What I’m Watching: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 14 “Previews” (C+)

So Dev did sleep with Ivy, and not only did he do that, but he also managed to leave the ring in her hotel room, something I thought that Karen was going to discover in the episode’s closing moments. Instead, Dev decided it wasn’t worth bringing up and that he could still marry Karen since she asked him to re-propose, and Ivy, for once, feels like an awful human being since she’s betrayed the Iowa girl who’s only ever been nice to her. Admittedly, there’s something exciting about seeing snippets of all the big numbers being performed during the previews, and it’s clear that the ending does need work, as evidenced by the complete lack of applause. Someone poisoning Rebecca is rather dramatic, and I have to suspect Ellis since he’s always up to no good. Michael’s return did prove to be ill-fated as he thought that Julia wanted to rekindle their romance, and I’m so incredibly glad that she was able to pull it together and fend him off so that they go right back down the same plotline path again. Getting the whole group together to go to church felt kind of hokey and odd, but it was all just an excuse to have Sam get up and perform with Karen since he never gets that chance to take the spotlight and show off his singing chops. If there’s one thing that is believable about this show, it’s that people that love to sing will always go out of their way to find an opportunity to sing, no matter the setting.

What I’m Watching: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 13 “Tech” (D+)

Apparently, there’s no such thing as a secret in show business. Neither Derek nor Eileen is remotely surprised to find that Julia would be against Michael’s return to the show, since their affair was apparently painfully obvious. Because nothing could possibly happen to make the show truly fail, Frank and Leo have to decide that Julia’s success is important to them, and therefore they’ll get through it, after lots of yelling and worry about the world ending if Julia left the show. Since everything is obvious anyway, Derek, the world’s most insensitive man, thought it wouldn’t be necessary to hide his affair with yet another Marilyn from anyone, missing his birthday dinner with Ivy in the process. Dev, the show’s most useless character, doesn’t even go to work anymore since he has little to do anyway, and is one of those people that thinks that not cheating when you have the opportunity makes you a good person. It’s hard to decide whether Dev or Karen is the most asinine, him for proposing in the least romantic way possible hours after almost cheating on her, or her for responding right away with “We’re in the middle of tech” instead of perhaps suggesting that they postpone the wedding planning a few months. With all of this drama going on, Tom has enough time to have a casual dinner with Sam’s family, where he doesn’t stick up for his boyfriend’s profession yet still manages to charm Sam, since this show has to balance out his happy and unhappy endings. I can only hope nothing comes of Ivy and Dev's meeting at episode's end.

What I’m Watching: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 12 “Publicity” (C-)

This show is starting to seriously slip, and it’s unlikely that it will be able to recover once Rebecca Duvall inevitably finds herself fired from the project. She’s proving to be increasingly despicable, and primping Karen as the next big thing was rather obnoxious as well. The trip to the Indian restaurant resulted in the show’s most peculiar and non-diegetic move yet, which featured Dev twirling around and singing with everyone else dressed in traditional Indian garb. I think the show would be better off sticking to reality, where it won’t embarrass itself with overdone, unnecessary scenes. Tom’s excessive emotion about Leo’s disappearance was irritating, and everything to do with Julia, Frank, and Leo is irksome, mostly because Leo is a terrible character who’s almost more worthless than Ellis. Julia’s intimidation of Leo’s friend was unfortunately laughable, and it’s yet another instance of why personal lives should be kept private on this show. Nick was quite uncultured at the gallery, but he does deserve credit for not letting Jerry get to him, and for whisking Eileen away from the miserable party. Though she’s not bright, Karen didn’t deserve what Ivy and Ellis did to her, and, while I suspect that the show wouldn’t let her go that easily, she’s going to suffer the consequences for adhering to the texted instructions to go home. Derek has plenty more rage to get out of his system, and Rebecca’s inability to sing is likely going to bring about her downfall, especially considering how powerful Ivy’s rendition was to Eileen and everyone else.

What I’m Watching: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 11 “The Movie Star” (C)

Just like it did in the show, the presence of a big movie star drove the tone and focus of the episode in a completely distracting way. Uma Thurman is an odd choice for the role of Rebecca Duvall, mainly because she hasn’t done roles quite like this in the past, and while her entrance at the end of the previous episode was rather fantastic, her presence here isn’t terribly positive. She’s causing unnecessary extra drama in a workshop that was already plagued by plenty of problems, and the fact that she can’t sing is a huge deal. Her many demands didn’t make her too popular with the crew, though realizing that she needs to hire a vocal coach earns her some points. It would seem that she’ll be sticking around for at least a little bit, and I think the show would be okay without her. Ivy and Karen aren’t wasting any time plotting their comebacks, and it’s refreshing to see Karen stand up to Ivy when she talked down to her about stealing the part. Ellis sure managed to alienate his contact quickly by not checking to ensure that his call had been transferred, and it’s good to see him get burned since he’s such an obnoxious jerk. Eileen sure isn’t giving up on her man, which shows maturity, and he didn’t give up on her without a fight, which was nice. The less said about Julia’s family life the better, but I will note that I had a strange meta moment watching Tom and Julia walk out of the Brill Building on 49th & Broadway not five minutes before I myself walked into it for a press screening.

What I’m Watching: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 10 “Understudy” (C)

This Marilyn workshop is really such a rollercoaster ride for all involved, and it’s becoming tiresome. Despite the fact that Ivy explicitly told Karen that them getting drunk and singing together didn’t mean they were friends, it did seem like Ivy was getting closer to becoming nice to Karen. The fact that she’s just manipulating her to try to get the role is predictable, but she really needs to stop lurking in corners watching people from afar. She’d be better off putting her empty days to some more productive use. Karen continues to be far too idealistic, and letting it slip to Dev in casual conversation that Derek sexually harassed her when she started on the workshop was not smart. It doesn’t help that his power play failed so miserably that he ended up working for the guy he tried to get fired, and that Karen wasn’t remotely interested in moving to Washington for Dev while he was willing to do just about anything for her. Getting into a fistfight with Derek in the street was rather dramatic, and it’s not going to help his relationship with Karen at all. Derek’s hallucination of Karen as Marilyn was weird, even if the point it was making was relatively important. Julia’s drama is not terribly interesting, and I really wish that Leo didn’t get any screen time. The downfall of Tom’s relationship was inevitable since he couldn’t keep his flirting down in front of his boyfriend. Eileen may rock at getting unconventional investors, but she’s sure not concerned about burning bridges. Now let’s get ready for Uma Thurman to take center stage next week after that superb entrance!

What I’m Watching: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 9 “Hell on Earth” (C+)

Things are getting quite shaken up now that the workshop is over and the creative people have butted heads. Derek threatening to leave the show and suggesting waiting a full year to do another workshop was never coming to come to much, but Eileen sure worked fast to ensure that Derek would come running into her office in a fury. Ellis netting a major star for the role of Marilyn was seedy but somewhat impressive, and I’m glad that Eileen didn’t fall for his ultimatum and refused to promote him to co-producer on the spot. Tom finding out that his boyfriend is a Republican proved entertaining, and he actually seemed to be giving it a chance until he got called away to deal with Ivy. It’s a shame that he’s flirting so much with Sam since his relationship with John might just work out. Frank discovering Julia’s affair by locating her Brooklyn Bridge song was a bit preposterous, though it’s refreshing to see Frank actually stand up for himself and throw a punch at Michael after he defended the affair as having ended so long ago. Leo is such an unnecessary character, and his portrayer Emory Cohen less than capable as an actor, and it would be good to relegate his lines to as few as possible. Karen getting the orange juice commercial over Ivy wasn’t a good sign, and neither was her walking in to return sunglasses just as Ivy was collapsing mid-performance. On a show like this, however, all problems are solved by the two leading ladies wandering drunk through Times Square and bursting into song.

What I’m Watching: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 8 “The Coup” (C)

If there’s one thing not to do in the midst of trying to produce a play, it’s to secretly stage a performance of a new number with the girl that didn’t get the lead without telling the writers. As Eileen’s daughter Katie, played by Meryl Streep’s daughter Grace Gummer, pointed out, that’s something that Derek or Jerry would do, and she should have known much better than to think that such a stunt wouldn’t be hurtful. Karen earns no points by playing dumb, particularly because they seem to want to cast a star in the role rather than her. Derek’s effect has not been lost on Ivy, it appears, and she’s just going to continue to get hurt as she lets him worm his way back into her life. It was good to hear Tom air his issues with Derek, and to manage a blow that stung like something Derek might say. I understand having Eileen’s daughter pop by to infuse her mother with some hope, and I can comprehend why Leo and his legal problems are still being featured, even if they’re unnecessary, but why must Dev get his own plotline? It won’t be long before he either slips and does something stupid with RJ or Karen gets jealous enough to presume that something is going on and preemptively tanks the relationship. I think that this show is casting too wide a net in trying to follow the personal lives of all its characters, and a tighter focus might be nice. Oh, and get rid of Ellis already!

