TV on DVD Buzz

This week’s TV on DVD Season I am going through and doing wrap ups of is the two part Season 1/Inaugural Edition of the Commander in Chief series, which ended up canceled after the first season. Today’s wrap up is of Part 2 Disc 3. It might seem odd, but really the first disc in part 2 is labeled disc 3, as it basically is disc 3 of season 1 and it actually concludes a two part episode arc that had the first part on Part 1 Disc 2.

“No Nukes is Good Nukes” - The North Koreans are preparing to fight war, as they say that the submarine being in North Korean waters was a purposeful act of war. They call in a professor that is an expert on the North Koreans. Mrs. Templeton goes to Templeton’s chief of staff, Jane, and tries to convince her to come back, as Templeton is not good at apologizing, but really wants her working for him again. Templeton and the President try to get the Chinese to let them use their underwater rescue system. They end up negotiating to use it covertly as if it was an entirely American operation. The Koreans hit a plane and there is pressure to counterstrike. There is some talk of having the submarine blow itself up, but neither the President and Templeton agree to that, which leads to a rare time the two of them support the same idea and defend it together against the others who think they submarine should be destroyed and rescue efforts of minimal chance abandoned. Jane ends up going to Templeton and apologizes for betraying him and he gladly welcomes her back. The President tells North Korea that if the Koreans attack the rescue vessels they will retaliate with the full force of the United States military, but if they do not they will give them $500 million for “humanitarian aid” with no strings attached. As Templeton, the President, and the First Gentleman wait to see what happens they say a prayer. The North Koreans want her to apologize for the sub being in their waters and she agrees to do so if the crew is safely rescued without being fired on by the Koreans. In the end the rescue is peacefully played out and she does apologize. Templeton begins to realize that she is good for the country and that she will be hard to beat in the election while the President tells her close staff that she really wants to run for President.

“Wind Beneath My Wing” - This episode begins with Templeton interviewing with the press related to how the President is doing and how he is running against her. In the interview he implies the the First Gentleman is very involved in the Presidency and Americans are getting two for the price of one. The President goes to California for the groundbreaking of the Bridges Presidential Library and Templeton again joins her on Air Force One. The President’s teenagers are bored with no friends around and at the suggestion of Grandma saying they should invite friends over they decide to have a sort of party. While the President is in California going to the event a man parks a truck that is said to be equipped with a bomb under the wing of Air Force One. They end up avoiding public entry due to the incident (by the way the actors of the father and sister of Betty in Ugly Betty appear in this episode). Back at the White House the teenagers end up running loose around the West Wing. This includes Rebecca leading a fake press conference with her friends and Horace making out with Rebecca’s friend in the Oval Office. The person threatening to blow up Air Force One is annoyed at the health insurance from his VA benefits not helping his sick wife. The Gettysburg Address on display in the Lincoln Bedroom goes missing and the teenagers’ friends are suspected. The President refuses to negotiate with the man threatening to bomb the plane. She gives the man five minutes and then promises to have him shot by a sniper if he does not agree to surrender. It turns out that the younger daughter, Amy, hid the Gettysburg Address.

“State of the Unions” - This episode begins with the President reviewing past President’s States of the Union speeches. The First Gentleman makes the tabloid news when he tripped and it seems liked he grabbed a woman’s breast to regain his balance. It causes some tension between him and the President. The President’s homeless bill is having problems being passed mostly involving a senator who wants an amendment related to prisons and drug crackdowns. Also, the possible sexual harassment and drunken trip gets more publicity than the homeless bill. The tension between the President and the First Gentleman get worse with the President feeling like he has too big of a part of the administration. It turns out the First Gentleman’s drink was spiked. The First Gentleman decides to return to just being the First Gentleman rather than being involved in the West Wing. The President ends up giving her State of the Union live from the Oval Office directly to the people rather than through the people’s representatives by addressing a joint session of Congress.

“The Price You Pay” - In this episode the President’s Attorney General’s nominee is in town hoping to be confirmed by Congress. Templeton finds out about people the Attorney General nominee had paroled years earlier and ones that committed crimes after being paroled. The victims go to the public that make it seem like the President and her nominee choice are soft on crime. A cargo plane has gone missing with 100 hand held missile launchers (stingers, I think) on board. The President’s mother left the White House and at first they think she went missing, but she left on her own to take a break perhaps. The Attorney General nominee wants to resign, as he feels like a liability. It turns out that the President’s mother had been dating a man, which is why she had been sneaking off. The main reason she kept it a secret was that the man was technically still married, as his wife was in a nursing home after suffering a stroke. For the first time in the show it seems they really work with Congress to negotiate to get her nominee confirmed. She ends up getting him confirmed. Only 50 of the hand held missile launchers end up recovered.

“Ties That Bind” - This episode begins with them getting intel on that the missing missiles are on the market. The President’s aide is getting “married” to his partner (Josh?) in this episode, but at first only the Press Secretary knows. The President begins to look at an issue of murders happening in nearby Hyattsville. She ends up attending a town hall meeting there to hear the communities ideas on the crime issue and what should be done about it. She is criticized for stepping on state’s rights by trying to get involved in Hyattsville. The Vice President breaks the tie for the Templeton bill in the Senate going against what Templeton told him to do as the favor for letting him get confirmed as Vice President. The Vice President tells the President that his wife has ovarian cancer with only months left to live and he ends up resigning.