S02.E12: The Middle Way

[CooperTV]

Elizabeth, to her surprise, is met resistance when she travels to Myanmar to sign a Pacific Rim trade agreement, which will modernize the country's power grid and benefit several of its trading partners. Meanwhile, Nadine attempts to mend her relationship with her estranged son.

 

[Netfoot]

Goofy ambassador with a bald head and a saffron robe holds head of state at gun-point and the counter-terrorist sniper aims for something other than the apricot?  Okay, that I can stomach.

 

Proxy Governor of the Los Angeles Bloc making a nuisance of himself over the Secretary of State's security detail and the precautions they take?   Okay, I can stomach that too.

 

Nadine and her son being stereo-typically "estranged" over inconsequential nonsense?  Even that, I can stomach.

 

Blake singing James Taylor in a karaoke bar?  That, I don't have to put up with!

[Dowel Jones]

Okay, the time slot for Madame Secretary got filled with The Good Wife on my DVR, and The Good Wife's slot filled with The Closer.  Did this happen with anyone else?

[CooperTV]

What the hell am I watching? WTF is happening in this show? Were writers on drugs when they wrote this?

 

Ex-ambassador taking Myanmar President hostage while wearing monk robes? Some nosy asshole neighbor is trying to evict Secretary of State and her family from their house? Nadine's son is a hippy teenager of the age of 35?

 

Whaaaaaaaaat.

 

ETA: They should have let Blake to sing for 40 minutes.

Edited January 18, 2016 by CooperTV

[needschocolate]

Not my favorite episode - too unbelievable.  I think they were going for a little levity this episode. Those wacky ambassadors and their wacky hijinks!

 

They finally have a problem that Professor Admiral General Super Spy Handler Eye Candy could legitimately help with and .... he's not much help.  

 

Well, at least the Secretary of State managed to be out of the country without anything blowing up and/or her life being in danger.  

[AncientSand]

Why was the driver of her security detail so surprised when it was actually the President on the phone?  Does he not understand that they work together daily?  Also, I know how evil and powerful an HOA can be but I still cannot imagine anyone going after the Secretary of State in that way. 

[betsyboo]

I would have liked a little more info on the protocol, just for my own curiosity. I get that the Secretary has to be ready to jump in at a moment's notice. But I can't imagine that in the 5 seconds from when they get the "Evac!" or "Come in!" order that they can't start the car. I mean, Bess has to physically run out the door. From the door to the street is enough time to turn the ignition.

 

Blake and his PPT! Hee! "Less lost pets"

 

It's a sad day when Stevie is the voice of reason. "< slow clap> Well, done boys!"

 

I love Blake's voice - was very excited for him to sing. Then it had to be JT. My ears started bleeding.

 

I was VERY uncomfortable during Nadine's chat with her oversized teenager. You haven't seen your son in years and the first thing you do ISN'T throw your arms around him!??

[shapeshifter]

I would have liked a little more info on the protocol, just for my own curiosity. I get that the Secretary has to be ready to jump in at a moment's notice. But I can't imagine that in the 5 seconds from when they get the "Evac!" or "Come in!" order that they can't start the car. I mean, Bess has to physically run out the door. From the door to the street is enough time to turn the ignition.

It could have been fun to learn the protocol dated from the 70s when starters and carburetors and batteries and other parts were known to poop out regularly without warning. As it is, I can imagine her hopping into the car only to discover it's out of gas from idling so long.

[gazebo]

I remember when Tea Loeni and David Rasche were known for comedy.  It was so odd to see David Rasche play a serious role in this particular episode.  I mean, I just look at his face and I want to laugh.  He looked even funnier with the shaved head and Buddhist robes.  It was good to see him in a "serious role" as a Buddhist terrorist.  LOL!

 

I'm intrigued by Nadine's brief backstory to Elizabeth.  So Nadine use to be a dancer before studying law?  She has such a good looking son working in Myanmar?  I want to know more. 

 

Blake doing karaoke in that bar made me smile.  I remembered the actor in "The Jersey Boys".

