Most helpful customer reviews
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4.0 out of 5 stars
"What a town. You can't even trust the backstabbers", Jan 8 2007
"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
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3.0 out of 5 stars
A timely idea for a series destroyed by unnecessary complications, Jul 14 2006
The first thing that needs to be said is that it is bad enough that there are only ten of the eighteen episodes that make up the complete run of "Commander In Chief" contained in "The Inaugural Edition, Part 1." But that tenth episode, "Sub Enchanted Evening," is the first of a two-part story that is concluded in Episode 11, "No Nukes Is Good Nukes," which will be available in Part 2. We are used to cliffhangers coming at the end of a season and therefore in the last episode of a complete season, but as the last episode of an arbitrary stopping point? There are eighteen episodes, you can do nine and nine to avoid this problem, but I think it is just a stupid marketing ploy. This is strange given that these DVDs have the worst cover art for a current (or recently cancelled) television series I have ever seen. Oh, and while I am at it, Mackenzie Allen did not have an inaugural. She was at one, before the series started when she was sworn in as vice president, but you do not get one when you assume the duties of the chief executive when the president dies. You lose double points for being cute when you get it wrong like this.
The point of "Commander in Chief" is to tell the story of the first woman president of the United States. Her resume is that she was a prosecutor, elected to the U.S. Congress twice as an independent from Connecticut (they have had an independent Senator), and then Chancellor of the University of Richmond (Go Spiders!). When Republican Vice President Teddy Bridges runs for president, he gets her to be his running mate. If this seems like a weird political ploy, for the Republican nominee to pick a less conservative woman as his running mate, then you should know the Democratic nominee picked a more conservative man, a general no less, to be his running mate. In the "Pilot" episode, a dying Bridges wants Allen to resign so that Speaker of the House Nathan Templeton (Donald Sutherland) can become president. If she agrees, then there is no show. There is a show, just not a very good one.
The show's premise is that we get the first woman president when a woman becomes vice president and the president dies in office. Fair enough. That was how we got the youngest president in the nation's history, Theodore Roosevelt. But creator Rob Lurie wants to stack the deck against Mackenzie Allen. Since she is an independent, she has no party support when she decides to take the oath of office. Templeton and the rest of Bridge's staff are worried what the rest of the world will think if a woman becomes president, as opposed to worrying what the rest of the world will think when we change the rules to avoid having a woman become president. Once she is in the Oval Office she has people on her staff betraying her and everybody else in the government out to get her or get in her way.
Fortunately, there is nothing wrong with Geena Davis' performance as President Allen. She acts presidential, she is a lot smarter than anybody gives her credit for being, and she is committed to doing the right thing. She is also a bit of an idealist, which is arguably the most unrealistic aspect of the character. The problem is the Templeton character, who is out to destroy the president, as if he can do that without harming the country (think the My Lai mentality where you destroy something in order to save it). Templeton thinks himself a great statesman, but he is closer to Willie Stark as opposed to any contemporary politician. The last time I saw a Republican portrayed as being this unconscionable on television it was a made for television about Joseph McCarthy, "Tailgunner Joe."
I admit I watched this show each week just to see how it would tick me off. I think politicians are more incompetent than they are corrupt, but "Commander-in-Chief" is dedicated to the reverse proposition. Every week Templeton would try to take down the president while sanctimoniously declaring he was doing it for the good of the country. The fault is not in Sutherland's performance, but in the writing that insists on sticking to the same basic formula as each episode Allen proves her moral and political superiority over Templeton. However, this is unnecessary. Selecting a vice president or National Security Advisor, dealing with the death of DEA agents in Latin America, hosting a summit for the Russian president, and handling a hurricane or a damaged submarine are all dramatically interesting without going round and round with Templeton each week.
There are some good points to the show, so it is not all painful. Harry J. Lennix as Jim Gardner always seems like the smartest person in the room and a decent Chief of Staff who does his job when others are playing politics. Having Polly Bergen, who played the first woman president in a movie way back in 1964 with "Kisses for My President" playing Mac's mom Kate was a nice touch. Attention is paid to the three kids who suddenly find themselves part of the First Family, but if some guy starts boasting about sleeping with the President's daughter that the Secret Service would at least take him in for questioning, even if he is not lying about it. Then there is whole uproar over what influence the First Gentleman, Rob Calloway (Kyle Secor), might have on his wife. He was her Chief of Staff as vice president and attorney general of Connecticut at some point and if he has some sort of official position in her White House the world comes to an end? Give me a break. Wait a minute, they already did that with this DVD set. Just another thing to be ticked off about with this late and semi-lamented show.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This FANTASTIC Show was CANCELED....,, Nov 2 2007
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.
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