NBC's SMASH

[Tonichelle]

no Hulu is a paid subscription - roughly 9 bucks a month, well worth it for me - there are minimal ads - to keep the costs down...

you can go to NBC.com as well as CBS.com and watch tons of reruns for free, though, of different shows.

 

[heyang]

I feel the show is at it's best when the drama is about the show and not the home lives of the characters. I think that's why 'Dev' is 'gone' and why the love triangle of Julia/Tom/Michael will be over, as well.

As for Ellis, I think they eliminated the character because they didn't know what to do with him. He's too much of a neophyte to the production side to do a lot of damage and they made the character unlikeable as he seemed too sneaky. They never made him someone you wanted to root for since he always had an agenda. Bad writing.... I didn't hate him, but his most likeable moment was in the Bollywood number when he snatched the jewels. If they had made him more of a confidante to Eileen or Tom, the character might've had more longevity.

BTW, congratulations to Christian 'Tom' Borle on his Tony award for his role in Peter and the Starcatchers.

New showrunner next year - used to be in charge of Gossip Girl. Not sure if that'll be good or bad since GG has steadily declined with each season.

 

[Tonichelle]

Ellis could be used for a while next season. He could buddy up to Eileen's exhusband and try to create a lawsuit over Bombshell being "his idea."

I agree that the show is better when the homelife stuff is negated, but that's because everyone is having sex with each other's SO and it's getting freaking annoying. Shockingly the best coupling is Tom and Sam... and we all know my leanings on stuff like that lol but I do like how their storyline is unfolding. We don't need EVERYONE screwing up their love lives in teh first season. Makes no sense.

 

[heyang]

Ellis could be used for a while next season. He could buddy up to Eileen's exhusband and try to create a lawsuit over Bombshell being "his idea."

I agree that the show is better when the homelife stuff is negated, but that's because everyone is having sex with each other's SO and it's getting freaking annoying. Shockingly the best coupling is Tom and Sam... and we all know my leanings on stuff like that lol but I do like how their storyline is unfolding. We don't need EVERYONE screwing up their love lives in teh first season. Makes no sense.

For me, the Home life part includes the extra marital affairs. The show stuff include the camaraderie of the cast and crew, the professional rivalries, the song and dance development.

Other than 'proof' that Julia is not a new writer, there really was no need for her and her husband and son to want to adopt a child from China or for her to even have an affair. Julia's best scenes have been her relationship with Tom, her writing partner. I'm not saying she shouldn't have a family, but they should really be totally in the background. If Julia was newly married, the conflict could've just been the demands of a new family vs the hours involved in a show. That would've been enough off stage drama for her - there was no real reason to re-start an old affair, etc.

For me, Tom and Sam are a couple of some interest. Seasoned song writer vs chorus dancer. Slightly different viewpoints of the world they live in (i.e. Tom agreeing with Sam's father that dancing is not a good career.) That was interesting because it's the world they live in.

I really prefer Ivy and Karen as frenemies, as well. I really enjoyed the scenes where you could see that they could be friends of not for the competitive nature of their world.

 

[Tonichelle]

I agree with all you've said. Though I do like the idea of showing homelife as a break from the tensions of stagelife... I think they should have either stuck with Julia's affair, or the adoption, but not both... IF they had to do either... and I do love the relationship of Julia and Tom... because, well, I just adore Tom lol

 

[Violet Bliss]

I never understood why they started the show with Karen already in a live-in relationship which precluded or limited her romantic opportunities. Then they had to make a jerk out of her decent committed boyfriend for drama and to write him off. Too many relationships and too many gone bad in one particular episode and subsequently within a short period to wrap up the season. I like the show and hope the writing cleans up a little next season.

 

[Tonichelle]

I have no problem with her having a relationship at the beginning, I don't like how it went downhill as fast as it did. The only reason Dev is being reportedly off the show is because fans didn't like his character twist. The final straw for fans was when he and Ivy had their fling.

I'd like to see Dev stay, personally. I think they could work through it... at least he got to see his girl shine... heaven help him if her daddy gets hold of him lol

 

[Tonichelle]

One of the three new characters has been cast - http://tvline.com/2012/06/14/smash-jeremy-jordan/