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

[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.