W have been advertising this show for ages, and despite the fact that to start with the ads were so vague that I had next to no idea what the show was even about, I did now that Debra Messing was a character, so I had to at least give it a crack.
They’ve shown about 4 episodes now, and I’m in love with it. But I’ll be totally honest, it’s definitely not for everyone. To watch SMASH you’re going to have to put up with a lot of showtunes. A lot.
The story follows the creation of a new Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Munroe. It follows the writers, directors, producers and actors and their relationships with each other. The Producer is left with next to no money during a messy divorce from her husband, which is the shows explanation for why everything happens so fast (she wants it to start making money as fast as she can so she can get her cut).
SMASH is basically the grown up version of glee, but they usually limit themselves to 3 songs per episode, and one of them is always an original song (the other two being covers). Following glee’s formula, all their songs are released on iTunes each week. And, I’ll admit, I did actually pay for some of them. The songs are actually really good, even the originals, I would actually pay to see the Marilyn musical if it was a real thing, because I think it would be the greatest musical ever.
So, as you would expect from a musical series, there is a lot of breaking out into song, but they have done a pretty good job so far of keeping it somewhat realistic.
If the show has a flaw (and it has many) it’s that it can get very lame. The other night one of the characters was in some speech about how he wanted to support his family that was so soppy and went on for so long that I had to fast forward it because it was literally that long. I don’t think I even took anything away from the episode from doing it, either.
Look, you’re either going to think this show is okay, or really hate it. So if you can stomach musical series, then give it a go.
SMASH airs Monday Nights on W (Austar/Foxtel)
Subscription SD Channel 115, High Definition Channel 215, or two hours later on +2 Channel 155,
(*times will depend on your timezone, check the guide for yours)
