# Designated Survivor Season Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556 "2016-09-22T02:44:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/41 "2016-09-24T18:15:03Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > It’s more a direct lift of the idea from Tom Clancy’s _Executive Orders_, but yeah. Yeah. When they realized that the previous President was dead, I said “We have Condition Clancy - repeat - Condition Clancy.” Was a little annoyed that the FBI agent had to give an order to check license plates nearby. I’d have preferred her to expect that obvious investigatory actions were already in progress. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/42 "2016-09-24T18:24:41Z")
The new President’s meekness was really getting annoying. I hope he starts developing some balls, and not in a Jack Bauer way. But then he went over the top with threatening to bomb Teheran instead of first threatening to take out all of the Iranian warships. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/43 "2016-09-25T17:16:12Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > . > I don’t know if SCOTUS are required to attend, but since distinguished seats are reserved for them, I think it would be bad form for them not to show up. Many of them do not show. Scalia had missed the last 19. So this could be an interesting twist in the show, just how many and which Supremes are left? > [@](#): > > For years, attendance among the justices has been declining: From 1965 through 1980, the attendance rate was 84 percent. Over the next two decades, the number dropped to 53 percent. Since 2000, the rate has fallen to 32 percent, according to a study by Todd Peppers of Roanoke College and Michael Giles of Emory University. > > […] > > Justice Stephen Breyer, a liberal, is the only justice that attends every year (in fact, three times in recent history he has been the only justice in attendance), but his defense was hardly inspiring: “People attend if they wish to attend. I do wish to attend, so I go,” he said in 2005. > **[Why 3 Supreme Court Justices Didn't Attend the State of the Union](https://time.com/3672123/state-of-the-union-supreme-court/)** > > They don't like sitting "like the proverbial potted plant." I am willing to see how they go for a few more episodes. Fun so far. ---
**Author:** ![DarkFire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@DarkFire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkFire)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/44 "2016-09-26T09:02:38Z")
The only thing I really wondered about is that he only found out he’d be designated survivor on the day itself. Wouldn’t you be a bit more prepared? I like how he felt he was in way over his head (definitely at first) because wow…wouldn’t you be? I think if something even slightly similar happened in real life, the same chaotic stuff would happen. Military and advisors all ready for action (that’s what they do, that’s what they’re trained for) while the new president (and other staff) are in shock. Regarding surviving congress/senate members. I can see how that comes into play later. Along side a bit of party politics. But again, if something like this would happen, wouldn’t the country go into martial law right away, president gets to take all decisions. Though maybe they’d put the 2 others at his side just so everyone knows ‘democracy’ is still alive. The general wanting to take over. That was a total silly cliche (including how the guy looks) but even THAT I can see happen in real life, or at least him feeling the guy is not suited to take over and grumbling loudly about it. I’m sure there are military types who want to bombard the world for the smallest things. 😉 Anyways, interesting show. We’ll see how it goes. Sutherland acts well, switching between family man, mild-mannered politician and then trying to find his big boy voice. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/45 "2016-09-26T09:10:28Z")
> [@DarkFire](#): > > The only thing I really wondered about is that he only found out he’d be designated survivor on the day itself. Wouldn’t you be a bit more prepared? I was a little more surprised that the Undisclosed Location was literally close enough that he could see the Capitol building out the window. If there had been a nuclear strike, he’d have been toast too. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/46 "2016-09-26T17:29:31Z")
I kind of like this show, although I could do with some stereotypical characters. Don’t like the druggie son. You know he’ll get in trouble and be a liability to the president. He’s got a Kim-Bauer-chased-by-cougars vibe, and I’m not just saying that because 24 was Kiefer’s last show. That kid will do something really shitty, maybe even get kidnapped. I wish they had Maggie Q as some type other than the frazzled female in a man’s world needing the approval of her male coworkers to succeed. She probably has a young child and/or an unsupportive husband/boyfriend to hammer in the point that she’s a woman balancing both work and family The new chief of staff seems like he could be interesting. But its a bit soon isn’t it to have him already be pulled aside by the old gruff veteran general who thinks we should bomb people as a show of strength? I get that the general character has to be there, its the only real internal conflict we have now within Kirkman’s administration, but it a bit soon to be pulling that in the hour of the bombing, isn’t it? Or maybe its been several hours, I don’t know, I can’t help but get a 24 feel for the time. If the next episode begins on the same night, I will think they are trying too hard to imitate 24 But other than that, I’m enjoying this show, including the sneak previews of the rest of the season, so I’m going to stick with it for now. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/47 "2016-09-26T18:27:19Z")
> [@](#): > > The new chief of staff seems like he could be interesting. But its a bit soon isn’t it to have him already be pulled aside by the old gruff veteran general who thinks we should bomb people as a show of strength? If you’re talking about Kal Penn, he isn’t the chief of staff, just a speech writer. I’m predicting that Maggie Q’s boyfriend Scott, who isn’t answering his phone but whose phone apparently hasn’t been destroyed, is probably involved in the plot. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/48 "2016-09-26T18:48:42Z")
