The First Season, Volume 1

The concept of television drama Commander in Chief is revolutionary. First of all, the main character is the first woman to be elected into the position as Vice President of the United States of America. After two years in office, she is the first woman in history to become the President of the United States of America. The television series details the drama that surrounds the first female president in office as she manages her presidential duties and repeated political attacks by the Speaker of the House. The series also includes substantial focus on the president's home life and the family as they adjust to their new stations in life.

Commander in Chief first aired in fall of 2005 and it ended in 2006 with only eighteen episodes. The headlining actress Geena Davis won a Golden Globe award for a best actress in a television drama. However, despite her award, the series did not succeed. In its initial stages, the series had a promising outlook. Early into the season creator Rod Lurie was taken off the show and replaced by Steve Bochco. Apparently, ABC did not agree with the direction Lurie wanted for the series. In the end, Commander in Chief found its viewer-base slowly disappearing and eventually ABC pulled the plug.

Headlining the cast is Geena Davis as Mackenzie "Mac" Allen. Mac is a strong woman who had a successful career as a United States Attorney and two terms in congress. She was asked by former president Teddy Bridges to be his running mate as vice president. The First Gentleman is Rod Calloway (Kyle Secor), who acted as Mac's chief of staff when she was vice president. He was also the Attorney General of Connecticut and served in the United States Army. Mac and Rod have twins Horace (Matt Lanter) and Rebecca (Caitlin Wachs), and daughter Amy (Jasmine Jessica Anthony).

Jim Gardner (Harry J. Lennix) served as Bridges' chief of staff and continued in the position when Mac took office. Kelly Ludlow (Ever Carradine) was Mac's speech writer and took on the position as press secretary when Mac became president. Vince Taylor (Anothing Azizi) is special aide to the president. Richard McDonald (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) joins the cast midseason as the campaign advisor. Warren Keaton (Peter Coyote) serves as Mac's vice president. He was also her adversary when she initially campaigned. Nathan Templeton (Donald Sutherland) is the Speaker of the House and Mac's biggest opponent. He is threatened by Mac and wants to ensure her downfall while trying to maintain the best interests of the United States. Jayne Murray (Natasha Henstridge) is Templeton's chief of staff.

Of these characters, I wasn't fond of too many of them. Davis gave a great performance as the president, but I felt the content and dialogue minimized her true potential to make her character or the series great. I also enjoyed having Secor on cast, but I would have liked to see his character play a bigger role. Sutherland was my favorite character. He was fantastic in his role and really gave his character heart. The others I was not very impressed with. Most of them I felt contributed very little to the overall plotlines and failed to be convincing in their roles.

The series begins with the pilot episode entitled "Pilot". In it, Mac is asked by the dying President Teddy Bridges to resign from office so that Speaker of the House can assume presidency. Bridges, along with many other politicians, fear Mac does not have what to takes to be president. Her position as vice president was more for appearance and votes than anything else. Mac is then forced with the decision as to whether or not to resign. In the end, she does what she thinks is best of the United State of America, which is to the oath and be the president.

The next six episodes focus on Mac getting accustomed to her new role as president, as well as her staff and family. During these times, she undergoes varies "firsts" in her political career. In "First Choice", Mac and her staff deal with their political opponents in trying to find the best person to serve as vice president. In "First Strike", Mac has to deal with her first international crisis. Nine DEA agents were murdered in Central America while investigating drug trafficking. In order to bring their killers to justice, Mac has to make a decision that would destroy the economy of an entire country. In "First Dance", Mac has her first state dinner with the Russian president. It is a big event for Mac's administration and Templeton tries to steal the spotlight from it.

In "First... Do No Harm", Mac learns about a threatening terrorist attack against a few elementary schools across the country when a terrorist is caught on the Canadian border. Mac faces her first terrorist attack and must take action that goes against every moral fiber in her body. In "First Disaster", Mac has to deal with the first devastating natural disaster. A hurricane hits Florida and leaves thousands without homes. The situation escalates when Mac learns of a damaged oil taker off the coast of Florida and the governor does everything in her power to stop Mac from attempting to bring the ship into port. In "First Scandal", an informant in the White House provided far too much information to outside sources and a book was published revealing various truths such as Bridges asking Mac to resign. It puts Mac in a terrible eye with the public, as some feel she should have resigned at the request of her president.

The additional episodes included in this set are "Rubie Dubidoux and the Brown Bound Express", where Mac determines a direction for her administration, "The Mom Who Came to Dinner", Mac faces with an economical collapse in her home state and whether or not to save someone on death row, and "Sub Enchanted Evening", which is the first of a two-part episode where an American submarine goes down in North Korean waters.

Throughout these episodes, her family struggles with their own problems. Rod feels neglected as the First Gentleman and considers taking a job as the Baltimore baseball commissioner. Eventually he finds a satisfying place in Mac's administration as strategic planning advisor. The position, however, cuts into Jim's duties and the two butt heads over it. Rebecca tries to handle suddenly being in the spotlight and the difficulty it poses on her private life (dating boys in particular). She gets very whiny and annoying. Horace enjoys the newfound attention and struggles to keep up in school. The staff has their own problems. Vince is a homosexual with HIV and worries someone will find out. He wants to keep it a secret because he believes it is his business and his business only. While I think it is an important issue (personal privacy), the way the issue is portrayed seems so minimized, partly because it is coming from Vince, who is a very weak character. Kelly struggles in the early episodes with her new position, because her peers do not feel she is qualified for the job. Meanwhile, Templeton tries his best to make Mac look bad while keeping the United States' best interests at hand.

Overall, my impressions about the series are not great. To summarize, I would say Commander in Chief is intriguing, but lacks any real convincing material. Moreover, the characters are not always convincing and the plotlines pale in comparison to flagship drama The West Wing. Perhaps part of my problem is comparing Commander in Chief to The West Wing, but the fact of the matter is that The West Wing set a high bar for political dramas and Commander in Chief does not even come close. Commander in Chief tends to be very family-oriented and always ends with a happy story. It fails to show the nitty-gritty hardships of running of country. In the end, Commander in Chief makes for a decent watch, but has very little to keep you coming back for more.

Episode Guide
1. Pilot
2. First Choice
3. First Strike
4. First Dance
5. First... Do No Harm
6. First Disaster
7. First Scandal
8. Rubie Dubidoux and the Brown Bound Express
9. The Mom Who Came to Dinner
10. Sub Enchanted Evening

The DVD

Video:
The video in this release is given in an anamorphic 1.78:1 ratio widescreen color format. The picture quality is quite good. It suffers from a slight grain, but detail remains to be sharp and clear. However, there are moments when the picture suffers compression artifacts and hints of edge enhancement. This is most noticeable during the darker scenes. Overall it is a great looking picture.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is in English 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound. The 5.1 track is dynamic and makes decent use of the surround sound capability. In general, the sound quality is very good and it provides an audible and clean track. The dialogue is usually a little flat while music and sound effects come off rich and vibrant.

Extras:
There are no extras included in this DVD set.

Final Thoughts:
Commander in Chief presents a revolutionary idea in the form of a television drama, a female president. The series details what life is like in the White House for the first female president, her family, and her staff, as well as the internal politics that follow from a disgruntled Speaker of the House. The concept is intriguing, but the television series fails to obtain greatness. The problem is how the series is approached. The tone is very family-oriented and in many cases it minimizes the characters and plotlines to turn Commander in Chief into a feel good show about the right moral values (which aren't always right). In the end, I felt the series had promise, but did not quite deliver a compelling level of drama. The series should make for an intriguing first watch, but I doubt it will pull you in and leave you wanting more.