BWW Recap: Can MADAM SECRETARY Make 'The Call' in West Africa?
By: Scott Fullerton Oct. 27, 2014
Hey Stranger Friends, MADAM SECRETARY is going rogue this week as Secretary McCord is prepping for her first big speech in front of many countries' leaders at the World Affairs Committee. She has not been inspired by what she is rehearsing, as her staff tries to remind her that she must be neutral and positive, while her speech writer Matt, says that finding the right tone is, "super hard." After admonishing her team to find something to talk about that she actually cares about, she goes with Blake to find out how his investigation is going on Nadine, her Chief of Staff.
Showing massive paranoia, Blake closes all of the doors and whispers to the Secretary; he is only halfway through, but that he thinks that Nadine might be onto him, because she keeps looking at him (I don't know if it was a sight gag, or just some bad editing, but it was pretty funny to see Blake shutting all the doors behind them to tell the Secretary about his progress, only to see a staffer carrying files, walk right in front of the two of them, as if they were in a hallway or the staffer was in her office).
Husband Henry, is waiting as the Secretary arrives home and informs her that his favorite religious studies professor, a priest, has stopped by to visit. We soon find it's not just a social call; his home country, the Republic of West Africa, and, after a coup, it's newly formed government, is looking to cleanse the country of Western influence, including the village where the professor's niece and her children live (We do find that the village has excellent communication technology, as the niece is able to call her uncle on a cell phone, while you can see gunfire flashes through the flimsy walls of the hut, hmmmmm).
MADAM SECRETARY fails to get any cooperation from the President or his Chief of Staff in getting some preliminary help for the small nation; and while making the aforementioned speech to World Affairs Committee, she goes off script, sending most of her staff off the rails (except of course my favorite Secretary Aide Blake, calmly munching on crackers, and getting in his witticism of the week, "For the record, I didn't know that was coming"), and telling all the leaders that the United States will not stand by and let another country harm it's people.
Lucky for our Secretary, the speech worked, and she was able to get help from the French and other African countries, with the President, much to his Chief of Staff's chagrin, promising logistical support in the effort. Unluckily soon after, the whole plan falls apart when Henry's professor is exposed for also running drugs during his humanitarian efforts between countries. This is the third episode that Henry shows a lot of the strength in character. He does so deftly with the disappointment that he shows in his mentor and friend, and Tim Daly is the perfect fit for this role.
Our Secretary and Nadine both get lucky though, as we find out that after some initial worries about a phone call Nadine had made with one of the previous Secretary's big money backers, Blake is able to clear her of being disloyal, as he learns through his "connections," that the phone call followed a job and huge paycheck offer, from her ex-bosses friends, that she turned down to stay on with our current MADAM SECRETARY and to fight the good fight. The Secretary then tells Nadine that she was under investigation, which she was already onto, as every time she even looked at Blake "he would shake like a little Chihuahua that just peed on the carpet." The Secretary also told her that an investigation into her secret affair with the previous secretary is next.
Ending the episode with all the irony that Henry could handle, he has to ask his professor for help in getting the aid back on track for his people in the Republic of West Africa, by calling the warlords, whom he had worked with when supplying drugs for other favors for his country, allowing them to let the ground forces from other African countries, able to pass and save the villages. In return, the United States will pay them off through the professor. As the professor gets called to face the consequences of his drug running, the Secretary arranges a final meeting between him and Henry to patch up their relationship, meanwhile, that mysteriously working cell phone calls to let the professor know that his nieces are safe.
What I Liked:
- This is the second week that the show had a really extended opening before the first commercial. This week was 16 minutes, and last week was 17 minutes. I think it really helps you get into the plot of the show and want to come back after the commercial for more. Very smart for broadcast television.
- Two weeks we are on a roll with no conspiracy theory, but I am afraid this investigation into Secretary Marsh, will bring it all back up again. I am having faith it will be done with drama and not melodrama.
- Wallis Currie-Wood, as daughter Stephanie, is growing on me more and more each week. Her scenes have been small, but very supportive to the cast and show, and I hope the part grows for her a bit.
Questions:
- How many deals are we really making with other countries that we have no idea about? In just the past few weeks, our fictional Secretary has had to bribe three different countries to get things done.
- How does Tim Daly look as young as Erich Bergen?
- When are Speech Writer Matt and Press Secretary Daisy just going to make it official and be a couple?
I hope you are enjoying MADAM SECRETARY as much as I am. It hasn't hit all the notes for me yet that THE WEST WING did, but it's been a very enjoyable political drama. Let me know what your thoughts are about the show or the actors, or my review. You can leave comments below, or tweet me direct at @LeftofStr8 or for any of us here at @BWWTVWorld. Hope to see some great comments down below, and will talk to you all again next week Stranger Friends.
Photo Credit: CBS Television
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