Did they ever specify if the Capital was bombed or hit by a missile? I know the lady FBI agent found a landmine in the rubble. I think it was Russian? Well probably learn more in the next few episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/49 "2016-09-26T19:05:01Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Did they ever specify if the Capital was bombed or hit by a missile? > > I know the lady FBI agent found a landmine in the rubble. I think it was Russian? > > Well probably learn more in the next few episodes. She didn’t find it, rescue and search people found it. She was standing nearby. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/50 "2016-09-26T20:55:02Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The new President’s meekness was really getting annoying. I hope he starts developing some balls, and not in a Jack Bauer way. But then he went over the top with threatening to bomb Teheran instead of first threatening to take out all of the Iranian warships. I was dying for him to go full Jack Bauer. The Clark Kent/Jack Bauer transformation was the best part of the show. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/51 "2016-09-26T21:10:46Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Disappointing thus far, far too many cliches lumbering over the horizon. It’s a wonderful idea for a show, but sadly lacking in the execution, at least in the pilot. Most of the reviewers are lukewarm too. Yeah, once I saw “Special Agent Anorexia”\* was gonna be in it, I was wary, but then when TV Guide let us know it was gonna likely not be Foreign terrorists but a “super duper top secret Government conspiracy” I went- \*no thanks. \*:rolleyes: - thanks **JohnT**! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/52 "2016-09-26T21:14:17Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I don’t know if SCOTUS are required to attend, but since distinguished seats are reserved for them, I think it would be bad form for them not to show up. IRL there’d be half of SCOTUS and a couple dozen Congresscritters who werent there, for one reason or another. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/53 "2016-09-26T21:49:45Z")
Kirkman seemed so ill-prepared. I get that he was supposed to be a guy that didn’t fight back – that his wife was hammering him to grow a pair (my wife hammers on that with me, sometimes). But, if you were the “designated survivor,” wouldn’t you at least put a little thought into what you would do? Wouldn’t people be installed around you to help you out? In _The West Wing_, there was a scene where President Bartlett was going to go off and deliver the SoTU speech. He stopped off to wish the designated survivor luck. The DS was clearly a bit unnerved. So, Bartlett reassured him that he would do great. He even offered advice. “Do you have a best friend?” he asked. “Yeah.” “Great. There’s your Chief of Staff.” He went on to something like, “take things one step at a time and don’t let yourself get pushed into something you don’t fully understand.” How did Kirkman get picked for this duty if he was going to be fired that afternoon? The President didn’t even like him. Why not pick someone who might actually be able to do the job? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/54 "2016-09-26T22:48:41Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > If you’re talking about Kal Penn, he isn’t the chief of staff, just a speech writer. > > I’m predicting that Maggie Q’s boyfriend Scott, who isn’t answering his phone but whose phone apparently hasn’t been destroyed, is probably involved in the plot. Not that guy, the handsome looking tall guy who was kind of shepherding Kirkman around everywhere. The one that the general later pulls aside and said something to the effect of “we have to do something about that guy”. I think he gave Kirkman his suit jacket to use for the speech? That guy. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/55 "2016-09-27T00:00:10Z")
Drumgod wrote: “How did Kirkman get picked for this duty if he was going to be fired that afternoon? The President didn’t even like him. Why not pick someone who might actually be able to do the job?” I addressed this same question on another site. Basically he was picked _because_ he was getting fired. Kind of the political equivalent of having to go stand in the corner. I mean, it’s not like anybody _knew_ things were going to go sideways. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/56 "2016-09-27T01:53:48Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Drumgod wrote: “How did Kirkman get picked for this duty if he was going to be fired that afternoon? The President didn’t even like him. Why not pick someone who might actually be able to do the job?” > > I addressed this same question on another site. Basically he was picked _because_ he was getting fired. Kind of the political equivalent of having to go stand in the corner. I mean, it’s not like anybody _knew_ things were going to go sideways. Yeah that’s kind of a silly objection to the premise. No one really expects everyone else in the line of secession to be killed. For reference and possibly forgiveness fron some cynical posters here, from the wiki on “designated survivor”: > [@](#): > > For the 2010 State of the Union Address, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan was the designated survivor. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also absent from the address. However, Secret Service rules prevented Clinton from being named the designated survivor since it was public knowledge that she was at a conference in London during the event.[3] Had a calamity occurred in Washington, Clinton (not Donovan) would have become Acting President, as her office was higher in the line of succession.[4] Actually, if you look at the footnote link there you’ll see the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development pops up often enough: [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou\_cabinet.php](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou_cabinet.php) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/57 "2016-09-28T14:54:11Z")
