I can't believe they have the same budget. The production numbers on Smash are simply stronger. Everything feels and sounds more rooted in the real world. Blondie's "Call Me" was done in a slinky cabaret style, and Carrie Underwood's Crazy Dreams was arranged and sung like a contemporary musical theatre piece, in stark contrast to how Glee usually arranges its numbers. Not only that, but the actual production of it all is just more impressive, as you see when you get into the fantasy sequences (the "Let Me Be Your Star" restaging and "20th Century Foxmambo"). It's all very well done on that end.
Agreed. The comparisons to Glee can't be helped, and so far the musical numbers are just several levels above what Glee's accomplished (even back in season 1 before the show went to shit). I can't wait for the official soundtrack...which frankly should be called "
'Megan Hilty' The debut album featuring some people she's on some show with" because all of her performances have just given me goosebumps. That arrangement for Crazy Dreams? Child I was slain...
Sadly though, I wish they would take some of that originality of concept that they're bringing to the musical numbers and put it into the plot, because as much as I want to root for this show I was overall bored to tears by last night's episode. The story is just completely unoriginal and by-the-numbers so far.
As stogy and clichéd as I've seen it being called, I really connected to the Ivy and Karen stuff. I guess everyone's seen it all before? And I can't wait to see more from Karen. NBC has made it pretty clear in its marketing that the whole show revolves around two things: the untitled Marilyn Monroe project and Karen. There's a little "Rumor Has It" clip online, and while McPhee isn't a terribly strong dancer, she's pretty hot in it.
Ivy Lynn is still coming off as the more interesting character for me - mostly because the writers seem to be less afraid to make her flawed. She been in the business 10 years, knows her shit and is talented as all get out...but she
will fuck the director for brownie points, and she will show some sass to girls she feels are her competition. And because she's been in the business for so long, and her parents don't really approve, and she hasn't made it "big" yet, there's some feelings of inadequacy and bitterness lurking under the surface, and Megan is really communicating it well. You get the feeling that Ivy
really wants this part because she feels it's her last big shot to be something more than a chorus girl.
Whereas Karen is still stuck in
"I'm an innocent girl from Iowa who moved to New York with big dreams and my coworkers all cover my ass at work because they believe in my talent and I'm gonna be a big star without compromising my sense of ethics! Tee-hee!" Her biggest problem right now seems to be that her parents don't approve but, really, whose parents do? She's a total Mary Sue, and it's not helping that Katherine is not bringing much to her character. It was hilarious in the scene where she meets up with her boyfriend after standing him up, and Raza Jaffrey is just
serving it, and all Kathering can do is stand there, deer caught in headlights and repeating "I'm sorry" in monotone over and over.
We're only two episodes in, but they need to speed it up with the character development, because so far Karen is just a completely boring character.
