HITS
“Smash“:
Mondays at 9 p.m. on NBC
 
In “Smash,” viewers take a peek into the making of a Broadway show, dramatic playwrights and directors included. I am a sucker for camp, but too much camp can ruin a show. “Smash” had just the right amount of camp value. The writing proved to be realistic and straightforward. Add camp with realism, and you have the formula for a great show. Ten minutes in, I noticed that all the characters had fantastic depth. Debra Messing’s character’s passion to create a show based on Marilyn Monroe’s life is electric (although she does have a moody side). I am not going to lie though, when I saw Angelica Huston striding on screen, I was a little terrified. But she was striking and dramatic, a perfect addition to a show about Broadway musicals. Of course, I have to compare it to “Glee.” “Glee” (which is starting to lose its appeal) is becoming “Degrassi” while “Smash” focuses on the lives of professional adults. With original music, “Smash” creates a new dynamic, and “Glee” sticks to being a cover-band show. The original music was beautiful and inspiring with a touch of classic Broadway, belting notes and all.
 
In short: “Smash“is a… smash.
 
“Portlandia“:
Fridays at 9 p.m. on IFC
 
“Portlandia” takes viewers to the hipster-infested lands of Portland, Ore., where vegans make sure you know they are vegan. The offbeat skits in “Portlandia” about pickling random objects, a mixologist played by Andy Samberg, camping “experts,” annoying waiters, feminist bookstore owners and smothering parents are laced with hilarious irony and wit. The greatest thing in the show is the comedic chemistry between “Saturday Night Live” member Fred Armisen and his friend Carrie Brownstein. Their eccentricities will have you in laughing fits. When you enter the strange city of Portland, you will not want to leave.
 
In short: We all love to make fun of hipsters!
 
MISSES
“Napoleon Dynamite“:
Sundays at 7:30 p.m. on FOX
 
Let me just start off by saying “Napoleon Dynamite” jokes died seven years ago. While the movie was a cultural hit (let me remind you, in 2004), reiterating “Whatever I feel like, gosh!” and “sweet bod” jokes are beating a dead horse. The original cast returns for voice overs in this ridiculous cartoon. I wish I could tell you the point of the show, but, like the movie, there is not one. I might have laughed a couple of times, but they were miniscule giggles. The writing is silly and not geared toward adults. I am not actually sure what kind of demographic it is geared toward. I will give it this: it adds a new perspective to the “teenager with acne” cliché (Napoleon’s zit cream can burn through walls, but not his face). Realistic, right?
 
In short: Did I mention that this show is six years too late?
“¡Rob!“:
Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. on CBS
 
Oh, Rob Schneider. You are in every bad Adam Sandler movie, and now you have to invade television? “¡Rob!” opens with about three jokes about his height from his overly sexy Mexican wife. I felt bad for the laugh track for having to laugh at them. In the premiere episode, Rob gets to meet his wife’s Mexican family, and the racial jokes about Mexican stereotypes begin! Let’s see, there’s a joke about guacamole, Catholicism, a grandmother who cannot speak English and an uncle who is also an illegal immigrant. Wait, didn’t George Lopez already make all those jokes? Within eight minutes, I was hoping it would end. Cheech Marin playing the wife’s father, who is occasionally funny in other roles, was the product of bad writing. Toward the end, when every bad sitcom like “¡Rob!” reflects on what they learned through all the shenanigans, I was expecting Bob Saget from “Full House” to pop up with an uplifting speech about the importance of family while a soft piano rift twinkles in the background.