"COMMANDER IN CHIEF: INAUGURAL EDITION, PART II"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) STARRING Geena Davis as PRESIDENT MACKENZIE ALLEN Donald Sutherland as NATE TEMPLETON Harry Lennix as JIM GARDNER Kyle Secor as ROD CALLOWAY Ever Carradine as KELLY LUDLOW Matt Lanter as HORACE CALLOWAY Caitlin Wachs as REBECCA CALLOWAY Jasmine Anthony as AMY CALLOWAY Rated TV-PG Studio: Touchstone Television Created by: Rod Lurie Back to DVD Review Home |  |
Breaking with the ranks of many other critics, I was not a big fan of “Commander in Chief.” Never having watched it during its brief run on television, I saw the first ten episodes on DVD. In short, I thought the premise tried to shoehorn a fantasy of gender politics into a realistic show. What we ended up with was a weak view of what creator Rod Lurie and producer Steven Bochco wishes presidential politics would be like.
By the end of the first ten episodes, the show actually improved. They had gotten past the whole “You’re the first female President of the United States” giddiness and actually tried to put together some tense episodes.
As the remaining eight episodes played from the second volume (released separately, presumably to capitalize on any Emmy hype the show could have caused), the writers couldn’t stay away from the gender issues. They threw off the cloak of “The West Wing” and went right for the “Republicans hate women” argument.
This overbearing argument manifests itself in the character of Nathan Templeton (Donald Sutherland). While Sutherland does a great job acting (as he always does), he is saddled with hostile scripts and unrealistic plot lines. At one point in the season, it looks like Templeton and President Allen will bury the hatchet. But of course, the writers couldn’t resist making the evil Republican Speaker of the House the witch-hunting bad guy again.
If the showrunners on “Commander in Chief” could swallow their politics, they might have actually put together a good show. However, they clung to the notion that the show’s politics and statement is more powerful than its quality.
Ultimately, President Allen makes a lousy Commander in Chief. She doesn’t understand how real politics works. She makes some pretty dangerous decisions – like loosening trade restrictions on China to save the lives of sailors in a sunken submarine in North Korean waters. I understand the desire to save every life when possible, but sometimes accidents happen and military leaders must make a unpopular decision to keep national security intact.
This DVD set comes with several deleted scenes, bloopers and outtakes, as well as commentaries on the pilot and a key episode near the end of the season. The commentary gives a certain degree of insight into Rod Lurie’s motivations for the show, and he does tip his hand a bit by explaining that he thought it was an important show to make for the subject matter. Of course, as I said before, the subject matter couldn’t carry the series and it collapsed under its own weight.
The last special feature is actually a bit humorous in my mind. It’s a conversation with Geena Davis about her role as Mackenzie Allen, the first female President. As Davis answers the questions, it’s actually hard to tell if she differentiates her acting from real life. She speaks of being a role model, but I think she forgets that she was cast rather than elected and in reality, a candidate’s performance and stand on the issues is far more important than his or her gender.
Most likely, Davis is more caught up in the importance of the subject matter, which Lurie points out in his commentary. She forgets that regardless of what her character does on screen, she’s not really the President. (Thank God!)
Ultimately, when it comes to “Commander in Chief,” you’ll like it if you agree with the showrunners’ politics. However, it’s impossible to see it as anything but an image of presidential politics seen through the rose-colored glasses of the liberal Hollywood elite.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Widescreen (1.78:1), enhanced for 16x9 televisions. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
