Other Characters Besides Elizabeth & iCandy

[candall]

We need a place to admire Bebe and throw shade on Stevie.  I'll start.

 

The whole storyline with Stevie's anti-college stance strains credibility, and my blood pressure.

 

She bumped into "High school diploma?  Thanks for coming in" right off the bat, but that wakeup call went unheard.  Then she lucked into the hostess job--instead of the server job, where she could have hefted fifty pound trays all day. 

 

But she didn't care for that, and now her parents are thrilled because the little snot is going to let them pay Georgetown tuition so she can hang out and answer phone calls in French as an unpaid intern at Microloans?  I've seen people mention this as an example of Stevie finally showing some maturity.  Gah.

 

Send her to her union leader grandfather so she can work the line for a year.

 

 

[betsyboo]

Did Bess inherit Blake? Or bring him with her from academia.

[kwnyc]

He's "hers" but I'm not sure where she found him. (That was pointed out early in the season...all the others were the last SoS's staff).

[cincivic]

I have only watched the show for the last couple of months and I like all the characters except one- Daisy. The character doesn't ring true to me. No way would she demand to know information that she knows she is not entitled to know. She doesn't have clearance. And I don't care for Patina's acting either.

Since I am so new to the show what is the background with Stevie?

[candall]

I have only watched the show for the last couple of months and I like all the characters except one- Daisy. The character doesn't ring true to me. No way would she demand to know information that she knows she is not entitled to know. She doesn't have clearance. And I don't care for Patina's acting either.

Since I am so new to the show what is the background with Stevie?

I agree that's a script flaw.  Daisy's a staffer; she's not going to get confused and start thinking she and the SoS are colleagues.  She doesn't really have much to do on the show, though, since her only storyline has been her affair with Matt.

 

When Elizabeth was named SoS, Stevie was in college and didn't want the attendant publicity, so even the staff didn't know about Stevie, at first.  Then the word got out--can't remember how--and Stevie quit college.  She was shocked when her parents said she couldn't just stay home and "work on a book."

 

She moved out of her parents' house for awhile, which completely stressed Elizabeth.  After Stevie moved back home, it turned out she wasn't crazy about the whole roommate situation after all.

 

She's just ridiculously coddled and entitled and I can't find anything to like about her except it's impressive she's bilingual.  Again, supporting herself for a year on a minimum wage job would do her a world of good.

 

(I can't even decide whether to post this--I sound like SUCH a crotchety old lady.  You kids need to get off my lawn.  And go get a paper route!)

[secnarf]

 

She moved out of her parents' house for awhile, which completely stressed Elizabeth. 

I think Elizabeth was more stressed over Stevie's reason for moving out, which was because Stevie hated finding out what her mother really did when she worked for the CIA (i.e. sanctioning torture), rather than Stevie physically moving out.

I think Stevie's reaction to that was the beginning of a lot of people's dislike for the character, especially because it was so drawn out and took up way more time than necessary, imo.

[kwnyc]

Bumping this one up because it seems like the best place to talk about President Carradine's lovely work last night. I just looked up his age to see that he is about the right era to talk about Viet Nam experience (born in 1949, which would have put him at draft age in '68...Tet Offensive). We don't know a LOT about Conrad...but I guess he would have at least have had to go to college for a bit to be a platoon leader. Though the draft lottery was instituted in 1969, so anyone whose number came up had to go.

[whatsatool]

It was also good to see more ensemble work last night.

[innocuouspuff]

Yeah the lack of ensemble work has been bugging me because I pitched this to my friends as a great show about competent women. Yet the first part of the season downplayed every woman not Bess. Plus her CIA friends haven't been back. The boys' club was a reasonable story to tell in context I guess? but Henry & Dimitri just came out of nowhere to sideline the Secretary's office staff.

Edited January 14, 2016 by innocuouspuff

[betsyboo]

Yeah the lack of ensemble work has been bugging me because I pitched this to my friends as a great show about competent women. Yet the first part of the season downplayed every woman not Bess. Plus her CIA friends haven't been back. The boys' club was a reasonable story to tell in context I guess? but Henry & Dimitri just came out of nowhere to sideline the Secretary's office staff.

I agree, except I would describe it as "mostly competent women." Bess, Nadine, the General from the Joint Chiefs, sure. The one CIA friend who *wasn't* a terrorist. Her, too. Even Noodle. But Stevie and Daisy make my stomach hurt when I think of any 20-something female taking her lead from either of them. #poorjudgementleadstobaddecisions

Edited January 14, 2016 by betsyboo

[innocuouspuff]

Ha. Daisy is competent, I think! Just has a messy personal life. I don't feel that bad decision making outside of the office automatically disqualifies a character from strong female character cred. Super contextual, imo. Competent male characters who are terrible at the interpersonal was considered the height of story-telling for a while there.

