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?

That's SMASHing!

Yesterday, my twitter feed was acting like a major world event was happening, like an election or inauguration. The only problem was that it wasn't an event of national importance. It was the second season premiere of the NBC show SMASH.

For the unaware, SMASH is a TV series that follows the lives of the creative team and actors of a musical aiming for Broadway. They focus on the drama on stage and off. Last season, the focus was solely on a musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, BOMBSHELL. After some major creative changes, including adding showrunner Josh Safran (Gossip Girl) and losing creator and main writer Theresa Rebeck (Seminar, Dead Accounts), the show is now focusing on a wider set of shows (including a new Rent-esque musical HIT LIST) and cutting the ridiculous unrelated-to-the-show story lines.

SMASH was the pinnacle of "hate-watch" television last season, and it was very obvious after last night's two-hour premiere, that they are definitely trying to clean up and move on from last season, as evidenced by the opening number of  the episode "Cut, Print...Moving On." They've cleaned the story up a lot (they still have a long way to go) and have expanded the music styles to include some of musical theatre's most up-and-coming composers. Also, I'm just putting it out there, I've already listened to the new song "Broadway, Here I Come" on repeat.

SMASH is definitely moving in the right direction. The new characters are great, especially Jeremy Jordan (Newsies)'s Jimmy Collins, and have upped the acting quality insanely already. As someone who loves many of Broadway's lesser known actors and biggest up-and-comers, it's great to see people like Jordan, Andy Mientus, and Krysta Rodriguez show up on the TV.

I am interested to see where this season goes, but will definitely stay along for the ride. Here is a preview of the season premiere to give you a taste of the show.

SMASH Season 2 First Impressions

Keeping with tradition, SMASH released its first hour of the season online prior to its official air date on February 5th. Well, I watched it and can definitely say that this season is shaping up to be a lot stronger than the first season.

It started with a new number from the now Broadway-bound Bombshell. The song, "Cut, Print...Moving On," is your typical Bombshell number with fun music and great dancing. It's not the best we've seen, but definitely a strong start to the season.

The drama of this first hour definitely started to tie up some loose ends from last season, so I'm not going to judge the drama too hard. Last season needed to be let go, and this hour successfully did that by dealing with Michael Swift (Will Chase) and Frank (Brian d'Arcy James).

The third, and best part of the episode was definitely the new characters. Jennifer Hudson, Jeremy Jordan, and Andy Mientus were amazing. It was fun hearing new, super talented voices, and new writers (Joe Iconis). The highlight, by far, was Jordan's closing song: "Broadway Here I Come."

I am so excited for the rest of the season and can't wait for more. If you missed it, check it out here.