Customer Reviews

Commander in Chief: The Inaugural Edition - Part One

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When President Teddy Bridges (Will Lyman) has a stroke, independent Vice President Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis) finds herself being politely asked to turn in a resignation letter. After all, she was only picked to increase Bridges's support with women voters. Bridges administration personnel did not actually expect her to assume the presidency.

Instead, Allen decides that she will take the oath of office and become America's first woman president. For creator Rod Lurie, having a woman president was not enough; he wanted to examine how the chief executive of America balanced her work and family obligations.

Because this change in American women's political status also affects men, 'Commander' also examined how husband Rod Calloway (Kyle Secor) adapts to being the 'first' First Gentleman. Claiming to be comfortable, Rod subsequently expresses obvious discomfort with some aspects of his own new public image ("First...Do No Harm"). A major strength of this series was that it also gives serious airtime to the challenges a First Gentleman could face.

Rod briefly considers becoming commissioner of baseball before deciding that it would pose a conflict of interest ("First Disaster"). Later on, the Allen-Calloway marriage gets challenged when he is discovered with an intern ("The State of the Unions").

"Rubie Dubidoux and the Brown Bound Express" makes another inevitable comparison with the Clinton administration. Since he is unofficially her closest advisor, Mackenzie subsequently decides that appointing Rod to an official position only makes sense. However gender politics in 21st Century America doesn't have that decision being perceived as smoothly as this first couple would like. Is Mackenzie a strong leader or is Rod ultimately controlling her? Is this nepotisim or is he really the most qualified person for the job?

"Commander" is also special because Polly Bergen guest stars as Mackenzie's mom, Kate Allen. Bergen had ironically stared in "Kisses for my President" (1964) Hollywood's earlier take on what having a female Chief Executive would be like. That president had to resign when she got pregnant!

"The Mom Who Came to Dinner" also marks the addition of Mark-Paul Gosselaar to the cast as Richard "Dickie" McDonald, a young but very sharp media advisor

Of course having a good drama would have been remotely impossible without a good arch nemesis on hand to keep things heated up. He's still a 'Hollywood liberal' but Donald Sutherland plays conservative Republican Speaker of the House Nathan Templeton with gleeful abandon. Templeton is continually a thorn in Allen's side--he does not like her on either a political or a personal level.

10 episodes are included in this release. Extras include unaired scenes (mmm...!), an exclusive interview with Geena Davis, and insights into the show itself from the creator--replete with commentary. I am upset "Commander" has been cancelled, but am happy that it got scheduled for DVD release so soon afterward. I'll always have my memories

First you have ABC doing everything in it's power to sink the show, which came out with very strong ratings the first weeks it aired. From changing nights, unannounced, to skipping weeks, to caving into crybabies about Maryland crime, (where I happen to live) to showing it on-line for free. Now they delay the release date until September. I'm going to buy the series. I thought it was great and should have had a better network running it then ABC. I just sorry they didn't have more episodes filmed. I'd buy them also. Now I know why I never watch network TV anymore.

Commander in Chief is absolutely one of the best television shows recently released, even if it was short-lived. Geena Davis is a superb actresses who brings a great passion and elan to the series. The rest of the cast is also impressive, all operating together with an efficiency and smoothness present in every scene, every frame. This disc set is worth every dime, and I certainly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the conflict between morality and politics. Mackenzie Allen is a character who is determined to stand up for what she believes in, and that makes her rare and courageous. This show is truly delicious--relish every moment!

this is a nice family drama. it has geena davis starring as the first female president. it details her troubles as those around her are opposed to her being president, the problems her husband has as being the first gentleman, and her role also as a mother who is often not around with the 3 kids as much as she would like. i can think of no one more suitable to play the antagonist than donald sutherland(okay maybe ricardo montablan). he does a superb job as the chief of staff(who would be next in line if she had resigned in the beginning. it is a shame that this show will not be on for any more seasons. maybe abc will change it's mind. i think they need a fresh writer(some of the later episodes got to be stale) but if they can keep the west wing on for so many years, this should have been on for at least 7

