Glee could be banned from the UK

Yes. You heard right. Glee could be leaving our TV screens due to a ruling from a recent lawsuit. The show follows the lives of teachers and students who run a musical group at the fictitious McKinley High School and is well-known for its musical renditions.

Deputy Judge Roger Wyand, QC, has ruled that Fox has infringed The Glee Club’s 1999 trademark.

‘The Glee Club’ is an independent chain of stand-up comedy and music venues in the UK, and has featured the likes of Michael McIntyre, Russell Howard, Alan Carr and Jimmy Carr.

After a three-year battle, the owner of the chain, Mark Tughan, has finally been successful in his court case against Fox, arguing that potential customers have been discouraged from visiting his clubs due to associations with the American series.

This means that the show may be taken off UK air. Along with this, Glee merchandise will no longer be sold in our shops and we will be unable to download tracks from the show. It seems that every trace of the series will be erased: if you ask me, this all sounds a bit totalitarian.

The determination of Tughan is certainly admirable: he has described his fight against the giant corporation as a ‘David and Goliath’ battle. A normal man taking on and defeating a rich and powerful organization is the stuff of cinematic bliss.

However, I feel that with the recent death of Cory Monteith in July last year, the court case seems very insensitive. In October 2013, a week after the airing of the tribute episode to Monteith, Glee creator Ryan Murphy announced that the sixth season of Glee will be the show’s final season. I would raise the  question as to the point of banning the show when only one series remains.

While the name of the show has infringed on the trademark of a comedy club, its many positives cannot be ignored. Glee promotes acceptance and rebelling against social pressures. The show has embraced a range of different sexualities and orientations, showing that being different isn’t a bad thing. Instead, it shows being unique as a quality to strive towards. Unlike many other big-budget American dramas, the cast of Glee aren’t a bunch of supermodels: rather, people of all shapes, sizes and ethnicities feature.

As a bit of a self-confessed Gleek myself, I thoroughly hope that Fox’s appeal will overturn the ruling. After sticking with the show for the past four and a half series, I want to be able to see how it all ends.