Friday, May 17, 2013

How Bad Is The TV Show "Nashville" Going To Get? & How In The Hell Was It Renewed?

Hello,

Although "Nashville" keeps on reaching new lows with each new episode I've kept on watching it. I plan on watching the season finale on Wednesday, but then not watching it season 2 at all. That's the same thing I did with "Smash". "Smash" had some great songs, great characters and I liked seeing a bit behind the scenes of Broadway. However once the soap opera elements overwhelm the music, then it was time to bail. And the first season of "Smash" had much less soap opera flourishes. Like "Smash" and "Revenge", "Nashville"started out as mildly entertaining shows but all eventually became nearly unwatchable.

Also who was the idiot that came up with the line "the last episode before the season finale"? In that one sentence alone that perfectly captures the stupidity of corporate America. "Nashville" isn't the only show that used that line, but why any show uses that line is beyond me. Yes I know some focus group told ABC that hearing that would make it more likely to watch that episode.

This week's episode "A Picture From Life's Other Side" was the worst episode yet. Any episode that has Jolene Barnes in it was going to suffer. The actress who played Jolene, Sylvia Jeffries, is a terrible actress. She's as equally bad of an actress/character as Sarah Wayne Cailles/ Lori Grimes. Thankfully Jolene Barnes has now gone to the place where terrible characters go. Jolene and Dante dying will help this show going forward. Too bad we weren't equally fortunate with Lamar Wyatt dying. I hadn't cheered for a heart attack so much as the one that hit Lamar and that lame character. The whole part he plays in "Nashville" is completely irrelevant. The whole political angle is completely irrelevant.

Juliette Barnes is becoming very annoying as well, although at least Hayden Panettiere can act. Why has Callie Khoury and the producers made Juliette's character so dumb? She whines that she has never had anyone that loved her, well that's because she allows herself to be surrounded by losers. The people who are truly nice to her she pushes away- Deacon and her first manager come to mind. When Juliette referred to herself as a "train wreck" she also could have been talking about the entire show.

I initially liked the character of Scarlett O'Connor, but now she's just completely annoying. She seems to judge herself by the men in her life. She hasn't picked out men too well. First she hooked up with Avery. Again Jonathan Jackson is also not a very good actor, he's completely unbelievable as an entertainer. I didn't really buy him as a roadie either. I didn't believe their relationship ever! I'm glad Scarlett finally grew a backbone and kicked him out.

Both Scarlett O'Connor and Claire Bowen have to pick up their game. Speaking of O'Connor it was obvious that she would be hooking up with Gunnar eventually. I hope it was intentional that the producers were going to take us there. That relationship is more believable, but does Scarlett even know what she wants. She wants to be in a relationship, but I don't think she knows what she wants in a man. I'm not sure how she got a record deal as she just floats along in life.

And I know when your working for major corporations it's all about conformity, but Gunnar seems to be taking that to a new level. First of all how he's playing like he's such an "outlaw", which clearly he isn't at all. The guys in the bar figured that out pretty quickly. Although that's what his producer wants him to portray, spotting a fake is pretty easy. I also hate him claiming credit for his brother's lyrics. Why lie about that, why not honor the brother he supposedly loves so much?

And then the whole paternity thing with Maddie and Deacon. Yawn, who cares? I watch this show for the music and to maybe get a peak behind the curtain of Nashville. One of the reasons I'm not going to watch Season 2 is how it has completely become a soap opera. Soap operas are some of the worst, lowest common denominator shows on TV. It would be much more interesting if "Nashville" had some soap opera qualities, but that it would tweak those story lines.

Look what  you have to look forward to next week:



Questions about the season finale? Will Juliette Barnes melt down on the CMAs. Will anyone care? How many bad decisions will Juliette make? How soon until she brings back her original manager so she can have someone to actually look out for her? Will Will be the second person Rayna signs to her label. Will Scarlett grab her life by the reigns. Will Gunnar go back to his true self and stop being such a parody of an outlaw?

"Nashville" still isn't completely terrible because somehow it keeps featuring great music. It does have the occasional bad song, but overall this show has given us some amazing songs. Songs like Clare Bowen's/ Scarlett O Connor's "Looking For A Place to Shine" for instance:



Other great songs from "Nashville":

Although Scarlett doesn't sing it, her character needs to take the advice of "Wrong Song":



This is when Gunnar and Scarlett were both at their best. "If I Didn't Know Better" was one of the best songs I heard in 2012.



"Twist of Barbwire":



Although Rayna James makes fun of this song, I really like "Boys & Buses":



"Change Your Mind":



"Buried Under":



"Changing Ground":



I also loved the song Gunnar sang in the bar last night. I looked but I couldn't find out the title. I'm very disappointed "Gun For A Mouth" isn't available on Youtube yet.

I'm not sure how "Nashville" survived for a second season. "Vegas" is about the same quality and it was cancelled. "Body of Proof" is actually a better show than "Nashville", yet it was cancelled. If "Nashville" makes a third season it will have to get a lot better. Focus on the music and Nashville and get rid of some of the soap opera elements and the lame characters.

themusicaddict

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