NBC's SMASH, Season 2 -- Discussion — Page 129

^I hope so, but I really hope Alan Menken picks up a nomination and hopefully a win for his song in The Neighbors. It wasn't a masterpiece, but it was cute, catchy and moved the plot along. And, it would give Menken his EGOT!!!!!!

i agree with her 100% cant wait to see her in 1st Date

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But what about the scores of us that wanted it to be wonderful and were totally let down?

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That's just the way it goes sometimes. Such is life.

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Has anyone seen the show on Ovation that they put on after Smash reruns on Friday nights? I know who Daisy Egan is and actually saw her when I was a kid. Do the other panel members know what they're talking about or have you seen them onstage? Too bad they didn't try to raise publicity for the show when it was actually new and first run.

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Krysta, the problem with Smash was Season 1. Nobody wanted to see a musical soap opera.

There were way too many characters and they weren't behaving consistently. During the Boston tryout, we're going to believe that the ENTIRE Bombshell company and their assorted families, lovers and pets went to church on a Sunday morning? Really? Really? Nobody on Smash shows any interest in going to church until they reach Boston.

Then we had to put up with the Deb Messing homelife story lines with a son who we all thought was mentally challenged but just turned out to be a bad actor. And a pregnancy as a cliffhanger? That's never been done before.

Then there was Ellis. Probably the worst character on the soap. Every week the question was asked: which was worse, the writing or his acting? Then when we saw him in bed with a woman, all of America groaned a collective WTF?

Then there were the guest appearances by people like Michael Riedel who nobody outside of NYC knows or cares about. And the geriatric divas Bernadette Peters and Liza Minnelli. Do you think they were going to bring in the under age 50 viewers?

Had they used the more superior "Slings And Arrows" as their model, they would have had a better show.

I truly wanted to see a great Broadway based show, but it was just such crap. If Season 2 had been the first season, it may have had a chance. But Season 1 is what killed the show.

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Updated On: 8/2/13 at 06:08 PM

I don't get it. How is smash any more dramatic than nashville? Maybe they shouldn't be compared but I love both! Both about music!

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Seriously, I love TV, especially well-written TV. I only kept watching Smash because it was about musicals and Broadway. The show it ultimately became was absolutely awful and had it been about any other subject I probably would have bailed during the first season.

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I got the Season 2 DVD last week as a birthday present and have watched the first disc (episodes 1-4) and enjoyed it very much. I have not looked at any of the deleted scenes yet and will be interested to see them and then debate if they should have been deleted and the reason why.

Here's a summary of the deleted scenes many with Anjelica Huston which are on the Season 2 DVC set...

There are 4 discs with bonus features containing Never-Before-Seen Musical Numbers, Deleted Scenes and a Gag Reel.

Disc 1 has deleted scenes for the first 4 episodes:

On Broadway has 3 Deleted Scenes:

1.Eileen & Nick before the Bombshell Broadway announcement when Nick discovers that something has gone wrong.

2.Ronnie & Derek meet in a bar and Ronnie tells Derek that Michael Reidel has called her for a quote regarding the sexual harassment suit.

3.Eileen & Jerry talk in the office after the Bombshell implosion and Jerry offers his help but Eileen says "Goodbye Jerry"!

The Fallout has 2 Deleted Scenes:
1.Eileen in her office when her assistant gives her a newspaper with the headline "Will New Marilyn Musical Sleep With the Fishes?

2.Ivy and Sam in Times Square chatting before he goes away on tour.

The Dramaturg has 2 Deleted Scenes:

1.Julia standing outside a restaurant waiting for the Dramaturg to arrive jots on her yellow pad. She drops her purse to the ground before writing which is an open invitation for a purse snatcher to take it. Stupid!

2.Tom pulls the Bombshell Workshop script from his bookcase and begins perusing it. This should have stayed in so that the ending wasn't so jarring when it's announced Jerry is going with the workshop script.

The Song has 5 Deleted Scenes:

1.Kyle arrives at the loft finding a note from Jimmy that says "See you at the restaurant" and is pissed.

