>She’s the evil character: the one the audience loves to hate.
She’s the one determined to force the others to fail.
She is so self-centered that even her thoughts and journals reflect her nastiness.

She’s played brilliantly by Jane Lynch on the Fox show Glee.

Yes, I’m a Gleek. I watch Glee, record it to enjoy again later, and tweet/ plurk/ share my reactions with other Gleeks online and in person. I watched the Glee cast on Oprah, enjoying their personal take on the characters they play. All are wonderful, talented musicians and actors. But as I’m cheering on the New Directions (the show choir/ glee club featured in the show’s name), I’m laughing uncontrollably at their nemesis, the cheerleading coach.

Glee is a classic situation of jocks vs. artists. The football team welcomes a gay student because he can kick; he teaches them to dance. The cheerleaders (Cheerios!) in the choir are caught in a loyalty tug-of-war because their coach (the aforementioned Sue Sylvester) hates their glee club director so badly she’s determined to cause the ensemble’s failure. The principal is caught in a bind; he supports the Glee Club, but evil Sue blackmails him (unbelievably and hysterically) into keeping her on staff despite her transgressions and favoring her Cheerios’ budget.

So how can she be funny? Pay attention when Sue speaks. In fact, turn on the closed captioning. Her lines contain such surprising, creative, and outrageous statements, you’ll want to hear them twice. Complaining to the Cheerios that their performance was substandard, she cries through the bullhorn, “You think that was hard? I just passed a gallstone! Now that was hard!”

Wait until she confides in Kurt and Mercedes about her hair hang-ups and throws “napalm” into the conversation without a blink.

I can’t wait to see more. But Ms. Sylvester, don’t count out the musicians. Still waters run deep, especially in artists. They may be geeks and nerds, but their talents are strong and motivation stronger. Together with Spanish teacher & Glee Club director Will Schuester, the New Directions will pull through.

While hilarity and great tunes ensue, of course.