geebs: (Default)
So the songs for tonight's ep of Smash are available on itunes. Comments:

Redneck Woman- The Gretchen Wilson song, done by Katharine Mcphee. Hey, I've always been a big fan of the song, and this seems to be a straight up cover. The best song of the ep, ha!

Grenade- Bruno Mars, as done by Will Chase. I've never been keen on this song, its just too much, its like we get it Bruno, you'll do anything for that chick. This is a rock version, and I don't know what the guy is doing here, but it comes off extremely hammy.

Mr and Mrs Smith- The original song of the ep. I'll give the show this, their songs for the Marilyn Musical definitely sound like Broadway songs.

TV commentary:

Once Upon a Time- Ha, they're really milking the Disney connection here. Regina giving Henry "Space Paranoids" (from Tron) to play? Which is fine, though given the Disney bent, it makes the references to the non-Disney stuff seem kinda weird. I mean, King Midas, and then last week having a mental institution containing people who look a hell of a lot like Nurse Ratched and the Chief?

But wow, David/Charming is kinda a douche in the "real world". spoiler cut )

Walking Dead- What was up with the ending to last night's ep. It seemed very "chicks, man!" spoiler cut )
geebs: (Default)
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 )
geebs: (Default)
Looks like First Listen Fridays isn't just for Glee, the songs for next week's Smash have leaked also. So in addition to another original song, Katharine Mcphee is covering Blondie's "Call Me", while Megan Hilty is doing Carrie Underwood's "Crazy Dreams". Supposedly the Smash songs will come out on itunes Monday nights, so I guess Smash songs are available after the ep, since the show is on Monday, while Glee's are available before the ep, since its on Tuesdays?

Speaking of Glee, the performance leak of the week is for Stereo Hearts:



Heh, the Faberry fans are all giddy over the Quinn/Rachel moments during this song. I definitely can't wait to see the context of this song, because why is some random new guy making these huge gestures to Rach? Did the club find out about the engagement, and this is their way of telling her she should continue to play the field?

TV commentary:

Nikita- It really sucks the ratings for Nikita aren't so hot, because they've really ramped up the intrigue. spoiler cut )

Fringe- Heh, I was surprised it took them so long to figure out what was happening in the town. spoiler cut )
geebs: (Default)
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.

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