BWW Recap: MADAM SECRETARY Opens with 'Operation Stupid Kids'

Hello Stranger Friends, welcome as we begin our journey following CBS's latest primetime political drama, MADAM SECRETARY. I have been excited for this show to launch as I feel that the political drama has in recent years been contorted into the soapy waters of serial television, and I am hoping that MADAM SECRETARY can bring back the genre's great writing, topical discussions, and fine acting, a la THE WEST WING. After watching the first episode, I have high hopes that we are on our way to just that, one or two disappointments notwithstanding.

The strong opening sequence begins with two young men thrown into a cell that has all the sights and sounds of a presumed Middle Eastern prison. The dramatic start leads to the introduction of our title character, Elizabeth McCord, professor, walking the halls of the University of Virginia with student in tow, asking for the perennial favor of turning in his assignment late. The writing immediately established the tone of her character as engaging, a sense of humor, and firm in her beliefs. She quickly runs into her husband, and fellow professor, Henry, who is engaging a group(ies?) about the history of religion. Elizabeth brings him back down to earth by reminding him to feed the kids as she has her "Spy Reunion" to attend.

At the dinner, we find out that Elizabeth used to work in the CIA, and her former boss, the CIA Director for 12 years, is now the President of the United States. While catching up and discussing how her friend George is adapting to his desk job, all of her former colleagues' cell phones begin to buzz. "This can't be good," Elizabeth says, and she is told that the Secretary of State's plane has crashed into the Atlantic.

At their horse farm the next morning, the McCord family talks while the news plays in the background. With the news of the Secretary's flight crashing on way to Venezuela, Elizabeth's daughter asks her mom if it could be terrorism, and then we learn that the McCord's son is a self-admitted pre-teen anarchist. I am looking forward to seeing that play out in a political drama.

As Elizabeth is "relaxing," by mucking the horse stables, her son walks in to say her phone has been ringing non-stop, so he picked it up. "It's the President's office," he says. She responds, "From the PTA?"

"No the White House!" (Cue the motorcade driving up the farms long driveway.)

At the McCord's breakfast table, the President is explaining that he had originally pitched Elizabeth's name for the job of Secretary of State, however advisors had shot him down (acting very presidential, I am sorry that Keith Carradine, will only be a recurring character on the show, I have always loved his work). He lays out how he trusts Elizabeth, knows how she thinks and works, and reminds her that he was the one who recruited her to work for the CIA in the first place.

We learn that she was one, if not THE, best analysist in the Company, and that she quit for ethical reasons, so far unknown. The President likes that she doesn't just think outside of the box, she doesn't realize even there is a box. He wants to affect real change in the world and knows she will not let him down. He then gives her until the end of the day to discuss it with her family, but of course will not take "No" for an answer.

Did anyone else get a little tingly as the music started playing, and we had the title of the show against the backdrop of the Capitol building? I was almost looking for Martin Seen or Allison Janney's name to pop up across the screen.

Fast forward two months and we are in a briefing room with the newly confirmed Secretary and her team, led by the fantastic Bebe Neuwirth, as her Chief of Staff. The group discusses an upcoming dinner with the King of Swaziland and the seating chart for him and his many wives.

After being informed that this state dinner was set up by the previous Secretary, McCord asks for the current report of the AIDS status in Swaziland. As she leaves the staff meeting she asks her Aide, Blake Moran, how much the staff hates her on a scale of 1-10. His answer tells her that it may go up to an 11, and we find that Blake is the only one that she hired as she felt that she couldn't fire the old staff after their boss had just died (can I say that Erich Bergen, who plays Aide Blake, absolutely Killed in the coolly received JERSEY BOYS movie that Clint Eastwood made? The actor is drop dead handsome and I am really going to love his humor he is bringing to this series).

Now meeting with the President's Chief of Staff, we find that the two young men in prison are in Syria, accused of attempting to join a group formed to overthrow the Syrian government. They are brothers from Connecticut, one of whom runs a blog and Facebook page talking about the plights of the poor and women's rights in the country. Here is where we meet MADAM SECRETARY's main adversary, the Chief of Staff, played marvelously by the great Zeljko Ivanec, (has he ever not really been kind of a bad guy pain in the butt?). He is concerned about the news cycle and the maintaining an insider system, and hiring a stylist for the Secretary to keep a good visual, and he warns her not to use her friendship with the President by ever going around him.

