152 insights into my soul

TV commentary:

Pretty Little Liars- Wow, a show where someone (Caleb) actually uses a reasonably complex password- the first letters of all the cities he's lived in, alternating capitals and lower case, 4 number (the date he first effed his gf, HA!), and an exclamation point. I mean, more than 10 characters, a mix of capitals and lower case, numbers, and special characters? Its refreshing to see a TV character use proper password complexity, instead of a significant word or phrase like you usually see in TV or movies.

So we finally find out Holden's deal. I dunno, after all the buildup (possibly being gay, or into the swirl, or a drug dealer or a drug user or in a secret underground fight club) the reality was kinda disappointing. ( spoiler cut )

HIMYM- Barney's new love interest is pretty interesting, but the Robin stuff is insane. I can't believe they're going back to that well. ( spoiler cut )


Smash- Wow, I'm actually surprised they've resolved who got the role, Ivy or Karen, so quickly! ( spoiler cut )

So, NBC released the pilot for Smash for free on itunes, so I just caught that. (speaking of itunes, if the show knows what's good for it, it'll go the Glee route and sell the songs ASAP on itunes and amazon. I'll be quite annoyed if I have to wait a few months for a soundtrack)

I enjoyed it. It'll get inevitable comparisons to Glee, but that's unavoidable. But better that than "Cop Rock"! Its definitely like the former, though its still a different animal. Some people want to say its "Glee for grownups", and given the characters are older, maybe that's a fair description. But I think its more a drama, lacking the absurdist humor/insanity of a Ryan Murphy show. It does share the same heart though (say what you will about Glee, but when it gets the drama aspects right, it gets it so right)

The whole opening a real play on Broadway based on the fictional play they're trying to make in the show might be a little too ambitious, I think. And also, if the show covers them trying to make a play on Broadway, what do they do for next season? People don't churn out Broadway shows that quickly and often! (I mean, obviously, there's new shows on Broadway every year, but the SAME people don't come up with something on a yearly basis!)

In any case, I think one of the most interesting aspects is the rivalry between Katharine Mcphee's Karen and Ivy, played by Megan Hilty. From the commercials, obviously Karen is the small town girl trying to make it in the big city. And the rival of that archetype always ends up being the more experienced veteran who may have been good in the past, but is getting all the roles because of her name and familiarity. Only, that's not Ivy at all, she's basically just Karen, a few years later, who's gotten somewhat of a break, but is still swaying in the background, having not gotten a leading role.

So you're used to rooting for the Karen, but Ivy basically volunteered to help out with a fresh idea, doing a favor for her friends, in the hopes of it leading to something great. So if Karen gets the part, poor Ivy is unfairly screwed over. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Overall, this was better than I was expecting, and is actually pretty good, it just didn't hit me emotionally like the pilot for Glee did. And let's not forget, Glee was full of a bunch of relative unknowns, so I think its a bigger accomplishment, vs Smash, which has award winners like Debra Messing and Angelica Huston starring in it. All in all, I'm watching it, but Glee is still my favorite musical TV show, and I don't see Smash dethroning it.