DVD/TV Series Review: Designated Survivor Season 2

 

The 22-episode second season of Designated Survivor aired during the 2017/2018 TV season. It would be the last that would air on ABC before going to Netflix for its final season. The season starts out essentially wrapping up the Patrick Loyd storyline, which ties up the original storyline of the show. The remainder of the first half of the season deals with a political scandal involving the first lady, which leads into a big cliffhanger going into the mid-season break. The second half of the season is where the show really ramps up and gets very strong. There are plotlines involving a British spy working for the Russians, a palace coup against the administration, and a hacker storyline (which actually starts out early on but keeps ramping up throughout the season. Mixed within is the same political intrigue and maneuvering that made season one enjoyable.

There was some cast turnover this year, both in terms of the main cast and guest stars. Paulo Costanzo (who was on the show Royal Pains as well as the 2000 cult comedy Road Trip, among other things) was the main addition to the main cast, coming in as Lyor Boone, an advisor to the President (and the staff). While Virginia Madsen did not reprise her role, Michael J. Fox joined the series for a multi-episode arc, as did 24 alum Kim Raver. The season ended on a pretty big cliffhanger and, of course, was promptly canceled by ABC, only to be picked up by Netflix for a final season.

The DVD set is a six-disc set. Despite Amazon's listing, there is a Region-1 Canadian DVD release that will work in US DVD players. There is also a Region-2 set that is available on Amazon UK, but others have said this listing is for a Region-1 set. I bought mine elsewhere, and it was the Region-1 Canadian version. The video transfer is okay, but definitely not a high-definition transfer. The only extra/bonus feature is a 10-minute interview with Paulo Constanzo about joining the cast. Otherwise, all you get are the episodes. No deleted scenes, commentary tracks, or behind-the-scenes material.

The show does have a bit of a different feel than season 1, which is not surprising considering season 1 was centered around unraveling a conspiracy. While the second season started out a bit slow, it definitely picked up as it went along. I cannot guarantee everyone who liked or loved season 1 will enjoy this season, but I definitely think it is worth a look and will probably be enjoyable for most if you do not bail on it early on.

DVD/TV Series Review: 24: The Complete Series

 

This is the box set of the complete original 24 series, starring Kiefer Sutherland.  The original series ran for 8 seasons, from 2001 to 2010, and had a TV movie titled Redemption, which aired between seasons 6 and 7. 24 was definitely a series that had its ups and downs. The first couple of seasons were very groundbreaking with the "real-time" format, and the fact that the series was never afraid to kill off a character. It was not quite Game-of-Thrones-like in killing off main characters, but it definitely killed off major characters throughout the series. The show was also known for its twists and turns, oftentimes revealing that a supposed good guy was a mole, double agent, or the like.  There were certainly hokey and dumb moments throughout the series, but I think on the whole the plots and the acting were very good. 

Besides Sutherland, the show had a strong ensemble cast including Mary Lynn Rajskub, Elisha Cuthbert, Sarah Clarke, Carlos Bernard, Dennis Haysbert, Reiko Aylesworth, Kim Raver, Penny Johnson Jerald, Glenn Morshower, and D.B. Woodside (among others). The show was a serial drama that you had to watch from the beginning of each season to follow along. Each "day" involved some kind of terrorist attack, which was usually a precursor to a larger attack that the counter-terrorist unit (CTU) had to stop. There was always a lot of misdirection and twists to throw off the ultimate plot, which was usually revealed in the final few episodes. And, as I said, almost no character was safe from being bumped off.

This set does not include Live Another Day (there is an updated set that does) and while some of the individual seasons are available on blu-ray, the complete series is only available on DVD. The set does include all of the bonus content that was released for the individual season sets. That includes hours of deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, commentary tracks on select episodes, and more. I definitely think the series did try to hang on too long. I think it would have stood up better if it ended after 4 or 5 seasons instead of going 8. Like many, I think that the 6th season was the weakest of the group. While seasons 7 and 8 did help the series recover (as did the mini-series, Live Another Day, which aired in 2014), I do think it was a show that would have benefited from a shorter run, especially since there was talk of a possible movie long before the series ended. Overall I think it was a well-acted, well-written series that was (especially at the beginning) very addicting. It did take a lot of suspension of disbelief and you have to be willing to accept some eye-rolling moments, but on the whole, it was a very entertaining series.

