Ezra Pound????? The musical? Was that supposed to be an inside joke between Julia and Tom, and maybe the deadpan delivery got in the way? Or, is this show really being written by idiots who just filled in Ezra Pound having no idea about all the crazy fascist stuff?

This is my first post on the show in about 3 weeks because while I was still continuing my vigil, there was not much new to report. Generally, the level of terribleness has lessened. That doesn’t mean it’s good. A season highlight came a couple of weeks back with the perfect song, Let’s Start Tomorrow Tonight, which sounded like a classic from some late studio-era musical, but then they ruined the aftermath, arguing that it didn’t belong in the show and used it for the whole predictable Tom-is-now-losing-his-humanity storyline. You’ve got a song like that, you either find a place for it in your show or you write another show real quick. For Sam. Also you’ve got a boyfriend like Sam, you try a lot harder to keep him around and not be an asshole.

Then there was the one with the over-the-top obviously high Liza Minelli impersonator. Wait a second that wasn’t an impersonator?

Nice meta-reference, Ivy calling Karen, “magic Karen.” The writers must be reading the forums. And I’ll admit relief that they let Ivy finally dumped Derek in the most perfect way possible. Let’s hope it sticks.

Was that the same Leo? I still hate Leo.

Angelica Houston’s one and only good moment was last season singing September Song. She’s not a good singer, but it was the most human we’ve seen her, and the most moving. Houston not only really doesn’t look good as Eileen, she doesn’t act good. She’s not playing a person, she’s playing an attitude, and not well.

The Julia and Tom partner stuff is dull and predictable. What happens next week? My money’s on Julia tearfully apologizing to Tom for being such a selfish shrew. It’s  all going to work out in the end, probably with Grace continuing to date and work with Detective Ed Green, because work and romance go so well together,  and maybe Jimmy and Kyle too.

I hate Jimmy, but geez how big is the stick up Karen’s ass? Jimmy has plenty of issues for which he should probably be dumped. Current drug use is  high on that list. Hitting his sleazy brother in order to protect is loyal friend, is not. That’s a good thing.

Speaking of Karen’s big stick, there’s the Ana thing too. Ana is perfectly justified in not speaking to Karen. Friends should be happy when good things happen to friends. And if they are jealous and really believe they are more “special” and deserve the good things more than the friend does, they should keep it to themselves because that’s manners — which I thought people were supposed to have in whichever flyover state Karen comes from.

Also, I get that in order to move on, Ivy needs to forgive Karen for stealing the part Tom wrote with her in mind, being the object of her boyfriend’s obsession, and demanding she be fired from even the ensemble of Bombshell, but does she have to sing with her? Really?

Tom eying sweet young Kyle was creepy. There was a hint of something with that line about how they already knew each other, but we keep seeing Kyle sucking face with the age-appropriate lighting guy from Hit List, and that makes a whole lot more sense. (I realize that in real life there is “only” a thirteen year age difference between the actors, but Andy Meintus looks barely legal and Christian Borle looks mature.)

There was one really good thing, about Opening Night and that seeing and hearing Miss Ivy Lynn aka Megan Hilty belting Don’t Forget Me. It finally clarified (a little bit) what we kept hearing about the “new concept” for the show being about the men in Monroe’s life. More importantly, thank God, it gave Ivy her moment and made it clear that she is a star who can carry a show.

Per wikipedia there are three more episodes left, but honestly they could have tied up all the loose ends with one more. The show’s already been cancelled.  It’s a dead show airing. It might seem to be rallying, but that often happens right before a patient succumbs to injuries, and Smash had too many self-inflicted wounds to survive.

(Enjoy the post? The best way to say to thank-you would be to check out Marion’s fiction and maybe spend a buck.)