Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Why Is SMASH Failing?


Before season 2 premiered, it seemed like it was on the fast track to make up for last season's major problems: a poor plot, bad writing, ridiculous characters, and weird dream sequences. As Theresa Rebeck, the show's creator and writer was replaced by Gossip Girl's Josh Safran.

Then season 2 premiered with a huge, 2-hour season premiere. The episode was good, not great, but you could tell they were trying to clean up last season's messes. They also had some of the best music that a SMASH episode has had yet, like "Cut, Print...Moving On" and "Broadway, Here I Come." The new characters introduced, Jeremy Jordan's Jimmy, Andy Mientus' Kyle, Krysta Rodriguez's Ana, and Jennifer Hudson's Veronica, were all welcome additions that gave the show a fresh feel.

Then there was a week long hiatus. People seemed to kind of forget the show was happening and it lost the little momentum it had.

When SMASH returned last night, it definitely stayed to a much more streamlined plot, focused almost entirely on the business of the shows being produced. But it was very weak. The music, except for Hudson's rendition of "Home," was bland and didn't live up to earlier standards. The streamlined story made us, as viewers, lose something: characters we care about.

I'm by no means saying that I want SMASH to go back to last season's fiasco, but I think it needs to really figure out what it's trying to be and do THAT very well.

Last night's ratings showed a further dip, and I just hope the show can survive to see the plot get better and a rating's bump when THE VOICE returns in late March.

Did you watch SMASH? Any feelings?

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