NBC's SMASH - Series & Broadway Adaptation Thread — Page 62

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#1526

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/25/12 at 4:56pm

for me, (and for the record, i don't "hate Ellis"...he is plot device poorly used and the actor may be doing the best he can...he could become something great next season as in the tradition of other peripherals that come into their own...give us some examples, i'm tired) i enjoy the show because i CAN both love moments and hate them, much like most of the theatre i see. The challenge is always to take the moments that are pure genius, that drove your concept, and bridge the "obligatory scenes" that must fall between them with some visuals or kinetics or good thought...my recent examples being LION KING, WARHORSE, PETER & THE STARCATCHERS, first half of SUNDAY, SWEENEY, WOODS (and for me though i'm likely in the minority, IMAGINARY FRIENDS and SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM---many would say URINETOWN too, and AVENUE Q and SPELLING BEE are arguable) There is also SPRING AWAKENING and MORMON and NEXT TO NORMAL, each at least as unlikely a source as the Marilyn mythos. However, such work is not easy and the majority of most theatre, on either side of the non-profit/commercial line...needs be risk-adverse.

As to whether BOMBSHELL is a good show or might actually reach B'way, i think its fictional writer has certainly expressed her idea of it a lot, and i think some "concept" shows have started with less and "workshopped" their way to a cohesive vehicle. You can do anything with time and money (well maybe not save TURN OFF THE DARK artistically). one must admit this dream team of producers and writers...they have deep pockets and not much to lose. They got trilogy money and syndication annuities. Their reps are fine, and at least they tried in a famously foolish yet "fabulous invalid" medium.

Will: They don't give out awards for helping people be gay... unless you count the Tonys. "I guarantee that we'll have tough times. I guarantee that at some point one or both of us will want to get out. But I also guarantee that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life..."

Updated On: 4/25/12 at 04:56 PM

#1527

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/25/12 at 4:58pm

oh yeah, DROWSY and GREY GARDENS and god help us MILLIE and MAMMA MIA. BILLY ELLIOT. Even FELA.

#1528

A Smash Thread Retrospective

Posted: 4/25/12 at 5:20pm

While the show is definitely catering to the Broadway community, it's not just a stereotype that musical theatre performers never shut up and are always singing... it happens.

"I am beautiful, no matter what they say... your words can't bring me down"
If that's not Marilyn Monroe's anthem, I really don't know what is.

but knowing the way these Hollywood scripts are written, I wouldn't be surprised if they fall back on that old stupid scene where McPhee will start off all shaky and timid, and it will look like she's going to blow it, but they give her another chance because they feel sorry for her, so at the last second she rallies and they realize they have in front of them the greatest star of her generation.

Slight worry, won't they have to decide between hilty and McPhee pretty quickly given they are the only two to get called back. if you've promoted the show around that concept i can hope they can really hold the intrest or it's going to go by real fast.

As someone said on the Amazon message board, it's only for "fat chicks and homos." As I represent one of those groups (and I'm not saying which), it certainly wasn't for me.

That being said, this is one of the worst pieces of garbage on television or in any medium. I know for a fact where this script is headed and it is a MESS. But, you all bought it, hook line and sinker.....so, here we go...may the continued debate continue...but you may not have the opportunity as long as you had thought.

You can al continue to theorize, speculate, debate, argue and jump up and down on your worthless soapboxes...but when the proverbial curtain comes down, the ignorance is deafening. Good luck!

Theresa Rebeck is an amazing writer

My main issue is, if Brian is a science teacher, do we never get to hear him sing?

What I liked about last night is that it felt like a TV Show versus the Pilot that felt more like a Mini-series.

messing has a degree in musical theater

About the adoption, couldn't the parents go local & adopt a baby like from NYC? I don't know anything about adoption, but that might've been faster? Does the Chinese part really matter?

of course I will keep watching it to support the bigger goal of Broadway featured in a network show, but for months they advertised "we are not Glee - we are nothing like Glee. Other than a few songs in the show, no other singing".

