'Smash' Season 1, Episode 7 Recap - 'The Workshop'

It took many an episode, but "Smash" has finally managed to make a few jokes based on the quirks of its characters, meaning they're actually funny and not just an approximation of banter. Derek's "That's the least offensive thing I've said in days" actually elicited a chuckle. Congratulations, "Smash!" You made a funny!

Besides that, it was mostly the same melodrama in "The Workshop." It's finally time for the show to be performed in front of potential investors and producers, and tensions are high. Things are only made worse for poor Ivy, whose kinda awful mother (guest star Bernadette Peters, and yes, she sings) has a pretty good handle on the whole "make your daughter feel inadequate" thing. Turns out Ivy's mother was a big Broadway star, and Ivy is always living in her shadow.

Meanwhile, Julia and Michael are absolutely terrible at having an affair, as they seem unable to be in public together without touching each other or making out or more or less removing each other's clothes at every turn. But when Julia finds out that her son knows about the affair, she decides to call things off with Michael. That leads to some fine acting (in the show within the show, and within the show... wait. Yes.), but when the workshop receives lackluster reviews, some changes have to be made... and Julia and Tom decide that Michael should be fired.

What about Ivy and Karen? Eileen wonders whether Ivy should be replaced by Scarlett Johansson or Michelle Williams (good luck with that) to help "repackage" the show. Ivy struggled through the show (they conveyed this by having her fall down a lot), but of course Tom and Julia don't want her to go.

Karen, meanwhile, continues to be an afterthought. There's a bit of conflict for her here, as she's supposed to meet with big-shot Bobby Raskin at the same time that the workshop is. But Karen barely bats an eye at the idea, and just stays behind to perform the show. It seems as though there could have been some drama here, but instead it's another quickly resolved problem.

Our SHUT THE F*CK UP ELLIS counter ticked up by two this week, as he started things off by being obnoxiously eager to help about the boiler, and then later told Eileen about Michael and Julia's affair (at least Eileen had the decency to insinuate that he was kind of a bitch about it). My question is this: what was Ellis doing creeping around in that room, and what was he going to do, just listen to Julia and Michael hook up? So, we can add a WHAT THE F*CK WERE YOU DOING THERE ELLIS as well.

Oh, and Bernadette Peters had her big speech that made up for 20-some years of emotional abuse toward Ivy, and more people compared themselves to Marilyn. I do hope they switch shows in season two.