Although the plot was clichéd and obvious at times, and the secondary cast was uneven, I mostly liked the pilot and will keep watching, at least for now. Sutherland and the actress playing his wife are good, and it’s a very interesting premise. > [@GaryM](#): > > Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the governess of the states can appoint senators, don’t know about representatives. Vacancies in the House are filled by special elections. For the Senate, most states provide for gubernatorial appointments, but a minority fill those vacancies by special elections, too. U.S. Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 2, cl. 4: “When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.” U.S. Constitution, 27th Amendment, cl. 2: “When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.” And see: [United States Senate - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate#Mid-term_vacancies) > [@terentii](#): > > Had I been in Kirkman’s shoes, as soon as the general challenged my authority, I would have told him “Thank you for stating your views, General. You’re relieved.”… Tempting, and I’m sure the general is now on Kirkman’s shitlist, but I think he knew he couldn’t afford to be shaking up leadership at the Pentagon on the very night of a national tragedy. He’s deeply shaken, unsure of himself and still learning his new job. > [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > …But what bugged me is that they put the president and his family in the White House immediately after the bombing a short distance away. On 9/11/2001, didn’t they fly President Bush around the country to secret bunkers to protect him? The White House is the last place I’d put the president under those circumstances. Bush was flown around on Air Force One on 9-11 after leaving the Florida classroom where he first learned of the attacks. He landed at Air Force bases in Louisiana and Nebraska (at the latter of which, he was taken to a bunker for a secure teleconference with advisors) before returning to Washington, overriding the recommendation from Secret Service that he stay away from the capital. He spent the night in the White House, also against their advice. For more: [9/11: How the drama unfolded aboard Air Force One, inside the White House bunker and at the Pentagon](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/september-11-attacks/8754394/911-How-the-drama-unfolded-in-the-skies-and-underground.html) > [@terentii](#): > > …the Secret Service is obedient on the scale of Rome’s Praetorian Guard, and the military are conditioned to err on the side of following orders, especially ones from from the President. (Read _ **Fail-Safe** _, a somewhat dated but still excellent work.) > > Those people are sworn to defend the Constitution. The chances of an armed _coup d’etat_ ever occurring in the United States are miniscule. Strongly agreed. For a good fictional take on a possible military coup in the U.S., though, see _Seven Days in May_ (the book and the movie have some significant differences, but both are worth a look). > [@Smapti](#): > > I was a little more surprised that the Undisclosed Location was literally close enough that he could see the Capitol building out the window. If there had been a nuclear strike, he’d have been toast too. Also agreed. There was an FBI seal on the wall and an FBI flag in the conference room where Kirkman was waiting during the SOTU, so I presume it was meant to be in the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the FBI’s HQ, which is on Penna. Ave. just down the street from the Capitol. Much too close, under the circumstances. > [@YogSothoth](#): > > …Don’t like the druggie son. You know he’ll get in trouble and be a liability to the president. He’s got a Kim-Bauer-chased-by-cougars vibe… I laughed. > [@Drum\_God](#): > > …How did Kirkman get picked for this duty if he was going to be fired that afternoon? The President didn’t even like him. Why not pick someone who might actually be able to do the job? That actually rang true to me. It’s quite possible that choosing the designated survivor for the night was a bureaucratic decision made by someone other than the WH Chief of Staff. The fact that Kirkman was about to be fired wasn’t widely known, and he might’ve been selected as DS days or even weeks before. If I were President, incidentally, I would have my Secretary of Defense or of Homeland Security always be the DS. I don’t see the advantage of having it be some random Cabinet secretary who might be very good in his or her relatively narrow area of expertise (such as, um, creating affordable housing), but untested and quite possibly unqualified to be leading the country in a major crisis. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/58 "2016-09-28T18:58:19Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > If I were President, incidentally, I would have my Secretary of Defense or of Homeland Security always be the DS. I don’t see the advantage of having it be some random Cabinet secretary who might be very good in his or her relatively narrow area of expertise (such as, um, creating affordable housing), but untested and quite possibly unqualified to be leading the country in a major crisis. But you’re looking at it the opposite way of any president would. He’s not choosing who he wants to lead the country, he’s picking the guy he doesn’t need to be clapping at his speech. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/59 "2016-09-28T20:18:16Z")
The Russian bomb that “must be a dud” is obviously a decoy to deflect suspicion away from a domestic conspiracy. I hope this show avoids the usual governmental conspiracy clichés. The pilot was uneven but good enough that I’ll tune in again for the next episode. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556/60 "2016-09-28T20:20:19Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I hope this show avoids the usual governmental conspiracy clichés. I’ll bet it doesnt. The TV guide preview made that fairly clear. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/designated-survivor-season-thread/766556.md?page=4)