NBC's SMASH, Season 2 -- Discussion- Page 55

[lovebwy]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 12:48am

It was a ridiculous and unbelievable as most of the things on the show, that much is certain.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 1:06am

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 1:30am

Here is what A.V. Club had to say about the episode.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-parents,95756/

Updated On: 4/5/13 at 01:30 AM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 1:47am

That recap is pretty dead on, I think, especially about how getting better and being good aren't the same.

And this made laugh, because I thought the same thing: How did Derek know which jacket Jimmy swiped the watch from?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 1:51am

This show has gone down the drain. Every week it gets a little bit worse than the week before.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 2:00am

[lovebwy]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 2:21am

The show stinks on ice and so does Kathy McPhee. Put this lame horse out of it's misery.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 3:38am

I largely agree with that AV review--although I (hangs head in shame) prob would grade it a bit higher than a C-. The story is as hackneyed and obvious as ever, but in Smash-terms the show sorta made sense to me--it felt, again by those standards pretty solid.

Not much to add to everything everyone has said, except I didn't see anyone (even the review) mention the ridiculousness about Derek and Jimmy having the same jacket. OK, both having a similar leather jacket isn't so odd--and you could even give them credit saying someone was trying to subtly point out further what we've been told--that Jimmy is like Derek was when he was younger. But in typical Smash fashion--especially this year--someone on the writing staff was told to *make sure the audience gets the jacket confusion* and it was casually mentioned or pointed out by the camera over and over...

And yeah, the whole drug thing strikes me as particularly bizarre since I've been around a lot of people who have used coke (I assume it was coke) casually, and know a few people whohave had serious problems with drugs--giving drug dealers their laptops or other things as payment. I guess Manhattan just has particularly upscale dealers--but the fact that the one time we saw Jimmy apparently extremely high, he seemed only to be acting slightly drunk and was still talked into going into work by Karen because that would apparently impress everyone--and now the not-so-scary seeming drug dealer apparently has him hooked again by giving him a dime bag of blow--which is very after school special (I thought they were gonna have Jimmy do some lines at the dealers place and end up having a bender there and missing Karen's dinner which at least would have made some sense.)

Anyway what is it? 5 left? 6?

[Patash]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 8:31am

Can anyone explain why Sam is hanging out at rehearsals after being asked to be in the show then clearly told he wasn't? He's angry with Tom. What the hell is he doing sitting around chatting with everyone all the time?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 8:41am

I believe Sam mentioned that he is now covering one of the leads in the show, hence why he is at rehearsal. Apparently they didn't let me back in the BOM tour?

[Patash]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 8:47am

Ah, that would explain it. I totally missed the idea that he's covering someone. In fact, all I heard was Tom saying he couldn't find a place for him.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 9:07am

What role is Sam covering for though? (What are all the different roles in Bombshell??)

Are Sam and Tom still together?

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 9:45am

I believe he is covering a minor lead, or maybe even an ensemble track. At the beginning of this episode, he is walking with Ivy and says something like, "I can't believe I left a lead in a national tour to be understudy to a dancer here." I forget the exact line, but that's the gist.

Also at the beginning of the episode, Tom is telling Julia to stop chasing after Scott (Jesse L. Martin) with an apology because she hurt him, and she needs to give him time and space, like he is with Sam. So no, they are not currently together.

And this made laugh, because I thought the same thing: How did Derek know which jacket Jimmy swiped the watch from?

We don't know how long Derek was watching Jimmy. The camera was focused on Jimmy for a few minutes as he is rifling through pockets, then he finds the watch, and we zoom out and see Derek watching him. Maybe Derek saw exactly which pocket he took the watch from before he said something. If I saw a friend going through coats in a coatroom and I didn't know exactly what was going on, I might watch silently for a bit until I actually saw my friend steal something.

It's funny, most of the little nitpicky complaints I'm hearing here of the last couple episodes are exactly the things I thought were actually clear and did make sense.

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 10:31am

Why would Karen, a grown single woman living on her own in a major city, ask her boyfriend/lover to sneak out the window because her father is coming over? Why would she think she has to make her father think that she is a virgin, when she is living on her own? It seemed so junior high school to me.

