Boy did I have a scare tonight! For a moment, I thought American Idol had premiered two weeks early, but it turned out I was merely watching Grease: You're the One That I Want, NBC's latest and probably most successful attempt to rip off that Fox behemoth. We've seen a lot of imitators over the years, but nothing seems to be as much of a blatant copycat job as this show (So You Think You Can Dance gets a pass due to its shared Idol producers).
Now, just because You're the One That I Want is wildly derivative doesn't mean that it's necessarily bad. I actually enjoyed it. First, there's the source material -- Grease -- a musical that's so ingrained in pop culture that people like me who've only seen the movie once or twice still know practically all the songs and characters. Because of this, our ability to be armchair talent scouts is stronger than ever. Second, the concept is pretty neat. Season after season of American Idol, there's always some contestant who stirs up a controversy because his or her voice is too Broadway-ish for the competition. Well, now we don't have to worry about that. Future Clays and Constantines and Justins finally have a home. Plus, we don't have to be embarrassed if we like them (and to set the record straight, I did not like Clay, Constantine, or Justin).
Anyhoo, enough with this handjive of an intro. Let's get to the show!
Off the bat, I thought we were in for a disaster. Why? Because the very first image we saw was none other than the goofy, unwelcomed visage of Sir Billy Bush. UGH. My friend used to work for him, and she had nothing but great things about Bi-Bu (my impromptu nickname for him), but that being said, he's still incredibly annoying. As we later discovered, he spent the entire night trying to out-Seacrest Seacrest. Billy, it's not gonna happen. To paraphrase your gig on Access Hollywood, Lights, Camera, SHUT UP.
Anyway, Billy explained the basic rules of the show, which was that the winners would get to star in a real life Broadway production of Grease, a musical, he said, that made "huge stars of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John." Well, mostly Travolta. We could tell he was the bigger star because he refused to show his big face on this series. Instead, we had Olivia Newton-John, who not only waxed nostalgic about Grease, but she also proudly displayed her wildly surgically enhanced face (which clearly was enjoying the honeymoon of many a Botox injection). Of course, just in case you weren't sure if Olivia's had some work done, a quick glance at her wattle-like neck revealed all sorts of age-incriminating details -- kind of like the rings of a tree.
Let's get surg-ery, surg-ery. I wanna get surg-ery, let's get into surgery. Let me hear your Botox talk...
We then sat through the opening credits, which featured Dannys and Sandys multiplying at an alarming rate. And in case you were wondering, there was exactly only one black Danny. C'mon, NBC! Broadway's supposed to be color blind! When I saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on a school trip thirteen years ago, one of Joseph's brothers was black, and last time I checked, Michael Damien was as lily white as they come. If Joseph can do it, you can too, NBC! Up with diversity!
After the credits, we found Billy standing with an attractive British woman named Denise Van Outen. She kind of looked exactly like the love child of Portia Di Rossi and Gwyneth Paltrow. And yes, that did make her quite hot. I wasn't sure what her role would be on the show, but I imagine it was to inject a healthy bit of T&A into the proceedings. (For all you wondering, Ms. Van Outen is apparently the hottest thing since bangers and mash over in Britain, at least according to Wikipedia).
Next, it was time to meet the judges. First was Jim Jacobs, the creator of Grease. He had a mustache.
Then came David Ian, the suave British producer of the upcoming American production of Grease. He kind of looked like a weird combo of Tom Cruise in Collateral and Michael Buffer. At this stage, there wasn't much else to say about him except that he was the token British guy that all these talent shows seem to need. I say the next talent show we see should have some rigid, authoritarian Asian man. Or Russian. Just to change it up a little.
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Comments (21)
Wow! Speedy recap, B-Side! Thanks!
I think I'll keep watching, at least until after Grease Academy. I don't have any favorites at this time, but it's still a pretty fun time. My husband even kinda likes it, and he hates musicals!
1 of 21 | Posted by Lyndsay
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Posted on January 8, 2007 6:25 AM
The fact that 42 year old Dominic made it through to Grease Academy makes this show lose a lot of credibility for me. No way does he look young enough to play Danny, and if he can look younger then the fat girls can lose weight. I won't make it a point to watch it anymore unless nothing better is on.
