RISE- Page 4

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 5/14/18 at 11:21pm

I've watched a few episodes, it's entertaining enough to watch when you're bored. Most of the same tired cliches that have been in every teen anything from GREASE to HSM to Glee. Also has the same cliche acting that appears on a lot of network TV dramas. I really enjoy the SPRING AWAKENING performances however. The students are talented, and glory be they actually look under 25.

Realism, I think it's tough. On one hand, it's about as "realistic" as any given crime or medical drama with respect to law enforcement or medicine. But it also tries so hard for a realistic and a gritty tone that it makes the non-realism seem more heinous. It's a fantasy version pretending it's not, as opposed to Glee or HSM which are both more upfront fantasy/heightened/stylized versions.

I appreciate them trying to depict the plight of a depressed steel town. It's a reality a lot of us out in the hinterlands live with, though it too comes with a lot of cliches.

I agree with above posters who say writing it off for changing the lead to a straight man is kind of silly regarding the other decent representation elsewhere. Yea the romantic teen leads are still a hetero couple too, but what can ya do. The trans and gay representation is leagues above Glee, or a lot of other token representation you find in other teen media.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 5/15/18 at 12:07am

uncageg said: "I have not read the book that the series was inspired by. How far did they stray away from the book? Just curious."

I think one of the biggest issue for me was the Spring Awakening element. In the book and real life situation, the director was already established, beloved and respected by both the local community and professional arts as well. I mean Cameron McIntosh tried shows out at this school because of the directors reputation and the success of the theater program. So no one questioned his choice to do Spring Awakening. People had faith in what he was doing before he did it. 

For Rise, a new director is selected and he does a show that of course is going to be questioned because of the themes and he expects everyone to go along without question. That's completely different from the original and didn't really work as well. That was completely unrealistic. 

Im really sorry it's gone. I'm sorry it didn't have the time to improve and find it's audience. There was a lot of talent there. 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/15/18 at 2:26pm

To be fair and to give credit where credit is due, ''Glee'' (2009) debuted nearly a decade ago. At the time, the teen gay role of Kurt was a big deal, and he actually became one of ''Glee's'' breakout characters. What's more, Kurt was played by an actual gay teen, Chris Colfer, who would get Emmy nominations and win a Golden Globe. Kurt's love story with Blaine (Darren Criss) was a pop-culture and LGBT milestone, and Colfer and Criss made the cover of Entertainment Weekly because of how ''Glee'' was 'leading the gay-teen revolution on TV.'' The gay representation that's on TV (and film) today owes a debt to ''Glee,'' just as ''Glee'' owes a debt to the gay representation that came before it. One of the disappointing aspects of ''Rise'' is that Simon and Jeremy seem to be a pale version of ''Klaine'' and appear to bring little new or interesting to the picture, let alone generate any enthusiasm.

Updated On: 5/15/18 at 02:26 PM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/15/18 at 6:31pm

I finally got caught up on a backlog of episodes sitting on my dvr...this show was a bit of a doozy for me. The straight-washing is unforgivable, but worse is the fact the show is really not about theater or Spring Awakening. The musical is just the background noise- the equivalent of the oil/energy industry to Dynasty. It’s kind of there, but no one has ever tuned into Dynasty because they were interested in how big oil works. 

Why aren’t there like 5 gay guys in the ensemble of this show? There certainly were in my high school musicals/drama departments! The football QB who really has acting chops and is torn between sports and theater is so cliche and boring. There’s also so much DRAMA! in everyone’s life. There are subplots to the subplots when I just want to be watching the rehearsals and seeing how the made a school friendly version of a show that is beyond what any high school would be allowed to get away with. 

Spring Awakening lives in a strange world in this show. Rise never once stops to explain the plot or characters to the audience. I mean, all of us here on BWW know Spring Awakening, but it’s not like Sound of Music or Grease where you can just assume the audience knows the basic plot, songs and characters. The characters in Rise seem to know the show was on Broadway, but there’s never mention of either the original production or revival. No one listens to the cast recording, mentions Jonathan Groff or Lea Michele- nothing- and yet the costumes are nearly identical to the ones in the original production, as well as some of the staging, microphone use, etc. But then Radnor (horrid performance) wants this huge set the size of Hello Dolly’s that will cost all this money, and it’s like, dude, the reason you do SA in the first place is because it has a small band and NO SET! The budget should never be an issue with a show like SA- only the content. 

