Schmigadoon!: Over and Done
May 3, 2023 12:32 PM - Season 2, Episode 6 - Subscribe
How will everyone thwart Kratt's plot to kill Josh and marry Melissa?
Kratt uses Bobbie to get Melissa to divorce Josh (but really he's gonna kill him by having Rivera do it), Josh tries to talk Rivera out of doing it by using parables. The hippies, Topher and Jenny, and Dooley and Miss Codwell get together to rescue them.
"I shut down a dream ballet! I can shut down this!"
"Have you heard the parable of the guy who helped the other guy, and it worked out well for both of them?"
"Why'd you call him daddy?"
"Sometimes when you've been slapped, you need to turn the other cheek, and let someone slap you again." "Really?" "That sounds bad."
"We better gas up the happiness bus."
"If it isn't our troupe of strolling fruitcakes, come to save the day."
DEATH BY CHANDELIER!!!! "Seriously? Again!" "It really is a wonderful knife."
THEY SING THAT HE'S KAPUT.
ROCKY HORROR!!!!....by ex-Sergeant Rivera.
They made a happy ending for everyone! Madame Frau takes over the club and has Rivera perform, Jenny and Topher take over the orphanage, Dooley and Miss Codwell start a new food business. Everyone asks them to stay in Schimicago....The Narrator points out there's no happy endings IRL and they're taking that risk, but they're fine with that.
The Narrator quits, saying, "I want a life of my own! And romance! With" (looks at Rivera) "....him!" Rivera: "I don't hate it."
THEN THE LEPRECHAUN SHOWS UP AGAIN saying they passed the test. And he's sending them home with his brother. "Happy endings don't exist....but every day can be a happy beginning."
Melissa and Josh go home, she gets pregnant.
Kratt uses Bobbie to get Melissa to divorce Josh (but really he's gonna kill him by having Rivera do it), Josh tries to talk Rivera out of doing it by using parables. The hippies, Topher and Jenny, and Dooley and Miss Codwell get together to rescue them.
"I shut down a dream ballet! I can shut down this!"
"Have you heard the parable of the guy who helped the other guy, and it worked out well for both of them?"
"Why'd you call him daddy?"
"Sometimes when you've been slapped, you need to turn the other cheek, and let someone slap you again." "Really?" "That sounds bad."
"We better gas up the happiness bus."
"If it isn't our troupe of strolling fruitcakes, come to save the day."
DEATH BY CHANDELIER!!!! "Seriously? Again!" "It really is a wonderful knife."
THEY SING THAT HE'S KAPUT.
ROCKY HORROR!!!!....by ex-Sergeant Rivera.
They made a happy ending for everyone! Madame Frau takes over the club and has Rivera perform, Jenny and Topher take over the orphanage, Dooley and Miss Codwell start a new food business. Everyone asks them to stay in Schimicago....The Narrator points out there's no happy endings IRL and they're taking that risk, but they're fine with that.
The Narrator quits, saying, "I want a life of my own! And romance! With" (looks at Rivera) "....him!" Rivera: "I don't hate it."
THEN THE LEPRECHAUN SHOWS UP AGAIN saying they passed the test. And he's sending them home with his brother. "Happy endings don't exist....but every day can be a happy beginning."
Melissa and Josh go home, she gets pregnant.
Yeah, the story was meh, but really, when you're talking about musicals, are we there for the story, because most are incredulous at best, but more typically lunatic.
As for the songs, most had me in the palm of their hand, but some felt like filler included only to reference a specific 60s/70s Broadway hit. But all in all it was fun. I liked the music much more in season two because I liked the originals they parodied more, but the overarching concept was better developed in season one. Season two leaned too much on season one's work.
posted by Stanczyk at 1:53 PM on May 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
As for the songs, most had me in the palm of their hand, but some felt like filler included only to reference a specific 60s/70s Broadway hit. But all in all it was fun. I liked the music much more in season two because I liked the originals they parodied more, but the overarching concept was better developed in season one. Season two leaned too much on season one's work.
posted by Stanczyk at 1:53 PM on May 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
My feeling is that they had Ariana DeBose for like two days of shooting and made the most of it. I don't mind her Dreamgirls-like number — and they had a lot of fun with making a song called “Over and Done” seem like it might never actually end — but it left the rest of the episode feeling rushed. I don't know offhand how long the other five episodes have been, but this one felt really short.
Much like John Mulaney would've watched an entire hour of Ice Cube naming analogies for sex addiction, I'd have watched at least 20 minutes of Josh turning 80s/90s movies into parables.
Reading the Playbill summary makes me realize just how sparse the references were in comparison to the other episodes, because they had to wrap everything up. I do appreciate the Pippin ending — the main characters show their growth by rejecting the comfort of the illusion. They prefer the messiness of real life. (Cinco Paul talked about how much he loves Pippin, though it seems like he loves it the way I do: largely ignoring the crappy parts like, say, most of the second act.) The pessimistic tone of “Happy Beginning” felt tonally quite similar to “No One Is Alone” from Into the Woods, but of course that's the wrong decade.
I honestly don't know if I want a season 3. I think they could get a lot of mileage out of Andrew Lloyd Webber jokes, and the earnestness of Les Mis is like a gigantic target on its back, but I don't know if we need the main characters to be Josh and Melissa. Feels like they learned the right lessons this time. All the musical references are so great, but then they've got to build a narrative around it, and that's my least favorite part.
posted by savetheclocktower at 7:30 PM on May 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Much like John Mulaney would've watched an entire hour of Ice Cube naming analogies for sex addiction, I'd have watched at least 20 minutes of Josh turning 80s/90s movies into parables.
