Posted on 01/24/2006 10:24:34 AM PST by SmithL
HOLLYWOOD - OK, so it's not 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but still, when you step into the replicated Oval Office on the set of "Commander in Chief," you can't help but feel, well, a little presidential.
"Where's the red phone? I want to start a nuclear war," blurts a playfully demented TV critic as he plops into the blue leather chair behind an ornate mahogany desk. Um, OK ... so there's one guy I won't be voting for in 2008.
Recently, some journalists were allowed to check out the massive soundstage during television's annual winter press tour, and the how-cool-is-this factor was pretty much off the charts. Even statuesque actress Geena Davis, who soaks up this environment on a daily basis, admits the power trip never gets old.
"It's really fun to have the generals snap to attention and Secret Service guys following you around," says the woman who just last week accepted a Golden Globe for her portrayal of MacKenzie Allen, the first woman president of the United States.
Her fellow cast members second that emotion.
"None of my friends have ever wanted to come visit me at work in the 10 years I've been (acting)," says Ever Carradine, who plays the president's press secretary. "But now everybody wants to come by to visit and take a picture behind the desk in the Oval Office. ... I still get goose bumps."
But just how long will the goose bumps last? When "Commander in Chief" (9 p.m. tonight, Channels 7 and 10) debuted on ABC last September, it attracted more than 16 million viewers -- the biggest audience for a Tuesday drama on any network in five years, and it looked like the network that gave us "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" had another plus-size hit on its hands.
But as the season progressed, ratings steadily sagged and, following an unplanned hiatus, the show recently delivered only 11.4 million viewers -- its lowest total yet. Suddenly, industry publications are running stories about how "Commander" is "faltering in the polls" and speculation is swirling over its chances of being renewed for next season.
It probably didn't help matters that "Commander" endured a first-term regime change. Early in the season, ABC dumped the show's creator, Rod Lurie, reportedly for continual production delays, and replaced him with veteran producer Steven Bochco ("NYPD Blue"). The changeover led to production being shut down for three weeks in November and a six-week break from original episodes.
Although Davis insists the transition "couldn't have gone better," there's little doubt that the show lost some momentum when it left the air and left viewers in the lurch.
"It's obviously difficult when you go down for a while ... because people get distracted by other things, understandably," Bochco says. "Plus, Tuesday night is arguably the most competitive night on television. It's a very difficult time slot under the best of circumstances."
Upon taking over, Bochco brought in new writers and infused the cast with more characters. Mark-Paul Gosselaar was hired to play a presidential adviser, and Polly Bergen signed on to play Allen's mother.
"I thought it was a wonderful idea to have the president's mom there," Bochco says. "It's interesting to have a family dynamic where you have three or four generations of family members living under one roof. And, of course, here the roof happens to be the White House. So that's an extremely interesting environment in which to see the president of the United States, who suddenly and periodically is Mommy's little girl. It's a wonderful sort of tension in the same way that she's a wife and a mother."
Even without the production delays and regime change, it probably never was a sure bet that "Commander," with its delicate blend of politics and family drama, had staying power. Yes, it got off to a great start, but much of that undoubtedly was attributable to the novel concept, a big-name cast (Davis and Donald Sutherland) and aggressive marketing by ABC. But truth be told, the show often felt uneven and overly simplistic.
Bochco, who has always been associated with edgier fare, now finds himself walking a fine line: How do you give a show more political grit and bite without losing the family dynamic and/or alienating the fans who embraced the series in the first place?
And then there's the potential problem of demographics. Networks and advertisers crave younger viewers, but "Commander," like that other White House drama -- "The West Wing" -- tends to skew older.
"This is a mature concept with mature characters and you just have to embrace that," Bochco said. "And (although) there are some younger people in the White House and kids in the first family, you can't let that tail wag the dog."
That said, Bochco did reveal that a juicy upcoming plot thread will be directly tied to President Allen's teen son, Horace (Matt Lanter). "He gets a girl pregnant and clearly that's going to plunge us into a story about the kids and the family and all the ripples that flow from that," he said.
Whether the show will be given enough time to thoroughly explore all those ripples remains to be seen. ABC obviously hopes it can get some mileage out of Davis' Golden Globe win and get many viewers to return.
No matter what happens, though, it has been an amazing year for Davis, who admitted that not since "Thelma & Louise" has she had a role that has seeped into the public consciousness as much as this one.
"There's a big difference now in not only the number of people who approach me, but what they say and seem to feel," she said. "There's something extra with it. They feel engaged and passionate about the show. And women, particularly, will often say something like, 'Thank you,' and 'This is really important what you're doing.'"
I predicted Hillary's TV program wouldn't last.
Looking forward to news about this propaganda being pulled from the airwaves.
Talk about living in a land of make-believe!
If ABC cancels it, NBC will pick up up, and retitle it "The Book of McKenzie"
So I did some searching and found that Sutherland is/was connected with Peter Grunwald.
Peter...Well' he's the brother of Mandy Grunwald, Hillary's best friend and media advisor.
To make matters "better"...Mandy is married to Matt Cooper..the "Roving" reporter who outed Plame.
Even better:
Cast Dan Rather and Michael Moore into the program as two bumbling sychophants.
Won't star power bring it better ratings?
Understood.
I like Sutherland's films (my favorites including the WW2 stories such as The Eagle Has Landed).
What is laughable is how the producers denied that this program is not a vehicle to promote Hillary.
With such shameless lies from the left, it is no wonder why their ratings are in the toilet.
Burn, baby, burn.
"and the how-cool-is-this factor was pretty much off the charts.."
How old are these tv critics?
"It's obviously difficult when you go down for a while..."
File that under lessons learned in the oval office...
There. fixed it.
Good.
She got a golden globe?? what, do they give these to the worst shows and actors?
The Golden Globes, Emmy Awards, Academy Awards, etc., are all just opportunities for leftists to reward other leftists for being leftists.
BINGO!!!!
Gotta disagree with you on one point: Reese Witherspoon winning a Golden Globe for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line, easily the best movie of the year.
If Reese is anti-war, I haven't heard it.
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