As promised, I did not watch the Super Bowl, but did watch the commercials. Well, some of them. Once Madonna came out, and M.I.A. flipped America the bird, I figured the evening’s pinnacle of entertainment had been reached, so I turned the sound off, and started reading Twitter and Facebook instead.
And then the party on my roof, (a party not consisting of anyone who actually lives in my building, mind you), started, so I figured I’d drown out their noise with my own, and am currently cranking up some tunes while cranking out this here TV guide.
If you DID watch the Super Bowl, I’m sure you weren’t able to avoid the constant commercials for “Smash,” the new musical drama which premieres tonight at 10 P.M. on NBC. They certainly seem to have a lot invested in this one, as I’m pretty sure I’ve been seeing commercials for it since before Halloween. They also offered up the pilot for free on numerous online sites and cable. You can almost hear the TV execs drooling for some of those “Glee” numbers.
I kind of loath “Glee,” even though I (hate) watch it every week, and have always been indifferent, at best, to the musical genre in general, but I gotta say, I didn’t hate “Smash.”
Don’t get me wrong. It’s pretty ridiculous. But at least the people singing aren’t being smothered by Auto-Tune, and at least some of the songs they’re singing are originals, (by the team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman). Plus, the cast is pretty solid, including Jack Davenport, Debra Messing, and Angelica Houston.
That said, the central drama, about the casting of the lead in a musical about Marilyn Monroe, requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, since we’re supposed to buy that Katherine McPhee, (of “American Idol” fame), has even half the talent of her competition for the role, Megan Hilty, (who is a real-life Broadway star). Perhaps she’ll prove her worth in upcoming episodes…
I’d been wondering when the mocumentary horror genre would make its leap to television, and it looks like that time has come, with the Tuesday, February 6th premiere of “The River,” at 9 P.M. on ABC. The story is about a wildlife TV host, (Bruce Greenwood), who goes missing, and his family, who goes looking for him with a camera crew in tow. It’s from the creator of the Paranormal Activity movies, and as long as there is more than two minutes of scarey stuff per episode, (unlike in the Paranormal movies), I’m in.
Also on Tuesday is something that actually premiered last week, but is definitely worth catching, as it’s the only truly funny new series Comedy Central has offered in years. It’s a sketch comedy show called “Key & Peele,” and stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, both formerly of “MADtv.” You can watch a re-run of last week’s premiere episode at 8 P.M., (or right here), and the new episode at 10:30 P.M.
On Wednesday, February 8th, Lara Logan and Charlie Rose will attempt to revamp “Person to Person,” the interview show made famous by Edward R. Murrow. Appropriately enough, George Clooney is among the interviewees, along with Warren Buffet and Jon Bon Jovi. 8 P.M. on CBS.
Skipping ahead to Sunday, February 12th, we have the return of “The Walking Dead” at 9 P.M. on AMC, and here’s hoping they move the hell away from that farm of death once and for all.
It’s followed by the premiere of “Comic Book Men” at 10 P.M., a new six-part reality series about Kevin Smith’s comic book store Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.
Finally, at 8 P.M. on CBS we have the “Adele Awards Show” “The 54th Annual Grammy Awards,” with scheduled performances from Nicki Minaj, Paul McCartney, Kelly Clarkson, Foo Fighters, and yes, Adele, who will be performing live for the first time since having throat surgery last year. Oh my. That makes me very, very nervous. You can do it, Adele! (Just sing something other than “Someone Like You.” It’s a great song, but I think the world has heard about enough of it for now.)
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