 

 

[AshleyLyn]

Well, Madam Secretary had quite the couple days didn't she?

I was being reminded of the whole "horrible, rotten, no good day" thing a movie did, and as I was watching all I could think was "What else could go wrong?"

 

The scenes with the aide and the 2030 book were actually quite funny. I can't remember his name, but how he tried to help with the whole neighborhood meeting and how he kept focusing on the book. Funny. 

Can there be an episode where Elizabeth expects everything to go wrong and nothing does and she's surprised by it?

 

And why would the president blame her for his friend going off the reservation so to speak? 

[HurricaneVal]

At the end, when Nadine was talking Blake off the ledge he stepped out on with his obsession over the 2030 book, I kept hoping she'd whip out the 2015 book written fifteen years ago speculating about all the disasters that would befall the earth in 2015, and demonstrate how all that didn't happen.

 

But I did like her point about being in school during the Cold War and ducking under their desks in a nuclear drill, and how useless it would be.  Kind of like when Dick Cheney et al told us to keep duct tape handy to seal our windows from biological and chemical warfare perpetrated by terrorists.

[secnarf]

But I did like her point about being in school during the Cold War and ducking under their desks in a nuclear drill, and how useless it would be. 

This was my favourite part of the episode :P

I have often said, what good would duck and cover do?! They claimed that the "cover" part of it would protect the neck from radiation, but I seriously doubt that assertion.

[Netfoot]

I have often said, what good would duck and cover do?!

 

My understanding is that the only possible benefit from Duck'n'Cover would be if there were a detonation at sufficient distance that flash-burns were the primary danger. 

 

Mind you, where I live they never taught Duck'n'Cover, so maybe I've got it all wrong.

[secnarf]

My understanding is that the only possible benefit from Duck'n'Cover would be if there were a detonation at sufficient distance that flash-burns were the primary danger. 

 

Mind you, where I live they never taught Duck'n'Cover, so maybe I've got it all wrong.

You can find the videos on youtube that they used to show in schools and on TV - the explanation they give is the radiation, but I don't know if there were other reasons as well.

The videos are hilarious, I'd highly recommend watching them if you haven't already seen them.

[picklesprite]

Not my favorite episode, but I may be prejudiced because my sympathies were all with the neighbors. (Did this show and The Good Wife share writers this week??) If any of those cars were diesel, I'd have been throwing up on them. I thought Elizabeth and Handsome could have been much more sympathetic to those, in my view, understandable complaints. I'd have been mortified to think of my neighbors breathing that stinky, putrid, polluting air all the time. That's probably the sole reason I'm not Secretary of State, doncha think?

[ParadoxLost]

Not my favorite episode, but I may be prejudiced because my sympathies were all with the neighbors. (Did this show and The Good Wife share writers this week??) If any of those cars were diesel, I'd have been throwing up on them. I thought Elizabeth and Handsome could have been much more sympathetic to those, in my view, understandable complaints. I'd have been mortified to think of my neighbors breathing that stinky, putrid, polluting air all the time. That's probably the sole reason I'm not Secretary of State, doncha think?

 

I started laughing when Henry launched into his don't blame the Secret Service for the noise and other pollution because they are protecting you from all these threats we have brought into your lives by our very presence.  I expected him to point out that they'd be happy when the bullets shot by terrorists started flying and they got the government officials out quickly and the innocent bystanders that got shot would be fewer because of the speed of their departure.  When the neighbors didn't make that connection, I figured out the ending.

[orza]

You can find the videos on youtube that they used to show in schools and on TV - the explanation they give is the radiation, but I don't know if there were other reasons as well.

The videos are hilarious, I'd highly recommend watching them if you haven't already seen them.

The videos are not funny to anyone who lived through that era. It's ... weird to recommend them as entertainment.

 

I've always thought the real benefit of duck and cover that no one would ever admit to was to get the kids under the desks so they wouldn't see the deadly blast coming toward them. They could spend their last moments in the belief they were safe and have a quick end without the terror of knowing they would die a horrible death.

