When I first saw Katharine McPhee’s dress I thought it might be midnight navy instead of black and I was infinitely more interested, but even in black the Theyskens Theory dress is very smart, certainly the best of the boob slings. It’s not all the way overwhelming, but maybe she and her costar Debra Messing thought it was best to ease us back into the idea that Smash is going to loudly and unfortunately invade our lives in just a few weeks. Full Story

Smash Season 1 finale Episode 15 recap Remember when nobody was allowed in the theatre during rehearsals?  That happened last week, in case you were thinking it had been a long time since the rules had changed or something. Incorrect.  This week, everyone's families and child investors and possible fiancés wandered in and out of the house at random, because the time for keeping everyone out is when you have an experienced actress playing the role, but when you have a green, green girl who's only done one performance in the chorus in her life and is now taking the lead, well, it's cool to throw open the doors at that point, because you want as many people as possible to witness her meltdowns. Full Story

Smash Season 1 Episode 14 recapI know it's going to make you fall off your chair but "Previews" was the episode I liked best in awhile. There was a plot that moved from A to B to C, and that's more than we've had to hang onto in a long while. Also, we saw actual production numbers in the show, and for the most part, they're pretty flawless. Full Story

Smash Season 1 Episode 13 recapREJOICE…I guess… ....for Ellis has been deemed irrelevant. No, really. That was what I got out of this episode. Now that Ivy is capable of doing her own snooping (and of course, she always was) can we get this irritating sycophant off the screen or have him do something interesting? I feel like that was just one of the corrections that was sent down from on high and then just. Full Story

Smash Season 1 Episode 12 I was the one carping about how Raza Jaffrey only had lines like "Are you going in early" and "Shouldn't you talk to him?" but also had an inexplicable job we were infrequently supposed to care about (and a coworker who exists only to irritate us, the viewer, since Karen doesn't even seem to know her name). Full Story

Smash Season 1 Episode 11 recap (No really, it does.  I'm not being snarky there.)So the problem with Smash, as you may know, isn't that the characters are over-the-top or that the situations are ridiculous; it's that the show is trying to sell us those things as straightforward and proper.  And let's be honest: everyone who's still watching - and I know you are still watching - is watching for the camp, and the songs (oh my GOD the songs about the Method), but not realism. Full Story

Smash Season 1 Episode 10 recapSo the thing is that my PVR brings in the last 90 seconds of Dancing With The Stars.  And I can't criticize that show anymore because it's so much better and more professional than, you know, the people on the show about professional singers and actors. But this week's episode of Smash isn't even really about the ins and outs of being a professional, except inasmuch as you decide how much you like getting yelled at during the course of your job. Full Story

Smash Season 1 Episode 9 recapI'm calling you out, closet Smash watchers.  I know you are legion.  I get your tweets and emails and they always say the exact same thing: "I hate this show - so WHY can't I stop watching it?"  I feel you.  I understand.  It's a slow-moving car crash. Full Story

Smash Season 1 Episode 8 recapBecause the only thing more ridiculous than Smash's idea of what you care about in the theatre world is what they think you care about OUTSIDE the theatre world.  Who the hell greenlit an episode in which nobody does any work at all, except De, oh, and of course Ryan Tedder of One Republic?I have to say that as much as I wanted to yell at this episode like the ones before, starting with "Oh my God, you're Ryan Tedder, of One Republic!",  I have a couple of points of praise to make. Full Story

Smash Season 1 Episode 7  I need help. All of you are smart, and have big brains. Can you help me to figure this out? Nobody who writes music professionally is stupid. I mean, I'm sure there are some, but there are too many people trying hard to make it, so I have to believe most of the people at the top are doing the kind of work most can only dream of. Full Story

Smash Season 1 Episode 6So. About Derek.  I’m supposed to think he’s a jerk, right?  That he’s mean and terrible and maybe someday he’ll be fired?  That was the goal of the writers? Because mostly I agree with him. I think he’s right about everything, which makes for a very weird lens through which to view the show. Full Story

Smash season 1 episode 5I know some of you are Broadway-philes, or watch obscure TV like I do, or  keep track of third leads in straight-to-video productions. Send me the names of  your personal favourites. Those pets you have who sing and act, who should have been cast in the role of Karen rather than Katharine McPhee. Full Story

Smash Season 1 Episode 4 recap It’s such a rare thing to have episode titles actually onscreen. These days they’re mostly for the production team and get talked about in the press. Anyway, this is “The Cost of Art”.And the cost of art is boredom. Sorry, but this episode somehow felt ridiculously short and brutally long at the same time. Full Story

Smash Season 1 Episode 3 recapThe Monday night-Tuesday morning corridor is full of recaps for me and this morning the boy asked which shows I was working on.  When I explained House of Lies and Smash air on the same night, he went  "oh, so a show about the world's most cynical, terrible people. Full Story