Phyllis, when most americans begin the adoption process they sadly assume the other country will be very similair to america, or it will be so simple they could get the child immediatly.

Did anyone else find it annoying that one couple or another was kissing every 3 or 4 minutes throughout the show?

But aside from the great voice of Katherine McPhee, this show has nothing to recommend it.

why show us gays in the audience, and i am sure we are in the majority, all this str8 sex...i turn down the sound during these god awful moments and wait patiently for the music to reappear...i thought the duet Mr & Mrs Smith was cute...show me more show...less sex!

They need to recast the Marilyn actresses. McPhee is too boring and Hilty is too butch.

i wonder how many more viewers they lost tonight. This is horrible.

BTW glee did this Adele song way better....... months ago..........

Farewell, Smash. Good luck with the ratings but it'll be Hawaii Five-O or Castle or the 10 o'clock news for me

Not sure if this was already discussed (I'm pretty sure I've read the entire thread) but does anyone else get annoyed by the fact her husband's name is Frank and the son's Leo?

*This gripe is probably more directed at the bullying snarkism that IS the NY Magazine dot com Vulture Pages recaps than a dig towards you. Nah, its probably about you too....get your own cutsie nicknames.

I thought that Eileen's daughter was a terrific guest star and also enjoyed her storyline in the episode.

NBC is the silliest of all networks right now. Changing the creative staff this late in the game is not going to help anything.

There really needs to be a wisecracking character. McPhee should have been written in an Elaine Stritch or Shelley Winters template.

On a side note, I am IN LOVE with GCB!

Ivy is a big, fat pig! All that's missing in that pic above is an apple in her mouth.

ust watched the clip for Monday's episode. PLEASE, PLEASE stop advertising older shows. In the background, is a HUGE marquee for GYPSY that starred B.P. and next to it is a marquee for American Idiot. And if you watch closely you can then see the MEMPHIS marquee....so unless you are not a theater geek (or queen to some), like me,then it would not make a difference...I know that two out of three shows are currently NOT playing on Broadway!!! Advertise current shows...that will sell tickets (hopefully).

Brian D'Arcy James was impeccable.

Kinda ironic that the show wants a star. The Smash tv show itself wouldn't hire unknown actors, either. It hired two name actors to play struggling actors, and hired actual struggling actors for background/chorus work.

So this show is "Sopadish Broadway" instead of soap background. Hmm... I wonder which lady would be the one used to be a boy... wink, wink.

And nice of them to tease Uma for the past two weeks and we get what, one line out of her?

Now that Uma is on the show...doesn't this mean that they will be performing that Bollywood number they mentioned back in February in one of the coming episodes?

The biggest problem with the show IMO is Anjelica Huston as the produce

All I can say is thank you Uma! Finally a character who is a.) likeable and b.) somewhat realistic.

(and if you're the poster called JayinChelsea you will come in page after page and always ask some variation of "Who is the audience for this?")

Updated On: 4/25/12 at 05:20 PM

#1529

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/25/12 at 5:22pm

Tx2Step--that's a good point, although I don't agree with all of your examples (Sweeney in particular feels like a very economical show for me, all things considered there isn't much I feel I have to sit through to get to the brilliant parts--although when the tooth pulling scene is kept that may count), and I worry about placing Bombshell or Smash in the same league as many of those titles, but... :P

I certainly don't hate Smash, and I only recently realized how even the parts I shake my head at I more or less enjoy--the hour flies by which says something (not sure what, but when watching---to pick on the obvious--Glee, there are moments I genuinely hate even when I enjoy other moments, Smash doesn't have that for me, at least yet).

One comment about the new showrunner (and it's interesting Rebeck will still be writing some scripts--kinda unfortunate as I think her episodes have had the weakest dialogue)--I, like others, assume this means they will up the soap and fantasy element, which could work since the show doesn't do the ernest drama as well anyway. But his only credit is Gossip Girl and he's never been the sole headwriter on it (I believe Schwartz and his partner still oversea the show they created), so like many writers who start on one show and then go on to work or create something completely different, it doesn't mean much one way or the other. Which makes me all the more curious why he was chosen.

