Smash..

[shadowkat]

Just finished watching the third episode of SMASH - Enter Joe Dimaggio...and this show continues to rock. It's great. Refreshing. New. Wonderful songs. Wonderful performances. Fun. Yeah, it's possibly cliche in places but no more so than anything else that I've watched.

I'm surprised it's as good as it is. Wasn't expecting it to be. Was expecting something more mediocre like Glee.

So far the best new series of this year are Revenge, Once Upon a Time and Smash - all female focused.
Theresa Rebeck is really putting a feminist spin on Smash, the female characters are strong.
And the politics of showbiz on target. Finally figured out where I'd seen the actor playing Derek Willes, the Director, before - Coupling. He played Steven on Coupling (the role that Stephen Moffat based on himself). I loved him in that and I love him in this.

If you like musicals and haven't tried this? You really should. It's that good.

Comments

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

I fear that the ratings are slumping for this so you better enjoy it while you can.

I watched the three episodes online this AM and you're right - this is good.

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

Otoh, it's on NBC, so it has a much better chance of lasting. Success has to be graded on a curve there or...they'd have no shows, heh. Also, each season (if it lasts) is going to be a self-contained arc about the production of a different Broadway show, with only some characters carrying over year to year, so even if it isn't renewed, we should get a complete story. With the amount of money NBC pumped into the show (and some high-profile actresses and actors not only on the series now but appearing in future arcs), it's highly doubtful they won't at least air all 15 episodes of the first season.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Thank you. You articulated what I was thinking as well.

I've found that I don't really pay close attention to ratings any longer...partly because the expansion of cable, increased use of DVR's and Tivos, as well as DVD and itunes purchases has changed how ratings can be realistically viewed. They are only one part of the picture that advertisers and marketers as well as networks utilize to determine the long-term viability of a tv series.

Demographics is in important. Critical response.
Number of songs downloaded on itunes. Cross-marketing potential. Price of the series. Whether it can build on word of mouth. And what channel it's on.

You really can't tell if a show will live or die on ratings alone. If you could? Ringer wouldn't have lasted more than two episodes. And Grim would have been canceled.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

As I responded below...ratings isn't always a good indicator. I rarely pay attention to them any more. Buffyannatator is right...it depends on the network and what nitch or type of show it wants. If this was on CBS or ABC? Or Fox? Yeah, it may get canceled. But it's on NBC - who is desperate for a critical darling. Something the critics rave about and can get Emmy's as well as pull in a different demographic. They have very few shows right now and no dramas that have been nominated in critical categories...everything is sitcoms or reality.

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

I agree. I keep meaning to write a review of Smash, but I have so much to say about it that I'm having trouble getting started. It's funny, because usually have lots to say about a show makes it easier for me to write about it, but there's something about this show that's making it hard for me to organize my thoughts. I will say that I love how it inverts the typical stereotypes...How the advertising was setting up Katherine McPhee as the "star," only to flip that around. And of the two women vying for the role, neither is a villain. It would've been easy to make Ivy a one-note, jaded bitch archetype vs the young, innocent Karen, but she's not. She's also sweet, enormously talented...and imho much more deserving of the role. But the show allows you to root for who you want to root for, without pushing you one way or the other, which is really incredible. And also, we have two strong female characters competing for a role, not fighting over a man. Meanwhile, Anjelica Huston is absolutely awesome battling to succeed in a man's world and emerge from the shadow of her ex-husband. Also, the music is absolutely stunning. Great melodies, extremely clever lyrics. I hope they do end up turning Marilyn into an actual Broadway show, as has been rumored. Smash really makes we want to see it. And...yeah, I should probably get around to writing my review. :)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Oh so agree. And like you I've been struggling to write a review of each episode. It's a fascinating series and does an excellent job of playing with show-biz stereotypes, even subverting them.

In this week's episode for example - it played with the stereotype of the director sleeping with the star of the show. The writer can't judge, because she did it. And points out that it's not that clear cut. Sometimes you just get a crush.

It goes down the "expected" route, then suddenly turns left instead of right and surprises you.

Plus I really want to see Marilyn the Musical. The songs are great and the story they are building terrific. Actually I want to see Marilyn the Musical on Bway more than I want to see what is on Bway at the moment. I love the line: "I'm tired of Revivals..." LOL!

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was interesting that getting the part wasn't Ivy's motivation in sleeping with the director. Actually, she worries later that that might be the reason she got it. And that contrasts interestingly with her friend who asked Tom out on the date, because we get the sense that he might be purposefully taking advantage. Also, what Julia says about show crushes is so well written. Because that happens all the time, people in a production falling for each other due to their talent (which is interesting, because there's something illusory about that...their talent is about creating a fiction, so when someone gets a crush on that, they're getting a crush on a mirage), and I can imagine it being even more intense for a writer watching someone perfectly bring her/his work to life. Also, it's just such an emotionally intense working environment. I can completely see Ivy having been swept away by the emotion of the scene she was working on with Derek, and by his talent as a director/choreographer when she first slept with him. I don't think there was any calculation, in retrospect, which is interesting because when I saw the second ep, I thought there might have been.

It's just great to see characters so passionate about theatre, and yes, the show can be slightly clunky in spots, but it also feels so much more emotionally honest than Glee. These characters are dreamers too but they also understand the ropes, the ugly side of the business, too. It's cut-throat. Yet, at the same time, there still is that magic feeling that drives people to do it. And Smash just nails that.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I so agree.

It's just great to see characters so passionate about theatre, and yes, the show can be slightly clunky in spots, but it also feels so much more emotionally honest than Glee.

The problem with Glee is that it is meant to be a satire with just a touch of parody intertwined. Everything is exaggerated on it. And so little is meant to be taken seriously. So as a result, little is genuine or honest. After a while, the characters get buried beneath the satire as does the emotion. This is the problem with doing pure satire in a lengthy format. I think satire works better in short snatches...or it risks becoming allegorical. I sometimes think only the Brits can pull it off without coming across pretentious. OR,
I may be tired of satire.

And yes, so wonderful to see a series where characters love theater, yet are realistic about it - not romanticizing it. It takes us inside the process - and I love the process of putting on a Broadway Show.

Also, it's just such an emotionally intense working environment.

Exactly. As Julia's husband Frank says at one point - I don't want you to go back to writing a show - we don't see you for months. You disappear until its completed. And this is true in showbiz - whether you are working on creating a play, musical, or film - the people working on it are intensely involved. It's not a 9-5 job. It's a 24/7 job. Some television series become like that too - but run the risk of burning out their talent, because it's hard to keep up that level of energy for a lengthy period of time. It's also why it is so hard to have a personal life in the entertainment biz. A lot of marriages break up and a lot of people have affairs with whomever they are working with - because it is so intense. The cast and crew literally become your extended family for 6 months.