NBC's SMASH - Series & Broadway Adaptation Thread- Page 27

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 1:25pm

Bernadette Peters' appearance on the show will air March 19.
Bernadette Peters Will Guest Star on March 19 Episode of "Smash"

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 11:06pm

Now that was a good episode! Next week looks like it might be even better.

[CukorLover]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 11:09pm

As far as tonight's episode goes:

" What's the fuss? Tell me what's a-happening."

Blah.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 11:13pm

Yes, overall this was a good episode. But can they please write out the adoption story & Messing's son(the guy simply can not act). Nobody cares anymore. And I'm glad were seeing less of Ellis.

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 11:15pm

I enjoyed this episode, the Marilyn number was pretty good. With Messing's son seeing the kiss I think he'll be around for a little bit.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 11:15pm

I think that was the best episode since the pilot. That could be because it ignored or only slightly touched on the story lines I think are awful (the adoption, McPhee's bitchy chorus outbursts) and seemed to move much faster than in prior weeks. I really think this could be starting to turn around. Finally.

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 11:18pm

I agree, this is the only episode where I feel something’s happened. The Marilyn musical scene with Ivy in the part was excellent, Hilty did a great job with that scene, and the entire production number was so different from what I was expecting, but was extremely well-written and executed.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 11:40pm

I felt very bad for Karen after all the rude things that Ivy had said to her.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 11:49pm

Tonight's episode was outstanding. I truly cannot get enough of this show.

[CukorLover]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 11:56pm

Not to say it's bad-but it is boring and very predictable. What really differentiates this show from any other prime time soap other than musical numbers? Did we not see the Will Chase kiss coming? The son seeing the kiss? The assistant getting involved in everyones business? And whatever happened to Brian D'Arcy James?

I don't find anything presented thus far very enlightening or pushing the envelope. Aside from a witty tune from Shaiman every now and then, we just seem to have some talented performers doing their best with mediocre material.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/5/12 at 11:57pm

Tonight I noticed how really absurd the plot lines are. There's a strange discrepancy between the trashy soap opera which Smash is, and the really good production numbers that manage to make their way into it.

I've never seen Megan Hilty before and am glad to have discovered her in Smash. I think she's got lots of talent~

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 12:19am

That was the worst gay sex scene ever, but Borle's nips were bigger than I imagined.

I'm glad Ivy is poppin' pils, drinkin', and sleeping with her director like the chorus girl she can't leave behind.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 12:21am

She's hypersensitive to drugs.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 12:25am

I wouldn't say that the kiss was a surprise, but Messing and Chase have chemistry, so it worked for me. I also liked the scenes where Borle tried to steer her away from getting involved with Chase again. The characters really do feel like good friends who know each other well.

[kyl3fong2]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 12:28am

This episode was great! The pacing was fantastic and when it ended, I found myself saying "that was it?! It's already been an hour?"

And THAT is what good television is suppose to do to you. Make you want more.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 12:31am

When is McPhee going to punch Hilty in the back of the head?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 12:45am

As soon as she earns her BWay Knee pads.
For now she better watch out for that BOMBAY DREAMS bitch who sat her by the helicopter.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 12:45am

Definitely the strongest episode yet, which may be faint praise, but despite all the plot bits I could see coming (and come on, don't make out outside your son's window--I still am not sure how much of the non show songs are meant to be really happening or not--but if he was really singing A Song For You full voice outside of her son's window they got what they deserved) I enjoyed it.

"Not to say it's bad-but it is boring and very predictable. What really differentiates this show from any other prime time soap other than musical numbers?"

I still wish it would just go full on prime time soap--it's stuck in the middle of thinking it's opne thing which it's not (if that made any sense). Still I canbe fine with that-0-I'm not really sure how else it is meant to be different from prime time soaps as you suggest.