The show clearly just wants to be Friday Night Lights 2.0, which is fine if that’s what it was advertised as. I someone ask, did the show not find an initial audience because it was marketed as a niche theater show or because it claimed to be a show about theater and turned out not to be? 

 

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/15/18 at 6:55pm

I found it often not very well done, slowly plotted, but still weirdly watchable... I am glad the network decided I should stop watching after tonight, though. The gay boy thing is so drawn out, I mean... if Sean Grandillo wants to make out with you, it's time to come out of the closet.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 5/15/18 at 9:16pm

Watching the series finale now. I’m wondering for those who read the book on which this is based, did the real director get pressured to make all these cuts to the show and did he initially make them? I’m thinking the licensing agreement wouldn’t even allow this. Also, did the director really change the show back to the original version an hour before showtime with no re-rehearsals?

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 5/15/18 at 10:07pm

Just finished the finale and I’ll admit I teared up at least twice: the gay stage kiss and when the jock nailed the graveyard scene. I think that this episode was probably more believable than most episodes of Glee or Smash and no more cliched. I think this showed a glimpse of what a second season could have been. I do have some questions:

1. How close did this episode adhere to the trajectory in the source book?

2. I wasn’t familiar with that new song they performed at the end. Is that a SA song that was cut from the broadway productions? It’s not familiar to me from the OBCR or the revival.

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 5/15/18 at 10:24pm

The show’s unlikeable lead made it hard for me to be a true cheerleader, but the kids saved the show, and isn’t that what it’s really all about.

That graveyard scene gave me a lump in my throat and while the kiss between the boys didn’t get me, their hand-held bow did. It’s a shame we won’t get to follow their journeys.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/15/18 at 10:41pm

Miles2Go2 said: "Watching the series finale now. I’m wondering for those who read the book on which this is based, did the real director get pressured to make all these cuts to the show and did he initially make them? I’m thinking the licensing agreement wouldn’t even allow this. Also, did the director really change the show back to the original version an hour before showtime with no re-rehearsals?"

 

His story didn't include SA in the way it's presented here.  They did, if I remember correctly DO a production of SA and Rent, as they were in the process of making the shows ready for HS usage.

 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 5/15/18 at 10:46pm

dramamama611 said: "Miles2Go2 said: "Watching the series finale now. I’m wondering for those who read the book on which this is based, did the real director get pressured to make all these cuts to the show and did he initially make them? I’m thinking the licensing agreement wouldn’t even allow this. Also, did the director really change the show back to the original version an hour before showtime with no re-rehearsals?"



His story didn't include SA in the way it's presented here. They did, if I remember correctly DO a production of SA and Rent, as they were in the process of making the shows ready for HS usage."

Okay, I was wondering if in the book it depicts them performing a sanctioned. HS version of SA. Sounds like they did? 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/15/18 at 11:15pm

Miles2Go2: ''All I Desire'' was a new song that Sheik and Sater specifically wrote for ''Rise.'' It is not a cutout or trunk song.

Shows, like ''Rent,'' offer a ''school edition'' with OK'd changes, but there's no high-school sanctioned version of ''Spring Awakening.''

NBC canceled ''Rise'' because its ratings were low and kept falling.

A week ago, I pondered on Talkin' Broadway: ''Am I too cynical to suspect that next week Lou will rebel and restore all the cuts in the show, to great acclaim from students and parents, and that Lou's ''vision'' is validated, even though he's been a first-class jerk?''

Updated On: 5/15/18 at 11:15 PM

[jpbran]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 12:54am

Kinda sad NBC is letting this one go while concurrently rescuing a show dropped by a competitor for low ratings. Rise isn’t a hit by any means but its ratings are double those of Brooklyn Nine Nine (which will probably drop even lower after the channel change-up). ??

[antonijan]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 1:00am

Where did Mashous go? #WDMG

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 1:59am

Here's my ''Rise'' mini-recap of the finale with spoilers galore:

The low-rated ''Rise'' held its season finale tonight, having been ''Left Behind'' by NBC and canceled after its one season.

