Music is an essential element of television. Pay attention to some of your favorite shows, and you’ll soon realize music is always playing in the background. Sometimes it is what makes the scenes. How thrilling and nerve-wrecking would a gun fight really be if it was in complete silence? And what’s a romantic kissing scene without some sappy slow jams?
But what about when the music is the main character of the show? What is with America’s profound new interest in “musical” television? We’ve come a long way since “American Idol."
Embarrassingly enough, I’d like to believe it all started with “High School Musical." Even if you didn’t like it, you heard all about it from the obsessive teenyboppers inhabiting the halls of your high school.
Although technically a made-for-TV movie, not to mention a horrible Disney Channel cliché, "High School Musical" had this snowball effect, and other music-centered programs were debuted in response and imitation.
Nickelodeon and Disney Channel have the vast majority of teen-themed musical programming: “Hannah Montana," “Jonas," “Shake It Up," “Big Time Rush," and “How to Rock," to name a few. One of the most popular adaptations of the cutesy teenaged musical is Fox’s cheeky and sometimes controversial hit, “Glee.”
For reasons unknown, people were enthralled by it. Was it the decent covers of actual songs? Or maybe it was the good-looking actors? That’s why I watched. Either way, I was suckered into watching "Glee." It was like "High School Musical" all over again.
And last week, NBC premiered “Smash,” starring Katherine McPhee as a midwestern girl with big-city dreams of making it on Broadway and becoming a star. Never heard that one before, have we?
Thankfully enough, the general public is starting to see through all the hype surrounding these shows, especially Glee.
Tim Molloy of thewrap.com said people who don’t like the Fox hit “find it glib, shallow and saccharine…we think it can be as contrived and formulaic as the shows it tries to counterbalance, with its endless guest stars, heavy-handed theme episodes and slick renditions of songs we always like less afterwards.”
According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, Glee’s viewership has plummeted 23 percent since last season.
Although it premiered with generally positive reviews from The Hollywood Reporter and The Huffington Post, how long will this hype and fanfare last for “Smash”? “Glee” also was an overwhelming favorite within different age groups and demographics and garnered good reviews when it first premiered in 2009.
This drop in ratings for “Glee” is going to make it tough for “Smash” to succeed if what is happening to “Glee” serves as any indicator as to the fate of “Smash."
I respect the gusto of “Glee” fans, but I think I’ll pass when it comes to watching the show. The covers of popular songs are decent at best and the plotlines are methodic and predictable. Save Broadway for Broadway, and TV for TV.
Reach at the columnist at jermac@asu.edu