[needschocolate]

In the late 1940's and early 1950's, many shoe stores had x-ray machines that people, including kids, could stand on and see their feet through their shoes.  They used radiation and I doubt they handed out lead aprons for people to use to protect themselves.  The whole "duck and cover" drill may have been the result of them really not understanding radiation that well. 

[MaryHedwig]

I've always thought the real benefit of duck and cover that no one would ever admit to was to get the kids under the desks so they wouldn't see the deadly blast coming toward them. They could spend their last moments in the belief they were safe and have a quick end without the terror of knowing they would die a horrible death.

I always thought it was so they could identify our dead bodies because they would be under our assigned desks.

[Driad]

I think duck-and-cover was to let people feel they had some control, and keep them in place so they wouldn't run around in a panic. A while back someone criticized the public for being passive spectators, and said that if there were a nuclear war, many people would watch it on TV and drink beer. Actually that is probably as productive as anything else the average person could do.

[shapeshifter]

IIRC, in my school we went to the hallway and leaned against the wall with our arms folded across our eyes. Based on the chilling movie The Day After (and others), this would prevent blindness from watching the flash. Just telling the kids not to look out the window would not be as effective.

This week's episode of the fluffy scifi-ish CBS show Scorpion also had an estranged parent-child-reuniting sub-plot. In both shows' dialogs it was demonstrated that the child's point of view of rejection by the parent did not match the parent's emotions or intent. It's one thing for the network's studio sets to share props (both Scorpion and Supergirl used the same vats of gravel this week to immobilize their characters in "sand"), but having the same character relationship theme seems a little odd. I mean, it's not Parents and Adult Children Forgiveness Week, is it?

Edited January 19, 2016 by shapeshifter

[candall]

Elizabeth and Nadine really do have a lot in common, offspring-wise.  Stevie dropped out of college and expected her parents to support her while she "worked on a book."  Nadine's kid is still in a snit because Nadine wouldn't redirect those Julliard tuition checks directly to his personal account.

 

I think duck-and-cover was to let people feel they had some control [...] 

This was always my assumption, too.  A deliberate panacea which was perhaps a better alternative to "Hope you're lucky enough to die in the fireball."

 

I (seriously) never knew there were people who didn't like James Taylor.  I thought the karaoke was beautiful.

[shapeshifter]

I (seriously) never knew there were people who didn't like James Taylor.  I thought the karaoke was beautiful.

I hated it because he did it in the same arrangement without having a voice like James Taylor's. Now I know why my kids hated my not-chocolate carob brownies. It's not that they weren't good; it's that they were a substitution for something else that they loved.

[kwnyc]

I like any time they can work a song by one of the Broadway-level singers into the plot. There are some serious musical chops in that cast, and any chance for them to show off their pipes is fine by me! :-) (Now they just have to find a way to get Alan Cumming and Christine Baranski to sing on The Good Wife).

I like any time they can work a song by one of the Broadway-level singers into the plot. There are some serious musical chops in that cast, and any chance for them to show off their pipes is fine by me! :-) (Now they just have to find a way to get Alan Cumming and Christine Baranski to sing on The Good Wife).

[betsyboo]

I like any time they can work a song by one of the Broadway-level singers into the plot. There are some serious musical chops in that cast, and any chance for them to show off their pipes is fine by me! :-) (Now they just have to find a way to get Alan Cumming and Christine Baranski to sing on The Good Wife).

 

And Raul Esparza & Andy Karl (with a nice backup by Peter Gallagher) on SVU!

[Netfoot]

Now I know why my kids hated my not-chocolate carob brownies.....

 

For an instant there, I could have sworn I read Hot Chocolate... as in the band.  And that very moment, my computer began playing You Sexy Thing, thanks to a 1976 playlist I loaded a while back.  Nothing like 40-year-old tunes, right?  But what a coincidence.

 

Now, returning you to your 2016 discussion... about Duck'n'Cover.....