Last week, I wondered: ''Am I too cynical to suspect that next week Lou will rebel and restore all the cuts in [their high-school production of 'Spring Awakening'], to great acclaim from students and parents?'' Yup, I'm that cynical, and that's what happened. At nearly the last minute, Lou tells his students that they will restore all the changes and edits that were previously made to appease the principal and angry parents. With only an hour to go, apparently all the lighting and music charts are revised, and all the students remember their original lines. As the show proceeds, the principal realizes that Lou has gone back to the original script, and tries unsuccessfully to stop the show. Stacey, whom Lou has been insulting throughout the season, returns, and they hug it out. And at the curtain call, parents and students are giving the show a standing O, and the cast is overjoyed.

But that joy is short-lived for Lou, who's thrilled for the kids, but expects to be fired for his act of rebellion. The superintendent, flanked by the furious principal, come backstage. The superintendent says he admires what Lou did, but to appease the angry conservative parents, a number of whom walked out during the show, he must shut down the drama department next year, and tonight's performance will be its last. That's showbiz!

For those who know ''Spring Awakening,'' the song order made no sense and was all jumbled. Roughly, it went: ''Totally F*cked,'' ''Touch Me,'' ''The Word of Your Body'' (reprise, with gay kiss), ''I Believe,'' ''Don't Do Sadness,'' ''Those You've Known,'' ''All You Desire'' (a new song). ... As a huge ''Spring Awakening'' fan, I really wanted ''Rise'' to ''Touch Me,'' but too often, ''Mama, it bored me.''

Updated On: 5/16/18 at 01:59 AM

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 2:02am

TVLine: 'Rise' Finale Recap: Drama Goes Out on a Low Note

https://tvline.com/2018/05/15/rise-recap-series-finale-cancelled-ending/

Updated On: 5/16/18 at 02:02 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 5:27am

We were never suppose to understand SA. Which makes no sense because of Lou's conviction of how important it was they do it.

The premise was flawed from the beginning as Lou only wanted to improve his own life.


Just because there isn't a school edition is SA, doesn't mean the actual school didn't work on the attempt. They were often asked to try stuff out.

There is very little reality between the show and the life.

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 11:44am

I enjoyed the sequence in episode 9 where they try out censored lyrics to Spring Awakening. I know teachers who've had to pull last minute stunts like this. I could have watched an entire episode of this. I ended up fast forwarding past all the family soap opera drama.

[perfectliar]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 12:40pm

jpbran said: "Kinda sad NBC is letting this one go while concurrently rescuing a show dropped by a competitor for low ratings. Rise isn’t a hit by any means but its ratings are double those of Brooklyn Nine Nine (which will probably drop even lower after the channel change-up). ??"

Untrue. Brooklyn 99's last episode this past Sunday got a 0.8 rating. Rise got a 0.7 for its finale last night.

Also, Brooklyn has a syndication deal. Rise does not.

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 12:41pm

everythingtaboo said: "A lot of people wrote off the show because of the so-called straight-washing of the main character, but it better served the needs of the show. Also, those people missed out on missed out on plenty of other LGBT representation, the openly gay kid, the trans kid, and the closeted gay kid with his possibly also closeted dad."

So-called? Really? It's flat out straightwashing. Period. And quite frankly, I'm sick of LGBT characters always getting pushed to the sidelines in secondary/minor roles. Michael's storyline ended up being about this random pregnant girl, Jeremy barely had any lines or screen time, and Simon's role should have been bigger. They had a great opportunity to have the main character as gay, his spouse could have easily been a husband, and the story would still be the same. But no, the showrunners decided to cater to straight white men.
 

Mr. Nowack said: "I agree with above posters who say writing it off for changing the lead to a straight man is kind of silly regarding the other decent representation elsewhere. Yea the romantic teen leads are still a hetero couple too, but what can ya do. The trans and gay representation is leagues above Glee, or a lot of other token representation you find in other teen media."

It's not "silly", it's a very valid concern, and it just makes this show look bad. There's really no excuse for straightwashing the main character. What can we do, you say? Let them know that what they did was wrong, because it was, and maybe they could have tried to make up for it. But you're telling us to just let it slide just because there's a little bit of LGBT representation, which isn't even that great compared to Glee (Kurt and Blaine pretty much stole the show from Rachel and Finn, in my opinion at least). 

Updated On: 5/16/18 at 12:41 PM

[jpbran]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 2:18pm

perfectliar said: "jpbran said: "Kinda sad NBC is letting this one go while concurrently rescuing a show dropped by a competitor for low ratings. Rise isn’t a hit by any means but its ratings are double those of Brooklyn Nine Nine (which will probably drop even lower after the channel change-up). ??"