"Commander in chief" is a tv series I love, and that unfortunately has been cancelled by a network that couldn't see a little beyond ranking and that didn't give this show a fair opportunity to shine. I hope it gets aired again, but just in case it doesn't, I think that purchasing this dvd is a good idea in order to be able to remember the "good old times" :)

For those not fortunate enough to have seen this show, "Commander in chief" is a political drama that has a bit of comedy, a great cast of actors and a good plot. It is based on an interesting premise: what would happen if, due to unforeseen circumstances, a woman were to be president of the United Stated. That is what happens to Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis),that becomes president after President Teddy Bridges (Will Lyman) dies. Without political support of her own, she will have to learn how to survive Washington politics and balance her time-consuming new position with her family. Not an easy job, but something that is quite entertaining to watch!

All in all, I can say that I love this show, and that I can recommend it to you. If you are not sure you will like a show more or less centered on politics, rent this dvd instead of purchasing it, but don't miss the opportunity of watching "Commander in chief".

Belen Alcat

"Commander in Chief" is well worth a watch. It's a show about the first women president and Geena Davis gives an award winning performance! Donald Sutherland's acting is truly amazing in his steps to overthrow Davis in the role of presidency. This is one of the first political shows that in my opinion is exciting, humerous at times, and dramatic. Commander in Chief displays all elements of a great show. This is an extremely suspenceful show that will keep the viewer on the edge of their seat. There is never a dull moment and after watching one episode you will be hooked! I urge everyone to watch this show, you will highly enjoy it!!!

It's hardly likely to elicit any argument if I note that "Commander in Chief was deliberately planted in ground already prepared by "West Wing". Unfortunately it was only a good show, not a great one. It was certainly better than to numerous dreary sitcoms infesting the small screen these days, not to mention the even drearier "reality" (there's a laugh!) shows, and the utterly drearier quiz and contest shows. In the end, however, even the considerable presence of Geena Davis and the brilliant (but challenged) malevolence of Donald Sutherland couldn't save the series. "Commander in Chief" disappeared in mid-1st season, after 18 episodes.

The premise of "Commander in Chief" is this: a Republican candidate for President chooses a progressive Independent woman (Mackenzie Allen) to be his Vice President - in order, as one character puts it, "to get the soccer mom vote". Vigorous and athletic, he gets his just desserts in the form of a massive heart attack. On his deathbed he orders her to resign so that the terminally ambitious Speaker of the House, Nathan Templeton. She agrees, but ultimately rejects this course and takes the oath of office. Allen and Templeton are of course Davis and Sutherland, and their struggle for power forms the core of the series. Although every episode or couple of episodes contain one or more subplots, everything relates to the Allen-Templeton feud - and this makes the series fundamentally a soap opera. It's a very high-tone soap opera, but still ... .

Allen brings into the Residence with her a husband, Rod Calloway, and 3 children: teenage fraternal twins (boy and girl) and a much younger daughter. They are played by decent, but not well-known, actors. She also inherits the former President's cabinet and staff. Among the latter is the Chief of Staff, Jim Gardner, played with effective gravitas by the very talented Harry Lennix.

The series proceeds with President Allen dealing doggedly with one crisis after another - international, domestic, administrative, whatever. Templeton (the name of the rat in "Charlotte's Web", by the way) is always lurking, trying to sabotage Allen's efforts, or to take advantage of her difficulties, or at the very least to gloat - and all this despite her repeated demonstrations of kindness and good will toward him (which seem to touch him at the time). In spite of seemingly intractable difficulties, Allen always seems to choose the road less traveled and wins through.

And that is the real difficulty of this fine but flawed series. Although the various crises differ in detail, the basic plot outlines are very much the same. She is such an honest, well-meaning goody-goody, so enthused about doing right, that the palm of victory seems virtually to drop in her lap, willy-nilly. We don't expect these astounding successes at the beginning, but after a half-dozen or so episodes we simply expect them.

