Terrific show, right up there with 'The Good Wife' in terms of a female driven drama and so completely refreshing after the aplha-male posturing of 'The West Wing'. This show - sadly dismissed after only one series - gives insight in the challenges of an indepenent President (never mind that she's female) and also the difficulties of that 21st century problem, the work-life balance!
The eighteen episodes whip along at a fairly quick pace, with alot being drummed out of the 45m inute slots, so viewer beware - you may have to pause and rewind at times to ensure that you've understood the episode challenge! The acting, from a star cast, is terrific and the 'pop up' appearance of so many guest stars is great (Peter Coyote, Polly Bergan...).
Of course, there are frustrations and I will highlight the two that I feel do the show the most injustice -
1) Geena Davis (although enjoyable to watch in the lead role of Commander In Chief) is too ballsy and, well, masculine. The casting age range of the female President is perfect, but I wonder if a softer, more femine actress in the lead(think Anne Archer or Sally Field) would have engaged more?
2) The guy playing the First Gentleman is to small, skinny, wimpy and whiney, when compared to Davis' (who towers over him in every scene) and was clearly a casting error and, one that ultimately makes the central relationship unbelievable.
Donald Sutherland is great as the Speaker of The House and nemisis of the President, although his constant, thrawted attempts to undermine her presidency become tiresome; as does the theme of 'good v evil' in self-corrupting politics.
That said, I cannot highly rate this show enough. Its dynamic, fluid storytelling is its core, but coupled with a strong cast and great script, I'm truly surprised that this show failed whereas 'The West Wing' succeeded. Who can understand the viewer tastes of the good ol' U S of A, eh?