Obviously, I agree with you about the cable/network thing. However, while network TV shows to succeed have to appeal to a broader base (which is why it failed pretty miserably when network stations tried to appeal to a Mad Men audience with period dramas this year that still had to be watered down for mass consumption), and I agree broadcast shows obviously still get more comments, etc--I do think cable shows with a fraction of the audience have lately often grabbed the zeitgeist more. I mean Mad Men does not get huge numbers--the dying genre of daytime soaps, which have numbers the networks feel they can't justify, still outperform it. But a TON of people who don't watch it are aware of it--enough that they understand a skit based on it on SNL, etc. So the impact can be seen in different ways

#1530

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/25/12 at 5:41pm

didn't mean to conflate SMASH with those stand-alone B'way hits; instead, like many TV shows (SEINFELD, NEW ADVENTURES, MET YOUR MOTHER, PARKS & REC, COMMUNITY)it may take a while for this hour long (twice their length) song-added (it has beat out COP ROCK for pete's sake) to find its stride. My weird point, not well stated, was that like brilliant B'way shows that workshopped their way in a studio then maybe out of town then maybe a studio again before success on Rialto (much like BOMBSHELL within SMASH is trying to portray now)...we may be looking at literally the "workshop season" of SMASH.

If FAME THE TV SHOW can last as long as it did, and GLEE, is there any real common sense reason to scoff at SMASH's chances? If you have some, great.i'd rather (feel a cover coming on, maybe as Cousin Debbie tries to charm Frozen Caveman back to the fire),,,"ac-cent-CHU-ate the positive". Carpet can take the Durante asides.

EDITED to reflect the sitcom examples above appear in many wise posts previous in the this thread, just too lazy to look up who said what first, copy, paste, italicize, and get all fancy-schmancy. i got peanut grinding to do.

Updated On: 4/25/12 at 05:41 PM

#1531

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/25/12 at 7:23pm

Oh I was more rambling to myself outloud, a bad habit--I know you weren't clearly saying that.

The workshop thing makes some sense. I guess cynically I do kinda worry that this could be like some shows with a promising first season that instead of improving, fall apart the way, for example Brothers and Sisters did, IMHO, once Jon Robin Baitz left his creation due to all the interefering imposed on him by networks and quickly ran through no less than four teams of headwriters. Which seems funny to say as I do think Rebeck herself is the weak link, and as I've said, the new guy deserves a chance (I do wonder--not that it would clearly be a good or bad thing, if he has any theatre background).

I was kinda hoping David Marshall Grant, who obviously has huge theatre and film *and* TV experience both behind and in front of the scenes and wrote some of the better structured episodes of Smash would be upgraded, but perhaps he didn't even want the huge job being a showrunner is.

But your point is valid. The show already has some huge hurdles--aside from being a fairly un-tested genre for TV, and one that takes a lot of work to do weekly, it had to be completely re-tooled from its Showtime version, and, as they pointed out, because it ended up being midseason, they had already far more episodes in the can than most series do before they could gauge reaction and tweak things. Greenblatt has considered the show his baby since his time at Showtime and is championing it now that he's head of NBC, and he's often a very good exec producer--at least he was at HBO (Six Feet Under, etc) and Showtime, though he's less proven with network tv. And NBC of course can't afford to drop a drama right now that is getting people talking and getting better numbers than most of their troubled programming, particularly in the ever important demos.

#1532

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/25/12 at 7:27pm

Grr at my inability to post edits here. Robin Greenblatt of course does have background with primetime soaps--pre HBO he helped develop Fox's 90s hits like 90210, Melrose and Party of Five. Perhaps more troubling though he also apparently was a key player when he produced 9 to 5 the musical... :P But he does seem to be the one person who has been with Smash every stretch of the way, considering Rebeck was brought on fairly late, Spielberg loved the concept but as usual with his TV projects I get the impression doesn't have much direct involvement, and Zadan/Meron have been a bit less directly involved than I expected, just due to all their products.

