NBC's SMASH - Series & Broadway Adaptation Thread- Page 10

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 9:56am

Thanks, guys! I adore your faith!

No, I keed. I will definitely watch it.

I'm still so butt-burned by "Glee," though, that I will approach with much skepticism.

And not read this thread.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 10:10am

I do agree that what we've seen of the musical in Smash doesn't really dig very deep, and that the baseball musical makes light of what were serious emotional problems for Marilyn Monroe. But as others have said, it's still in the beginning stages and we haven't seen how it treats the drug abuse. I do wish that Smash would acknowledge that she was basically used as a sex object for her whole life. They mention the image she put out and the real woman behind it, so I hope that they juxtapose the two nicely.

Btw, this is a turnaround from my previous reaction to the baseball number. I acknowledge the flip-flop. That said, if it weren't about Marilyn Monroe, I'd love it.

And, haha, I kept thinking of how BWW would be ripping into the leaked song that was posted on YouTube--I mean, YouLenz.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 10:18am

I think this would be the best angle for the show ...

They're attempting to write a Marilyn Monroe musical that gets to the essence of who she really was. They dig beneath the glamorous iconic image and try to find the girl that just wanted to be loved for herself, who didn't want to be made fun of and wanted to be taken seriously.

But the truth is that Monroe knew she wouldn't have become a star if she had "just been herself." She had to create this phony iconic image, from the look to the walk to the voice, so that she would be loved by all and become a "relevant" movie star. Almost from the very beginning, she gave up her dream in order to get there, and she became someone else. So it was the "creature" she invented who became the star, not her. Not Norma Jean, but "Marilyn Monroe."

Now ... apply that idea across the board for the whole TV show.

These characters, as is, are too phony. They walked right out of a cliche handbook on backstage dramas. This is a nighttime formulaic soap opera.

I want the Hilty character to live in an apartment with cockroaches. I want her to be struggling to get out of debt (student loans, paying her insane rent, etc.), even while she's currently in the chorus of a Broadway show. I want to see her struggling with weight issues and thinking she's not pretty enough or tall enough or good enough, even if we can see her light up, filled with talent, on a stage.

I want the "hugely successful" Broadway songwriting team to be living in gloomy one-bedroom or two-bedroom condos that cost them an absolute fortune. I want to see everything (and everyone) they ever sacrificed to get where they are today. I want to see them going home from a glittering party or a glamorous premiere to their gloomy condos. I want to see them show how hard they work, only to make a tenth of what they would get on a TV series.

Basically, I want to see their not-so-glamorous "truthful" lives in the theatre world set against the self-created illusion of the theatre itself, where everything is glorious, wonderful, successful, glamorous, and ... fake.

Ultimately, in the end, I want to see them write a musical that actually perpetuates the myth of Marilyn Monroe. They realize that the only way to be loved and accepted by all is to give the audiences what they want, just as Monroe herself knew.

Sell them the illusion. That's what counts. That's how they'll become a hit, beloved by all.

Now, would any one tune into the show I described? Probably not. It's too dark. It wouldn't be "fun" enough. It wouldn't be "light" enough (even with the light and fun musical comedy numbers set in juxtaposition to the people working on them). Although "Fame," the original movie, and even the film "The Goodbye Girl" from decades ago came closer to showing what it's like for young theatre hopefuls and seasoned professionals, and those movies did pretty damn well. So did "All That Jazz." So who knows? I'm not suggesting these "real life" characters be devoid of humor. In fact, humor is a great and often necessary tool for survival. It could still be very funny, which would help draw us in.

I would just like to see a whole lot more at stake for all of them.

Updated On: 2/7/12 at 10:18 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 10:19am

Some early ratings info...

http://www.headlineplanet.com/home/2012/02/07/the-voice-ratings-stay-hot-monday-smash-gets-decent-debut/

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 10:38am

That's a 7.7 rating for Smash's debut.

The Voice got 10.6 after getting almost 20 post-Super Bowl.

Last week's ratings for various shows, by way of comparison, we far below Smash's:

30 Rock: 1.3

Parks & Recreation: 1.8

The Office: 2.7

Big Bang: 5.4

Rob: 3.4

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 10:55am

More detailed numbers on zap2it.com:

The Voice had a pretty great night and Smash had a good-to-great start and that in those 56 markets, NBC won every half hour of primetime in household viewing. The Voice pulled a 10.6/16 (household rating/share) from 8-10p and Smash scored a 7.7/13 at 10pm. Comparatively speaking that 7.7 was better than everything else on Monday night save the aforementioned The Voice, and CBS's Two and a Half Men (8.5/12).

It says to check back later for the number of viewers.


NBC looks to have done aiiiight

Updated On: 2/7/12 at 10:55 AM

Posted: 2/7/12 at 11:03am

I had this "Smash" all wrong! I thought it was some kind of TV show- a drama or comedy or something. Had no idea it was so important.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 11:04am

I had this "Smash" all wrong! I thought it was some kind of TV show- a drama or comedy or something. Had no idea it was so important.

You had it right, Joe ... it's not.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 11:09am

It's not a reality show. And it's good. In this culture, right now, that feels almost as important as discovering a new member of a species that is almost extinct.

