What happened to Smash?

Loved the first season of Smash- the tension between Karen and Ivy, the whole idea of a musical about Marylin Monroe.  The cast is incredible; Megan Hilty, Catherine McPhee, Angelica Houston just to name a few.  The stories were good too; Karen adjusting to life as a Broadway actress fighting Ivy to be Marylin.  Julia fighting for her family- to keep her marriage together.  Derek well... being Derek. 

This season hasn't been as good so far.  I missed most of the season premiere so I'm not as up-to-date as should be.  But last night's episode didn't have the same rhythm for me- it lacked a certain something.  It's left me asking: well... what happened to Smash?

What I've seen of this season it's been kind of disjointed so far.  There were hints from the season finale Julia (Debra Messing) would be pregnant.  What happened to that? Now the character "Joe (Will Chase)" is barely mentioned, yet he's a serious enough love affair for her to trash her marriage for it.  She's a lynch pin of the show, I feel like we were meant to watch her struggle with heartbreak.

Another odd part of the show is with the Karen-Ivy dynamic.  They're rarely in the same scene or storyline.   Part of the show's brilliance was the way these two played off each other- the innocent Karen vs. the conniving Ivy.  I haven't seen that yet this season.

The creative team has changed, and so should the show- it's only natural to tweak it in its second season.  But not this much.  I miss the old Smash. 

Reaction: "The Heavy"

Jeanne Becker did  a Q& A with Dara-Lynn Weiss published in today's Toronto Star.  Weiss made waves with a Vogue article about how she put her 8-year old obese daughter on a strict diet to lose the weight. It created a lot buzz, and she found herself the object of some pretty nasty criticism.

It struck close to home for me.  When I was young (probably about the same age), I was among the chubby kids; and was made fun of because of my weight.  I totally understand wanting to save your kid from that; kids can be unbelievably cruel to each other. 

But also when I was a kid I managed to spend a lot of my summers outside playing with friends; playing organized sports.  Not all of my time was scheduled. Parents now seem to want to almost "bubble wrap" their kids keeping them inside; scheduling every second of their day.  This is probably born of the feeling they have to protect them from the tough crowd.

The thing about 7/ 8-year olds is they take everything literally.  So, being told they're fat or obese, sticks with them.  And having that opinion enforced by their own mother by putting them on a diet is mean. Mothers are the one person in your life who doesn't judge you.  Putting them on a diet could be almost like saying- I'll love you more when you're skinny.

There was probably some medical evidence behind her actions.  But there are other ways to explore.  Try exercising; walk to the park, get her into a sport or dance lessons find a fitness class for kids.  Start cooking the family healthier meals; use the "obesity" diagnosis to make the entire family change its lifestyle.

Most of all though wait for her to grow.  It's possible she gets taller, like I did.