| Author |
Message |
Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 12:14 pm 
I imagine the whole premise of the show is not just the attack and the immediate reaction but the reconstitution of the pretty much the whole government leadership. With the exception of the few who might not have been there for whatever reason you have no Senators, Representatives, Supreme Court Justices, cabinet members, senior military leaders, and so on just to name the easy ones off the top of my head. You've got everything from political appointments to elections to whatever to fill the "vacancies". In reality it would probably take years if not decades to recover and a mess of almost unimaginable proportions. Certainly enough potential story lines to fill several seasons to cover.
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Muffin
Member
08-29-2007
| Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 12:46 pm
Can anyone explain why the wife was with him in the separate room while the SOTU address was going on? I didn't get why she was there at that time.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 3:01 pm
Other than she was spending some time with her husband while he was being sequestered there isn't any explanation given in the show. He'd been told by the White House Chief of Staff he was going to be asked to "step down" by the President so maybe she just wanted to be with him. Depending on when exactly he was going to be asked to leave being the cabinet member left back might have been close to one of his last official acts. The plague/seal on the wall of the conference room is the FBI's by the way.
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Roteach
Member
06-01-2003
| Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 3:04 pm
He was in a separate area because at events where just about the entire government is in attendance, one "designated survivor" from the cabinet is chosen to remain in a secure area just in case an event like the one in the series happens and the entire government is wiped out.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 3:22 pm
Since they have always said the non-attending cabinet member is sequestered in a undisclosed location I guess FBI Headquarters is as good as any. Plus, though I've never been in the FBI building, I think there would be a view of the Capitol Hill down Pennsylvania Avenue. Plus it makes for better TV that they could see the Capitol from wherever they were holding him. Adds to the dramatic effect.
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Muffin
Member
08-29-2007
| Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 3:34 pm
Mack, I understood why he was sequestered, I didn't know why the wife was there as well. I guess it was just for the effect of her finding out at the same time as him.
I think I'm going to like this show. There are so many that I start and can't get into, but this one was pretty good. So far, it's a keeper.
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Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Saturday, September 24, 2016 - 8:32 pm
Chaos? In real life we already have do-nothing Congress....can no Congress at all really be that much worse?
Good point, SFJF! Hadn't thought of it that way. 
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Spoton
Member
09-16-2005
| Sunday, September 25, 2016 - 9:10 am
I was surprised that they took him and his family to the white house with the Capitol literally still burning and no idea of who did it. Seems like a good idea to get him as far away from DC as possible.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Sunday, September 25, 2016 - 1:01 pm
Problem is that the alternate sites are a distance so the White House is probably the most secure without traveling a bit. He needed to be sworn in and he needed to be briefed and given the nuclear weapons release codes. I'm sure there is a plan, probably several plans, but know from experience the first thing to go in the trash is the plan.
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Brenda1966
Member
07-02-2002
| Sunday, September 25, 2016 - 1:10 pm
Interesting that many did not like the wife. Unlike Naja I never really warmed to her on Californication. She annoyed me a bit. WAs so flakey. I'm hoping to like her more here. It's not that I don't think she can act, I guess I didn't like her character. At least that's what I'm hoping. But I didn't find her suspicious in anyway. I think maybe her demeanor is just flighty?!
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Sunday, September 25, 2016 - 1:15 pm
they did put him in the secure bunker part of the WH, my understanding its almost like a bomb shelter
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Sunday, September 25, 2016 - 2:15 pm
I was surprised that so many people had never heard of the Designated Survivor, I think they often mention who has been assigned that role before the State of the Union address.
I quite liked the show. I haven't really warmed up to the wife yet but it has only been 1episode.
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Sunday, September 25, 2016 - 4:18 pm
I would have liked to be a warmer looking actress...a soft warm fuzzy woman. Do you sort of get my meaning?
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Lexie_girl
Member
07-30-2004
| Monday, September 26, 2016 - 3:23 am
I guess I'm so excited to have Kiefer Sutherland back on my TV that I really didn't pay much attention to the wife.
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Monday, September 26, 2016 - 5:28 am
Just a thought, but that sort of attack would take a long time planning. If the wife was part of it how would she ever had known that her husband would be the DS so far in advance?
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 26, 2016 - 6:42 am
You're right that she wouldn't know. I find it unlikely that she is party to some nefarious plot to annihilate the U.S. government but I admire the imagination that people have. I often think that people here have better ideas than the writers.
It sounds like the designated survivor isn't taken too seriously, given that they seem to choose fairly obscure disconnected people for that role.
On another note, as appealing as the idea may be, I don't think we can necessarily expect Sutherland's character on this show to be another Jack Bauer. I recall him in another show recently where the character he played wasn't very physically capable and anything but the "Jack Bauer" type. It was quite frustrating to watch "Jack Bauer" get picked on and easily beat up. 
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Monday, September 26, 2016 - 6:53 am
But we know that our indefatigable Jack Bauer is up to the task.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Monday, September 26, 2016 - 7:06 am
Obviously it's a conspiracy theory heaven. It could be anything from an internal to external plot and anyone from an individual to group. The how, what, who, etc., are limitless at this point. While I'm not so sure about including the wife as a suspect or participant at this point she certainly isn't eliminated.
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Monday, September 26, 2016 - 7:38 am
I loved Natascha McElhone in Truman so maybe my initial reaction to her character in this will change.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Monday, September 26, 2016 - 7:49 am
Wow I didn't recognize her at all from The Truman Show! That was a great movie and her character in that one was certainly appealing. Of course, it is really cool if actors can take on different roles.
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Texannie
Member
07-15-2001
| Thursday, September 29, 2016 - 4:45 am
This show is so well written that either my heart was actually racing during parts of iI felt very uncomfortable with the conversations.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Thursday, September 29, 2016 - 7:50 am
So we have at least one surviving Congresswoman who was the Republican "designated survivor". Hard to tell if she is going to be supportive or a thorn. They showed scenes of her checking on the background of the President and there was an outtake from next week that seemed to show some kind of confrontation. The survivor they found at the site is interesting and may be a key to the attack. I'm hooked for at least now.
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Spunky
Member
10-07-2001
| Friday, September 30, 2016 - 10:37 am
I too was surprised of a another 'designated survivor', from the Republicans, why would they have one if the Democrats were in power? Were the Republican leaders also at the Capitol building and died?
The governor who does not recognize the new President and then is forced to abide is another scary thought, what if this designated survivor is totally ignored and anarchy or worse, civil war, starts? So the scary possibilities are many with such an attack, but to always blame the usual suspects as an excuse to go to war is also scary. To me it seems more of an internal plot, that general seems crazy to me and I think he has something to do with the attack. But this is the 'usual conspiracy theory' and that could go on forever, or at least until the end of the series.
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Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Friday, September 30, 2016 - 11:12 am
I sure hope that Republican Congresswoman turns out to be a "good guy" and doesn't start working behind Kiefer's back. I like that he has an ally from across the aisle. He needs people to work with him, not against him.
I also am suspicious of that General, Spunky. He seems a little too eager to declare war. We don't want to go after the wrong party. It would just make things worse.
I'm kind of frustrated with Kiefer and wife's parenting skills. They lavish affection on the little girl, but where are the hugs for the teenager? They're always scolding him. I have a teenager, and it breaks my heart to see them seem to ignore him. Teenagers need love and affection, too!
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Aka
Member
01-02-2007
| Friday, September 30, 2016 - 10:24 pm
I am enjoying this show.
I'm going to recommend "The West Wing". The series is on Netflix. It is not only a good series, it is a good political primer. 
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