I promise I'm still watching Smash. Unlike America, that fictionally monolothic "America", which has been fleeing Smash in droves each week; the media has major schadenfreude with this show's ratings with headline's boasting "record lows!" each week. I'm just not as quick with my write-ups. Oddly, as the show is improving and slowly working its way back to Season 1 quality levels my drive to discuss is as wishy washy as all of the show's plotlines.
"All" should not be mistaken for "many" though. There are still but two major plots: "Bombshell" the Marilyn Monroe musical stumbles through endless landmines of the emotional, financial, artistic and public relations variety as it works its way towards opening night whilst "Hit List" the fringe musical about something or other (I've lost track -- it seems to change each week) which doesn't seem to have any obstacles that aren't solved in seconds as it races from one pivotal metamorphosis to another. It was a vague idea a handful of episodes ago, then a fringe success, and now suddenly a buzzy Off Broadway hit that's already threatening to transfer to the Great White Way.
But one thing it doesn't have is a naked Marilyn! more
2.10-2.11 "The Surprise Party" & "The Invited Dress"
After failing to drum up much drama in "The Surprise Party" which revolved around Tom & Ivy's hurt former-friends feelings when Tom is not invited to Ivy's birthday despite delivering her Liza Minnelli (!) singing to her at dinner, the Tom & Ivy drama now involves whether he can convince her to get naked for her role -- a sudden artistic change-up prompted by a wardrobe malfunction in the JFK number. Ultimately everyone wants Ivy to get naked except for her friend Sam (cue: "Take Me Out" jokes) who is suddenly wise to how bad Tom is for his career despite their romance last season.
Which brings me to my final real point in tonight's brief Smash-up: the show's two least useful supporting gays, Sam and Kyle, suddenly get backbones in this most recent episodes despite having previously been rather jellyfish like in the spine department: Sam tells it to Tom like it is and walks out, and Kyle resists Jimmy's dickish 'you secretly want me' blow and suddenly has confidence in himself. That came out nowhere!
Best Moment (Surprise): LIZA! On network television. Singing.
Best Moment (Rehearsal): Ellis actually returns. In Tom's bed. In a dream sequence. It's somehow comforting that the most wildly hated Season 1 Actor/Character was a good enough sport to show up for this scene which is essentially saying "you're nightmarish! we all hated you!!!".
B♡BBY: Wesley Taylor gets lots of face time including a brief reprise of his Method Actor Spoofing in "Bombshell"'s Stanislavsky number
Most Confusing Moment: The show has spent 1½ seasons placing Karen (Katherine 'dead-eyes' McPhee) on a pedestal, and suddenly decides it doesn't like what it sees while looking up her skirt? WTH? I mean she's always been a whiny entitled princess as written but the show is just NOW realizing this about her when her "Hit List" spotlight gets stolen by virtue of someone else's talent and she is a total ass about it? But then the show still wants Karen to win everything with ease since "Hit List" than steals "Bombshell's" thunder with a New York Times article about how one show is the future while the other show celebrates the past. ARGH. LEAVE BOMBSHELL ALONE. This show hates itself so much. For a show that was sometimes alluding to the possibility of a spin-off Broadway show (imagine seeing "Bombshell" live!) it is constantly warning us away from actually liking "Bombshell". Damnit show, want good things for yourself. Make peace with yourself before we all live unhappily ever after imagining what could have been...
How are you handling the latest episodes?