[whatsatool]

It does get cold in Washington in winter and the drivers might want to keep car running to prevent frostbite.

[Texasmom1970]

I know some thought it was a bit much, but I loved Blake freaking out over the report. He us one of my favorites on this show. And I loved hearing him sing! No spy daddy crap this episode yeah!

Oh and Taub stop being an ass!

I know some thought it was a bit much, but I loved Blake freaking out over the report. He us one of my favorites on this show. And I loved hearing him sing! No spy daddy crap this episode yeah!

Oh and Taub stop being an ass!

[innocuouspuff]

This week's episode of the fluffy scifi-ish CBS show Scorpion also had an estranged parent-child-reuniting sub-plot. In both show's dialogs it was demonstrated that the child's point of view of rejection by the parent did not match the parent's emotions or intent. It's one thing for the network's studio sets to share props (both Scorpion and Supergirl used the same vats of gravel this week to immobilize their characters in "sand"), but having the same character relationship theme seems a little odd. I mean, it's not Parents and Adult Children Forgiveness Week, is it?

I think once you have two people estranged and fighting, having them not agree on why that is is an extremely standard writer move. I can hear a writing teacher's voice echoing now: why are they fighting, and why are they both right?

I liked getting to know about Nadine's backstory. I don't think there's really an age limit on having a band and living in Myanmar with your cute ESL girlfriend - more of a personality thing. Some will keep doing it until they're 70. Hippie political beliefs turned out to not be the source of his anger from his POV anyway.

I was fine with the wacky hijinks from the homeowners, especially since it kept Henry out of any CIA subplot. And thought it was a nice touch that most of them weren't even that mad, just curious about the disruptive famous person in their midst. What kind of spy is Henry that he knew none of that information that he was being fed though. Like not even which neighbour is usually in their garden. lol

Edited January 19, 2016 by innocuouspuff

[Bobcatkitten]

I don't watch Madame Secretary for songs. I would prefer they stop forcing those in.

[candall]

Okay, the time slot for Madame Secretary got filled with The Good Wife on my DVR, and The Good Wife's slot filled with The Closer.  Did this happen with anyone else?

The St. Louis network affiliate ran 60 Minutes, Madam S, and Good Wife for the prime time block, gave CSI: Cyber the bum's rush.  I don't know why your people would respond to the abundance by resurrecting Brenda Leigh.

[betsyboo]

I think once you have two people estranged and fighting, having them not agree on why that is is an extremely standard writer move. I can hear a writing teacher's voice echoing now: why are they fighting, and why are they both right?

I liked getting to know about Nadine's backstory. I don't think there's really an age limit on having a band and living in Myanmar with your cute ESL girlfriend - more of a personality thing. Some will keep doing it until they're 70. Hippie political beliefs turned out to not be the source of his anger from his POV anyway.

I was fine with the wacky hijinks from the homeowners, especially since it kept Henry out of any CIA subplot. And thought it was a nice touch that most of them weren't even that mad, just curious about the disruptive famous person in their midst. What kind of spy is Henry that he knew none of that information that he was being fed though. Like not even which neighbour is usually in their garden. lol

Thank you for reminding me of this! Blake was awesome!! Very much like Bram on TWW when he fed donor names to running-for-president Matt Santos. Blake is the bomb.

 

(Edited because I am a moron and can't quote correctly.)

Edited January 19, 2016 by betsyboo

[Guest]

I don't know what it is, but I haven't really enjoyed the last two episodes. This one in particular just felt flat to me.  The ambassador shaved his head and led a demonstration?  

 

I'm so over Henry being SuperboySpyExtraordinaire, but this would have been an actual good use of his skills - instead he was like "Sorry, can't help you. Hope you don't die."  Really?

 

I think I've been watching too much The West Wing and it is causing other political dramas to pale in comparison. 

[betsyboo]

I think I've been watching too much The West Wing and it is causing other political dramas to pale in comparison. 

ahhhhh, little grasshopper - you have made us very proud!!!

