Primetimer June 11, 2015 Share June 11, 2015 The rewatch reaches the potentially fatal end of Season 1, and our commentators' emotions are as mixed as smoothie ingredients. Read the story Link to comment
profmatt June 11, 2015 Share June 11, 2015 "Zanuck (covered in rehearsal by Tom for no good reason)." The best "good reason" I can come up with is "well, we have Christian Borle, so we really ought to give him a big song." 1 Link to comment
Charlie Baker June 11, 2015 Share June 11, 2015 Loved the rewatch, including Adam's pedant's guide. My anti-Karen feelings really didn't kick in until Season 2, when the character and KMcP's acting limitations got more grating. Link to comment
FozzyBear June 11, 2015 Share June 11, 2015 Loved the rewatch, including Adam's pedant's guide. My anti-Karen feelings really didn't kick in until Season 2, when the character and KMcP's acting limitations got more grating. At this point I'm pretty annoyed by Karen, but it still has more to do with the writing than with KM. Next season Karen is written a bit better, but KM is far more annoying as a performer. She really doesn't play conflicted Karen very well. Instead I thought Katen came across as a spoiled brat who couldn't function with a Director who isn't so hypnotized by her lady parts that's he's leaving a puddle of drool wherever he goes. Karen really starts to feel more like someone who wants to sleep with an artist than someone who wants to be one. 1 Link to comment
SilvaVocat June 11, 2015 Share June 11, 2015 Can anyone point me to a legal way of getting A Thousand and One Nights? It doesn't seem to be on the cast album. Thanks! Link to comment
SilverShadow June 11, 2015 Share June 11, 2015 My Karen hate was in full force by the end of season 1 this rewatch. She's smug and entitled and I can't stand the scenes where everyone licks her boots. My favorite example is when she sings "Wolf" and they actually cut back to the Ivy version while trying to sell us on the idea that Karen is just as good. And then Derek and Eileen go on about how awesome she was in case we didn't get it. Oh! I forgot this last rewatch post, but I just don't buy the Ivy pill-popping despair leading her to get kicked out of Heaven on Earth. Ivy has to know that whoever gets Marilyn will need an understudy and that a name probably wouldn't stay with the show very long past the Tonys, so she might have a shot at being a replacement. Which isn't creating a role, but if so far she's been in the ensamble, it's still a big step up. Ugh. Also I forgot how much I like Nick. He's kinda pointless but I appreciate Angelica Houston having a boy toy. 1 Link to comment
allonsyalice June 11, 2015 Share June 11, 2015 Nick and Eileen were the only couple I actually shipped during smash. Dev was basically the worst, but holy god I LOVE that Bollywood number. It's a number with literally everyone in it (even Linda!!) and you can tell from their faces that they are just having a blast. I can't believe you guys didn't mention the magic that was Anjelica Huston and the September Song, though. it's my favourite non-broadway smash song. (and the story behind it is just lovely.) I also need to note how much Dev and Ivy just made me SO MAD. like what even was the point? There was none. it was awful. I could never get into that church number. 1 Link to comment
kimberwatch June 12, 2015 Share June 12, 2015 "And okay, she was good but why was she soloing in Sam's church???" EXACTLY! I really like this song and this version, but why couldn't this have been Sam's song? Or, at least, Karen not take it over entirely? My Karen hate was already deep and profound, but this just cemented it for me. Even though I have forgotten most of the details of this show over time, whenever this spins up on the iPod, I can't just enjoy it because I start to get mad on Sam's behalf again! 1 Link to comment
FozzyBear June 12, 2015 Share June 12, 2015 "I love church!" -actual Karen Cartwright quote. Actual motherfucking quote. Karen Cartwright. Loves. Church. I think I sprained something rolling my eyes. Oh of course she loves church! She's from Iowa where only good Christians lives. It's like being raised in a Love Comes Softly novel after all. For fucks sake, show. Grow a pair and write a real character. 3 Link to comment
adam807 June 12, 2015 Share June 12, 2015 "Zanuck (covered in rehearsal by Tom for no good reason)." The best "good reason" I can come up with is "well, we have Christian Borle, so we really ought to give him a big song." Oh yeah, I said that last week. I just meant no good story reason. Totally give CB a song any time you want in TV land! Can anyone point me to a legal way of getting A Thousand and One Nights? It doesn't seem to be on the cast album. Thanks! It's on iTunes, and I assume anywhere else Smash music is available for download. Don't know about CD. The music was packaged a couple of different ways, so make sure you're looking at "Smash Season 1" and not "Bombshell" (because it wasn't a Bombshell song). Probably best to just search by song for "A Thousand And One Nights." (It's written out like that, not "1,001.") 1 Link to comment
queenanne June 21, 2015 Share June 21, 2015 "And okay, she was good but why was she soloing in Sam's church???" EXACTLY! I really like this song and this version, but why couldn't this have been Sam's song? Or, at least, Karen not take it over entirely? My Karen hate was already deep and profound, but this just cemented it for me. Even though I have forgotten most of the details of this show over time, whenever this spins up on the iPod, I can't just enjoy it because I start to get mad on Sam's behalf again! I have all kinds of irrational anger about this, including on behalf of the actor who plays Sam. I lol'ed when I read the comments of someone along the way who said they were expecting to hear members of Sam's congregation breathily exclaiming, "is that girl who sang so beautifully going to be Marilyn??" I'm shocked they displayed the restraint, frankly. Here's a 1001 Nights version from YouTube: 1 Link to comment
Zuleikha June 22, 2015 Share June 22, 2015 Just as a singing/dancing big number, I have to admit that I really like 1001 Nights. I'm glad Raza Jeffrey got that opportunity to show off. I can never put my finger on what I hate so much about McPhee's dancing. I think her choreography is generally more complicated than Hilty's, and McPhee never obviously bungles it. There's just something so passionless about the way she moves... like she's always counting her steps in the back of her head. Link to comment
FozzyBear June 22, 2015 Share June 22, 2015 (edited) Just as a singing/dancing big number, I have to admit that I really like 1001 Nights. I'm glad Raza Jeffrey got that opportunity to show off. I can never put my finger on what I hate so much about McPhee's dancing. I think her choreography is generally more complicated than Hilty's, and McPhee never obviously bungles it. There's just something so passionless about the way she moves... like she's always counting her steps in the back of her head. Passionless is a great way to describe KM in general. There's never anything wrong with what's she's doing and usually she's technicaly very good (well with the singing and dancing. The acting no so much, but still I have enjoyed worse actors more...) but it all falls so flat. It's like her entire person has been auto-tuned. She's actually a really frustrating actor for me in that way. She's doing everything right but it somehow never adds up to anything good and I can't put my finger on exactly why. Edited June 22, 2015 by FozzyBear Link to comment
Kat July 9, 2015 Share July 9, 2015 Sorry Tara, "Don't Forget Me" is one of my very favorite songs from the show! Link to comment
Recommended Posts