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Smash on NBC HDTV

21K views 396 replies 49 participants last post by  Cal1981 
#1 ·
So after all the hype what did everyone think? I enjoyed the show, found it interesting that they are weaving several plots within the show. I like seeing the writing interwoven wiht the search for a lead. I don't belive for a moment that this type of thing happens, but I'm going to enjoy the ride, will be tuning in to see where things go.
 
#102 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaded Dogfood /forum/post/21807317


I like it. It's frought with clichés, but it's a backstage story. What else are you going to do? Plus, I suspect cliché situations happen in real life when mounting plays. It's mythic. The same things happen over and over in myths. That's why they're myths.


This beats what Glee has morphed into up and down the block.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cal1981 /forum/post/21808071


Despite it's flaws, we are ejoying Smash. Maybe it's because we're "theater people" and there is enough of a look behind the scenes of a show ramping up but we pretty much all in on the show. I am sorry to see Will Chase get written out. He is a brilliant performer and his work on the final number on Monday "On Lexington and 52nd Street" was excellent. As much as Ivy's personality can be off-putting, Megan Hilty definitely has the goods and it's clear why she's a Broadway A-lister. Also love how Anjelica Houston's Eileen is taking a more prominent role in the show. She's just fun to watch.

I agree. Smash is a lot of fun and occasionally moving, too. I loved the play within a play twist in the Lexington and 52nd Street number and thought Will Chase knocked it out of the park. The guy is a wonderful singing actor. He reminds me of the young Mandy Patinkin. I could have done without the made-up stumbles in Ivy's performance in the workshop but, as usual, Megan Hilty's singing was delightful. Finally, I got a kick out of the iconic Bernadette Peters playing a stage mother in the episode and singing Mama Rose numbers from Gypsy. Mama Rose had to be the ultimate stage mother. ("Sing out, Baby June!"
)


The bottom line is that I am still really liking this show and thought this week's episode was one of the best yet.
 
#104 ·
TV Notes
NBC's 'Smash' Renewed for Season 2

By Tim Molloy, TheWrap.com - Mar. 22, 2012


NBC has renewed the Broadway musical drama "Smash" for a second season.


Though it has lost much of its lead-in on Monday's from "The Voice," "Smash" is NBC's top drama in viewers in the 18-49 demographic most important to advertisers. It is also a favorite of NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt.


"Smash," which follows two aspiring stars (Kathatine McPhee and Megan Hilty) as they try to make it big in a musical about Marilyn Monroe, is up 160 percent in the demo in the 10 p.m. Monday timeslot. It earned a 2.6 compared to the previous 1.0.


The series, which counts Steven Spielberg among its executive producers, has also doubled viewership in the timeslot from 3.9 million to 7.7 million.


NBC paired it with "The Voice" with hopes to establish a musical-themed Monday. "The Voice" has become the top-rated show of the season, earning a higher average even than "American Idol," which has led in the ratings for the past eight seasons.


"Smash" hasn't hit those highs, but the renewal is a vote of confidence that it can grow.

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/nb...season-2-36472
 
#105 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by dad1153 /forum/post/21813738

TV Notes
NBC's 'Smash' Renewed for Season 2

Thanks, Dad, that is good news, indeed. I was beginning to fear that NBC was getting ready to pull the plug on Smash.
 
#106 ·
Honestly, I think there's probably about 90 to 120 minutes worth of story here and trying to stretch that out over an entire TV season is just getting to be painful and tedious...


Unlike, say The Walking Dead or Falling Skies or Glee or Terra Nova or The Sarah Connor Chronicles et cetera ad nauseum...
 
#108 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaded Dogfood /forum/post/21815681


Unlike, say The Walking Dead or Falling Skies or Glee or Terra Nova or The Sarah Connor Chronicles et cetera ad nauseum...

Missing the point: I think this would have made an excellent feature film a/o an actual live Broadway production ... as a TV show, maybe not so much. Exchange the singing/dancing parts for scrubs/O.R. action and you've got Grey's Anatomy ... which I bailed out on years ago.



PS: When quoting me, how about using the forum's actual quote function. Less confusing, easier to follow.
 
#110 ·
PS: When quoting me, how about using the forum's actual quote function.


Never mastered the art of using it.


I admit the show is sort of creeping along in the manner of other shows on television now. Lots of shows have pretty much dispensed with self-contained episodes in exchange for the season being like an old serial. It's good if you can get lots of people hooked from the beginning, but you can also end up with something you can't just drop into, or you can get lost in if you miss an episode.


