Designated Survivor
I recently binge-watched most of the last year and a half of Designated Survivor, which ran for two seasons, but seemed more like four half-seasons. Each midseason break had its own cliffhanger or shocking twist, and after its hiatus, the show seemed to move in a different direction, cleaning up the bits it left behind. So, yes, it sometimes seemed that the writers were making it up as they went along, but I could more gracefully call it "responding to viewer feedback". If it were the latter, it didn't help much.
The premise of the show was fair enough, but it didn't allow itself to continue for the long term. Keifer Sutherland is Tom Kirkman, the HUD Secretary, who is left out of a State of the Union address (for some reason, given in September) as the "Designated Survivor". For reasons similar as to why the President and V.P. don't travel together, there is always a member of the line of presidential succession who does not attend SOTU addresses, and Kirkman is selected to sit this out.
And then the unspeakable happens. There is an attack on the government of the United States, which kills everyone in the Capitol. Kirkman, the lone survivor, is now president of the United States.
The sudden elevation to power is something one needs to get used to, and something others can take advantage of. There is now a national crises, given that not only the President and his Cabinet, but nearly the entire Legislature and the Supreme Court have been wiped out. There is some push-back against the new, unelected President, who apparently, as it's leaked, was left out of the SOTU because the president had the least confidence in him. Governors may try to assert their influence and even the National Guard presents problems.
So here is the plot of the first season: getting the government and the country up and running again, and finding the people responsible -- and not taking the easy answers at face value.
And then what?
By the end of the first season (which doesn't correspond to either Election Day nor the date for swearing in the new Congress), the government is running. Culprits are identified, caught or killed (though nefarious plans are still in play). Congress has elected new Representatives and governors have appointed new Senators. Since politically, people don't leave office in May or June, creative reasons need to be written for character exits. The House Speaker, a fellow survivor, having not attended SOTU, feels the heat from all the new representatives, who are trying to push her out. Kirkman finds a graceful way for her to leave Congress -- except it doesn't explain why the actress or the character don't ever appear in Season 2 (unless I blinked and missed it).
So really, but the last half of Season two, it's just another West Wing drama, featuring a capable president and his capable staff trying to navigate political minefields. So much so that Michael J. Fox is brought in for stunt casting for the last five episodes of the show.
Some people might've been upset by its cancellation, but it was time. It had run its course. If anything, they could have spun-off my favorite character, FBI Agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q), who after solving the plot in season 1 needed a reason to be involved with the White House staff in Season 2. It would have made sense to write her out ... except that she was the best character on the show, or second best, if you're a Sutherland fan.
Worth binge-watching, but ignore the last five minutes, which were supposed to set up plots for season three, and which make absolutely no sense, including one character's inexplicable Heel-Turn.
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