SMASH Hits Moral Low- Page 2

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 10:10am

dramamamma - The OP was suggesting there might be legal issue which is why I responded that way.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 10:11am

Nobody EVER has to die in any work of tv fiction -- but they do. TV shows (particularly dramas) have characters die all the time -I really don't see the big deal (other than the Rent tie in).

Even when we take the Larsen situation into account, do you all really think that no story involving a b'way show should never dramatize a death again? Because if they ever do, this is the way the public and the community deal with it now.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 10:13am

I will confess to actually tearing up a bit when they dimmed the lights for Kyle.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 10:15am

It's a shame Carolee wasn't present.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 10:23am

Where were the parents?!

[Kad]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 10:27am

I just think it was a cheap, desperate attempt to keep drama going.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 10:39am

I don't know if you were around during the original run of Rent, but the producers of Rent exploited the death of Jonathan Larsen like nothing ever seen.

[Ham3]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 10:41am

A subsidiary piece of sleaze: they wanted to kill Bernadette's At Your Feet to make room for more autotuned drivel, so they made Kyle have the brilliant idea of cutting it to make the scene more upbeat.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 11:26am

His parents would have had their own mourning and a funeral to plan. They likely wouldn't have understood. And it seemed to be pretty impromptu.

Yankee -- I was referring to the op's assertion of legal issues, sorry if that wasn't clear.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 11:31am

Perhaps if the writers of Smash had killed more of the characters more often, the show would have been better.

For instance, if Ellis had turned out to have been a serial poisoner...

Or if Carpet went crazy and shot people...

Or Ivy had pushed Karen down a flight of stairs...

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 11:36am

Who's nickname is Carpet?

I'm curious as to whether the people who are all offended and outraged feel the same when NBC rips from the headlines for things like Law & Order: SVU. I remember they came up with an episode that started off feeling like a bio-pic of Casey Anthony a few seasons back, and that was hardly the first time they had used current events to base the start of an episode on either.

[John Adams]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 11:42am

>> "Perhaps if the writers of Smash had killed more of the characters more often, the show would have been better."

Yes, please.

>> "I'm curious as to whether the people who are all offended and outraged feel the same when NBC rips from the headlines for things like Law & Order: SVU."

It's not the notion of "ripped from the headlines" that's objectionable for me. It's the poor execution of same. (HA! I wrote "execution"...!)
Updated On: 5/5/13 at 11:42 AM

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:00pm

I was pretty outraged by Law and Order: SVU using the Steubenville trial as a storyline, so yeah.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:01pm

"I'm curious as to whether the people who are all offended and outraged feel the same when NBC rips from the headlines for things like Law & Order: SVU."

I think it's a difference in style. Crime dramas ripping from the headlines goes back past Dragnet "The story is true the names have been changed to protect the innocent." We sort of expect it with these shows.

The problem with Smash is that it has always been treated like a soap opera. In a soap opera when an actor wants to leave the show or their contract is not renewed, they were killed off. Smash being a "season" show was able to dump a bunch of their characters during hiatus. But what to do with a mid-season departure? Kill them off.

They could have taken a page from Glee and just pretend like characters (Sugar, Joe) don't even exist anymore.

Updated On: 5/5/13 at 12:01 PM

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:04pm

According to TWOP, this was the storyline Josh Safran pitched that got him the job, so Kyle was always meant to die.

[CurtainPullDowner]

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

In Andy's interview he implies they are honoring Larsen with the storyline. But how is it an honor to use pieces of the story and never mention Larsen's name when obviously RENT exists in SMASHWORLD?
And he says he was informed of his death but not before he was hired. It's a waste to cast new young talent then run 'em down on the street.

More important, who are all the actresses on Anjelica's board of TONY possibles. I saw Vicky Clarke and Audra.

[Jordan Catalano]

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

I thought I saw Kate Baldwin's pic up there, as well.

[WickedRENTAwakening]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:15pm

I learned legally you need someones "life rights" if you are going to be using their likeness or story in a screenplay. I guess it may not apply for the dead?

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:17pm

"I thought I saw Kate Baldwin's pic up there, as well."

It was probably really Kerry O'Malley, who will be nominated for the revival of the revival of Into the Woods.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:21pm

SporkGoddess is right. Kyle's death was planned from the start of the season, not a last second thing they did to boost ratings. It was just handled really poorly and Kyle was never sufficiently developed for us to care about his death.

Last night we saw Tom, Julia and Jeremy remembering conversations with Kyle and we are meant to believe he had this big impact on their lives. Maybe if we were given the opportunity to see them bond during the previous episodes we would have felt their loss, but it was very forced when presented this way.

I thought the most offensive and unrealistic thing was Hilty not showing up to Bombshell to attend Hit List. She could be fired for that- especially when Eileen, Julia and Tom were all in the audience!! They talked about running a Tony campaign and their star isn't even showing up!

They kill Kyle to redeem Jimmy and I don't think he redeemed himself at all. In fact I found him just as reprehensible this episode as usual.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:22pm

If they were doing Jonathan Larsen: The Movie, yes they would need legal clearance. But this is Kyle, book writer for a downtown musical who died tragically. It's a fictional character and entirely legal.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:23pm

"More important, who are all the actresses on Anjelica's board of TONY possibles."

This is what really bothers me about the show. Putting so much emphasis on winning a Tony like that is the "be-all, end-all" of Broadway theater. Even Jerry said "I'm going to steal that Tony from you." And I'm sure this is how producers think, but I wish Eileen would just concentrate on producing for the love of a good show.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:24pm

"It was probably really Kerry O'Malley, who will be nominated for the revival of the revival of Into the Woods."


And I was having such a good day...

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:27pm

I'm sorry, Jordan, that was a cheap shot for me to make. I promise it's not real. She'll never go near that role again.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/5/13 at 12:27pm

Here are the pics on the boards btw-

Actress:
Audra McDonald (House of Flowers)
Laura Osnes (Oliver!)
Ivy Lynn (Bombshell)
Karen Cartwright (Hit List)
Kate Baldwin (Seesaw) (In the Michele Lee role?!)
Jennifer Damiano (Beauty Queen)

Featured Actress:
Leigh Conroy (Bombshell)
Victoria Clark (Beauty Queen)
Ivy Lynn (Liasons)
Patina Miller (House of Flowers)
Chita Rivera (Drood?)
Katie Finneran