What Is THE COMEY RULE?

 Article first published as TV Review: THE COMEY RULE on Seat42F.

Showtime presented a two-part miniseries this week entitled THE COMEY RULE. Based on the book A Higher Loyalty by James Comey himself, it tells the former F.B.I. director’s version of events during the 2016 presidential election and the period immediately following. It is a biased account, to be sure, and it’s unlikely the majority of Republican voters will give it a chance to tell Comey’s side of the story. But that’s part of the point, and there’s a cautionary tale here worth listening to.

Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom) stars as James Comey, which immediately lends gravitas to the official, probably more than he deserves. Comey’s perspective throughout is that he must stay morally pure and apolitical, even as his agency is forced to wade into politics, first with the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, and then with Donald Trump’s connections to Russia. Throughout, Comey is faced with impossible decisions about what to reveal and to whom, and he stays steady, following his own judgment and code of justice. Viewers will feel his pain and root for him, despite knowing the fate that awaits.

Now, even in THE COMEY RULE, there are plenty of people who disagree with Comey at nearly every step. His wife, Patrice (Jennifer Ehle, The Looming Tower), wants him to help Hillary, as do his four daughters. (His two sons never appear nor garner a mention.) His employees, who genuinely seem to respect and care about him, also argue some of the decisions he makes. The whole miniseries is couched in Rod Rosenstein (Scoot McNairy, Halt and Catch Fire) lamenting to a subordinate that Comey didn’t have to shoot himself in the foot.

However, THE COMEY RULE asserts that Comey is right and the rest are wrong. It talks about Comey’s arrogance, but in Daniels’ performance, it feels more like heroism than ego. There is one protagonist, and this series paints him in an almost saintly light.

That isn’t the only skewed point of view. Attorney General Loretta Lynch (Michael Hyatt, Snowfall) and most of the Department of Justice are seen as ineffectual and weak, at best, incompetent at worse. On Comey’s staff, we see Peter Strzok (Steven Pasquale, Rescue Me) and Lisa Page (Oona Chaplin, Game of Thrones) sleep together (well, no sex scenes, though there’s enough to make it obvious), but none of the scandal that resulted from their relationship is shown. This doesn’t feel fair and balanced, nor very realistic to the actual events.

Of course, Donald Trump (Brendan Gleeson, Mr. Mercedes) and his henchmen come across as villainous. But honestly, how could any sane or reasonable telling of events show them any other way? That’s not a political statement, that’s just fact, given the actions taken and the words spoken, many of which have been collaborated in real life or seen in full public view. Nor does THE COMEY RULE make any excuses for them.

There is a message worth hearing in THE COMEY RULE, though, and that’s that institutions and what is right alone cannot protect us. Not now; not with the current administration. One can quibble over if Comey should have said anything about Hillary’s emails or revealed the F.B.I. was looking into connections between Trump and Russia, and those are worthwhile debates to have. But at the end of the day, Comey thought that acting in good faith and relying on the system and norms would save him, and not only was he wrong, but all of us have been living with the consequences of it. That isn’t an assertion that Comey should have or could have spared us from a Trump presidency, but more a lesson to anyone that thinks the same way he does.

November is right around the corner, and I’m glad THE COMEY RULE aired now. Even if it will only be watched by liberals (and the smart Republicans that have defected), as well that small number of independents, it’s important to hear. We can’t afford to let this go on, and Trump must be stopped. Which cannot be done without overwhelming support rising up to stop him.

The miniseries may be somewhat mediocre, despite fantastic performances by far more fine performers than those listed above. But the message is anything but.

Watch THE COMEY RULE now wherever you stream Showtime programming.

"In Case of Loss of Control," consult A Gifted Man

NOTE: "In Case of Loss of Control" is listed as episode #1.07 on both imdb.com and wikipedia.com, but aired fifth in the series. Thus, as far as continuity goes, it might seem slightly out of place.

     Last night, CBS presented "In Case of Loss of Control," the newest episode of A Gifted Man. Michael (Patrick Wilson) courts Dr. E-Mo (Eriq La Salle, ER), a neuropsychiatrist, to join his practice. Together, they examine a young girl (Samantha Futerman) who keeps lying about her habits. Meanwhile, Michael also helps out at the clinic, as they take care of a young boy who needs a kidney, but who is an illegal alien. The boy's mother, his best chance at getting said kidney, is arrested, so Zeke (Rhys Coiro, Entourage) and Kate (Rachelle Lefevre) lie to Michael to get him to help.

