Is 'Smash' a Musical? Behind the Golden Globes Shocker

The Associated Press, Friday, December 14, 2012, 1:16pm (PST)

The Hollywood Reporter -- A lot of people -- OK, let's just say most people -- were shocked to find that NBC's Smash is nominated for a Golden Globe. Nobody expected that. If they did, they'd be lying or delusional. Smash is a drama about trying to stage a musical (about Marilyn Monroe in season one) on Broadway.

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Thirty-one years.


This year, it was snubbed. Sarcastic gasp. That's because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association went with Smash, against all logic and expectation. Real gasp.


I took some backlash about my Golden Globes column Thursday for being outraged that Smash would end up in this category. Look, the Golden Globes historically have done a lot of stupid and nonsensical things, but this seemed like a real goof. And yet, some people thought I didn't know the category name. Duh, they said, it's not a comedy, it's a musical. Look at the definition of the category! Well, yes, I was looking at it. Smash as a “musical” is, I believe, seriously debatable. Does that mean that Nashville is a musical? Most of Smash focuses on the drama of launching a stage musical. There's a lot more talking than signing. There are dramatic arcs everywhere, not all of them solved somehow or addressed in a song.


Smash struck people as an odd fit precisely because we've been conditioned, for decades, to view this category as home to comedies. (And, as an aside, putting what for all intents and purposes seems to be a drama into this category, knocked out true and deserving comedies such as Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock and about a dozen others). Thus the outrage -- beyond the fact that Smash just isn't very good and shouldn't be considered for any award, regardless of category.

Now, instead of debating that element until we're red in the face, let's go further back in Golden Globe history. In 1976, Donny & Marie was nominated in this category. Would you call that a musical? Or a variety show? Back further, to both 1972 and '73, you'll find The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour nominated each time. Was that a musical? Hell, the title says comedy. In 1971, The Flip Wilson Show and The Carol Burnett Show both were nominated in the “best television series, comedy or musical” category. Would you call those two musicals? Or were they really variety shows, which almost always have music? The latter, of course.


It was not.


So, let's revise the math. From 1969 to 2008 -- a robust 39 years -- there wasn't a legit “musical” nominated in the category. Then, from 2009 to 2011, Glee was nominated three times. For the sake of not arguing, let's just say that Glee qualifies as a “musical comedy.” Let's also say that you truly and utterly believe Smash to be a musical. Surely you would agree, based on the structure of the show -- and even how the structure compares to Glee -- that Smash is a "musical drama." Right?



Her rival for the role of Marilyn is Karen (Katharine McPhee, a popular finalist on American Idol, who turned out to be a pretty good actress). Karen is from Iowa. She's a hick in the big city. She's nice and sweet – probably too much of both. She didn't sleep with the director. She clearly was meant to be the white hat in this situation, the viewer favorite. But the audience was split. Never mind the details, but Ivy and Karen battling for that part was the crux of the drama.


Even when you slice it as dubiously as that – even when you quibble with the formal semantics of the category title – that's pretty damned shocking. 


Twitter: @BastardMachine

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