[newintown]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 11:33am

From the initial episode, it appears to be merely another prime-time soap opera. Except this time it's about a bizarre fantasy version of Broadway, rather than the usual hospital or police station.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 11:42am

Which is a startling enough difference.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 11:52am

For those who prefer to be mean and snarky to this show, here is the hilarious Rachel Shukert's mega-snarky vivisection of Episode One from the new New York Magazine website. It was almost too mean for me to post, but I couldn't help laughing at the way she insists on referring to Deborah Messing's character as "Cousin Debbie":

EDIT: Oh, and it's long. But it's worth it, just for the way she describes chorus boys having sex.
Smash Recap: The Play’s the Thing

Updated On: 2/7/12 at 11:52 AM

[steveshack]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 11:57am

My main problem with that, in just a few days, it went from "Hey, here's a bad idea for a musical" to two songs, to auditions for the Broadway production. And the book was written when? And by whom?

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 11:58am

Add me to the Besty/Scallion/Tazber group. Underwhelmed, disappointed, skeptical...I found so many moments cringeworthy. I was watching it with my partner, and, at times, one of us would blurt out a "I can't believe how bad this is" comment. (In fact, many of your points were echoed verbatim last night, Besty.)

On the other hand, I think Namo's remark about it "not being a reality show" is worth heeding. And I must admit that over the course of my lifetime, anyway, there have not been many TV shows that approached this subject matter, so it certainly has that going for it. (And those that did flopped pretty quickly.)

I'm willing to give it another week because of what people have posted here, but if the cliches continue at last night's pace, I'm just going to feel I have more important things to do with that one hour each week.

What I did like was Angelica Huston, Megan Hilty and Christian Borle. Huston is soooo good, she actually makes it all seem plausible.

I love Besty's idea for revamping the show, but, yeah, I guess that would be too dark to sustain decent ratings. Of course, I like "dark"! I wish they were trying to pull off a musical like BAT BOY, one that takes huge risks and crosses barriers. I read that someone (perhaps in this thread?) suggested more of a BOOK OF MORMON show-within-a-show, and I suppose that's what I'm saying. Then again, I never watch TV, so my opinion is worth zilch...I mean, nobody will ever create a show that only one person watches, right?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 12:01pm

Sooooooooo long, I couldn't get through it. The weird thing is, I'm no fan of Deb Messing but thought she was fine in this.

(this was a reference to the article pj linked)

Updated On: 2/7/12 at 12:01 PM

[degrassifan]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 12:09pm

I only watched because I love Anjelica Huston and I've had mad respect for her since "Ever After", so I had to support her new show. Anyway, she and this did not disappoint. I thought it was good! Thanks to you guys here on Broadwayworld, I understood the inside theater jokes! I loved the fact it employed original songs and I was hooked by "Let Me Be Your Star". I'll keep watching!

Oh, and I'm glad Debra Messing has work again!

Updated On: 2/7/12 at 12:09 PM

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 12:15pm

The show has gotten off to a solid start. It was watched by 11.5 million viewers and had a 18-49 rating of 3.8/10. It was also the third-highest rated new drama debut of the season and delivered the biggest 10 p.m. rating of any drama this season.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/02/07/tv-ratings-monday-nbc-has-a-big-voice-the-day-after-super-bowl-cbs-down-not-out-castle-sees-lows-big-drops-for-house-alcatraz/118898/

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/02/07/smash-ratings/

[NYadgal]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 12:15pm

I love it when you talk ratings, PalJoey!

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 12:21pm

I forgot to mention that I looooove Raza Jaffrey and would dress up like Marilyn (or anyone else he asked me to be) every night if he were my boyfriend.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 12:22pm

Miss Penny, I'm glad we share a similar view here.

I think Namo has a point. And I am glad it's not another reality show as well (or I never would have tuned in). I'm even glad it's set in a totally nonrealistic theatre word, I suppose. Although the more I think about that one, the more I think it's doing it a disservice by playing into tired cliches and myths.

Still, I hate liking a show (or anything, for that matter) on principle alone. I realize that Namo genuinely likes the show, but for someone like me who was underwhelmed by it, I'm not sure "counting blessings" is valid or enough.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 12:32pm

Oh, Besty, I didn't mean I'd watch something simply because it's *not* something else! It's got to be worth viewing on its own merits.

When I see a play, musical, film or television program, if I don't respond strongly to the characters and start "wanting something" for them (or at least ONE), I'm just not engaged.

That's how I feel now: unengaged. But I'm willing to give it one more chance to show me what it *might* become.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 12:33pm

Everybody doesn't like something.

World Peace

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 12:35pm

But nobody doesn't like Sara Lee.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 12:50pm

The show's 18-49 was only two tenths behind the highest drama premiere of the 2011-2012 season, 'Once Upon a Time' (4.0), and was also just one tenth behind Kiefer Sutherland's new series 'Touch' (3.9)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-smash-voice-super-bowl-287606

[mmFan]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 12:50pm

Was so excited for this show as like all of you, I'm a huge broadway fan. Liked the premiere...lived up to expectations. Love how it's a behind the scenes showing both the writing and producing side and also the actor's side.

Didn't even realize that was Katherine McPhee (sorry if i wrote name wrong). Thought she sang great; however, I personally woulnd't choose her as the lead as even if she can act the part, she's too skinny to play Marilyn Monroe.