Reading the Playbill summary makes me realize just how sparse the references were in comparison to the other episodes, because they had to wrap everything up. I do appreciate the Pippin ending — the main characters show their growth by rejecting the comfort of the illusion. They prefer the messiness of real life. (Cinco Paul talked about how much he loves Pippin, though it seems like he loves it the way I do: largely ignoring the crappy parts like, say, most of the second act.) The pessimistic tone of “Happy Beginning” felt tonally quite similar to “No One Is Alone” from Into the Woods, but of course that's the wrong decade.
I honestly don't know if I want a season 3. I think they could get a lot of mileage out of Andrew Lloyd Webber jokes, and the earnestness of Les Mis is like a gigantic target on its back, but I don't know if we need the main characters to be Josh and Melissa. Feels like they learned the right lessons this time. All the musical references are so great, but then they've got to build a narrative around it, and that's my least favorite part.
posted by savetheclocktower at 7:30 PM on May 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Savetheclocktower: How about a very dark third season where Josh and Melissa are protesting the second Trump Administration, and flee the cops - but in the chaos and fog of the tear gas, find themselves in 1840s SchmiParis? 😁 Theme of the season could be everyday life under autocracy. Basically Andor meets Les Mis - with jokes, of course. :)
posted by Mr. Excellent at 9:16 PM on May 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Mr. Excellent at 9:16 PM on May 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
This season felt less deep. I don't mean "deep" philosophically, but the relationships that Melissa and Josh had with other characters were lower-stakes and less engaged. This season was obviously more of an escape room scenario for the leads, but I wish they could have found a way to connect with the place more deeply.
Season 3 could be a reversal of concept - characters from the musical universe start leaking into the real world, and Josh and Melissa have to become narrators to help define the lessons they need to learn to get back home.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 5:50 AM on May 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
Season 3 could be a reversal of concept - characters from the musical universe start leaking into the real world, and Josh and Melissa have to become narrators to help define the lessons they need to learn to get back home.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 5:50 AM on May 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
I want to see an S3 where Schmigadoon/Schmicago gets Andrew Lloyd Webber/Lion King-ified where everything has to be HUGE and GRAND and MAKE TONS OF MONEY -- the Schmectacle era.
posted by Etrigan at 5:59 AM on May 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 5:59 AM on May 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
I thought the story this season was meh, but the songs are extraordinary.
Also true of basically every show referenced throughout the season, so it tracks.
But I disagree. I loved it all.
I also now very badly need a Rocky Horror revival starring Jaime Camil.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:53 AM on May 4, 2023
Also true of basically every show referenced throughout the season, so it tracks.
But I disagree. I loved it all.
I also now very badly need a Rocky Horror revival starring Jaime Camil.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:53 AM on May 4, 2023
This season felt less deep. I don't mean "deep" philosophically, but the relationships that Melissa and Josh had with other characters were lower-stakes and less engaged.
This makes sense to me given that Josh & Melissa know all of them (having met them in S1) but the characters don't remember them at all.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:56 AM on May 4, 2023
This makes sense to me given that Josh & Melissa know all of them (having met them in S1) but the characters don't remember them at all.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:56 AM on May 4, 2023
I loved it all too.
Since we're getting into the era of SPECTACLE musicals, the 3rd season could time-jump again and have them bringing their difficult tween(s) with them to try to resolve some family issues?
posted by rednikki at 1:51 PM on May 4, 2023
Since we're getting into the era of SPECTACLE musicals, the 3rd season could time-jump again and have them bringing their difficult tween(s) with them to try to resolve some family issues?
posted by rednikki at 1:51 PM on May 4, 2023
This makes sense to me[...].
It makes sense to me too, but it makes for weaker drama. I think the show creators should have made stronger choices.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 2:22 PM on May 4, 2023
It makes sense to me too, but it makes for weaker drama. I think the show creators should have made stronger choices.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 2:22 PM on May 4, 2023
I enjoyed this season much more than the first, probably because I love this era of musicals more. I guess the dramatic tension was lessened, given the premise. This feels like a good stopping point, though obviously they could get mileage out of 80s spectacles, they did already drop a chandelier in this season finale!
posted by crossoverman at 3:40 PM on May 4, 2023
posted by crossoverman at 3:40 PM on May 4, 2023
savetheclocktower: Much like John Mulaney would've watched an entire hour of Ice Cube naming analogies for sex addiction,
Ice-T!
posted by tzikeh at 10:05 PM on May 4, 2023
Ice-T!
posted by tzikeh at 10:05 PM on May 4, 2023
Cinco Paul on the Schmigadoon season 2 finale, Patti LuPone, and potential season 3 plans
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:25 AM on May 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:25 AM on May 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
I was disappointed in the final episode, but loved this season overall. I think it would be cool for the next season to have Josh and Melissa as characters and have someone else be the "main" unwitting Schmigateers.
posted by desuetude at 8:31 PM on May 9, 2023
posted by desuetude at 8:31 PM on May 9, 2023
If they do have a next season, it should probably lean into the kid. You've got the two in Les Mis, plus Secret Garden, Ragtime, Falsettos, Goodbye Girl, etc, etc.
posted by DebetEsse at 2:46 PM on November 12, 2023
posted by DebetEsse at 2:46 PM on November 12, 2023
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posted by ColdChef at 1:00 PM on May 3, 2023 [1 favorite]