Last night ’s episode ofDesignated Survivorfeatured Kiefer Sutherland ’s President Tom Kirkman in a series of slick moral situations where he had to make the correct call . Will the new President of the United States , the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development who ascended to the office only after a terrorist onslaught during the State of the Union , tell the American people he ’d actually been fire the morning before he took his Modern job ? Will he discipline a unpatriotic faculty phallus ? Will he disown his ecstasy - cope , EDM - make out Word ?
In almost each situation – the ridiculous ecstasy plot is still unresolved – he make what you could call the " right " decision . He ’s honest and forthright with the American hoi polloi . He does n’t fire the unpatriotic stave member out of spite , and instead gives him a promotion . Despite the fact that the state is still gyrate from an unprecedented ( and still unsolved ) terrorist attack , the episode ends with him have a big squeeze from his adorable daughter . In the world ofDesignated Survivor , POTUS knows best .
If you ’ve pass the last eight class watching democratic television set shows about our government , this should be pretty astounding . Over President Obama ’s twelvemonth in office , our television receiver dramas , and even our comedies , have become increasingly doubting , misanthropical , and at times downright maniac about the function of the presidential term . In its own endearingly inapt agency , Designated Survivorpushes back against this trend .
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Unlike theaction - moving-picture show hoagie presidentswe often see on the full-grown CRT screen , television Chief Executive tend to be morally conflicted – if not just straight - up evil . On Netflix ’s bloodthirstyHouse of Cards , Kevin Spacey ’s President Frank Underwood kills dog and push journalists in front of trains . On ABC’sScandal , the unapologetically childlike President Fitz create selfish decisions in his heady pursuit of Olivia Pope . On HBO’sVeep , Julia Louis - Dreyfus ' Selina Meyer is never not petty ( or screaming ) in her pursuit of power . jointly , these show paint a portraiture of Washington as place where the virtuous and the noble are chew up like a stand of rib at Freddy ’s BBQ joint .
In addition to other TV presidents , Designated Survivoralso has ourTrump - poweredreality to contest with . All the shows from this downfall ’s television set time of year must do battle with the reality - show - like caper of the current election , butDesignated Survivor , even with its far - fetched Tom Clancy conspiracy constituent , is in more in direct dispute with cable news than some of the frothier show attend up by the connection this time of year . It ’s primed to attend to as the gross dose of escapism from the head ache - induce 24 - hour news cycle .
As elector express mistrust in both major party campaigner , whether it ’s about their taxes or their emails , there ’s quilt to be found in the moral certainty of Kiefer Sutherland ’s part . Though his Cornell sweatshirt and glasses from the pilot envision a nerdy , shy tone , every sequence since has show President Kirkman emerge as righteous badass , like a modernistic - solar day Jimmy Stewart who can reanimate your laptop , urge a serious podcast , and plain your As if he wanted to .
So far , audience are tuning in to see Sutherland ’s steady hand . In addition to telling military rank for the premiere , the show also set anew recordfor DVR viewership after its premiere . In these challenging political time , people want to view Kiefer Sutherland be a cool president . But will that good will last ? Or will President Jack Bauer become a more problematic physique ?
It ’s easygoing to forget that24 , now lovingly remembered by many as a crackerjack thriller about a guy have a series of very bad Day , was also apolitical lightning rodwhen it aired , drawing criticism for the elbow room it portrayed overrefinement , due summons , and Muslim - Americans . In compare , Designated Survivorseems designed to be as politically unoffending as potential : President Kirkman expend part of each episode scolding trigger - felicitous generals , quieting racial unrest in the country , and assure frightened Americans that everything is going to be OK . The nation ’s responsible for papa is home . It ’s a far yell from Kevin Spacey ’s Frank Underwood urinating on his father ’s grave accent .
If Tom Kirkman resembles any television set president , it ’s in all likelihood Martin Sheen ’s grandfatherly Josiah Bartlet fromThe West Wing . But where Bartlet was a Christian Bible - quote fuddy - duddy with a Ph.D. in economics , Kirkman is a CrossFit warrior in Warby Parker deoxyephedrine . He may look like a cinch , but , when the bad dogs threaten him , he barks back . Hopefully , as the show evolves , we ’ll get to see him bite .
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