MovieChat Forums > Designated Survivor (2016) Discussion > Opinions please

Opinions please

posted 8 years ago by lasteven (309)
14 replies | jump to latest

We watched every season of 24 (up to Legacy) and mostly enjoyed them, although there was some eye rolling at particularly ridiculous plot devices (like Kim and the cougar).

I thought we would probably like DS, so I watched the first episode and couldn't stick with it and actually finish. That's really unlike me! It just seemed very slow compared to what I was hoping for and oriented politically (as opposed to lots of guns and a very high body count).

Did I completely misread that or would it be worth trying again? How does it compare with 24 and Homeland? Thanks for any thoughts.

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[–] wheelin176 (2055) 8 years ago

It shouldn't be compared to 24. It's a completely different show.

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[–] lasteven (309) 8 years ago

Which is a great point. Many people who know we watched 24 have been saying, hey, you loved X, try Designated Survivor. But when I watched it, they didn't seem the same at all -- just had an actor in common.

What would you compare it to?

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[–] wheelin176 (2055) 8 years ago

That's a bit difficult b/c I've never seen a show with this premise. Many like it but it's not everyone's cup of tea. It's political but it's not Homeland. Keep in mind that's on Netflix.

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[–] TandyMan (11178) 8 years ago

This isn't anything like 24 or Homeland. It's more like a "what if" West Wing type of show. I'm not sure how much more of it i'll be watching. They keep throwing all these new people in, there's continual cast shakeups. It's really hard to follow. They're just throwing everything at the wall. One revolving conspiracy after another. It's pretty clear the whole nature of the show will focus on political power games.

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[–] lasteven (309) 8 years ago

Thank you for the description. I think we've just had well-meaning friends who grabbed for the first comparison that came to mind.

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[–] MrSpock (286) 8 years ago

My wife and I love DS. It moves much quicker than you think and it is growing with each new episode.

Now, we also absolutely love Homeland season 1-5. We taped season 6 and only watched the first episode which was hard to stomach. Probably my least favorite episode of HL.

I can't tell you what to do, but if you are similar in your tastes with me (Homeland, 24, Prison Break, clandestine government dealings) you should like it.

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[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 8 years ago

I like DS, but 24 was better imho.

😎

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[–] lasteven (309) 8 years ago

Thanks! I'll definitely have that in my pocket then the next time we're staring at the screen, trying to figure out what to try next. We did enjoy Homeland (husband wasn't interested in going on after Damian Lewis left), plus 24 and Prison Break. We've been watching a lot of Scan-noir TV lately like the originals of The Bridge and The Killing, but we should finish up with the shows we have in another week or two.

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[–] Volley (3433) 8 years ago

For the record: Kim & the Cougar in 24 Season 2 was barely a sixty second scene, yet for some reason it's something naysayers always remember about 24. I find that annoying. 24 Season 2 is actually one of the best seasons of the show too! And also for the record, there are Cougars and Mountain Lions that roam the hills around Los Angeles--just google search news reports on that.

The last episode of Designated Survivor was neat because we saw Kiefer Sutherland in an interrogation role where he actually performed like Jack Bauer for a few seconds, heck if you were just glancing at the TV you would assume you were watching a new episode of 24. Very enjoyable.

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[–] MrSpock (286) 8 years ago

Lol, nice catch. Kirkman even had the Bauer temper. I was waiting for him to cut off a finger or two when he asked everyone to leave.

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[–] lasteven (309) 8 years ago

Season 2 does actually rank as one of my top favorites (we watched all seasons, but not Legacy). I think the cougar scene gets used as shorthand for the sideplots which felt more unnecessary. (It was difficult at times I think to know how to work Kim in appropriately after the first season. I think they made the right call for the show by moving her out of the main plotline.) I liked the Kate Warner character in Season 2 and thought she fit in well -- one of my favorite moments was realizing that it was her sister was the one involved in things, not her husband. Plus Michelle Forbes that season? Awesome.

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[–] Volley (3433) 8 years ago

There was a time, if I recall, that Gary Matheson--the guy Kim worked for, was going to be linked to the Day 2 terrorists, but writers figured that would be too sensational and probably unrealistic. At least then Kim would have been part of the Day 2 plot in that regard, it was ultimately scrapped for the evil father character.

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[–] lasteven (309) 8 years ago

That's really interesting about Matheson! I didn't read much at the time about the show as it was going because we could only rent the DVDs once they were released. Staying spoiler free was hard as heck! (We did the same with Lost and a few other shows, so we got pretty good at it, but with the prevalence of social media now it became nearly impossible not to hear about the latest twist.)

Oh yeah, the babysitter dad from hell, lol. I never liked to babysit, but that alone would have put me off it forever. I have a real soft spot for Season 2, cougar and all. (Have you read about P-22, the famous mountain lion in that area? They've had some fun, interesting articles about him plus some great photos, although he did have a mini-scandal when he decided to go snacking at an LA zoo.)

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[–] brux (14753) 8 years ago

Homeland is so amazing I cannot think of anything that compare with it.
24 was good, entertaining, but contrived, and DS is also entertaining but contrived,
maybe a bit less than 24 because it doesn't have the phony hour-by-hour framework
to constrain it, but there have been so many stupid moves on DS I cannot take it
seriously.

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