[darquegk]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 10:36am

It's not "pretending to be a virgin/virginal," it's more "Dad's coming over, having my half-naked one-night-stand hanging around when I've clearly rolled out of bed with him will be awkward."

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 10:43am

I'm pretty sure they knew if Karen was living with that she was definitely hittin' it.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 11:51am

I think the way Sam said it was that he's basically a swing despite the show having already cast all it's swings. I feel Tom & Eileen did him favor by making him a swing since BOM wouldn't let him back in.

[Patash]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 11:54am

"It seemed so junior high school to me."

Now I'm confused. Are you still just talking about Karen sending him out through the window, or are you summing up the entire show in general?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 12:01pm

I like Rachel Shukert's summary of Karen sending Jimmy out the window:

Well, we better start with (sigh) Karen, who is busting out the Café Busto in order to fuel yet more hours of shirtless furry sex with Jimmy the Allegedly Reforming Jerk, except oops! Her dad’s at the door! Her actual, biological father, all the way from Iowa? Didn’t she remember he was coming? Didn’t her mother call her six times over the last three days to remind her? Didn’t he call her as soon as he landed, and then again when he got into a cab, and then her mother called again ten minutes after that to tell her “Daddy got in a cab, and he’s bringing a manila envelope with the rest of your tax stuff, and don’t worry if you forgot to get that cheese I told you to get that he likes, he’ll live.”

This is the first of many times I’ll say it this episode: I do not understand Gentiles. For example, I genuinely do not understand why it’s so imperative to make sure Daddy doesn’t run into Jimmy. I mean, I get maybe not wanting to tell him all about the sexing and things, but couldn’t she say: “Daddy, this is my friend Jimmy, who is staying with us for a couple of days because his roof is leaking,” or “Daddy, this is Jimmy who is in the show with me; we rehearsed late and the G wasn’t running so he crashed here last night,” or “Daddy, this is my friend Jimmy, and I am an adult woman and it’s none of your business what happens inside my vagina.” Except, apparently, it is, because while Jimmy is forced to hustle out the fire escape (perhaps to subliminally prepare us for the West Side Story remake introducing Katharine McPhee I desperately hope that global warming will save us from) Karen is perfectly happy to greet her father at the door wearing no pants, or as far as I know, underpants. Hmmm. In the immortal words of Principal Ed Rooney: “so that’s how it is in their family.”

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 12:18pm

Didn’t he call her as soon as he landed, and then again when he got into a cab, and then her mother called again ten minutes after that to tell her “Daddy got in a cab, and he’s bringing a manila envelope with the rest of your tax stuff, and don’t worry if you forgot to get that cheese I told you to get that he likes, he’ll live.”

That would all make sense if he was staying with Karen, but he wasn't. She said he was in town for a conference or something, so he would have been staying in a hotel. He had probably arranged to meet her that morning for breakfast, or even just to say hi since he was in town, and she just forgot. She wouldn't need to know the minute he landed, or have his favorite cheese on hand for that.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 12:25pm

I think she is implying the incessant calling would be a trait of Midwestern parents going to visit their children in "the big city." I can totally see Karen's parents doing that.

I also know I can't imagine asking a trick (Jimmy is more than a trick, but still) to climb out on the fire escape to exit my apartment. I sure as hell wouldn't comply with anyone asking me to do so either! I think the moral of the story is you just need to kick someone out after you got want you want from him and not allow him to spend the night. You might actually have to learn his name in the process and that just ruins the whole thing.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 12:30pm

Well, sure, that was silly. Aside from being an adult, she has a roommate. She could have pinned the half-naked boy on her roommate if she really wanted to hide her sexual activity from her father.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 1:10pm

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 1:41pm

What's most fascinating about this thread is that I'm discovering a lot of people don't pay attention while watching this (or possibly any other show). People are asking question after question about the simplest plot points that are explained by single lines of easily digestible dialogue.

Now...I live in a glass house, cause I admit that it happens to me sometimes (hello, The Following). But I'm still shocked by the discussion of what Sam is doing in the room for BOMBSHELL rehearsals. He's covering for the ensemble (aka swinging the show). It was stated flat out.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 1:44pm

What hath Rachel Shukert wrought?!