| 18 February 2012
Highlights
The Walking Dead returned last Sunday for the much anticipated continuation of its second season. Season 2 had gotten some criticism for being a bit slow moving in its first half, but it appears that complaint will be a thing of the past for the upcoming group of episodes.
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When we last saw our band of survivors, they had just exterminated the contents of Hershel’s barn, over his objections. That part of the story resolved this week, as Hershel (Scott Wilson) sadly acknowledged he’d been wrong to think he could ever “cure” the walkers of being dead. Hardest hit by Sophie’s death were, naturally, her mother Carol (Melissa Suzanne McBride) and Daryl (Norman Reedus), who had made a substantial investment of his own self-worth in finding Sophie. Shane (Jon Bernthal) is now openly hostile to pretty much everyone - he’s a timebomb that’s ticking more loudly than ever.
On the new storyline front, Maggie (Lauren Cohan) told Glenn (Steven Yeun) she loves him, but he’s concerned she’s grasping at straws in a desperate world. The arrival of a new group of survivors promises to wratchet up the suspense and action, as Rick (Andrew Lincoln) had to go Dirty Harry on two of them and, as promised by next week’s teaser, their buddies are coming and they’re pissed. Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), who had gotten increasingly annoying at the end of the first half of Season 2, continued to be so, finally growing obstinate and taking off on her own and (of course) getting into an accident so she’ll need finding and rescuing in the near future.
Most anticipated plot development: Has to be the new survivors’ group, although Shane-watch is a close second.
Best line of the Night: Daryl (who else), who called Lori, “Olive Oyl” which absolutely cracked me up.
Trouble on the Horizon: You just know Hershel’s farm is not going to remain the setting much longer. It will either get overrun with walkers, or attacked by the new survivors, or everyone will just leave. Considering that the stationary setting for the first half of Season 2 was part of the reason the story started to drag, that’s probably not a bad thing for the show.
I had intended to review Smash, NBC’s broadway-musical serial drama, last week, but I honestly didn’t feel like I could assess it after seeing only the pilot. Most of the way through episode 2, I was still skittish, but one thing in particular gave me a better sense of what this show is, and what it could be. More on that later.
Broadway musicals, by definition, usually have very simple plotlines. You have to cram that story in among all the songs and production numbers, so the storytelling tends to be deliberate. The same is true of this show, which focuses on the making of a Broadway show based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. The creative team behind the show is Julia Houston (Debra Messing) and Tom Levitt (Christian Borle). They enlist the aid of veteran producer Eileen Rand (Anjelica Huston), although Rand has her own problems as her production of My Fair Lady has been derailed due to her bloody ongoing divorce. Two contenders emerge for the key role of Marilyn: veteran chorus girl Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) (did they really have to give her a pornstar name?) and wide-eyed newcomer Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) (did they really have to resort to the cliche of having the character come from Iowa?). The Rand-divorce side story directly impacts the making of the show, and gives Anjelica Huston a reason to be on screen more (good things). Separate side stories involving Julia and her husband seeking to adopt a child and Karen and her boyfriend adjusting to her newfound potential stardom have yet to go anywhere.
McPhee, as Marilyn, in a Smash Production Number
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The show is well cast - Messing and Borle have authentic chemistry as a creative songwriting team, Huston makes the most of her thus far limited screen time and the two Marilyns, McPhee and Hilty, can both sing their butts off. Thus far, however, Jack Davenport hasn’t brought much to the role of sleazy director Derek Willis (partly a problem with how the character is written), who comes off as a dimestore Joe Gideon, all libido and arrogance with none of the passion or torment. For such a key role to be flat will be a large obstacle to overcome. Better is the developing rivalry between Messing and Jaime Cepero who plays Tom Levitt’s nosy assistant Ellis.
Since Smash is clearly not aiming for the kind of rarefied air occupied by All That Jazz, it should satisfy itself with a streamlined storyline, and remember that it’s an ensemble drama and avoid any semblance of becoming The Katharine McPhee Show, which it has threatened to do several times. McPhee is a decent actress and a good singer; what she’s not is a luminous screen presence who can carry an entire show - someone like Anne Hathaway for instance. Smash would be well-advised to remember the lessons of A Chorus Line (the excellent Broadway show and much crappier movie adaptation): less is more, and the show really can be all about the songs.
And this is really where the show turns for me. Thus far, two slick Glee-like pop productions (Beautiful and Call Me) have seemed completely out of place and flopped (this is no comment on McPhee’s singing, which was fine, but rather on the inappropriateness of the songs as they fit into the story). Several original songs (purportedly the songs which will be in the Marilyn play) have been revealed so far, and they have been true to the genre - a couple of them were really very good. Since I realize that Smash can’t fill an entire hour with original music for a whole season, and since I know the show won’t go all Broadway, I had thought we’d be stuck all season with shoehorned pop songs killing the mood every ten minutes. That was, until I heard Megan Hilty sing Carrie Underwood’s Crazy Dreams to close out episode two. Hilty’s performance was breathtaking, and the emotional power of the song as it fit into the storyline was undeniable. The arrangement, similarly, was perfect: stripped down to just piano and vocals - more like a Christie McVie ‘70s Fleetwood Mac song than the plucky country version that Underwood herself released. It also confirmed that Hilty really is a star-in-the-making and not just Katharine McPhee’s musical cannon fodder. After seeing and hearing that, I’m convinced this show could be something REALLY special, even with the flaws it currently has. But to get there, it will need to be true to its musical roots: more Broadway song and dance, less music video. More A Chorus Line; less Glee.
