Designated Survivor

[bushwackerbob]

I have heard a couple people mention this show in passing and I am wondering what people thought of the show in general and the final season that was recently released on Netflix. For the most part on social media the response we usually get is either an emphatic thumbs up or down. For me it was a generally mediocre show that fairly good to fairly decent and ok. The two best things that the show had going for it were Keifer Sutherland and the fascinating premise of unlikely and accidental presidency. The writing on the show was ok, sometimes a little preachy and earnest and sometimes poignant and inspired. My biggest issue with the show was the mediocre cast that surrounded Sutherland and Maggie Q. It was almost as if they spent all of the show's budget on Keifer and the White House sets and did not have money to hire any a-list television actors. It was not that the supporting cast was terrible, just that their performances did not necessarily come alive on the screen, they were just ok, nothing more and nothing less. I cannot help but compare it to the West Wing which not only had Martin Sheen as president but had several Emmy worthy supporting players in the cast. SPOILERS AHEAD! I did really like how they ended the series in regards to Sutherland"s President Kirkman. Kirkman the idealist who took office has been transformed somewhat into someone who is a little more darker, cynical, calculating politician. He still wants to do good and serve the people to the best of his abilities but now he is willing to compromise his principles to achieve his goals. I feel this was a very realistic shift in his character, because after all, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[DrDominator9]

I thought this show and its actors were better than you gave them credit for, bb, and in general, enjoyed the show enough to watch it all the way through. I never followed Kiefer in the series "24" and I may have to go back and watch that now.

Yes, the ending was a bit of a letdown to see Kirkland lose his innocence along the way but still his drive to try to do the right thing in almost all cases was pretty inspiring. I was happy I spent time with the show from beginning to end.

[bushwackerbob]

I thought this show and its actors were better than you gave them credit for, bb, and in general, enjoyed the show enough to watch it all the way through. I never followed Kiefer in the series "24" and I may have to go back and watch that now.

Yes, the ending was a bit of a letdown to see Kirkland lose his innocence along the way but still his drive to try to do the right thing in almost all cases was pretty inspiring. I was happy I spent time with the show from beginning to end.

Maybe it's just me, because I know that Kal Penn has many previous acting credits (including House I think) but I thought he was absolutely awful as the Press Secretary, he constantly mumbled, sounded like he had marbles in his mouth. I strongly recommend 24, especially the earlier seasons. I personally was not let down at all by the Designated Survivor ending with Kirkman going more cynical. Don't you think that happens in real life too? These guys have all these big ideas of going to Washington in order to effect change and better peoples lives and they find out they have to play the game, get their hands dirty, compromise their principles in order to accomplish their goals.

[Lurkndog]

I've only watched the first episode, but so far it isn't grabbing me. I like the cast, but the story isn't grabbing me, and there were a number of things that seemed to be off. Like, if you're going to stage a swearing-in ceremony, you get the new president into a suit first. Also, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is an unlikely candidate to overthrow the president. These are just high school level mistakes.

I also didn't think they did a good job of conveying who Kirkman actually is. What's his background? Does he have any executive experience? Or is he just a poly sci major from Cornell? They spent way too much time on his family life, and not nearly enough on his professional life.

When Kirkman had the showdown with the Iranian ambassador, it didn't feel like an organic development of his character from what we had already seen. It just felt like Sutherland slipped into Jack Bauer mode for a scene.

I'll probably give it another episode or two, but so far, not great.

[bushwackerbob]

You have certainly made a lot of good points. The weakness early in the series is clearly how they present the family storylines which are fairly boring and mundane storylines. I also agree that they did not do a good enough job in fleshing out his character before he assumed the Presidency. In terms of the swearing-in ceremony, I think by necessity that assuming the Presidency after the death of a President is a hastily arranged affair in that they want to assure a smooth and quick transition of power. I remember reading about after the JFK assassination, the LBJ swearing-in was a hastily arranged affair that took place on Air Force One in Dallas with JFK's widow in attendance with some of Jack's blood still on her clothes. No television cameras were present.

[Lurkndog]

For what it's worth, there are numerous photographs of LBJ being sworn in:



I'm a couple of episodes in now, and IMHO the basic problems with the show haven't gone away. Kirkman is still a marshmallow of a man, waffling about unable to make decisions or delegate effectively, until five minutes before the end of each episode, when he suddenly turns into Jack Bauer and gets things done. It's satisfying when it happens, but Kirkman the badass and Kirkman the principled bureaucrat and Kirkman the clueless dad just don't ever really fit together into a coherent character.

[bushwackerbob]

It is almost like he is the equivalent of the TV version of the Incredible Hulk's David Banner. Banner spent the beginning of each episode trying to keep a low profile, keeping his head down, but eventually trouble finds him, and he is conveniently thrown into a pile of wooden pallets (or something from Home Depot) by a bunch of b level jabroni bad guys, he turns green, hulks up and turns into a green Lou Ferrigno and takes care of business just like President Kirkman morphs into Jack Bauer and solves world's problems all in under an hour.