I still think this one maintains interest. It's not as much a soap about the fight for Marilyn as it is a story about the creation of a collaborative work of art, or at least craft. It's a television updating of Powell/Pressburger's classic The Red Shoes, about the creation of a ballet. And if you like this and have never seen The Red Shoes you need to rent it immediately, as it is one of the greatest films ever made.


I really look forward to Smash. It's something you can really get your teeth into. It's well acted if you can accept broad, operatic sorts of performances (or just plain good performances, such as Angelica Huston's). Katharine McPhee has a ways to go, and seems to spend most of her time hovering in the background with her mouth open slightly, depending on her looks to define her character, but I think she'll work out okay.


It's defined pretty much the way it's going to behave in the future, so if you don't like it now you probably never will. Plus, I suspect its primary audience hasn't even discovered it yet.
 
#112 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaded Dogfood /forum/post/21816668


It's a television updating of Powell/Pressburger's classic The Red Shoes, about the creation of a ballet. And if you like this and have never seen The Red Shoes you need to rent it immediately, as it is one of the greatest films ever made.

Not sure I would agree with either point.
 
#113 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaded Dogfood /forum/post/0



I really look forward to Smash. It's something you can really get your teeth into. It's well acted if you can accept broad, operatic sorts of performances (or just plain good performances, such as Angelica Huston's). Katharine McPhee has a ways to go, and seems to spend most of her time hovering in the background with her mouth open slightly, depending on her looks to define her character, but I think she'll work out

Wow. We must be watching two entirely different shows. Sink your teeth into? Well-acted? Angelica Huston makes me cringe every time she speaks (and I've always loved her, btw). The narrative is cliche-driven and written as if the concept of subtext has just been invented.


But, hey, whatever gets your toe a-tapping. I mean, what's not to love about Bernadette Peters beltin' it out? ;-)
 
#114 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by bruce73 /forum/post/21816895


Wow. We must be watching two entirely different shows. Sink your teeth into? Well-acted? Angelica Huston makes me cringe every time she speaks (and I've always loved her, btw). The narrative is cliche-driven and written as if the concept of subtext has just be invented.


But, hey, whatever gets your toe a-tapping. I mean, what's not to love about Bernadette Peters beltin' it out? ;-)

I think you just have to accept it, warts and all. I admire the staging and the production of the numbers and am willing to go along with the rest. Nobody in the cast really bothers me, and that includes Katherine McPhee, as I've said before, I think it's well cast.


I must admit, though, the whole affair with Debra Messing's character just never worked for me. It's hard to be invested in a relationship like that, and to find any motivation for either character to do it, so you're left with little sympathy for two of your leads.
 
#115 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jandron /forum/post/21817357


Nobody in the cast really bothers me, and that includes Katherine McPhee, as I've said before, I think it's well cast.

Well that's actually part of my problem with the show. It takes absolutely *no* risks. It doesn't offend, it doesn't really inspire ... it just kind of "is" for 43 minutes and change. Plus, they're already recycling footage used in earlier episodes ...


Just saying that sometimes less is more.
 
#116 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jandron /forum/post/0



I think you just have to accept it, warts and all. I admire the staging and the production of the numbers and am willing to go along with the rest. Nobody in the cast really bothers me, and that includes Katherine McPhee, as I've said before, I think it's well cast.


I must admit, though, the whole affair with Debra Messing's character just never worked for me. It's hard to be invested in a relationship like that, and to find any motivation for either character to do it, so you're left with little sympathy for two of your leads.

Agreed. The bottom line is I'm still watching, so I guess that means something. It's just I had higher expectations (I'm blaming your son's great work on Justified -- it has definitely spoiled me). ;-) :-D
 
#117 ·
Where can this go in a second season? Are they going to finish this season by staging a full production on Broadway or by staging an opening off- off-Broadway and then the second season would be about actually getting on Broadway? I can't see a subsequent season once they hit Broadway. What then? A different production with different characters/actors?
 
#118 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Amnesia /forum/post/21816736


You mean pressing the little "Quote" button under the post and then deleting the content you don't want to quote?

That's right. It doesn't include HDTV's original proposition, nor yours.

It's a television updating of Powell/Pressburger's classic The Red Shoes, about the creation of a ballet. And if you like this and have never seen The Red Shoes you need to rent it immediately, as it is one of the greatest films ever made.


Not sure I would agree with either point.



See, that's why this is a great country. There's freedom of speech.
 
#119 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mreedelp /forum/post/21817737


Where can this go in a second season? Are they going to finish this season by staging a full production on Broadway or by staging an opening off- off-Broadway and then the second season would be about actually getting on Broadway? I can't see a subsequent season once they hit Broadway. What then? A different production with different characters/actors?

