SMASH - A Love/Hate Relationship

I’ll say first off I love SMASH (Musical TV drama on NBC) more than I hate it, but there are a few things about the show that have been driving me nuts and I will feel better if I get them off my chest. I’m going to start with the things about SMASH that keep me watching.

1) Katherine McPhee as Karen – I gave up on American Idol before Katherine McPhee was on, but she has wowed me as a vocalist AND as an actress.

2) The character of Ivy – I love that the “competition” is a fully developed character that I don’t hate. I don’t always like Ivy, but she’s sympathetic. http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/widget/widget.html?vid=1383532

3) Megan Hilty as Ivy – Again amazing vocals. Megan Hilty has a more traditional Broadway voice, but equally fun to listen too. She can play the diva and show vulnerability.

4) The Songs – SMASH is a mix of original music and covers and I’ve loved all of the original music.

And all the things that drive me crazy revolve around one character – Julia Houston

1) The character of Julia Houston/ Debra Messing as Julia Houston – I don’t know if my problem is just the character or if it’s Debra Messing portrayal of the character, but I do not like her.

2) The affair between Julia and Michael Swift – I feel like the writer’s decided to cheat by saying the Julia and Michael had a previous affair to speed up the drama. The result is I have NO idea what he sees in her. Nothing they’ve shown us makes it even slightly believable that he is that hung up on her.

3) The adoption storyline – I seriously wouldn’t care if they dropped this storyline without a word. I don’t care. And they seriously expect me to believe that her 16 or 17 year old son would be that devastated if they didn’t adopt.

4) Ellis - Yes, Julia is a bitch to Ellis and I still hate him. He’s annoying and transparent and I can’t believe Tom doesn’t see right through him. P.S. - Sorry that video is just a link. I've had this post written for over a week, but was going to research how to get the video to play from the blog and haven't had time. I gave up and decided to post before the topic was outdated.