After a meeting with the kidnapped brothers parents, to assure them they are attempting to get their sons home safe and the need for silence from the press, and admonishing how free speech is in our Constitution, but not a global right, which is how the sons got in trouble in the first place, we are back at home for dinner with the family. Later in their bedroom, Elizabeth and Henry have a very amusing chat about their move to DC, when the doorbell rings. It's George from the spy reunion, paranoid and talking in whispers on how he has discovered that the previous Secretary's plane crash was not an accident. He claims it has got to be from someone inside the Company and there was some kind of an operation in progress in Venezuela. As Henry comes downstairs and see's and welcomes the family friend, George says he has to leaves, saying, "I shouldn't have come here. This didn't happen. Be careful."

Blake may be the new guy on staff, but he has MADAM SECRETARY's back, in a funny scene with Broadway fave Patina Miller, and TV vet Geoffrey Arend, he lets them know that he is already in tune with the office gossip and blocks them from going in her office or letting them know who she is currently meeting with. That meeting is with the current CIA Director as they discuss a covert rescue attempt on the 2 boys in Syria and she asks how George is taking to his desk job. Soon after the stylist the Chief of Staff assigned is there, quickly dismissed, and now the Secretary has a funny scene with her press coordinator and speech writer.

Soon the "Operation Stupid Kids", (makes you wonder what some real operations code names were called,) fails miserably and as the Chief of Staff attempts to distance himself from the CIA blunder, the Secretary tries to get the President to let her handle the situation but he balks to his Chief of Staff. We get another great look at her and Henry's relationship over pillow talk in bed, and soon we see she has decided to take on the fate of the Syrian boys personally. We get a glimpse into her previous life as she meets with one of current Middle Eastern Attaché's, whom she is owed a favor for getting his family out of a tough spot in Chechnya in the past.

We then get to see exactly what kind of character and resource the Secretary has, as she is now meeting with the President after "obliterating protocol," and texting the President's wife to arrange the meet. She reminds him of why he wanted her to take this job and finally gets his blessing on her brokering her deal she has set up. He admonishes her that if she screws it up, it would be the quickest departure of a Secretary of State, to which she dryly recites the actual shortest term in history, "I looked it up." Of course, luckily for her and us viewers, the deal works out, after providing some hilarious cover from the press using the Chief of Staff's stylist, and showing her morals by negotiating with aid for the country and not money. Bottom line: kids are in the air and we get a happy reunion with the parents, and another stern warning from the Chief of Staff that he is a better ally than enemy, and will chalk this incident up to 'rookie enthusiasm'.

The final scene brings us to the King's dinner, where the Secretary's staff finds out exactly how smart a cookie they are dealing with, when after some funny banter, the Secretary brings up the King's recent lower commitment to the AIDS crisis in his country and asks him to partner to help strengthen his commitment with her, and to use the help of his wives where she then names every one of them in their correct seating, and earns his and her staff's respect. A short celebratory walk follows with mentions of the Secretary "blowing up Twitter," as the Secretary heads to her office where she finds her husband waiting for her. She notices his steely expression as Henry says, "Its George, he's dead from a single car collision, no witnesses." She stumbles trembling to the chair and says, "It wasn't an accident." Henry says, "I know.", as they fall into each other's arms.

Alright, overall, I think I am going to love this show, however, I am really hoping it keeps its strength in the writing and not soapy gimmicks. I loved the banter and writing of the initial scene with the student, and between Aide Blake and her Press Coordinator and Speech Writer, and with her and Henry in bed talking about their sex life. I am a smidge worried about this whole conspiracy plotline. I understand that a world changing event on each show is not possible, but to serialize about some secret goings on in Venezuela is just overused, who done it, drama. There is a lot more this Secretary can handle on her plate than a conspiracy within the CIA. I don't think THE WEST WING ever used the soap quality of drama much, if at all, and I really hope that MADAM SECRETARY does not rely on it.

BEST QUOTES:

1) CIA friend George, talking about missing being out in the field instead of at his current desk job: "You have Africa, Africa is the Disco of Global Hotspots!"

2) Henry McCord, talking about relocating for her new job: "Are you kidding, I love Georgetown, being a religious professor at a Jesuit school is like being a Beatle."

QUESTIONS:

1) What was the ethical reason that caused Elizabeth to leave the CIA?
2) Are Elizabeth and Henry going to be able to have weekday sex again?
3) Who is behind George's murder, (and please can this plotline end)?

Below, check out a sneak peek of the next episode of MADAM SECRETARY titled 'Another Benghazi,' airing Sunday, September 28th at 8/7c on CBS!

Let me know what you think of the first episode. Please leave your comments below, or you can tweet me at @leftofstr8, and make sure to follow @BWWTVWorld. Please join us again for next week's episode.

To post a comment, you must register and login.