What I’m Watching: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 7 “The Workshop” (C+)

This episode may be riddled with problems, but there’s no denying the impressiveness of the spectacle of the performance. The songs in the show, as they come together, are dazzling, and the numbers are a blast. The story, on the other hand, isn’t nearly as strong. It’s somewhat interesting to see Karen featured in the Marilyn performances, imagining herself in the lead role, but it’s also somewhat strange given that she’s no longer in that part. Skipping her major appointment just to be in the workshop is likely to backfire, unless she gets the part of Marilyn later on in the process, which is hardly unlikely at this point. Ivy performed rather well despite considerable pressure both from Derek and from her mom, played by the lovely Bernadette Peters. Everything is being aired out in the open, and far too many people are aware of Michael and Julia’s affair. It’s no surprise, given just how indiscreet they are about their fooling around. Leo continues to be the show’s most irksome character, smoking pot and crying and just being an immature nuisance. Firing Michael is not going to have positive implications since he was one of the only consistent parts of the workshop. I was happy to hear Eileen immediately threaten Ellis after he tattle-told on Michael and Julia, but she did seem to be awfully forgiving of him, continuing to socialize and drink with him outside of work in what should be considered the most peculiar friendship currently featured on TV.

What I’m Watching: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 6 “Chemistry” (C+)

This show is becoming awfully transparent, and its developments are highly predictable. Having Karen in the company is a constant problem, and she’s becoming increasingly less likeable as time goes on. Taking the Bar Mitzvah job that Ivy originally had demonstrated just how lazy she can be, using her Iowan heritage as a crutch, claiming not to know much about anything because of where she comes from and managing to perform quite poorly at the Bar Mitzvah. Somehow, however, she continues to get opportunities as a result of her less-than-professional approach, and she may now have landed herself something big. Ivy, on the other hand, after some unnecessary hallucinations and dramatic bedside numbers, is finally standing up herself, lashing out at Derek in front of the whole cast after he cruelly picks apart her performance. His inquiries about her voice rather than her health didn’t much help his case. I’m still annoyed by Ellis’ presence, and his budding friendship with a laidback Eileen is causing to burn more bridges than it builds. Julia’s having a tough enough time doing damage control at home following her kiss with Michael, and her latest indiscretion isn’t helping matters one bit. Tom’s relationship, oddly enough, seems to be the most stable at the moment. Production on the show is certainly not going smoothly, and it’s going to take a lot to get this show ready to go when they want it to, and that’s assuming that all those involved can play nice long enough to make it work.

What I’m Watching: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 5 “Let’s Be Bad” (C)

This show has some fundamental problems in its structure that prohibit its twists from being anything but expected. Katherine has been featured more than Ivy as a character, and therefore it’s obvious that she’s going to have a larger part in the show than just as a member of the chorus. No matter how despicable he may be as a person, there’s still something wrong and tasteless about having the actress that didn’t get the lead part stand up in the middle of rehearsal and show the star how to do it. Karen’s innocent demeanor doesn’t exactly help matters, as Ivy is as furious as she could be. Dev forcing Karen to accompany him to the major dinner hardly seems in line with his kindly nature, and making her sit at another table wasn’t terribly polite, even if she did manage to get the dirt on his number one competition. I’m not sure why Julia’s son Leo is being featured so prominently, although I suppose it’s a good excuse both to get Tom’s love life rolling, since the bad sex isn’t going to cut it but impressive lawyering might just do the trick. Michael coming over and kissing Julia while her son watches from the window is going to have negative implications, especially since Ellis also knows of their (former) indiscretion. It was somewhat jarring to see the company transform into a full-fledged production during rehearsal, mimicking how overwhelmed Ivy was by showing Marilyn’s less-than-sober entrance into a number. If nothing else, this show does know how to stage a spectacle.

What I’m Watching: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 4 “The Cost of Art” (C+)

This show is definitely coming around to presenting a coherent, occasionally compelling narrative, mainly based on which characters hate each other the most. Ivy is immensely unlikeable, but Karen gets a chance to show that she can be a bit of a brat too as she manages to get herself kicked out of a number because she isn’t capable of offering support and still acts as if she’s the lead. Her intervention wasn’t all that interesting, and I can’t imagine that the show is keeping her around for any reason other than to step to replace Ivy at some pivotal juncture when she’s no longer right for the role. Julia seemed shocked to meet Ellis’ girlfriend, and I can tell that Ellis’ growing loathing for Julia is going to result in her getting hurt soon. Tom still seems oblivious to everything, enjoying his date and then going to the party he was offended not to have been invited to since he’s the one that discovered Lyle. Having no familiarity with the Jonas brothers, I wasn’t all too impressed with Nick Jonas’ appearance as Lyle, mainly because he wasn’t a terribly interesting character. Eileen trying to sell him a painting was among the show’s less credible moments, and I think she just confused him more than anything else. Derek deserves some credit for being so brutally (half-)honest with Ivy about flirting with other women, and she deserves equal credit for being the most gullible person alive, completely oblivious to the way show business works.