Not necessarily. A Broadway show's creation can be a very lengthy process with some serious retooling before it ever hits a real stage (that will apparently be the case with Marilyn as well). They could go into a second season with the show still not quite ready to open. When Uma Thurmond shows up as a big name star vying for the lead, that plot line alone could generate enough drama to last for multiple episodes. Then there can be very dramatic changes during the out of town runs. Again, the most recent notable example is Wicked which opened it's trial run in San Francisco. Robert Morse, a Broadway icon, was cast as the Wizard and was summarily fired to be replaced by Joel Grey. Lotsa heavy stuff can happen and it could make for some pretty good TV.
 
#121 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cal1981 /forum/post/21818152


Not necessarily. A Broadway show's creation can be a very lengthy process with some serious retooling before it ever hits a real stage (that will apparently be the case with Marilyn as well). They could go into a second season with the show still not quite ready to open. When Uma Thurmond shows up as a big name star vying for the lead, that plot line alone could generate enough drama to last for multiple episodes. Then there can be very dramatic changes during the out of town runs. Again, the most recent notable example is Wicked which opened it's trial run in San Francisco. Robert Morse, a Broadway icon, was cast as the Wizard and was summarily fired to be replaced by Joel Grey. Lotsa heavy stuff can happen and it could make for some pretty good TV.

What he said.


As an example, in the walk-through, or whatever it was, they seemed to be ending the show with Marilyn and Joe D breaking up. You really need her death, and tragic details like DiMaggio setting her up with Frank Sinatra and stuff of that nature.


Earlier in the thread it was mentioned that they have dreams of actually presenting the play on Broadway, which makes a great deal of sense. Some of the songs are already pretty good.
 
#122 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaded Dogfood /forum/post/21818443


What he said.


Earlier in the thread it was mentioned that they have dreams of actually presenting the play on Broadway, which makes a great deal of sense. Some of the songs are already pretty good.

I agree. The original songs have been very good. The ones that I really like are "Let me Be Your Star", "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and the astounding "Lexington and 52nd Street". Will Chase still knocks me over when I watch it. Interesting trivia note: when Marilyn flopped on Broadway in 1983, Joe Dimaggio was played by Scott Bakula in his first major theatre role.
 
#123 ·
But this show is like forcing somebody to wade through the 20hrs worth of 480p encoded "behind the scenes, making of ..." extras on a BluRay release *before* they're allowed to watch the 2 hour feature film ...


I'm done commenting ... I'll probably stick out the season, but then it falls victim to my newly minted "no more new broadcast networks shows" rule.


Recovery by attrition.
 
#124 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by HDTVChallenged /forum/post/21820571


But this show is like forcing somebody to wade through the 20hrs worth of 480p encoded "behind the scenes, making of ..." extras on a BluRay release *before* they're allowed to watch the 2 hour feature film ...

That's exactly the premise Spielberg had in mind when he came up with the idea...

"I've had this idea for quite a few years," Spielberg says in the video. "I'm really interested in what happens backstage ... For me, it's a complete mystery how they do it in theater."

"Choreographers battling with writers and actors auditioning in competition with each other," Spielberg adds, "That entire mix often sets off thermonuclear explosions, which I think makes good drama for television. It just makes good drama. Period."

The original concept was that each season would follow the production of a new musical; if any of them were "stage-worthy", Spielberg would make them into actual Broadway musicals.
 
#125 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles R /forum/post/21821077


That's exactly the premise Spielberg had in mind when he came up with the idea...

Temporarily breaking my "promise of no more comments."


And yet somehow I doubt anyone outside of the industry (or theater) really cares about these things. The only reason the ratings are holding up are:


1) It follows "Voice"

2) It's really just "Grey's Anatomy" set in the rehearsal hall ...


Then again, maybe all those hours I spent in rehearsal halls (as a would be musician) during my youth have inoculated me against "the mystery."
 
#126 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by HDTVChallenged /forum/post/21821535


And yet somehow I doubt anyone outside of the industry (or theater) really cares about these things. The only reason the ratings are holding up are:


1) It follows "Voice"

2) It's really just "Grey's Anatomy" set in the rehearsal hall ...

I think it's pretty clear that you don't have to be a theater professional to enjoy shows like Smash, which dramatize the putting on of shows. Such things are interesting to those of us who are no more than musical theater fans. Proof of the pudding, I guess are Cole Porter's Broadway hit, Kiss Me Kate, first produced in 1948, and Kieban & Hamlisch's 1975 sensation, A Chorus Line, which ran on Broadway for 15 years. The reason such shows are popular doesn't have much to do with their soapy dramatic story lines, but everything to do with their music and dancing.
 
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