Article published as DESIGNATED SURVIVOR Review on Seat42F.
We all know about the DESIGNATED
SURVIVOR, right? During the annual State of the Union speech, one member
of the administration is chosen to stay behind at a safe location in
case an attack wipes out the rest of the government. This unlikely event
has never happened, but it’s a worse-case scenario contingency that is
ripe with story potential, as shown in the great reboot of Battlestar
Galactica a few years ago. But it was only one element of that show;
does it have the legs to support a weekly series?
ABC is going to find out as DESIGNATED
SURVIVOR premieres this week. Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland, 24) is the
outgoing Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, probably left
behind because he’s fallen out of favor with the president and being
forced to resign anyway. But when disaster strikes, Tom is quickly sworn
in as leader of the free world, thrust into a situation where he must
make the tough calls in short order, set the country’s response to the
most devastating attack its ever experienced, and assert power from
those who don’t believe he can handle the job.
One such critic is Seth Wright (Kal
Penn, House, Harold & Kumar), a speech writer for the POTUS that
does not think the new guy has what it takes. Nor do any of the military
leaders. This is understandable, not just because Tom is not a
combative guy, but because the first things we see him do do not inspire
confidence in his ability to lead and make the tough calls. It seems
like he will not be able to make this work.
But if that were to remain the case,
there would be no show, right? Tom is our hero and he will step up to
the plate. That’s a given before we even start watching the series.
The problem is, Tom finds his inner
strength way too easily. I guess you can take the man out of Jack Bauer
but you can’t take the Jack Bauer out of the man. While Kiefer does a
fine job finding Tom’s timid nature at the start, he transforms
ridiculously quick into what he’ll need to be. Where’s the struggle?
This would be a far more interesting show if the focus was on that
growth journey instead of moving quickly past it to get to the action.
Funny enough, ABC president Channing
Dungey recently said she wished cable series weren’t automatically seen
as better than broadcast shows. DESIGNATED SURVIVOR is the perfect
example of exactly why this bias exists. Were the series on FX or HBO or
AMC, the show would be about the character’s struggle. The cast would
likely be smaller, and the story tighter to the immediate situation.
Instead, like a lot of ABC shows, it’s bloated and quick moving, wanting
to get more action and soapy drama in than worrying about Emmy-worthy
performances or fantastic writing.
Though I called the roster bloated, I’m
not complaining about the rest of the cast; it’s a strong ensemble
comprised of Natascha McElhone (Californication) as Tom’s wife, Alex,
Italia Ricci (Chasing Life) as Tom’s aide, Emily, Adan Canto (The
Following) as the new president’s, well, tutor seems appropriate though
isn’t entirely accurate, Aaron, LaMonica Garrett (Sons of Anarchy) as a
Secret Service agent, Mike, and Maggie Q (Nikita) as an FBI agent,
Hannah. But most of them are underdeveloped, such as the First Lady
being a very bland type, or poorly used, in the case of Q. This could
improve over time, but these supporting players are not well established
in episode one.
I really want to like this show, and I
kind of do. It is exciting, I do enjoy the actors, and I am curious
about the mystery that we start with. I just worry DESIGNATED SURVIVOR
is not set up for success, and that things will get hokey and insincere
as the season plays out, forcing twists where they aren’t needed, and
skipping over the potential deep bits beginning to be explored based on
the unevenness and flaws of the pilot. I guess we’ll have to wait and
see if this one can be great or not.
DESIGNATED SURVIVOR premieres Wednesday at 10/9c.
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