**Contains spoilers if you haven't seen the first episode yet** The series premiere of any show has to "hit a home run." It has to establish the story, the background, and the characters, and at the same time grab viewers who will watch again and tell their friends. "Commander in Chief" did all that in one short hour.
A lot like "The West Wing," this show chronicles the first Woman President of the United States, Mackenzie Allen. It starts with President Teddy Bridges on his deathbed, asking Vice President Allen to resign, much to her surprise. The scene flashes back to the day when Bridges asked his Nobel Laureate friend "Mac" to run. Was it really just a political stunt to have a woman on the ticket? Donald Sutherland as the Speaker of the House also urges Allen to resign. He doesn't even try to mask his own Presidential ambition as the next in line -- "People who don't crave power don't know what to do with it." But she perseveres. Mackenzie Allen takes the Oath of Office and quickly makes the transition to the Oval Office. Although some of the former President's staff don't want to stay on, Bridges' widow offers the new President much needed encouragement. Allen handles her first Cabinet Meeting with the required strength, and engineers the US Military on a daring international political prisoner rescue.
An interesting sub-plot is the President's husband Rod being coaxed into his role as "First Lady." His Chief of Staff explains exactly what role the First Lady plays as she shows him around the White House. She repeatedly advises him against doing things that Hillary Clinton did.
Geena Davis is perfect for this role. She's a very good actress who has not received the recognition she deserves for her many other roles. Geena Davis became Dottie in "A League of their Own," and in this program she makes Mackenzie Allen come to life.
It's amazing how often life imitates art for example, "The First Monday in October," a movie about the first woman Supreme Court Justice, no sooner premiered in 1981 than Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed to the Court. Someday there will be a woman president, just as there will be an African-American president. More than one pundit has drawn analogies to Hillary Rodham Clinton, although I see few parallels with Mackenzie Allen. I find it interesting that "Citizens for Rice" aired a commercial on the show this committee wants to draft Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice for president in 2008.
This premiere succeeded. I will watch next week and tell my friends.
A lot like "The West Wing," this show chronicles the first Woman President of the United States, Mackenzie Allen. It starts with President Teddy Bridges on his deathbed, asking Vice President Allen to resign, much to her surprise. The scene flashes back to the day when Bridges asked his Nobel Laureate friend "Mac" to run. Was it really just a political stunt to have a woman on the ticket? Donald Sutherland as the Speaker of the House also urges Allen to resign. He doesn't even try to mask his own Presidential ambition as the next in line -- "People who don't crave power don't know what to do with it." But she perseveres. Mackenzie Allen takes the Oath of Office and quickly makes the transition to the Oval Office. Although some of the former President's staff don't want to stay on, Bridges' widow offers the new President much needed encouragement. Allen handles her first Cabinet Meeting with the required strength, and engineers the US Military on a daring international political prisoner rescue.
An interesting sub-plot is the President's husband Rod being coaxed into his role as "First Lady." His Chief of Staff explains exactly what role the First Lady plays as she shows him around the White House. She repeatedly advises him against doing things that Hillary Clinton did.
Geena Davis is perfect for this role. She's a very good actress who has not received the recognition she deserves for her many other roles. Geena Davis became Dottie in "A League of their Own," and in this program she makes Mackenzie Allen come to life.
It's amazing how often life imitates art for example, "The First Monday in October," a movie about the first woman Supreme Court Justice, no sooner premiered in 1981 than Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed to the Court. Someday there will be a woman president, just as there will be an African-American president. More than one pundit has drawn analogies to Hillary Rodham Clinton, although I see few parallels with Mackenzie Allen. I find it interesting that "Citizens for Rice" aired a commercial on the show this committee wants to draft Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice for president in 2008.
This premiere succeeded. I will watch next week and tell my friends.