Television: Smash, "The Read-Through"

Now we have TomVision(TM)? Not nearly as entertaining as DerekVision(TM) though. And apparently Tom mostly envisions variations of himself, male and female, and of many different nationalities.

And in case Bombshell's read-through, er, bombs . . . Derek gets Kyle's and Jimmy's Hit List a slot in the Winter Fringe Festival. That way he won't have all his eggs in the Bombshell basket.

Meanwhile, a random guy gives Julia cause to question Peter's loyalty. The writers for this show are far from subtle about inserting plot points and exposition.

And Ivy is having trouble dealing with the fact that the lead in Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a comedy star (Sean Hayes) turning the show into a farce. Sort of like casting Jerry Lewis as Hamlet. Ivy takes the brave step of privately telling Terry (Hayes) that the play is actually a tragedy. Backfires when Terry and the director get together and decide to "lighten" it up.

The real tragedy, however, is that Karen is mooning over Jimmy. It's sappy and one-note.

Also, random return (and extended use) of Karen's sassy new roommate. Is she going to be a "real" character now? What happened to all the other friends Karen had? And while we're at it, that guy Tom was dating?

Julia's suspicions of Peter are confirmed by an encounter with Jerry's assistant. Or so she thinks . . .

While Bombshell gets its read-through, which goes over very well, Hit List is simultaneously getting one of its own. Jimmy's songs sound very radio-friendly. But the story itself—the dialogue and characters—don't go over so well. And so while Bombshell gets a green light, Hit List is sent to the back burner.

Ivy shames Terry by refusing to cop to his asinine behavior. Which somehow compels him to go off his meds.

Oh, and Nick is in the slammer. Does anyone still care about Nick? I don't.

And Karen's roommie lays it on the line for Jimmy by telling him not to toy with Karen.

New plan for Hit List: make it more like Rent by stripping it of dialogue and turning the entire story into a pseudo-opera. (And by the way, Jimmy believes Karen is dating Derek.)

Finally: Jerry tells Derek, Tom, Julia and Peter that though the reading went well, Bombshell is not Broadway material. And here comes the big twist: he wants to produce the show BUT . . . He wants to work from the workshop draft from seven months before. A draft Tom had sent him.

Time to bring in Eileen to break the tie. Old draft or new?

We won't know until next week, but one has to wonder: can Eileen legally produce, or otherwise be involved in, whichever one is NOT Bombshell? Could we have dueling Marilyn Monroe shows? And Eileen and Jerry going head-to-head? Tom versus Julia?

Nah. Overkill.

Right? . . .