Megan Hilty delivers the most powerful and most poignant moment of Smash thus far
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I know this was a long review. So long, in fact, that I bumped something else to next week. But the theater has always held a special allure for me, and this woefully underrepresented genre doesn’t make its way onto TV very often. I have a real interest in seeing this show get done the RIGHT way and to be rewarded with popularity as a result.
Spotlight Performance: Karmin on Saturday Night Live
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If Lana Del Rey created the primer for what NOT to do as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on her January 14 appearance, then surely the prototype for a new artist on how to nail it was Karmin’s turn on the February 11 episode. While Del Rey was pitchy, disinterested and disorganized (think Florence and The Machine on quaaludes) youtube sensation Karmin was the exact opposite. Singer Amy Heidemann’s combination of fast-rap and power pop vocals highlighted the band’s super catchy songs (think Katy Perry meets Busta Rhymes), but more than that, Karmin came out with a tight, full sound that was recording studio quality. They also look the part, as Heidemann’s quirky-chic outfit and suicide roll hair and Nick Noonan’s geek-chic bowties were the perfect compliment to queen of quirky Zooey Deschanel, the host. This band may have started on youtube, but there is no limit to where they’ll wind up. They have plenty of talent and a great sound - I actually found myself on youtube the next day just to hear the upbeat Brokenhearted again - and they just nailed one of the key gigs any band can get.
Quick Takes
I know the Valentine’s Day episode of Glee was probably filmed weeks ago. I know it, but it was still a small shock to hear Whitney Houston’s anthem I Will Always Love You during the episode. This wasn’t done as a stunt or a tribute - Glee picked the song a while ago, like I said, and perhaps that’s the real tribute. Just for good measure, a “Whitney Houston - We Will Always Love You” graphic appeared at the close of the episode.
Reality Check: If you’re feeling that void left by Dog, the Bounty Hunter (what’s that? It’s still ON?) may I recommend A&E’s Billy the Exterminator. Originally featured on Dirty Jobs, Billy tools around the Shreveport, LA area solving problems involving rats, snakes, roaches, bees, and other vermin with the cheery energy of Vince Offer in a Slap Chop commercial. He also sports that black leather with studs, mullet and sunglasses look that we’ve come to expect from our blue collar reality stars. Still, it’s nice to see a guy who enjoys his work, and Billy is usually pretty upbeat despite having to handle situations that range from gross to outright dangerous.
Wow, Parenthood, really? First Drew (Miles Heizer) walks in on his mom (Lauren Graham) having sex with her boyfriend (Jason Ritter). That’s pretty traumatic, even if your mom does look like Lauren Graham. Hey, it’s still your mom, right? But then to have him find her ovulation kit two weeks later? Did she learn no boundary lessons from last time her teenage son saw something that can’t be unseen? And when this kid is on a roof with a sniper rifle (or at least files for emancipation) in the season finale, I assume we don’t need to ask why, correct?
Educational TV: Things we learned from TV this week: 1) If someone asks who your favorite band is, you’re not supposed to say “Glee” (How I Met Your Mother); 2) When you use contraception, you cock-block the Almighty (The Colbert Report); 3) Don’t talk about your kids. We get it. You made a mistake and you named it Todd (Happy Endings).
Please, please PRETTY PLEASE, can The Office make Catherine Tate’s Nellie Bertram a regular character NOW?!
Raise your hand if you feel ripped off by Revenge pulling a bait and switch for its big “murder on the beach” episode this week. Not cool, Revenge, you had us all going for a minute.
Observations From Geek Heaven: Angel fans were pleased to see Amy Acker pop up on Grimm in order to give new meaning to the words Kiss of the Spider Woman. Last week’s stand alone episode was a nice frightful hour, as Grimm continues to enjoy a strong first season.
Amy Acker on Grimm. She’s looked better.
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And, of course, no Friday night freakout would be complete without a nightmare-inspiring clown, courtesy of our friends at Supernatural. Get a load of this! Yeah, you’ll sleep tonight.
The Big Bang Theory broke out its upgrade of Rock-Paper-Scissors again this week. In case you missed it the first time around, here are the rules to Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock: scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushed lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitates lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, rock crushes scissors. Got it? Let’s play.
Looking Ahead:
One of my all-time favorite SNL cast members, Maya Rudolph (Away We Go, Up All Night), will return to host the show on February 18. Look for an Amy Poehler appearance as well, as the two always had great chemistry together.
Ricky Gervais appears as a talking dolphin on the February 19 episode of Family Guy on FOX. This will either be the funniest episode in about three years or the point where the show, very literally, jumps the shark.
The Celebrity Apprentice returns on Feburary 19 on NBC. This year’s roster includes Arsenio Hall, George Takei, Lisa Lampanelli, Penn Jillette and Debbie Gibson and I think I speak for everyone when I say America is gonna learn, just like Tiffany learned, what happens when you mess with Debbie Gibson.
Eastbound and Down returns for Season 3 on HBO on Feburary 19. It will be followed by the premiere of Life’s Too Short, a mockumentary style comedy from Ricky Gervais focused on little-person actor Warwick Davis.
Glee will air its winter finale on February 21. The show will be on break thereafter until April 10.
The February 21 episode of Ringer on the CW will feature the long awaited showdown between Bridget and Siobhan, and will go a long way toward deciding the fate of the show in the future.
BBC America will rerun The Hour starting on February 22. If you missed this outstanding show the last time around, don’t make the same mistake twice!
TV’s a big place and I haven’t been to all of it yet. Got a favorite show you’d like me to comment on? Post a comment below, contact me on twitter @RobLazlo. or shoot me an email:
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. I welcome your input!
