, and despite its issues, "TV would be poorer without
Glee." John Doyle of
The Globe and Mail criticized the season's development, writing that while early episodes had been enjoyable, the show's success drew focus away from its characters and plot onto celebrity guest stars. Jean Bentley of
MTV found the season uneven, writing that it began with a promising plot and impressive musical numbers, but became too "cheesy" and excessively sentimental. Raymund Flandez of
The Wall Street Journal agreed that the season had definite highs and lows, but called the finale a "warm embrace that – let’s face it – you just don't want to let go." After the episode "Showmance", the
Parents Television Council named
Glee the "Worst Show of the Week", deeming it inappropriate for teenagers due to its "sexually-charged adult" nature. Nancy Gibbs of
Time magazine wrote that she had heard
Glee described as "anti-Christian" by a youth minister, but commented that while almost all of the
Ten Commandments are violated during the season, she found it insulting to teenagers to suggest that they would attempt to emulate what they saw on-screen. She described
Glee as being about "a journey not just to college and career but to identity and conviction, the price of popularity, the compromises we must make between what we want and what we need." The episode "Wheels" attracted criticism from a committee of performers with disabilities, who felt that casting an able-bodied actor to play a student with disabilities was inappropriate. Falchuk responded that while he understood the concern and frustration of disability advocates, McHale had the singing and acting ability, talent and charisma required for the role. The following eight episodes ranged between 6.63 and 7.65 million viewers, falling to a series low of 6.17 million viewers with "Hairography" on November 25, 2009. Viewership improved for the final two episodes of the first half of the season, with "Mattress" and "Sectionals" drawing 8.15 and 8.13 million viewers respectively. The following six episodes attained between 11.49 and 12.98 million viewers, falling to 9.02 million for the penultimate episode "Funk". The episode began with a 3.6/10 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic, rising to 4.1/11 in the last 30 minutes. It was down 21 percent on the previous episode, but was
Glee best 18–49 rating for an episode not following
American Idol. The series was nominated for ten
Creative Arts Emmy Awards and nine
Primetime Emmy Awards. It received eight nominations at the Gay, Lesbian and Bi People's Choice Awards, run by the gay media websites
AfterEllen.com and AfterElton.com, of which it won seven. It was also awarded three Dorian Awards by the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association.
Glee received four nominations at the
67th Golden Globe Awards, winning one, and was nominated in six categories at the
2009 Satellite Awards, winning five.
Glee received three nominations for the
Teen Choice Awards in 2009, and thirteen in 2010. The series received four nominations for the 2010
TCA Awards, winning three, while Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy each received two nominations at the 2010
Writers Guild of America Awards. The series won "Outstanding TV Program of the Year" at the 2009
AFI Awards, "Favorite New TV Comedy" at the 2010
People's Choice Awards, "Outstanding Comedy Series" at the
21st GLAAD Media Awards, "Future Classic" at the 2010
TV Land Awards, a
Peabody Award for excellence, and "Do Something TV Show" at the
VH1 Do Something Awards. It was also nominated for the "
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Comedy Series" at the
NAACP Image Awards, the "Comedy Series Episode"
Prism Awards for "Vitamin D", "Fave International Band" and "Fave TV Show" at the
Nickelodeon Australian Kids Choice Awards 2010, and shortlisted for the "YouTube Audience Award" at the
BAFTA Awards. The cast won "Favorite New Television Cast Ensemble" at the Diversity Awards, and "
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" at the 2010
Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2009, the crew won an
Artios Award for the casting of "Pilot". They also won "Outstanding Musical Supervision – TV" at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and the "
Outstanding Contemporary Television Series" award at the
CDG Awards, and were nominated for the "Single Camera Television Series"
Art Directors Guild Award for "Pilot", and "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Television Series" at the
Cinema Audio Society Awards for "Wheels". In 2010, David Klotz won "Best Sound Editing: Short Form Music in Television" at the
Golden Reel Awards for his work on "Pilot", "Wheels" won a "Television With a Conscience"
Television Academy Honors award, and Brennan, Falchuk and Murphy jointly won "Comedy Writer of the Year" at the
Just for Laughs Awards. ==Home video releases==