2.Ronny & Derek talk in the hall after the Hit List workshop.

3.Tom & Kyle talk about what it means to being a team before Ronnie's musical concert. Best of the deleted scenes and for me this should have stayed in the episode.

4.Eileen is in a cab on the way to her deposition when she finds out that it has been canceled when Nick pleads guilty to doing it alone.

5.Derek introduces Kenny Leon to Ronnie after the concert with Kenny offering Ronnie a job in "The Glass Menagerie". Jimmy & Derek make up and Jimmy thanks Tom for his help. Best part was Kyle giving Karen good advice that she doesn't know Jimmy and that he will hurt her.

Disc 2 Deleted Scenes--It has 5 episodes.

The Read-Through has 2 Deleted Scenes:

1.Julia and Tom are discussing Peter's supposed rewritten script and Tom agrees to find a way to help her stop him from Jerry using it.

2.Julia and Tom are in the hallway after the read-through finding out there was no rewritten script by Peter. Tom tells Julia he likes the script changes when Jerry's secretary (Nikki Blonsky) tells them that Jerry wants to see them in the office immediately.

The Fringe has 1 Deleted Scene and they should never have cut it!

1.Eileen sneaks into Jerry's office and talks with his secretary who reveals that she doesn't like working for Jerry. When Eileen asks her if Jerry knew about Ellis she blabs and gives the evidence to Eileen that she needs to get Bombshell back.

Musical Chairs has 3 Deleted Scenes of which the first two should not have been cut.

1.Tom and Ivy are in Times Square chatting about Bombshell's problems and Ivy leaving "Liassons" to become Karen's Standby.

2.Tom & Jerry argue in Jerry's office about him helping to get Ivy out of "Liassons", the night before Opening Night and back in "Bombshell" as Karen's Standby. This scene plays after the debacle in the rehearsal room with Karen and the choreography. In the end Jerry tells Tom that it just might be Tom who is replaced as director. This scene for me was really good!

3.Tom, Julia, Eileen and her daughter Katie meet in a restaurant as they talk about getting the show back from Jerry. Zzzzz!

The Bells and Whistles has 2 Deleted Scenes.

1.Short wasted scene at the party at Tom's with Sam, Ivy and Julia.

2.Hit List cast meet in bar for a celebratory drink--Zzzzz!

The Parents has 1 Deleted Scene and it's a good one that should have stayed.

1.Tom and Sam talk outside very angrily about the choice that Tom made to bring Ivy's mother into "Bombshell"; Loved it!

Disc 3 Deleted Scenes has 4 episodes.

The Surprise Party has 2 Deleted Scenes.

1.Quick scene w/Tom, Eileen and the Stage Manager (Ann Harada) in which Tom tells them he has gotten Liza for Ivy's birthday surprise--Zzzzz!

2.Derek and Jimmy talk. Derek explains about a past sexual escapade who became his 1st wife. Jimmy questions him about Karen asking why Derek hasn't pursued her. Derek plays dumb and says nothing as he moves chess pieces on a board. This was probably the most revealing scene in the entire series regarding Derek's past and should never have been cut.

The Dress Rehearsal has 2 Deleted Scenes.

1.Tom & Julie argue in the lobby about the intermission being 30 minutes too long with Julia telling Tom to be the director and put the show first.

2.Musical number from "Hit List"--"I'm Not Sorry". Complete version with Karen and the Diva (Krysta Rodriguez) with the NY Times reporter watching and loving it.

Opening Night has 2 Deleted Scenes.

1.Very quick Curtain Call; what a waste!
2.Eileen and publicist reading reviews after the preview; very good! This scene tells you that Ivy got fabulous reviews.

The Producers has 1 Deleted Scene.

1.Derek and Karen talk about Jimmy and when he goes missing. Derek gives Karen a pep talk with a peck on her head.

The 4th disc has 4 episodes w/deleted scenes,a gag reel plus two deleted songs: "At Your Feet" and "Adieu Mon Coeur" with Anjelica Huston.