2 of 21 | Posted by zoobabe
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Posted on January 8, 2007 7:17 AM
B-Side, this is one of your most, nay the most, hilarious recaps ever! Much better than the show.
"You say I look like who? Nakomis?"
Classic!
3 of 21 | Posted by SaveFerris
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Posted on January 8, 2007 7:19 AM
I was all about the Dancing Cupcake but now I'm going to have to find myself a new Sandy to cheer for. I'm guessing the best will come out of New York next week.
As far as Danny goes, the guy who sang "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love" is probably my favorite simply because he's hot and did pelvic thrusts.
4 of 21 | Posted by Chris
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Posted on January 8, 2007 7:45 AM
This show is so much like Idol it's hard to think of a reason to watch both, but I may just have to if only to fully enjoy B-Side's recaps.
Billy Bush is a really poor man's Seacrest. I'm liking D-Vo, though.
Rebecca the pharmaceutical rep was especially yummy. Very sorry she didn't make the cut.
One thing really bothered me: the claim that "Grease" made Travolta and Newton-John huge stars. Travolta at least was already a pretty huge star when "Grease" came out, having already been in "Welcome Back Kotter" and "Saturday Night Fever".
"Bang-A-Thon on her forehead" . . . heh heh heh.
5 of 21 | Posted by JasonR
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Posted on January 8, 2007 8:07 AM
As an obsessive fan of Grease the movie as a child - I have been waiting for this show for weeks.
I must say I was very disappointed, and rolled my eyes and wanted to turn the TIVO off at least a dozen times while watching.
I am going to stick it out because I think it could get better once they narrow it down to those with some talent.
Oh and on a side not...for the Reality TV junkies like myself there is nothing better than finding a Reality TV crossover on a new show...there was a gal that made the cut for Sandy that also went pretty far on I Want to be a Soap Opera Star. She was the blonde girl and has an Australian accent, but they didn't show too much of her last night.
6 of 21 | Posted by eellsinoc
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Posted on January 8, 2007 8:38 AM
Why was that deaf old woman trying out? The characters are in high school.
I thought the black chick was pretty good and she'd make for an interesting take on the musical.
Oh well, I couldn't sit thru the whole, it was boring.
Great recap though.
7 of 21 | Posted by soflat
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Posted on January 8, 2007 10:17 AM
The fact that Deja got to stay even though none of the judges appeared to like her that much ticked me off. It reminded me of The Bachelor (or Bachelorette) where the African American guy only makes it past the first round.
Cupcake cracked me up, and I too thought Rebecca was sweet and very Olivia Newton John-ish (without the scary Botox). I've actually been in Grease before, and I'm sure they're planning on revamping the production (hence the inclusion of You're the One That I Want, which was written for the movie, not the play), but Sandy really doesn't dance in the play, and she didn't dance much in the movie (if you look closely, you'll see that the heavy choreography belonged to John Travolta, who was a dancer). Again, I'm guessing that Sandy will dance more in the revival.
I know a lot of it's edited, but I was kinda sad that they didn't find more talent in my sweet home Chicago. My roommate and I met while doing a local production of Grease six years ago (he played Eugene, the nerdy guy), and he thought about auditioning, except that he doesn't have the vocal range for Danny.
Danny favorite so far: Hunka Hunka Burnin Love guy. He's the only one I saw who had the right charisma for Danny. Dominic's great, but too old to make it much further. 17-year-old girl (I forget her name) would need a really young Danny, and I don't see that happening either.
And though I felt bad for Sunshine, America's not ready for an overweight Sandy. Sorry. She'd be a great Jan, but they're not casting supporting characters.
The other thing I worry about is that they'll be fixated on a blonde Sandy, when the original Broadway Sandy was a brunette. Same with Danny--Barry Bostwick did NOT look like John Travolta at all.
Yes, I'm addicted already. I'm such a dork.
8 of 21 | Posted by maybeimamazed02
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Posted on January 8, 2007 10:21 AM
I was a little excited about this show too. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I found myself rolling my eyes out of annoyance.
