I new know what some fool might consider a "spoiler", so I always say my review contains one. Make of that what you will.
It's hardly likely to elicit any argument if I note that "Commander in Chief was deliberately planted in ground already prepared by "West Wing". Unfortunately it was only a good show, not a great one. It was certainly better than to numerous dreary sitcoms infesting the small screen these days, not to mention the even drearier "reality" (there's a laugh!) shows, and the utterly drearier quiz and contest shows. In the end, however, even the considerable presence of Geena Davis and the brilliant (but challenged) malevolence of Donald Sutherland couldn't save the series. "Commander in Chief" disappeared in mid-1st season, after 18 episodes.
The premise of "Commander in Chief" is this: a Republican candidate for President chooses a progressive Independent woman (Mackenzie Allen) to be his Vice President in order, as one character puts it, "to get the soccer mom vote". Vigorous and athletic, he gets his just desserts in the form of a massive heart attack. On his deathbed he orders her to resign so that the terminally ambitious Speaker of the House, Nathan Templeton. She agrees, but ultimately rejects this course and takes the oath of office. Allen and Templeton are of course Davis and Sutherland, and their struggle for power forms the core of the series. Although every episode or couple of episodes contain one or more subplots, everything relates to the Allen-Templeton feud and this makes the series fundamentally a soap opera. It's a very high-tone soap opera, but still .
Allen brings into the Residence with her a husband, Rod Calloway, and 3 children: teenage fraternal twins (boy and girl) and a much younger daughter. They are played by decent, but not well-known, actors. She also inherits the former President's cabinet and staff. Among the latter is the Chief of Staff, Jim Gardner, played with effective gravitas by the very talented Harry Lennix.
The series proceeds with President Allen dealing doggedly with one crisis after another international, domestic, administrative, whatever. Templeton (the name of the rat in "Charlotte's Web", by the way) is always lurking, trying to sabotage Allen's efforts, or to take advantage of her difficulties, or at the very least to gloat and all this despite her repeated demonstrations of kindness and good will toward him (which seem to touch him at the time). In spite of seemingly intractable difficulties, Allen always seems to choose the road less traveled and wins through.
And that is the real difficulty of this fine but flawed series. Although the various crises differ in detail, the basic plot outlines are very much the same. She is such an honest, well-meaning goody-goody, so enthused about doing right, that the palm of victory seems virtually to drop in her lap, willy-nilly. We don't expect these astounding successes at the beginning, but after a half-dozen or so episodes we simply expect them.
Overall, "Commander in Chief" is an interesting diversion, and it's not half-bad and, as I said, better than so much else. But alas, it's not a patch on the sophistication, complexity, and sheer brilliance of its inspiration, "West Wing".
It's hardly likely to elicit any argument if I note that "Commander in Chief was deliberately planted in ground already prepared by "West Wing". Unfortunately it was only a good show, not a great one. It was certainly better than to numerous dreary sitcoms infesting the small screen these days, not to mention the even drearier "reality" (there's a laugh!) shows, and the utterly drearier quiz and contest shows. In the end, however, even the considerable presence of Geena Davis and the brilliant (but challenged) malevolence of Donald Sutherland couldn't save the series. "Commander in Chief" disappeared in mid-1st season, after 18 episodes.
The premise of "Commander in Chief" is this: a Republican candidate for President chooses a progressive Independent woman (Mackenzie Allen) to be his Vice President in order, as one character puts it, "to get the soccer mom vote". Vigorous and athletic, he gets his just desserts in the form of a massive heart attack. On his deathbed he orders her to resign so that the terminally ambitious Speaker of the House, Nathan Templeton. She agrees, but ultimately rejects this course and takes the oath of office. Allen and Templeton are of course Davis and Sutherland, and their struggle for power forms the core of the series. Although every episode or couple of episodes contain one or more subplots, everything relates to the Allen-Templeton feud and this makes the series fundamentally a soap opera. It's a very high-tone soap opera, but still .
Allen brings into the Residence with her a husband, Rod Calloway, and 3 children: teenage fraternal twins (boy and girl) and a much younger daughter. They are played by decent, but not well-known, actors. She also inherits the former President's cabinet and staff. Among the latter is the Chief of Staff, Jim Gardner, played with effective gravitas by the very talented Harry Lennix.
The series proceeds with President Allen dealing doggedly with one crisis after another international, domestic, administrative, whatever. Templeton (the name of the rat in "Charlotte's Web", by the way) is always lurking, trying to sabotage Allen's efforts, or to take advantage of her difficulties, or at the very least to gloat and all this despite her repeated demonstrations of kindness and good will toward him (which seem to touch him at the time). In spite of seemingly intractable difficulties, Allen always seems to choose the road less traveled and wins through.
And that is the real difficulty of this fine but flawed series. Although the various crises differ in detail, the basic plot outlines are very much the same. She is such an honest, well-meaning goody-goody, so enthused about doing right, that the palm of victory seems virtually to drop in her lap, willy-nilly. We don't expect these astounding successes at the beginning, but after a half-dozen or so episodes we simply expect them.
Overall, "Commander in Chief" is an interesting diversion, and it's not half-bad and, as I said, better than so much else. But alas, it's not a patch on the sophistication, complexity, and sheer brilliance of its inspiration, "West Wing".