Overall, "Commander in Chief" is an interesting diversion, and it's not half-bad - and, as I said, better than so much else. But alas, it's not a patch on the sophistication, complexity, and sheer brilliance of its inspiration, "West Wing".

I missed Commander In Chief when it was on the air last year. I did, however, just purchase the entire 18-episodes of the series on two different DVD sets. The show turned out to be so good that I watched all the episodes in just two days. Now, I'm having a hard time understanding why ABC cancelled this great series, especially since there's a chance that we may very well elect a female President in 2008. I was truly captivated by Geena Davis's performance as Mackenzie Allen in this series. She was smart, strong when necessary, compassionate, politically wise, and had the hottest legs of any President that I've seen. The series not only showed the tremendous amount of stress that a President is constantly under with hundreds of decisions needing to be made every week, but also the back-stabbing that goes on continuously in Washington, D.C. and how difficult it is to get anything worthwhile done. There's also the stress on the President's family and how they manage to cope with being under the spotlight each and everyday with the media just waiting for something to pound them with. The acting in this series by everyone is excellent. Kyle Secor as Rod Calloway (the President's husband) does a marvelous job of demonstrating how hard it is to be the First Gentleman and the ridicule that he has to deal with. Polly Bergen does a fine job of playing the President's mother. Donald Sutherland, however, often steals the show as the cunning Speaker of the House, Nathan Templeton, who desires to be the President. He admires President Allen for her stead-fast principles, while seeing them as a weakness on her part and using that to his own advantage. What makes Sutherland's role so tasty is that the character of Templeton actually believes that he's doing the right thing! Another strong role is that of the Chief of Staff, Jim Gardiner, who's played by Harry Lennix. He's had the hard job of dealing with the death of his former boss and then adapting to the new President, a woman that almost no one wanted to see in that position. Peter Coyote starred in several episodes as the appointed Vice President under Mackenzie Allen. I hated to see him leave the show. Retired Army Captain, Dale Dye, has also been in a number of shows where the military has been called upon to rescue the crew of a damaged submarine and to set up the rescue of American hostages being held by terrorists. The children in the show do a fine job of rebelling against their parents and getting themselves into situations that bring negative publicity onto the President. All in all, I believe that Commander In Chief was one of the best series ever on television, and I'm sorry that there won't be any other shows to watch in the future. I believe that if ABC had given this series one more season that it would've turned into a blockbuster for them. After all, Geena Davis did win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a television drama just as it was announced that the show was being cancelled. Highly recommended to those who love well-acted dramas about politics and the Washington scene.

What WERE the network execs thinking of???! I have to admit that I seldom watch any series on television as I have such an erratic schedule, but this one was definitely a keeper. Ironically, I've had this set since March and just now watched it and afterwards - I couldn't believe that I had waited so long.

I LOVED this series. I've always thought that Gena Davis was a pretty good actress in various movies. After watching this series (for which she won a Golden Globe award) - I am AMAZED at her acting abilities. She managed to take lines that could have been delivered in such a trite manner and absolutely TRANSFORM them. The series was just brilliant. The cast (esp. Donald Sutherland) was magnificent as well.

You will NOT go wrong in ordering this series. I've already passed it along to several in my family....with the strict understanding that I want it returned. It is worth watching again and again. And to the network executives: You absolutely blew it with canceling this series. It was one of the best series that I've seen.

Another great series that didn't make it through the first season in its entirety. Apparently political dramas can't succeed unless they are left-leaning like West Wing. Reminds me of a series (1/2 season) a few years ago about the Supreme Court, First Monday in October or something similar that I loved but disappeared, newver to return. TV networks don't seem to understand or care that many viewers are starved for quality dramas and are sick of all the nonsensical reality shows that now overrun the tube. Geena Davis and the entire cast were superb.