Before I get into the my thoughts about the premiere episode of the Commander In Chief (this link is to a ABC's official show site, which is a a pseudo-blog called "Mackenzie Watch"... which I think is already sexist, shouldn't she be referred to by her last name "Allen?"), let me say I have absolutely no issues with a woman in the Oval Office... heck, with the likes of Nancy Reagan and Hillary Rodham Clinton one can argue that we have already had a woman president.
I guess it is no big surprise that this is one of the new series we were interested in checking out this season. We love the political stuff, but when it comes to TV watching some things even supercede the Presidency. In this instance, and on Tuesday nights, that would be The Amazing Race... so, thanks to TiVo, CiC will likely be a Wednesday show for us instead of a Tuesday one.
So, as a die-hard The West Wing fan (with or without Sorkin), it was impossible to watch this show without comparing it to the long running NBC series. And in this case CiC does not hold up very well. To pull the dead horse out the stable... Mackenzie S. Allen you are no Josiah Bartlet!
Again, no offense to the ladies, but this particular Madame President does not instill much security or faith in me. Now I know we are getting an inside look at Allen's vulnerable side "behind closed door"... but even when she "takes charge" it seems like she was trying way too hard, masking incompetence. Maybe this is on purpose, but the writing here does not even approach that of The West Wing. Where a sweeping Bartlet speech can give me goose-bumps, Allen's Capitol Hill address left me with almost an eye-roll... but then again her speech writer is Sela Ward's ex-husband's pregnant girlfriend from the prematurely cancelled ABC series Once & Again... so what did I expect?
And honestly I am not sure I buy Geena Davis as President. I would liked to have been in the brainstorming session of which actress should play the role. I am thinking I may have bought into it more if it was an older, less glam actress. But this is fiction and we must suspend some belief. Heck, even Davis in a recent interview said the scenario was a bit out there... a Republican President choosing an Independent running mate... with the choice of a woman actually helping the ticket.
All this said, the show was not really all that bad. It did boffo in the ratings. I will be curious to see how many folks come back for a second helping. Davis certainly had one of the best comeback lines in this still young television season ("Jim, you're not in a position to insist how I take my coffee")... and now with everything set-up it will be interesting to see how the show progresses... hopefully it will move a bit beyond the repetitive "me against the world" struggle that Allen faced in her first hours of her Presidency.
I am also interested in seeing how Donald Sutherland chews up the scenery in future episodes. As a fan of son Kiefer's work in 24, when "debating" whether Allen should resign I was waiting for Sutherland (who plays Speaker of the House, Nathan Templeton) to go all Jack Bauer on her ass... like threaten to cut off her finger or something if she didn't resign!
So we'll be back next week to check things out. Again, not "in love" with it just yet (a wise strategy for new shows), but it isn't a waste of time either...
Oh, the "first son" is pretty cute too... though I am too scared to research the actor's real age!













The show did not get off to a great start with the critics... and apparently never brought great ratings (unless they were infinitesimal I am not sure why this matters for a premium/pay channel)... though it turned the corner with some critics (and viewers) apparently it was not enough to save the show.