Smash - season 1

It's a different concept; how well it holds out remains to be seen.   How much commitment NBC shows to it DEFINITELY remains to be seen.

Due to time zone differences, hasn't shown here on the west coast yeat.

Preview look great, of couse we all know what slick editing can do. Still looking forward to it.

Will post comments tomorrow.

I thought it was a solid premiere.  The performances from the supporting cast weren't as strong as those of the leads, but nothing glaring or jarring for a pilot.

 

The editing and camera work were both great, though not on the level of Glee (with which, I assume, much comparison will be made).  I thought the music was fantastic, and the numbers themselves were performed quite well.

 

I also liked how (it seems) that the season will have a true arc--the evolution of the musical--which should help connect each episode and give the season some continuity.

 

While the story went quite fast, and clearly skipped over a lot of time, I appreciated that the pilot got right to the point.  If this were a few years ago, and if NBC wasn't thrashing in shark-infested waters, the show might have taken 2-4 more episode to get to where the pilot ended.

 

It admittedly takes a lot (usually cancellation) for me to drop a show once it draws me in, so I'll be watching for a while.

With The Voice as a lead-in, the show may have a chance to hang on, but it seemed to bask in its Broadway foundations to such an extent that it doesn't seem likely to draw a general audience. (And this is coming from someone who considers himself a Broadway baby.) I enjoyed all of the characters and stories (and the number of Broadway-accomplished actors in the cast was thrilling to see), but I didn't find it compelling enough as drama to bring back average viewers who likely wouldn't care about a composer and a director feuding or two girls up for the same role. The musical numbers were interestingly conceived, performed, and filmed, but, again, the qualities of the show which make it exciting for those who love stage musicals don't seem to be on the same wavelength of the average television viewer. And unlike Glee which features a mix of pop music, show tunes, rap, and rock, the musical menu here was much more limited.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, and it'll become a cult success. I'll look with interest at the overnight ratings that'll be issued later today.

I agree, the drama and humor were a little forced. Still, the show has potential. We'll see how it goes. They're definitely going for a "Glee for grownups" vibe; hopefully this won't drop off a cliff the way Glee did.

The premiere numbers were very good. It won the 10 p.m. timeslot opposite Hawaii Five-O and Castle, but it did have the benefit of the huge audience that tuned in for The Voice. The ratings fell during Smash's second half hour signaling some definite tune-out after folks sampled the goods, but it's still the second highest drama series premiere for a new show this season behind Once Upon a Time.

 

Let's see how well it holds up next week.

Must second Matt's comments. Haven't seen it yet, still on DVR, but from what I've read the ratings were pretty decent. Hope it gets a full run and we can see the entire story.

Still haven't watched the episode from my DVR, but looks like it repeats this weekend for those who missed it.

Might be the start of something good, or could be pathetically awful, Guess we wait and see.

No comments on last night's show? I only saw bits and pieces of it, so I didn't see who got the part, but I did see probably the most explicit sex scene (and sadly, one of the shortest) I've ever seen on broadcast network TV!

I may have to re-watch!   I didn't catch too much, fastforwarded too often.  I find the entire adoption storyline wonky and boring, and it's kind of crazy a high school teen is so dedicated to making sure he has a younger sibling.. when he's about to go to college, so how much time would he have for them (?)   The musical numbers are decent though.

The musical numbers were fine but obviously less dazzling than in the pilot (which had to go all out to sell the show). I don't like the director character at all, and I agree the adoption storyline is dull and seems tacked on.

 

Yes, they picked a Marilyn, but we all know it's far from over.

Well, one is blonde and the other is a brunette, so I'll go out on a limb and say it is very obvious how this will play out (Norma Jean AND Marilyn).

soap, soap, soap: the latest episode was a soap opera from beginning to end, and I didn't much care for it. The only character I'm really enjoying is Anjelica Huston's character, and there are only so many times she can fling a drink in her husband's face.

Unfortunately I agree. If they kept to the core plot on how to put on a new Broadway show from conception to opening night, I think they would have a winner. Really, do we need the lead have sex with the director, the scheming personal assistant, an affair with the new leading man, etc.? The only back story story that has any potential impact is Anjelica Huston's since her relationship with her estranged husband has an effect on her raising money to produce the show.

When a show resorts to having everyone have a current or past torrid affair with everyone else... Blah. Did not need that storyline.

It's a terrible show. Cat fight between the two leading female characters? Puhleaze. There isn't a single interesting story line. And where are the fierce, funny gay men with the hilarious punchlines? This show is grim and pedestrian. Terrible.

Well, let's see. This episode was widely ballyhooed by several notable critics as a return to the form of the pilot, but we're given a "diva star jealous of the chorus girl" scenario right out of Valley of the Dolls and then a "talented newcomer can't blend into the ensemble" that's straight out of the number "One" in A Chorus Line. Those "borrowed" plots on top of continual tedious romantic tiffs and temptations among the cast members. Ivy says "I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself" but she's suspicious and jealous of rivals, boy friend, etc. like the greenest kid on the block. She's been in the business 10 years but seems as innocent as Karen.

 

And NBC's tiresome build-up for Katherine McPhee by giving her the 11 o'clock number shows just how stacked the decks are for Ivy to end up blowing her chance (as the previews for next week suggest).

 

There is so much about the show that irritates the crap out of me, and yet there is genuine talent there and I keep watching hoping for something that lives up to the sophisticated show we were promised before it premiered.

How many eps have aired?

I lost interest about halfway into the second one I think.

I believe four episodes have aired thus far. They're making 15, I believe, for season one.

 

more soap and not even intelligently written soap (the son seeing his mom make out with someone not his dad would be a bad cliche on daytime drama, much less on an expensive nighttime series). All the men are pretty wretched individuals. In fact, about the only things they're doing right on the show for me are the musical sequences.

From what I'm picking up, this will make it for a second season. DVRd all episodes and haven't seen one yet, so no comment as to content, but must be doing fairly well.

A big deal was made in the media about this week's uptick in ratings, but it was facing reruns on the other networks, so that was hardly a great comeback for the show.

 

I know the president of NBC is very high on the show (he brought it with him to NBC from Showtime), but they're only five episodes into a 16 episode season. That's a long way to go to prove itself yet.

I got through two and a half eps and just deleted the rest froom my dvr. Too who's sleeping with who for me.

I am disappointed in the direction the show is taking. And it's not the soap opera element that I object to. The show was supposed to be a realistic dramatization of how a Broadway show is created from the ground up. But it is taking it's cues from Glee with all the fantasy musical numbers - I'm talking about people breaking into song outside the boundaries of the stage and rehersal. That's fine if you are watching a Hollywood musical, but this was supposed to show us Broadway behind the scenes. That's how the show was sold to me, and I'm disappointed that it's just turning into another Glee.

I just wish this show could've held off the Suck for at least one season, like Glee did.

Incidentally, if you've seen Glee lately, they don't even do "fantasy" musical numbers any more. As far as I can tell, all the musical sequences are stage performance scenes (which makes it really hokey the way they try to tie the songs into the storylines).

Another soapy mess of an episode, and I didn't even like the music this week.

I'll stick with it (usually if I make past the third episode, I tend to stay because there are usually glimmers or I've gotten used to the characters). However last night wasn't so great.

The bowling alley number was horrendous. I don't know if it was the choreographer or director, but someone definitely needs to stockpile dvds from the 30s, 40s, and 50s to see how to actually film a musical number.

I was hoping we'd left the adultery storyline behind, but they still managed to include remnants. (it appears that it reappears big time next week, based on the preview).

David