TV: Smash

TV: Smash

Smash is a drama about an attempt to make a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe. It gets a lot disparagement. and low ratings. I don't know why, personally, i like it.

There are three main groups of characters, each seperated by about a half generation in age, and each with its own set of motivations.

The oldest group consists of finance and production. Old hands, on first name terms with everyone who counts. Unfortunately, the power couple that first took on the project got divorced, and now the show is caught up in their feud.

Next is creative: script, music, choreography, and direction. In their stratum, everyone is a genius and their employability depends less on how many hits they've had than how recently they've had one.

Then there are the performers. Apparently, until the show opens, they live on a $200 a month stipend, out of which they have to come up with food and lodging and additional acting/singing/dancing lessons to improve their chances at auditions. In New York-- i don't see how they can do it. Plus, until the show settles in with a guaranteed season they have to be ready to jump on a moment's notice. The backup performers are always looking to jump anyway-- to something that will give them more exposure.

Also, who will be Marilyn? The more experienced Ivy, who's a buxom blonde even without the costuming? Or Karen, who's kind of scrawny, but has freshness, eagerness, and the burning desire to never need to look for a job back home in Iowa. Yeah, kinda like Norma Jean.

Karen the newcomer is played by Katherine MacPhee, also a newcomer. Not that it matters, i didn't recognize anyone in the show except Debra Messing, the creator and main writer. So MacPhee was just someone else i'd never heard of and i was surprised at the hate out there for her. Apparently she came up through American Idol and that leaves a stigma. I don't know why, i don't watch any of those shows, but i thought the idea was to reward talent that might otherwise go overlooked. Apparently the Internet thinks she was unfairly rewarded because there are some awful things being said about her speech, movement, facial expressions, emoting, and even the way she stands still. I don't get it, she seems fine to me.

So, drama, intrigue, bed hopping. And music.

The music has gotten bad responses too, but i think it's wonderful. Each song perfectly fits the mood of the scene it's in. Some of the songs are meant to be part of the musical and some are sort of dream sequences triggered by stress between the characters, which makes the outer story sort of a musical too.

Finally there's a lot of genuine discussion on the meaning of Marilyn in our culture. Is she a true role model? Was she just a commodity? Or did she manage to outgrow the men who treated her like one?

Smash is nearing the end of its second season. There may not be a third. That would be sad.