Untrue. Brooklyn 99's last episode this past Sunday got a 0.8 rating. Rise got a 0.7 for its finale last night.

Also, Brooklyn has a syndication deal. Rise does not."

B99's 5/13 episode (according to Wikipedia) was viewed by 1.75m people. Rise's 5/8 number was 3.75m. And IF B99 had a spike last week, it was likely due to the Twitter meltdown re: its cancellation. 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 2:41pm

''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is in its 5th season. And NBC's Robert Greenblatt points out: ''Brooklyn is a show our company produces for Fox, so it’s a show that’s very close to us. I've been saying to certain people in the press that if we knew Andy Samberg was going to be cast in that show, we never would have sold it to Fox. We’ve been watching it closely ever since. … We jumped on it really quickly and are thrilled to have it and think it fits into our brand of comedy in many ways better than it fit into Fox’s brand of comedy. It feels like it goes along shows like A.P. Bio, Will & Grace, Superstore, and The Good Place. … It’s also one of the few comedies in recent years that does a robust international number, and it has a syndication upside, which a lot of shows don't have anymore.''

''Rise,'' on the other hand, is a new show that often lost half of its lead-in audience from NBC's ''The Voice.'' And it wasn't doing that well with the desired demographic of adults 18-49.

As Kad noted earlier in this thread, it's telling that ''Rise'' didn't seem to catch on with the theater community either. ''Glee,'' which had its many ups and downs, made it to Season 6, and as divisive as ''Smash'' was, it had fervent fans and those who hate-watched it, and that would be good enough for a 2nd season.

Updated On: 5/16/18 at 02:41 PM

[asoftplacetoland]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 2:47pm

I was addicted to this show hardcore. I mean, I totally understand why it got canceled and was excepting it. It was pretty bad, IMO. I just kept watching because I really love shows about theatre, love SA, love Auli’i Cravalho, and I kept getting sucked in every time they would end in a cliffhanger. By the end, I really did begin to care about the characters. Damn.. I might just miss it! But yeah it was pretty bad..but they did get me.

Updated On: 5/16/18 at 02:47 PM

[perfectliar]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 2:58pm

jpbran said: "perfectliar said: "jpbran said: "Kinda sad NBC is letting this one go while concurrently rescuing a show dropped by a competitor for low ratings. Rise isn’t a hit by any means but its ratings are double those of Brooklyn Nine Nine (which will probably drop even lower after the channel change-up). ??"

Untrue. Brooklyn 99's last episode this past Sunday got a 0.8 rating. Rise got a 0.7 for its finale last night.

Also, Brooklyn has a syndication deal. Rise does not."

B99's 5/13episode (according to Wikipedia) was viewed by 1.75m people. Rise's 5/8 number was 3.75m. And IF B99 had a spike last week, it was likely due to the Twitter meltdown re: its cancellation."

Ratings aren't the same as viewers. Advertisers pay for demographics, not total viewers. So even though more people may have watched Rise, the advertisers paid for the viewers in a certain age range, and Brooklyn 99 had more viewers in that range. Its current season average is 0.7 with an upward trend since coming back from hiatus in March (long before the news of its cancellation was announced). Rise's average is 0.8 with a downward trend since its premiere. More money is to be made from 99's continuation than Rise's, simple as that.

[B.JAMES]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 3:13pm

I don't mind that they changed the main characters orientation.  My own family is accepting and affirming. But I can see how it would turn a lot of people off to the show if the orientations were "shoved down their throats."  I am okay with having minor LGBT roles and side stories for this type of thing because it means that people who may have normally tuned out to avoid this sort of thing can experience it in small doses and just maybe begin to make a connection, when initially they would have avoided it all together.

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 5/16/18 at 3:47pm

B.JAMES said: "I don't mind that they changed the main characters orientation. My own family is accepting and affirming. But I can see how it would turn a lot of people off to the show if the orientations were "shoved down their throats." I am okay with having minor LGBT roles and side stories for this type of thing because it means that people who may have normally tuned out to avoid this sort of thing can experienceit in small doses and just maybe begin to make a connection, when initially they would have avoided it all together."

No, we are past this. Glee already pushed the boundaries, and that was a long time ago. Rise could have had a gay main character, and their target audience would have been fine with that because it's 2018. So there's no excuse for straightwashing and pushing LGBT characters in minor roles; that's not fair to the community. That's why there was a huge backlash, and it sure didn't help the show.