DVD/TV Series Review: Designated Survivor: Season 1

 

Designated Survivor was a show about a HUD Secretary named Tom Kirkman, played by Kiefer Sutherland, Kirkman is named the Designated Survivor (the one cabinet member that does not attend the State of the Union) and becomes President when a terrorist attack wipes out the entire government (almost) on an attack on the Capitol during the State of the Union address. 

The first season of the show intertwines two storylines. The first was trying to figure out who was behind the attack on the Capitol. The second storyline involved Kirkman figuring out how to be President, and trying to rebuild the government, as well as trying to run the country with the majority of the government gone. The two storylines largely remained parallel to each other, only intersecting at certain times. Maggie Q, arguably the second lead of the series, plays FBI agent Hannah Wells, who was the lead agent trying to figure out the conspiracy. The White House Staff included Adan Canto (playing the Chief of Staff Aaron Shore), Italia Ricci (playing Advisor Emily Rhodes), LaMonica Garret, (who played lead Secret Service Agent Mike Ritter), and Kal Penn (who played Press Secretary Seth Wright). Penn was also a consultant on the show and provided knowledge of his time working in the White House.  The rest of the cast was rounded out by character actors including Natascha McElhone as the first lady, McKenna Grace and Tanner Buchanan as Kirkman's son and daughter, Malik Yoba as FBI Deputy Director Jason Atwood, Reed Diamond as the FBI's version of the head of Internal Affairs, and Virginia Madsen as Congresswoman Virginal Hookstraten, who was the Republican Designated Survivor.

For those who get the DVD set, the 21 episodes are spread across five discs. There are only a handful of extras including the entire first speech Kirkman makes after being sworn in, a set tour hosted by LaMonica Garret, and a making-of featurette that features interviews with the cast and the showrunners.

Overall, the first season is very good, and in some ways was very prophetic in the storyline about the conspiracy to overthrow the government. Fortunately, the dipshits that tried it in real life were not as good at it as those in the series. My only real complaint about the first season is that they revealed too much too soon. Much of the conspiracy storyline is revealed by the end of the season, and I think that could have been saved a bit for season two. Otherwise, though, Sutherland does a great job as the series lead. This is really his first major role since his time as Jack Bauer ended, and it is always hard to see (and hear) him without thinking of Jack Bauer. But, he does a good job not playing the part of Kirkman as Jack Bauer as President. So, if you like political dramas with some action and suspense mixed in, this is definitely worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: 24: Live Another Day

 

Live Another Day is a limited event series/miniseries set four years after Season 8 of 24, in which Jack goes on the run to avoid the Russians for the attempted assassination of the Russian President. It is set in London, where Jack is hiding out and has been keeping tabs on President Heller after discovering a threat to his life, and on Chloe, who has joined a hacker collective. The show has only 12 episodes as opposed to the 24 it had during a good portion of its original run. Therefore, the real-time aspect of the show is mostly abandoned. The first part of the season involves the threat against Heller and heavily involved Michelle Fairley (from Game of Thrones). The second part of the season involves a plot by Cheng Zhi (again played by Tzi Ma) to bring the US and China to the brink of war. There are some cast members from the original run of the show that appear, even if only briefly, including the aforementioned Ma, Kim Raver, William Devane, and Mary Lynn Rajskub. The new cast members include Yvonne Strahovski (from Chuck and later Dexter and The Handmaid's Tale), Tate Donovan (from The OC), and Benjamin Bratt. It also includes John Boyega in one of his first roles on American TV, and a year before he appeared in The Force Awakens.

For those who get the DVD set, there are some, but not a ton, of extras. Those include a short film that serves as kind of an Epilogue to the story, deleted and extended scenes, a featurette about shooting on location in London, and a couple of other making-of featurettes. None of them are very long (mostly five minutes or less) and do not go into a ton of depth. But they are there if you want to watch them.

Overall, the series was okay but a bit pointless. It was not as good as the first couple of seasons of the show's original run. As was the case in later seasons of the main show, this one tries to get a bit too cute with the twists and turns and shocking events, and the writers kind of write themselves into a corner. They achieve the "24-hour" format by basically doing a time jump in the final episode when most everything is resolved. In ways, it ends in just as frustrating a fashion, if not moreso, than season 8 ended. I do think it is worth watching if you watched the original run of the show. Just temper your expectations because it may not be as good as you hope.

