S01.E08: The Results

[jhlipton]

16 hours ago, queenanne said:

Aha, thanks.  So it's... got less point than I was theoretically imagining?  Not a good sign that I can't keep this little of stuff about the show straight in my mind.

Yep.

[dmc]

On 12/3/2016 at 4:20 AM, shapeshifter said:

I thought I saw the reporter telegraphing to the audience that she was playing Seth and not really attracted to him.

 

I wonder when the script was written — probably before Trump looked like a viable candidate (before IRL election night 2016).

 

The Osama Bin Laden saga dragged on for years — maybe the writers are too young to remember how tedious that was IRL. 

"I wonder when the script was written — probably before Trump looked like a viable candidate (before IRL election night 2016)."

 

so many LOLs

[Roseanna]

On ‎1‎.‎12‎.‎2016 at 3:46 PM, merylinkid said:

I loved the First Lady saying "We learned we can't have secrets in our new house."   Ummm, so have you told your husband about your son's drug dealing yet?  

Yeah, reporter lady, I saw a story, I ran with it.   About the first kid.   It's not Watergate or the Pentagon papers.   The president needs someone who will call him on his policies, not his personal life.  

I agree. The father of a child who is born in wedlock is traditionally regarded to be the mother's husband. If he knows otherwise but accepts the situation, the state or media has no business to meddle in people's private matters. 

However, Alex and Tom Kirkman acted terrible wrongly towards Leo. Once they knew there were a danger of revelation, they should have told their son themselves. It was both stupid and cruel just wait that he would learn it from the reporter.

[rab01]

On 12/7/2016 at 10:30 PM, queenanne said:

Aha, thanks.  So it's... got less point than I was theoretically imagining?  Not a good sign that I can't keep this little of stuff about the show straight in my mind.

I can't keep that stuff straight either but I suspect this is the kind of show that won't sweat the continuity anyway.  But I don't think you were wrong.  Just because we've been told that she took up with KS right after the prison guy doesn't mean anyone would automatically believe that story.  The press would ask "so you're saying you didn't start dating KS until after the break up but he could be the father? And you got married less than two months after you met?" Since even we call him President milquetoast, there would be tons of bloviators talking about whether they believed that story and what it said about him.  -- I'd bet a lot of them would be like "See, he's nobody's first choice."

Also, I don't want to even imagine the pieces about his wife given what we've seen written about first ladies over the years.

Edited December 29, 2016 by rab01

[JasmineFlower]

I'm catching up on this now. Attention to detail really is missing at times here. KS hands his son the results from the lab. I happened to catch the address, they rushed the results, so I was happy to see that it was a DC street and address. But the Zip Code is literally nothing remotely close to one found on the east coast, let alone DC. Why is that necessary? Little things like this don't mean much, but it feels like loose ends like this happen on shows that are not dotting their I's and crossing their T's as much as they should be. It's such a simple thing that shouldn't be wrong, yet was.

Anyway, just sharing since I didn't see this mentioned. Still enjoying the show, it's working well for me as a binge watch.

[marinw]

1 minute ago, JasmineFlower said:

 But the Zip Code is literally nothing remotely close to one found on the east coast, let alone DC. Why is that necessary?

Presumably for the same reason all phone numbers on TV start with 555. So people don’t try to contact the number or address. There is an IP address equivalant. 

[JasmineFlower]

1 hour ago, marinw said:

Presumably for the same reason all phone numbers on TV start with 555. So people don’t try to contact the number or address. There is an IP address equivalant. 

That's different because they were always concerned about it becoming a number later on and even then, some shows sometimes now use real ones for promotion.

But there are plenty of ways to make up a fake DC address that don't involve having a zip code as bad as the one shown. It was unnecessary and I've seen plenty of times where addresses are shown in the right general area. I'm hardly suggesting using something legitimate, but either a real zip code or a fake one does not need to ever start with a 7 when it's supposed to be in DC. Something like123 Faux Terrace, Washington DC, 20119 is plenty good is enough with very little effort. And my point was, it's lazy to me when a show doesn't do it.