The Phenomenon had 3 Deleted Scenes:

1.Eileen arrives at the 1st staging of "Hit List after seeing it the previous night to help Derek restage so he can get more people in to see the show--WTF!

2."Hit List" stage door--Karen and Jimmy are signing Playbills for fans with Mari Davi, the future Diva lurking behind. Derek comes out and she confronts him saying "It's almost like you're avoiding me. We had a deal." Derek tells her that the deal was if the show transferred, but it's not.

3.The first of two good musical numbers--"At Your Feet" with Bernadette Peters and the child who played Norma Jean. Liked it, but have to agree with Kyle's suggestion that it just really didn't fit and was better off being cut.

The Nominations had 3 Deleted Scenes.

1.Karen and Ana talk outside "Hit List" about her being canned and not able to get a job. She tells Karen that she has called a lawyer. Loved when Ana told Karen "When you see Derek could you punch him in the nuts for me!"

2.Julia & Frank's conversation before the mediation about Julia's friendship with Michael Swift which makes for an ugly divorce.

3.The second musical number was the best for me with Anjelica Huston singing in French "Adieu Mon Coeur". It takes place on the night that Bombshell's theatre decides to dim its lights in memory of Kyle. She sings the song on an empty stage except for a center spotlight. The "Goodbye My Love" was Kyle and when the song ended the scene shifted to outside the theatre and the lights going dark. Applause! Applause!

The Tony's had 4 Deleted Scenes.

1.Eileen and her publicist are discussing who will win the Tony for Best Musical when Jerry walks by heading to the elevator and tells them "Hello ladies; may the best show win". And I'd say to Jerry it did and it wasn't that pile of crap you produced!

2.Eileen and Jerry are in a bar talking about his girlfriend Sheila and who will win the Tony. At least Eileen didn't douse him with a cocktail.

3.Julia and Tom are at the Post Tony Party and Tom's future paramour arrives.

4.Here comes the scene that was rumored to be in the script and it was. Karen and Ana are talking at the post party and a Hollywood agent tells Karen that she's too good for Broadway. She gives her a card and tells her that if she's ever in LA look her up. Ugh! Give me a barf bag.

Finally there is the Gag Reel which has lots of dancing especially the funky chicken, messed up lines and scenes. It was good but way too short.

Very disappointed that Megan's version of "I Got Love" which she did was NOT on the DVD set.

Then we had to put up with the Deb Messing homelife story lines with a son who we all thought was mentally challenged but just turned out to be a bad actor.

Right?

I recently started watching Breaking Bad and during the first scene of the pilot I actually said aloud, "Is Walt Jr. mentally challenged or is this just another Leo situation?"

"There were way too many characters and they weren't behaving consistently. During the Boston tryout, we're going to believe that the ENTIRE Bombshell company and their assorted families, lovers and pets went to church on a Sunday morning? Really? Really? Nobody on Smash shows any interest in going to church until they reach Boston."

What do you want them to do, show people going to church every few episodes? OK, I doubt that everybody in a cast is religious and attends church but having that in the show is not really that big of a deal IMO.

"Then there were the guest appearances by people like Michael Riedel who nobody outside of NYC knows or cares about. And the geriatric divas Bernadette Peters and Liza Minnelli. Do you think they were going to bring in the under age 50 viewers? "

SMASH was about a Broadway. They probably figured most people who would even think of watching SMASH might get a "kick" out of seeing Bernadette Peters and Liza Minella on TV. My daughters are in their twenties and I will admit Broadway geeks and they wanted to see/hear Bernadette Peters.

'Then we had to put up with the Deb Messing homelife story lines with a son who we all thought was mentally challenged but just turned out to be a bad actor. And a pregnancy as a cliffhanger? That's never been done before."

I totally agree with you on this and IMO anything involving Ms. Messing was fairly awful .

Finally finished watching all of Season 2 on DVD and just enjoyed it. I will actually miss it this year, guess it was just a guilty pleasure of mine - lol.