DVD Review: Designated Survivor The Complete Series

 

Designated Survivor was a show about a HUD Secretary named Tom Kirkman, played by Kiefer Sutherland in his first major role since leaving Jack Bauer behind and deciding not to continue returning to 24. He is named the Designated Survivor (the one cabinet member that does not attend the State of the Union) and becomes President when a terrorist attack wipes out the entire government (almost) on an attack on the Capitol during the State of the Union address. It aired for two seasons on ABC before it was canceled and picked up by Netflix for a third and ultimately, final season.

The first season of the show was great, intertwining two storylines. The first was trying to figure out who was behind the attack on the Capitol. The second storyline involved Kirkman figuring out how to be President, and trying to rebuild the government, and figuring out how to run the country with the majority of the government gone. The two storylines largely remained parallel to each other, only intersecting at certain times. Maggie Q, arguably the second lead of the series, played FBI agent Hannah Wells, who was the lead agent trying to figure out the conspiracy. The White House Staff included Adan Canto (playing the Chief of Staff Aaron Shore), Italia Ricci (playing Advisor Emily Rhodes), LaMonica Garret, (who played lead Secret Service Agent Mike Ritter), and Kal Penn (who played Press Secretary Seth Wright). Penn was also a consultant on the show and provided knowledge of his time working in the White House during the Obama Administration.  The rest of the cast was rounded out by character actors including Natascha McElhone as the first lady, McKenna Grace and Tanner Buchanan as Kirkman's son and daughter, Malik Yoba as FBI Deputy Director Jason Atwood, Reed Diamond as the FBI's version of the head of Internal Affairs, and Virginia Madsen as Congresswoman Virginal Hookstraten, who was the Republican Designated Survivor.

Season two jumped ahead in time one year and focused more on Kirkman trying to govern. The conspiracy from season one was wrapped up very early into season two (which I think was a mistake) and the show tried to shoehorn another conspiracy into the show that I do not think the fans were nearly as invested in. There was some cast turnover in season two (mainly additions to the cast). Paul Costanzo was brought in to play Lyor Boone, a political strategist, Zoe McLellan was added to play White House Counsel Kendra Daynes, and Breckin Meyer was added to play Tom's Brother, Trey.  Michael J. Fox also had a recurring role toward the end of the season, and Kiefer's fellow 24 alumn Kim Raver had a recurring role throughout the season. 

The third season involved another time jump. The focus of this season was the campaign and Kirkman trying to get re-elected. He is also dealing with the fallout of one of the major storylines from season two. There was a lot of cast turnover in this season both with characters leaving and the additions of Anthony Edwards (in his first major role since ER) as Chief of Staff Mars Harper and Julie White as Lorraine Zimmer, the Campaign Manager for Kirkman's election campaign. They also came up with yet another major conspiracy which somewhat bordered on the ridiculous, and was in some ways a bit prophetic given the covid outbreak. And, they definitely made good use of the ability to swear on Netflix as there were a lot of f-bombs dropped. 

For those who get the complete series DVD set, there are 15 discs overall. 6 for seasons one and two and 3 for season three. The packaging is horrible. Instead of giving each disc its own holder, you have to stack discs on top of each other, and they definitely come loose during shipping.  So, you may end up with some scratched discs so you definitely want to play them before the return window closes from wherever you buy them. As some may know, season one got a US DVD release and season two got an international DVD release. Season three had bootleg releases, but no official release until this one. Season one had all the same extras (behind-the-scenes material) as the US release. In the version of season two I had, only had an interview with Paul Constanzo which was not included in this set, but there were some other behind-the-scenes features that were not included on the set I already owned. For season three, there are no extras, just the episodes. There are English and French captions for each season, and the DVD menus are in English and French. 

Overall, I would say the series was good. Season 1 was outstanding, but the show went down in quality each successive season. I think the show would have been much better served to drag out the season one conspiracy longer (at least until the end of season two) instead of revealing it all by the end of season one. I think that made the show suffer from what a lot of shows that were tied up in a mystery faced when the mystery is solved. Namely, where to go from there. The writers definitely used events from the current political climate in the series (although there was no direct mention of t***p, you can tell that the show was in part a commentary on the state of the country under his "leadership"). I think the show was mostly well-written, and always well-acted. While it could not maintain season one's quality throughout, I think it is still worth checking out.