#1533

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/25/12 at 8:00pm

That Little White Baby Grand song was totally something I'd skip over if it came up on my iPod, HOWEVER Megan Hilty kind of made me a little misty eyed with it this week! How does this woman do it? She could give me chills just reading the ingredients off the back of a Sprite can.

Oh wait, here she is doing exactly that!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JBHipEoIyQ#t=01m14s

#1534

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/26/12 at 1:54pm

I looked through this thread and I do not believe that this was posted, but McPhee and Hily will be considered for the Supporting Actress categories at the Emmys alongside Huston. Messing will be considered for the Leading Actress categories.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/emmys-smash-debra-messing-katherine-mcphee-megan-hilty-316590

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/SMASHs-Katharine-McPhee-Megan-Hilty-to-be-Submitted-for-Supporting-Actress-Emmy-Nominations-Debra-Messing-for-Leading-20120425

#1535

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/26/12 at 4:10pm

No really surprised. Even though McPhee was billed as it being her story they really turned the focus on Messing.

"I think lying to children is really important, it sets them off on the right track" -Sherie Rene Scott-

#1536

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/26/12 at 4:16pm

Phyllis after carefully considering your post I think you should re-post it with attribution- who said what. I refuse to engage in slut-shaming but could really go for a couple hours of moron-shaming.

Updated On: 4/26/12 at 04:16 PM

#1537

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/26/12 at 4:25pm

Ha. I can't go back and reread this thread again to do that. I just can't!

#1538

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/27/12 at 12:45pm

PRS-

Brilliant post! Now, there is no need to read the entire thread, since you've mangled to condense all of the points into one handy post!

Thanks!

"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>> “I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>> -whatever2

#1539

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/27/12 at 3:00pm

It's my pleasure. I just thought it would be nice to remember some of the crazy on display here!

#1540

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/27/12 at 3:23pm

But you did leave out how much the son sucks.

Man, I was hoping they would find him dead some where...

#1541

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/27/12 at 3:51pm

Looks like GLEE will be covering "Shake It Out" in this week's episode too...

http://www.gleethemusic.com/us/episode/choke

#1542

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/30/12 at 10:05pm

LOVED the opening!

(Fabulous arrangement!)

"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."

Updated On: 4/30/12 at 10:05 PM

#1543

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/30/12 at 10:06pm

That opening was the best thing I've seen on SMASH! Finally we've had a moment that tops the "Let Me Be Your Star" from the pilot!

David walked into the valley With a stone clutched in his hand He was only a boy But he knew someone must take a stand There will always be a valley Always mountains one must scale There will always be perilous waters Which someone must sail -Into the Fire Scarlet Pimpernel

#1544

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/30/12 at 10:08pm

Best arrangement of "Another Opening, Another Show" ever. And Christian Borle's voice sounded glorious.

#1545

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/30/12 at 10:11pm

Loved it!

Hey Dottie! Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany

#1546

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/30/12 at 10:12pm

I love that we all ran here to share the love!

"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."

#1547

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/30/12 at 10:12pm

Forgive me if this is revealed elsewhere in the thread... what theater was the "Boston" stuff filmed in?

Updated On: 4/30/12 at 10:12 PM

#1548

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/30/12 at 10:19pm

Umm...I don't think you can get to Boston from Grand Central Station. And I know you can't get to Boston on a Metro-North train. Did they think no one was going to notice that? I guess they decided to opt for atmosphere (GCT is definitely more photogenic than Penn Station) over accuracy!

Also, I liked how Eileen said she was "going to go into New York" - as if Boston were a suburb of NYC instead of four hours away!

Maggie-the-schnoodle

#1549

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/30/12 at 10:20pm

The beautifully restored St George in Staten Island

Poster Emeritus

#1550

Smash - Series Discussion

Posted: 4/30/12 at 10:27pm

Ah yes. I knew it looked familiar, but I couldn't place it. Saw a concert at the St George a few years back. Thanks, Mr Roxy.

As for getting to Boston from Grand Central... perhaps Karen took the Metro North to Stamford or New Haven, then Amtrak from there to Boston. Grasping at straws here. lol

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