DESIGNATED SURVIVOR

Like a lot of people I rarely watch network TV these days. But I decided to tune in to ABC's premiere of DESIGNATED SURVIVOR because I misread the creator's name and thought it was someone I knew. In fact it's mostly produced by people in the action and super hero movie lane. And the show has a lot of that lack-of-nuance feel those genres are known for.

As you probably know it's about a low level cabinet member being the only survivor after the Capitol building is blown up during a State of the Union address, and so he ends up president. Kiefer Sutherland plays the main character and doesn't exactly fit the guy's back story (more or less wonky professor) but as usual works best when taking charge, which as viewers and citizens is what we want to see.

I'll probably watch it again just to see what the writers do with the plot and to watch Sutherland grow into presidential authority and take rogue generals in hand etc. But maybe not.

[PS: it would have been so much more interesting, and challenging, if the fictional cabinet member chosen to be designated survivor were a woman, or an Asian-American, or Latina-American, or disabled etc....though a lot of those categories are present in the subplot involving the FBI, which is eye opening since the FBI was the last government agency to not be exclusively white male etc.]