Designated Survivor (ABC)

Did anyone watch the premiere of ABC's new series with Kiefer Sutherland called DESIGNATED SURVIVOR? Its premise is that Sutherland is a low-level Presidential cabinet member who gets to go to the bunker on State Of The Union night, and then becomes President when the entire Capitol building is destroyed in an attack.

I found the pilot to be entertaining, but wonder how deep a high-concept show like this can go.

 

I saw the first half of the show last night and it seemed interesting. I plan to watch the rest later tonight. I'll probably continue to watch unless it turns really stupid.

 

I watched it. It's not exactly high art - pretty much what you would expect from a not-Jack Bauer production (though it was a little hard to see him being all sugary-sweet, with all the happy families banter. It was way overdone).

I'll watch for now, but I don't expect anything unexpected.

 

Enjoyed it, perhaps a 7 out of 10. But not sure how the initial shocking concept of this cabinet member unexpectedly becoming POTUS can sustain itself over a season.

 

Oh, that's easy - it's already been telegraphed. The hawkish general is bent out of shape because the new prez won't authorize his shoot first, ask questions later foreign policy and is already putting out feelers for like-minded allies. So he/they will try to undermine the prez and eventually attempt a coup down the road. That will be the main narrative driver IMO (along with family dynamics/tensions, maybe kidnappings).

 

This wasn't particularly good, but it was at least mildly entertaining, and there's no competition in the time slot, so I'll watch as long as it continues to amuse.

 

I might watch this On Demand, but it's a terrible title for a show.

 

I was about to say the family side was too much a soap opera (like most modern dramas) and the cloak and dagger side was so bland and predictable that I'm shocked that was talking along with the dialog.

 

I think, considering it is a real thing, a good title.
I found the show entertaining. Kiefer did a good job of playing a mild mannered character with this thrust upon him. Reasonable premise. The scene with the Iranian ambassador was well done. Looking forward to see where this goes.

On the other hand, Liz is back tonight (Oy).

 

I watched the second half last night. I'll stick with it to see where it goes. I suspect this season will focus on trying to get the Designated SurvIvor out of office.

I also think they will focus on who setup the bombing but they won't reveal it this season. Interesting theory floated that it was not another country or terror group that did it. Rather an inside job is the culprit.

 

liked it, very much.

i'm in for the long haul, however long that may be.

 

To whichever Gort fixed the title of the thread, thank you. I have a long-standing habit of putting show-titles, movie-titles, album titles etc. in all capital letters. It's from the days when Internet text couldn't be italicized, so I got in the habit of capitalizing main titles and putting song titles, episode titles, etc., in quote marks.

Once things got a little more sophisticated in terms of text abilities, I tried switching to italics for titles, the way it would be in a book or newspaper, but then I found that invariably, quoted material is generally in italics. So the effect is that if someone quotes my italicized title, it's indistinguishable from the rest of the quote. But if I continue to used capital letters for a title, it still stands out in the quoted text (as does anything in quotation marks).

So I decided to continue to use capital letters for show/movie/album titles, so that any quoted material is also still readable and easily understood. However, I forgot that in a thread title, capitals just look ugly, and that's what happened here. Thanks for changing it, and thanks for indulging me in my quirks.

 

The term "Designated Servivor" is actually a very real term used for elected officials in America:

Designated survivor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia »

I liked the show very much, and it's clear they're going to go very deep on this mystery. Nothing is what it appears. I would bet you (just at first glance) that the unexploded bomb was a plant deliberately intended to be found, and they're going to try to pin the bombing on a specific foreign power. But it'd be a much more interesting show if there were other factors at play -- up to and including militant Americans seeking to get rid of the current administration. People forget that the worst bombing on U.S. soil -- Oklahoma City -- was carried out by a nutty American, not by a foreign terrorist.

I also would not be surprised if it turns out that the people who planted the bomb knew that Sutherland's character would be the survivor, and (wrongly) assumed he'd be an easy President to manipulate and/or replace. Again, there's more going on with the show than I think most people understand. The producers sold the series on the basis of a long story arc, so they've got at least 100 episodes to tell.

 

A little civics lesson reminder of the current order of Presidential succession:

1. Vice President of the United States
2. Speaker of the House
3. President pro tempore of the Senate
4. Secretary of State
5. Secretary of the Treasury
6. Secretary of Defense
7. Attorney General
8. Secretary of the Interior
9. Secretary of Agriculture
10. Secretary of Labor
11. Secretary of Health and Human Services
12. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
13. Secretary of Transportation
14. Secretary of Energy
15. Secretary of Education
16. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
17. Secretary of Homeland Security

Only three of the people who hold these offices were elected by anyone. All of the rest are appointed.

 

Liked it and found it to be interesting. I will continue watching as long as remains so.

 

I liked the first episode a great deal. I would love to see this run for a long time if the quality can be maintained.

 

This is not a "Golden Age of TV" contender by any stretch.

 

I think it's just intended as a big action/adventure/mystery, nothing close to being serious "artsy" television at all. Sutherland's 24 wasn't artsy nor did it have high aspirations, but for that kind of intense action show, they did some interesting things and got high ratings for a long time. I don't have a problem with a popcorn TV show as long as it generally makes sense and isn't boring.

 

The priority of succession is really interesting and perhaps a bit outdated. Wouldn't #17, for instance, be better equipped to deal with the reality of a taking the reigns in a national emergency than #9?

 

I thought it was excellent. Which means if I like it, it will get canceled.

 

Is it normal for a HUD secretary to have secret service detail to the extent that his son is already familiar with agents and would recognize them?

My off the cuff theory is that the secret service agent (the white guy, dark hair) is involved. I'm assuming he was part of the detail for the now dead president's chief of staff. The chief of staff was at the Capitol Building, why wasn't his detail? He'll be initially presented as a "good guy" by standing up to the war mongering generals who want to remove the new president, but his motive is to keep Kirkman in office for a specific purpose, and its not war with Iran or oil in the Strait Of Hormuz. There is something in Tom's past that whoever is behind the attack believes they can exploit for some specific decision and that's why he was the designated survivor and put in power.

 

I enjoyed the first episode, too, so kiss it goodbye in favor of some smutty, brain-dead sitcom aimed at 8-year-olds........

 

Enjoyed the first episode

Is that the entire list and what is recourse if, for example, DC gets nuked when all are there?

 

So far, so good. Let's see where they go with it.

 

episode 2....just as compelling as episode 1.