I suppose we can thank American Idol for allowing people with NO TALENT to even be televised on a crappy audition. Although I enjoy some of the American Idol antics, this show can do without it. I am watching specifically for the love of the musical and I suspect most of the viewers are too. It's a waste of time to allow crappy auditions into the televised show for a quick gaffaw.
Hopefully the New York auditions will be better.
9 of 21 | Posted by MTV4ME
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Posted on January 8, 2007 10:45 AM
I wonder how the producers of the show are going to work in the legitimate Broadway cast with their Danny and Sandy unknowns? Is this show also casting the Danny and Sandy understudies as well?
10 of 21 | Posted by Foxbase Alpha
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Posted on January 8, 2007 10:51 AM
Once again, all "good" reality shows are remakes of successful british versions (pop idol, big brother, dancing with celebrities etc)
There was a british version of this show where the winner got the part of Maria and the in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of The Sound of Music in the West End. So I'm guessing that the producers already have a system in place for working the rest of the cast in.
11 of 21 | Posted by Laurie
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Posted on January 8, 2007 11:22 AM
According to a broadway website, there is a former castmember of a off-broadway musical in this show --
http://www.broadway.com/gen/general.aspx?ci=536203
I suspect that the New York auditions will be amazing.
I felt sorry for some of the people that were let go. I wish that they would also let them audition for the other characters like Jan and Doody. They could go to Grease Academy and put through the ringer for those other characters - like a Miss Lynch boot camp
12 of 21 | Posted by augustburns2
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Posted on January 8, 2007 11:37 AM
The good thing about this show is that, unlike "Idol", these are open auditions, so when we get to NY auditions, we should be seeing some stage pros on a par with or surpassing what we saw from L.A.
13 of 21 | Posted by JasonR
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Posted on January 8, 2007 1:41 PM
Put me down for being disappointed in the first show. But surely things will get better at Grease Academy - according to the previews, there are at least TWO hookups!
I really liked that perky Cara Kelly. I liked Sunshine buuuut...I mean, not to be mean but if this is your "dream" then you should probably lose weight. It's a cruel industry based on looks.
And I like Max Crumb! Leave him alone B-Side!
14 of 21 | Posted by BSL
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Posted on January 8, 2007 3:03 PM
notice that when Robin said she has written mystery novels she didnt say "published" so I'm assuming these novels were written in her own menstrual fluid on her bedroom wall.
An hour and a half premeire was pretty tough to take. This show needs some serious editing. But heck, it wont be around long anyway.
15 of 21 | Posted by EdHill
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Posted on January 9, 2007 8:26 AM
EdHill! EEEEEWWWWWW!!!
16 of 21 | Posted by LuvzSunshine
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Posted on January 10, 2007 8:59 AM
Olivia and John T. weren't made famous by the musical version of Grease anyway.
17 of 21 | Posted by suebee
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Posted on January 10, 2007 9:44 AM
Here is a link to the gal I mentioned made the cut for Sandy. She was previously on I Want to be a Soap Star.
Any other career reality star spottings?
18 of 21 | Posted by eellsinoc
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Posted on January 11, 2007 8:05 AM
http://soapnet.go.com/shows/soapstar3/bio.html?contestant=lindsey
Well here it is I guess...the first time didn't work.
19 of 21 | Posted by eellsinoc
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Posted on January 11, 2007 8:07 AM
Suebee, you are right, I noticed that mistake too.
In fact, it's my understanding that Travolta and Newton-John were cast in those roles BECAUSE they were already big stars. That's actually why Danny sings Grease Lightning in the movie and not Kenickie (as in the play)...John Travolta used his clout to take that song away from Jeff Conaway, who was playing Kenickie and who had been in the show on Broadway.
My roommate went to school with Jacqueline from Chicago.
20 of 21 | Posted by maybeimamazed02
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Posted on January 11, 2007 8:47 AM
whoa.....I went to school with her too!
Small. World.
21 of 21 | Posted by kelsee422
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Posted on January 15, 2007 5:03 PM