But yeah, no one should be considering Stevie's life an instruction manual. Hee.

Now you've reminded me that I really miss the lady general.

[betsyboo]

Ha. Daisy is competent, I think! Just has a messy personal life. I don't feel that bad decision making outside of the office automatically disqualifies a character from strong female character cred. Super contextual, imo. 

understood - until she has the fiance fight at work in front of the secret boyfriend! (However, she gets a full pass from me if she wants to take Nadine and Blake out for a karaoke night and I get a full broadway number!! :-))   )

[innocuouspuff]

Ha, I forgot about that actually. But Nadine was having an affair with the old SoS who turned out to be a terrorist - they all have their things I guess. But both know their jobs - hoping for more team problem solving in the back half.

[whatsatool]

Definitely need more Nadine

[zoey1996]

Bumping this one up because it seems like the best place to talk about President Carradine's lovely work last night. I just looked up his age to see that he is about the right era to talk about Viet Nam experience (born in 1949, which would have put him at draft age in '68...Tet Offensive). We don't know a LOT about Conrad...but I guess he would have at least have had to go to college for a bit to be a platoon leader. Though the draft lottery was instituted in 1969, so anyone whose number came up had to go.

Unless he enlisted first.  My boyfriend at the time got a draft number of 6, and wasn't doing particularly well at college, except he was having a really good time.  Anyway, rather than waiting to get drafted, he enlisted so he could choose his branch of service.  

 

I quite like most of the rest of the ensemble cast.  Some are under-utilized, others I think we see too much of, but most have a purpose and serve it well.

Edited January 20, 2016 by zoey1996

[CooperTV]

 

Quote

 

In the beginning of Madam Secretary, fans were skeptical of Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord’s (Téa Leoni) staff that she inherited from the former Secretary of State. We saw that they resented her and wanted their old boss back. They were loyal. One staffer, in particular, needed more time to get use to Elizabeth and to the fact that Secretary Marsh was dead. This staffer was Nadine Tolliver, the chief of staff. Fans soon learned that she had been having a six-year-long affair with Marsh and that she was in love with him.

As the season went on, we saw Nadine warm up to Elizabeth and eventually see that she was right for the job. Even when it was revealed that Marsh was in involved in a government conspiracy, Nadine sided with Elizabeth. Today, the two have a strong working relationship and, we dare say, a strong friendship.

Now going into Season 4, what can the series do with Nadine Tolliver?

 

Madam Secretary season 4: What could happen to Nadine Tolliver?

[Driad]

Now that Nadine is leaving Bess's staff and moving to San Francisco, probably several companies, agencies, and other organizations will offer her important positions.  Some of these could be excuses for a guest appearance on some future episode if the people involved want that.  Suggestions on an appropriate job for Nadine?

[betsyboo]

Am I the only shallow person who noticed Stevie's bleached teeth in the Stemitri closeup? I couldn't stop staring. :-(

[CheshireCat]

I just rewatched the season 2 premiere and that made me realize that the only boyfriend Stevie actually told her parents about and that they didn't find out about through a coincidence (Arthur) or a very awkward conversation (Harrison and Dmitri) was Jareth. I wonder if that was done on purpose and was/is meant to show that Stevie knew deep down that her parents would disapprove. I know they stated that Dmitri asked to keep their relationship quiet but Stevie knew that he was working for her dad and Dmitri had given that as a reason but I'm under the impression that she wasn't really bothered by Dmitri's request.

I also rewatched the season 2 finale yesterday and I really want Jareth back! Stevie was so in love and instead of thinking that it was good that they hadn't gotten married, I ended up thinking that that would have forced them to work through their issues. In hindsight, it seems that they just broke up because they weren't communicating well and that there weren't any big issues between them and that they could have worked them out if they had been willing to put the time and effort into it.

[Sulador]

Jareth was charming. Plus he had the best name...  Worst Hair in the World Award: Sara Ramirez. It looks like a dead ferret that perished in an oil spill and was buried on a punk's buzzcut.

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, Sulador said:

Worst Hair in the World Award: Sara Ramirez. 

OMG, I mean, we get it. Duck tail. It doesn't have to look like an actual duck's butt.

And is the white-ish line at the base of the longer hair just an artifact of that kind of style? Or is it an unavoidable glue line for a toupee?

[Driad]

Does Kat's hair style have a name?  I mean for the style; Kat's hair itself may have a name for all I know.  There was a duck tail hair style in the 50s but it did not involve shaving the head so I don't think that's what Kat's is.

[funnygirl]

7 hours ago, Driad said:

Does Kat's hair style have a name?  I mean for the style; Kat's hair itself may have a name for all I know.  There was a duck tail hair style in the 50s but it did not involve shaving the head so I don't think that's what Kat's is.

The Kim Jong-un?