Take Three: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 3 “Enter Mr. DiMaggio” (C)

As the plot of this show progresses, it is starting to become less and less compelling and believable. Karen’s post-rejection state is one of extreme optimism, and her weekend trip to Iowa underlines just how unlike most others starting out in show business she is, which in a normal world would cost her many opportunities. Being in the ensemble is a big step down from having the lead, but Karen seems entirely unphased, and I suppose she’s being supported by her initially uncertain but ultimately kind-hearted dad. The rest of the show is shaping up, but it’s not without problems. I find Ellis to be particularly irksome, and while Julia is a lot to handle and never gave him a chance, he’s being rather bratty in the way he’s conducting himself. The revelation that he’s not gay seems awfully contrived, and I don’t see the relationship between him, Tom, and Julia ending well at all. The casting of an actor with whom Julia had a passionate love affair is certainly not a good idea, and I do hope that the writers can come up with better passionate dialogue than “You smell good.” Derek is not being subtle about his affair with Ivy at all, and I have to assume that there’s nothing wrong with his apartment save for a potential guest or two that he wouldn’t want Ivy to meet (or the other way around). Anjelica Huston is entertaining, but I think she’s thrown one too many Manhattans in her ex-husband’s face.

Round Two: Smash

Smash: Season 1, Episode 2 “The Callback” (C+)

In week two, this show demonstrates that there’s more to it than just music, mainly in the form of familiar drama with all of the characters. There isn’t all that much that’s original here, and all the threads are highly predictable. The adoption plotline with Julia seems particularly over-the-top, with her conversation with her son reaching exceptional lows in terms of effectiveness. It’s great that Frank wants to go back to work and teach science, but there’s a point at which too big a net can be cast, to include elements of an extended universe that just aren’t all that interesting. Karen’s perfect boyfriend being up for a promotion and getting stood up thanks to her late rehearsal, on the other hand, is completely par for the course, and I’m sure that Karen isn’t going to stop alienating him anytime soon. Eileen is not someone you want to cross, as evidenced by her disposal of her Manhattan in her ex-husband’s face during their run-in at the restaurant. At least Derek has her back, and it’s good to have friends in a business like show business. In terms of casting Marilyn, I was rather shocked that they ended up going with Ivy. That’s probably due to the fact that Ivy slept with Derek, something that Karen wasn’t willing to do. The show is obviously slanted towards Karen’s story, portraying her in a much better light and even envisioning her as Marilyn in the staging of one of the musical numbers. That’s one area in which this show rocks – the song and dance performances are top-notch.

Pilot Review: Smash

Smash (NBC)
Premiered February 6 at 10pm

Sometimes a series premiere is larger than just one hour. “Smash,” which premiered on Monday night but has been online for weeks, is such a ready-made hit that it’s hard to digest it as anything else, except for the problem that it’s not actually a perfect series. Almost three years ago, “Glee” debuted with an extensive marketing campaign, but what really worked about the pilot is that its protagonists achieved unexpected success by episode’s end with their memorable performance on “Don’t Stop Believin’.” This new show, on the other hand, seems all too certain of its success as a series, so therefore many will disregard whether it actually has anything to offer in terms of quality. It’s an underdog story too desperate to be an underdog story, with its main characters, Megan Hilty’s Ivy and Katharine McPhee’s Karen, destined for greatness and seemingly somewhat aware of it. The cast is littered with other notable stars, such as Debra Messing in a more serious role than she had on “Will & Grace,” Jack Davenport from “Swingtown” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” as an egotistical director, and Angelica Huston as the de facto scene-stealer. The musical performances are strong, but the writing is not nearly as solid, and there are plenty of clichés to be found in this hour. I was pleased to see real-life couple Dylan and Becky Ann Baker once again playing parents onscreen, but despite the discouragement from her parents, Karen seems to be doing just fine, as evidenced by her sweatshirt-accompanied visit to Derek’s apartment, where she seduced him before telling him she wouldn’t sleep with him. That’s this show’s number one problem: it constantly wants to cross the line but never wants to stay past it, consistently returning to safe, familiar, and ultimately uninteresting territory.

How will it work as a series? The show-within-a-show means that there might be a ticking clock on this series, or at least on these characters, as they vie for roles and then ultimately go into rehearsals and the actual staging. It’s a primetime soap, and if people like “Glee,” they should definitely enjoy this show as well, which is sure to be similar in a plethora of ways.
How long will it last? The ratings for the pilot were strong, and paired with “The Voice,” it’s NBC’s shot at a comeback. I’m not sure the ratings will last, but I think that this is something that NBC is extremely invested in, and they’d very much like to see it succeed. A speedy renewal could mean good press, and I think this show is going to charge forward at least through the rest of the season.

Pilot grade: C+