Edited March 30, 2017 by JasmineFlower

[femmefan1946]

On 2016-12-05 at 0:59 PM, Dowel Jones said:

(Snark alert)

Maybe Alex is really the big bad in this entire enterprise.  She will mysteriously be absent from the bombing, have  McLeish and Kimble arrested, and, suddenly, "I don't care what the Constitution says.  There is no VP nor Speaker of the House, so I will assume the duties of the President until further notice."

It's been done. http://www.biography.com/news/edith-wilson-first-president-biography-facts

[Superpole2000]

"This is a victory for democracy!" - My head hurts after the mandatory eyeroll this line induced.

The entire plot has fallen apart for me. How can Atwood possibly think this is his best strategy? It's just so stupid. A high ranking FBI officer has to know better.

The justification the show uses for why Atwood would behave like an imbecile is more crappy writing. I just don't buy that this evil organization is so good that they can manipulate the FBI, kill every big player in the US Government, and then hold secret meetings RIGHT OUTSIDE the White House fence.

And this stupid show couldn't help but set that ridiculous secret White House fence meeting in a rain storm, complete with thunder accentuating every menacing word. If you are going to do that then you might as well set the paternity reveal on an episode of Maury.

[John Potts]

Glad they're committing to the "President has 17 calls on his time at any given moment" and away from the "President sits and broods for 5 minutes" (for the most part).

Could have done without the First Delinquent plotline, but at least they've wrapped that storyline (hopefully!). And I kinda liked Seth agreeing that his potential hook up could stay in the White House Press lobby - she was doing her job and it's not like the story won't get out  somewhere.

On ‎12‎/‎1‎/‎2016 at 1:46 PM, merylinkid said:

Yeah, reporter lady, I saw a story, I ran with it.   About the first kid.   It's not Watergate or the Pentagon papers.   The president needs someone who will call him on his policies, not his personal life.

...and there's that aspect too. It's a week of minorly embarrassing stories, not the end of the world. Unlike (say) a massive terrorist attack on the Capitol!

Wouldn't the President's Polling Station be empty because the President was there? I'd imagine the Secret Service would clear the room for security reasons (though there may be legal reasons why they can't, I suppose).

Very disappointed Kimble turned villain. I have no trouble with her being a political opponent, but she went all "Mwa-Ha-Ha!" in this episode with her plotting to bring down President Kirkman. Couldn't she just want to beat him in 2020 (or whever the fictional election was going to be held)? If he's as inexperienced as she thinks and she's the leading Republican politician to emerge out of the chaos, she should be a shoo in for the Presidency. She seemed loyal to the system at least, and destabilising the Presidency is not a good basis for showing your statesmanlike qualities. Of course, Kirkman isn't going to be the pushover she thinks as he has the plot on his side, but she doesn't know that.

Why didn't Agent Nikita  (sorry, I'm terrible with names) say something about her boss' kid being "missing" to explain his actions? He called the cops (or told his wife to do so), it's not like that information won't come out, even if she thinks the President (or anyone on his staff) is involved. Hell, maybe somebody will connect that to the fact that potential VP Traitor also had a child go "Missing" at a critical time. I understand that she doesn't know who to trust (and there have been some suggestions that Aaron may have been at least tangentially involved - the dismissed General said Aaron was meant to "handle" the new President, IIRC), but the fact that  (Director?) Atwood's son went "missing" is already public (or at least, easily discoverable) information.

Though on the subject of Agent Nikita, I did love how her tech guy went, "I trust you'll testify for me at my trial!" when asked to violate Federal Laws (but still did it).

On ‎12‎/‎1‎/‎2016 at 9:35 PM, MaryHedwig said:

So how long did Alex and Tom date before they got married? One month? Six weeks? Any longer and it would have been clear that the baby was the other guy's.

It's not impossible she was "playing the field" a little when she got pregnant. First Delinquent was presumably born around 2000 or so, not 1950, it's not as if the idea that the First Lady had sex with more than one man in a short period might be a scandal (though the same might be said about him not being the President's biological son either - the tabloids will run it, but I doubt it would hurt much).