![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatSo saw the premier of S2 SMASH, which is slightly better than S1, but has some of the same problems. As much as I hate to say this...but I agree with the NY Times Critic who stated the following:
The surprising thing about “Smash” was that a show meant to capture the magic of live theater could be so lifeless: flatly written, with a creeping sanctimoniousness and a middlebrow sensibility that seemed to reflect Hollywood’s idea of what would please a Wednesday matinee audience.
Which is unfortunately true. I like the show, but I don't love it. It drags in places. And it has at least three roles that are poorly miscast. Katherine McPhee has an amazing voice, but the poor thing can't act her way out of a box...and she is no Jennifer Hudson. She lacks the screen presence and comes across a bit lipid. Megan Hility as Ivy is far more relateable, and a much better actress. Only she's been written oddly. And I'm still not sure what to make of Debra Messing and Angelica Huston.
What works is Derek (the director), Tom (the song-writer), and Ivy. I sort of wish they'd gotten rid of the other three. Or replaced them. I spent half of the first episode aggravated with Karen/Katherine McPhee, and rooting for Ivy. (I'm guessing it was supposed to be the opposite?)
That said, Jennifer Hudson is a welcome addition, as is the new song-writing team and their new musical. Branching the series out and including more musicals, eliminating the boring personal subplots, and adding more musical numbers picked up the pacing a little bit.
It could get better. But it will never have the edge or the grit that a good show about Broadway could and should have. It's too..much like Hollywood's fantasy of what Broadway should be.
In other news? General Hospital has become quite wonky. I'm not quite sure what to make of it at the moment. We have a vampire who looks like a cop, and I'm not sure he's real or a figment of another character's imagination. The Momster and I keep trading theories back and forth over the phone. The spoiler sites don't know either. We're all hopelessly befuddled. It's quite amusing really. Lovely thing about soaps, outside of being mindless fun, their plots take such bizarre twists..that they remain impossible to predict.
Also just about every main lead from the show's heyday in the 1970s and 80s is coming back. What's interesting about the series though - is all the super-couples (and I do mean all of them) from the 70s and 80s are broken up, none of them raised or spent any time with their kids who were raised by other people and as a result, have issues. In short, yes, fun wild abusive romance, great to watch, but has the longevity of a piece of chocolate in my apartment. The soap opera as hard as it tried...couldn't sustain these romances. I find that rather enlightening and oddly reassuring.
Tried to watch The Taste before Smash began last night. And ugh. It's a weak copy-cat of Top Chef, Project Runway, and American Idol. This formula has grown stale and predictable. Not to mention grating. Although the appeal of reality shows in general continues to bewilder me. I get that they are mindless, but where's the fun in watching real people make asses out themselves on live tv? I cringe and have to change the channel. Of course I have similar issues with a lot of American "embarrassment" comedy...so there is that. I admit my sense of humor is different than a lot of people - it's very dry, and sardonic, I like absurdist humor, and gentle mockery. Not a huge fan of parody. Satire? If it is subtle (anything by the Brits, the comedy series MASH) and not hammering me over the head (ie. anything by Ryan Murphy and most American satire). Not crazy about puns - mainly because they go over my head - I don't know why, I think it must have something to do with the dyslexia? Physical comedy - tends to embarass me, unless it is absurdist like Wile E. Coyote or Something Blue in BTVS.
The surprising thing about “Smash” was that a show meant to capture the magic of live theater could be so lifeless: flatly written, with a creeping sanctimoniousness and a middlebrow sensibility that seemed to reflect Hollywood’s idea of what would please a Wednesday matinee audience.
Which is unfortunately true. I like the show, but I don't love it. It drags in places. And it has at least three roles that are poorly miscast. Katherine McPhee has an amazing voice, but the poor thing can't act her way out of a box...and she is no Jennifer Hudson. She lacks the screen presence and comes across a bit lipid. Megan Hility as Ivy is far more relateable, and a much better actress. Only she's been written oddly. And I'm still not sure what to make of Debra Messing and Angelica Huston.
What works is Derek (the director), Tom (the song-writer), and Ivy. I sort of wish they'd gotten rid of the other three. Or replaced them. I spent half of the first episode aggravated with Karen/Katherine McPhee, and rooting for Ivy. (I'm guessing it was supposed to be the opposite?)
That said, Jennifer Hudson is a welcome addition, as is the new song-writing team and their new musical. Branching the series out and including more musicals, eliminating the boring personal subplots, and adding more musical numbers picked up the pacing a little bit.
It could get better. But it will never have the edge or the grit that a good show about Broadway could and should have. It's too..much like Hollywood's fantasy of what Broadway should be.
In other news? General Hospital has become quite wonky. I'm not quite sure what to make of it at the moment. We have a vampire who looks like a cop, and I'm not sure he's real or a figment of another character's imagination. The Momster and I keep trading theories back and forth over the phone. The spoiler sites don't know either. We're all hopelessly befuddled. It's quite amusing really. Lovely thing about soaps, outside of being mindless fun, their plots take such bizarre twists..that they remain impossible to predict.
Also just about every main lead from the show's heyday in the 1970s and 80s is coming back. What's interesting about the series though - is all the super-couples (and I do mean all of them) from the 70s and 80s are broken up, none of them raised or spent any time with their kids who were raised by other people and as a result, have issues. In short, yes, fun wild abusive romance, great to watch, but has the longevity of a piece of chocolate in my apartment. The soap opera as hard as it tried...couldn't sustain these romances. I find that rather enlightening and oddly reassuring.
Tried to watch The Taste before Smash began last night. And ugh. It's a weak copy-cat of Top Chef, Project Runway, and American Idol. This formula has grown stale and predictable. Not to mention grating. Although the appeal of reality shows in general continues to bewilder me. I get that they are mindless, but where's the fun in watching real people make asses out themselves on live tv? I cringe and have to change the channel. Of course I have similar issues with a lot of American "embarrassment" comedy...so there is that. I admit my sense of humor is different than a lot of people - it's very dry, and sardonic, I like absurdist humor, and gentle mockery. Not a huge fan of parody. Satire? If it is subtle (anything by the Brits, the comedy series MASH) and not hammering me over the head (ie. anything by Ryan Murphy and most American satire). Not crazy about puns - mainly because they go over my head - I don't know why, I think it must have something to do with the dyslexia? Physical comedy - tends to embarass me, unless it is absurdist like Wile E. Coyote or Something Blue in BTVS.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-02-07 08:13 am (UTC)It could get better. But it will never have the edge or the grit that a good show about Broadway could and should have. It's too..much like Hollywood's fantasy of what Broadway should be.
"nods". They really don't seem to know what to do with the characters in this other than stage musical numbers. And with the rating for this episode being as horrid as it was, we may never get the chance to have them sort out their issues. Which would be a shame because there really isn't anything like this on television. And if this fails, no one else will try to do it again.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-07 11:42 pm (UTC)Also part II or the episode entitled Fallout, fell flat.
Nashville which is similar in some respects works better, but it also has better talent behind it. The guy they hired to write SMASH was formerly involved with "Gossip Girl" - apparently they couldn't find someone better? Also the ticks they fixed - were based on complaints on the internet. They made the same mistakes that Glee did, paid far too much attention to the naysayers on the internet. (Seriously? The people on the net blogs hate the scarves, so if we get rid of the scarves, everything will be fine??) Silly marketing people - they've made internet responses far more important than they actually are.
It could get better, but it may be too late...the audience has wandered off to other things. In this day and age, it is very hard to keep viewers - if you don't engage them immediately.