"Enter Mr. DiMaggio" | |
---|---|
Smash episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 3 |
Directed by | Michael Mayer [1] |
Written by | Theresa Rebeck |
Featured music | "
Grenade"
[2] " Redneck Woman" [3] "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" [4] |
Original air date | February 20, 2012 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Enter Mr. DiMaggio" is the third episode of the American television series, Smash. The episode aired on February 20, 2012.
While Karen ( Katharine McPhee) returns to Iowa to make an important decision about the future, the favorite for the role of Joe DiMaggio—Michael Swift (guest star Will Chase)—is discovered to be holding a secret and Eileen ( Anjelica Huston) suspects her soon-to-be-ex-husband is sabotaging the musical by turning potential investors away.
"Enter Mr. DiMaggio" was written by series creator Theresa Rebeck and directed by Michael Mayer. [1] When the pilot was originally written it was for Showtime, but Robert Greenblatt left Showtime for NBC and brought the series with him. [5] Due to the change in networks, Rebeck was forced to remove 20 minutes' worth of material from the pilot episode and put it into the second and third episodes. [5] The episode marks the first appearance of Will Chase, who plays Michael Swift, the favorite for the role of Joe DiMaggio in the musical. [6] He is also an old flame of Julia's. [7]
The Iowa scenes were filmed in Nyack, New York. [8]
Studio recordings of the original song "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" by Megan Hilty and Chase, [9] and the covers of Bruno Mars' " Grenade" by Chase [10] and Gretchen Wilson's " Redneck Woman" by Katharine McPhee [11] were released on iTunes on February 20, 2012.
The ratings fell significantly for the episode, with only 6.5 million viewers and a 2.3 rating. [12] With the DVR ratings factored in, the episode was viewed with a total of 8.7 million viewers and achieved a 3.2 ratings in 18–49 demographics. [13]
The Huffington Post writer Maureen Ryan complimented the screener copy of the episode, calling it "quite solid", but not equal to the previous two episodes. [14] HitFix writer Daniel Feinberg critically panned the episode, calling it "dreadful" and criticized the Iowa storyline and McPhee's performance of "Redneck Woman" calling it "embarrassing" and "kinda repulsive". [3] He also mentioned that the storyline kept him from enjoying the good parts of the episode. [3]