[Driad]

I will probably never have a Professor Colonel EyeCandy, but where could I find someone to go to parties with me and tell me people's names? Would that be categorized as a personal assistant?

[candall]

I will probably never have a Professor Colonel EyeCandy, but where could I find someone to go to parties with me and tell me people's names? Would that be categorized as a personal assistant?

 

Hee!

 

I just had a class reunion that was colossally awkward.  If you have one coming up, go buy a big box of name tags and stick it in your pocket, in case the planners forgot.  You will be everyone's hero.  Brrrr.

[holly4755]

In the late 1940's and early 1950's, many shoe stores had x-ray machines that people, including kids, could stand on and see their feet through their shoes.  They used radiation and I doubt they handed out lead aprons for people to use to protect themselves.  The whole "duck and cover" drill may have been the result of them really not understanding radiation that well. 

 

I did duck and cover, but this fluoroscope post caught my attention, I was dragged from store to store getting my feet ex-rayed as a child,  no there was no protection, most kids got to one store and tried on a few shoes, but my mother could drive, so we went everywhere - I always blame this for my weird body development, i.e. ny tibia not being in proportion to the the other leg and arm bones.  But, that is a minor issue, the  machines were removed from the store when knowledge about radiation was better. they knew by 1950, but the machines were not outlawed until the 60's.  one of the problems is this was not a scientific lab, the machines would be made and installed and used for a long time without any calibration, the salesmen got the brunt of it, but (according to Wiki ) an adjusted machine would give 13 Roentgens and the max for a year was 300, with my mother, I probably exceeded that, but the shoe sales people seriously exceeded it. 

 

This episode was ok, not great not bad, which is shy I really have little to say about it. Well, it was not delayed by football. 

[betsyboo]

Hee!

 

I just had a class reunion that was colossally awkward.  If you have one coming up, go buy a big box of name tags and stick it in your pocket, in case the planners forgot.  You will be everyone's hero.  Brrrr.

AWKWARD.

[Beden]

 

I don't watch Madame Secretary for songs.

With respect, neither do I but , having spent 30+ years making my living in musical theater, I love the occasional change of pace in the story lines. It's also a chance to see another side of the characters. If the show ever evolves into a musical extravaganza, I'd not be pleased.

[MerBearHou]

I loved hearing Blake sing and he has an amazing voice IRL -- I'm thinking he didn't go full-out James Taylor to be more of the authentic karaoke guy. 

 

Pet peeve:  Daisy wearing sleeveless dresses in winter when everyone else is in coats.  Yes, she's got great shoulders but it's absurd (this is a frequent Michelle Obama pet peeve of mine too). 

 

Stevie clapping like she's the voice of reason drove me nuts -- shut up, Stevie.  The kids and Henry being so blasé at the breakfast table when Elizabeth was leaving the country seemed forced too.  And people, don't talk with food stuffed in your mouth please.

 

The HOA situation was just a no-win for the McCords -- the neighbors had united behind their backs and nothing they said or presented (humorous PowerPoint effort by Blake was a hoot) would have softened them against the Secretary.  These people have too much time on their hands (I have a couple of neighbors exactly like that and their complaints are so petty) to fuss over some of this stuff.  Some I understand, some not so much.

 

I was amazed that by now, Elizabeth had no idea Nadine had a son. 

Edited January 26, 2016 by MerBearHou

[sinkwriter]

 

It's a sad day when Stevie is the voice of reason. "< slow clap> Well, done boys!"

 

I actually found that moment really annoying and wanted to smack her for the slow clap. She chose to go upstairs and "do homework" instead of staying downstairs and helping her dad talk to these people and come up with better solutions. She's got no cause to act like she told them so. In fact, she made a quick getaway as soon as the doorbell rang. So... shut up, Stevie. If you weren't there to help, you don't get to complain that they didn't do a good enough job.

 

Also, I love Blake.

 

And I laughed pretty hard at Henry's comment, something like: "I never thought I'd ever say this, but... please stay away from the Buddhist terrorist." LOL.