[E.Davis]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 12:59am

I heard the iTunes version of the song earlier today, so I was caught off guard when there was actually a scene in it and varied vocally different in some spots. I liked that we are seeing the darker sides of the Marilyn story, not just phallic baseball numbers and ways to sleep your ay to the top.

[Marlothom]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 2:24am

This episode had me until that McPhee started singing that overplayed song to herself exposing her bra. WHY!!!!!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 7:22am

I also liked the scenes where Borle tried to steer her away from getting involved with Chase again. The characters really do feel like good friends who know each other well.

They also seem like good collaborators. It feels like a real relationship.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 8:21am

I don't know if anyone else has noticed it, but this is the second week in a row they've shown scenes in the "next week's episode" promo that aren't actually in the subsequent episode.

Two weeks ago, Karen and co. singing "Rumor Has It" was in the promo for the subsequent episode, which didn't actually occur until last week's episode. Last week, Karen hiding behind a piano overhearing talk of replacing Ivy was in the promo for last night's episode, and that looks to happen next week.

All the other scenes in both promos matched up with the episode they preceded with the exception of those two. It's very, very odd (and kind of misleading.)

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 10:46am

The writers can't seem to make up their mind whether Hilty's character is supposed to be a vicious, fake bitch or just someone who is snappish from the pressure she's under. She seems to change wildly from scene to scene.

Hilty is absolutely outstanding in the musical numbers. Looking forward to a Shaiman/Wittman ballad for her though, to contrast these wordy up-numbers. Poor, put-upon Karen still bores me. Messing isn't really allowed to do any heavy-lifting, out-of-the-box stuff for her, but she's constantly keeping it spontaneous and interesting. She will keep me coming back to SMASH more than anything.

BTW, all of TV drama has a spine set in soap opera. Even LOST was a soap opera. To expect otherwise is to expect too much.

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 11:24am

Our girl Ivy needs to pop herself a Xanax and calm it down before she implodes and ends up in the nuthouse.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/6/12 at 11:29am

Borstalboy, I completely agree that one should expect elements of a soap opera to be incorporated into the drama of the narrative, but there's a way to achieve that that's far less heavy handed than how it's being executed on SMASH. Come on- as soon as that scene started with Michael and Julia on the stoop, with five minutes left in the episode, you knew it was going to end with them kissing and the son seeing them from the window. For an affair that no one is supposed to have known about, they've now shown them kissing twice in two very public places (once on the Brooklyn Bridge, where anyone could have seen them, and once on the street in her neighborhood, potentially in front of any and all of her neighbors.) That's just sloppy storytelling, especially when it involves two characters who are relatively famous within the world of the story. That should give them even more of an incentive to keep things under wraps.

I think that storyline of her affair and her attraction to Michael would also be way more effective if you liked the Will Chase character and saw him as a viable alternative for Julia. That way, you'd feel the same conflict she's feeling. And yet, in the way he's actually been characterized so far, you're just left feeling like he's a slimy jerk looking to break up her family and his, with no concern for anyone else. For someone as level-headed and smart as Julia's been written to be, the only basis you're given for her doing something so horrible is Michael being attractive. That's not enough.

I also think you hit the nail on the head about the seeming dichotomy in how they want to portray Ivy- is she a ruthless bitch who will do anything she needs to do to succeed, or is she just cracking under immense pressure to perform in a high stakes situation? I'm inclined to think the former, but the writers certainly don't seem to know either way. There's a difference between a complex character and a contradictory one, and they're erring on the side of contradictory.

I think there's a similar problem with how they're portraying the director- is he a maniacal genius who will do whatever it takes to produce a great show, including keeping a good personal relationship with Ivy afloat, or does he have genuine feelings for her? You can't have him belittling her in the rehearsal room, belittling her in his apartment, and then turning around and showing genuine concern for her two seconds later. Is he bipolar? Since she seems to be, perhaps that's why they're the perfect couple.

Updated On: 3/6/12 at 11:29 AM