     Michael is finally finding a rhythm between his practice and the clinic. Now that he has agreed to help Kate out several hours a week, he seems to be getting his life back on track. In fact, Anna (Jennifer Ehle) has little to do with the path Michael goes on "In Case of Loss of Control," mostly observing what is going on, without causing any trouble. Obviously, for A Gifted Man to stay interesting, and Anna's character to continue to be valued, this cannot be the norm. But after all of the craziness of the first few episodes, it must be nice for Michael to go through his business in a regular manner.

      The relationship between Michael and Rita (Margo Martindale) is calming down, too, now that she knows he has other priorities, and is able to schedule around them. What's more, with the addition of E-Mo to the staff at the main practice, Michael is under less pressure there. He has someone competent to help him out. The two worlds may be seperate, to some degree, but they are calming down into a nice balance, at least one the practice end.

     Too bad the same can't be said for Michael's interaction with the clinic docs. Zeke and Kate deciding to lie to Michael shows that his transformation, or at least how people see him, is not complete. They worry that Michael would hang the kids out to try if he learned of his less than legal status. Given the first few episodes, had Michael known the truth, he would have protested, but done the right thing in the end. Kate might still be suspicious, and that's understandable, but Zeke has been around a little longer, and should know better by now.

     Kate wastes no time in shaking up the clinic. Securing a grant, she is able to have Anton (Pablo Schreiber) continue construction, already expanding the space. Of course, even when she runs out of money, Anton keeps working, because he's such a good guy. But the point is, Kate is barely starting out and she is already taking on a lot. It is commendable that she wants to make the clinic a better place, but shouldn't she work on fixing what she has before adding to the load? The facilities need some updating, and certainly better equipment and supplies top the list. Expanding the floor space seems silly and stupid, given the circumstances. I guess it just looks more dramatic for a television program. It's a good thing the characters are interesting enough to overlook such foolishness.

     Watch A Gifted Man Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

     If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter!

A Gifted Man might be a gift

     CBS's newest Friday night drama is A Gifted Man. The titular guy is Michael Holt (Patrick Wilson, Watchmen, Phantom of the Opera), a very talented and successful brain surgeon. Michael is visited by ex-wife, Anna (Jennifer Ehle, The King's Speech), only to learn that she died two weeks ago. Michael's sister, Christina (Julie Benz, Angel, Dexter) is excited, knowing that Michael was a better person than with Anna, and definitely buying the whole "visited by the dead" thing. Michael asks Christina's friend (Pablo Schreiber, Weeds, The Wire) to extract Anna. But as Anna pushes Michael to help those in need at her clinic, Michael decides to let her stay.
 
     A Gifted Man brings to mind the too-quickly-canceled drama Eli Stone. Both involve messages from the supernatural world pushing the main character to be a better person, even though their life is going quite well up til then. There are major differences between the two, to be sure, so this new series cannot be called a copy. But for fans still mourning the loss of Eli, this might just be the best they're going to get.

     It's not that Michael is a terrible person, exactly. He's just a bit of a jerk, and is just now realizing that maybe replacing living a life with living a career is a mistake. As such, he soon begins helping patients from Anna's clinic. To what extent Michael will go remains to be seen. He does not seem anxious to quit his own practice, probably a good thing, considering that is what is making him all the money. But maybe he can start funneling some of the profit, or his seemingly large salary, into avenues to assist the less fortunate. It's likely to be a slow process. Otherwise, A Gifted Man would be a movie instead of a television show. But there is plenty of room to grow.

     All of this means A Gifted Man will not be a standard procedural. It is on CBS, so there are sure to be elements. Michael may end up helping a new patient every week. But there are also bound to be many other elements. Considering it wasn't too long that Ghost Whisperer occupied the same slot, and it was allowed to be character driven, this bodes well for A Gifted Man.

     Wilson is a gifted actor, and handle the plot very well. Ehle doesn't seem to be as good, but perhaps the qualities that can appear weaknesses to some, will be chalked up by others as her talking from the "other side." It will be interesting to see how Schreiber's character fits into the fix, perhaps helping Anna and Michael connect and better communicate will be his mission.

     The only real regret going into this is that Margo Martindale is locked into a main character role as a secretary. Just coming off her Emmy-winning, layered performance on Justified, this definitely seems like a step backwards. Surely, her talents are far above this level. However, since only the "Pilot" had aired, it is possible that there something much deeper planned for her, as unlikely as that might seem.

     The fifth main character, Kate (Rachelle Lefevre, Off the Map, Twilight), will join the cast next week. Watch A Gifted Man Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

     If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter!