Ironically the Secretary of Homeland Security is the last person in the Presidential line of succession; falling after such officials as the Secretary of Education or Veterans’ Affairs. This is because it’s the most recently created government department; there was an attempt to move it up ahead of Interior, but that didn’t go anywhere.
Yes, I remember that.
Sen. Birch Bayh was instrumental in drafting the 25th Amendment and getting it ratified. In One Heartbeat Away, his very interesting 1968 book about presidential disability and succession, he suggested adding the state governors to the line of succession, in order of state population according to the most recent Census. But that’s never gone anywhere, either.
I’m a bit confused by the time line. Is each episode basically one day?
Not much progress in rebuilding the government. Kirkman did give a list of cabinet appointees to Congresswoman Hookstraten. I’m not sure why? She can’t represent Congress by herself. The Constitution requires a quorum. I’ve read in real life, the President can make recess appointments in the absence of a Congressional quorum.
A lot of political manipulations and betrayals in this episode.
They are really making the Secret Service incompetent. Their reaction to the power outage was pathetic. No power means the security system is down. A logical first step to a full out attack. Their response should have been much more decisive.
A lot of shows have the crises of the week that’s resolved and quickly forgotten. I’m encouraged that the previews indicate the problems in Michigan weren’t forgotten after Ep 2.
Designated Survivor isn’t falling into that episodic Trope.
If all the characters are going to be assholes then I don’t want to watch any more. I was hoping for more like “The West Wing” and less like “Big Brother”.
Seriously, the only two characters that aren’t assholes are the President and his tiny daughter.
They need to start rebuilding the government. I think that’s what most viewers want to see. Kirkman doesn’t even have a Press Secretary yet.
The petty rivalries over who is chief of staff are a bit silly when so much of the Federal government is gone.
The conspiracy is interesting because it’s not over yet. Eventually they’ll try and remove Kirkman too.
I’ll stick with it for awhile anyway. I try to give a show a fair chance before writing it off.
I’m starting to loose interest. Things are sliding back to business as usually way to quickly. What’s next? Everybody celebrates a change at a new beginning by visiting a mysterious casino with a dark secret?
Under the rules, a quorum is a majority of members. If she is the only member then a quorum would be one person.
Incorrect. Only when Congress is adjourned.
It’s the Senate that approves Presidential appointments (other than the VP), not Congress as a whole. Arguably if all Senate seats are vacant because their holders are dead then the Senate has adjourned and recess appointments are Constitutional permissible. Of course this changes one Senate starts getting replenished with gubernatorial appointees.
Do you know who appoints or otherwise replenishes the House of Reps?
I’ll stick with the show for now, but I can’t say I’m delighted with it. So much lost potential so far.
See post 57.
There’s been at least three answers to that in this thread. The states have to hold special elections.
This show is like House for me. I am a huge nitpicker (for example, the Senate also has a designated survivor precisely so the “Senate” can confirm the new Cabinet, etc.) and that normally ruins a show for me but I am compelled to watch Designated Survivor despite how just wrong the facts are.
This is the best episode since the premiere. A lot of character development as Kirkland and his staff fully take on the responsibility and burdens of the Presidency.
Kirkland’s writing is very deft at portraying a decent easy going guy that is forced to find inner sources of strength. His desire to protect the country and preserve the Federal government forces him to make ruthless and tough decisions. Decisions he probably wouldn’t have agreed with prior to the bombing.
His staff are going through similar transition. Especially the former speech writer/Press Secretary and Kirkland’s former chief of staff at HUD.
Kirkland made great strides to fully embracing the Presidency in this episode. Firing the opinionated General, dealing with the Michigan Governor, and striking the terror group. That’s a lot in one episode. 
The characters are what I find most interesting right now. The government conspiracy will eventually take center stage in this show. That’s something Kirkland and his staff need to be ready for as it develops.
I have a bad feeling Kirkland is being fed incorrect Intel. He’s being pushed into striking the wrong target. I’m not sure what any President could do in that situation. They have to trust the Intel they are given in security briefings. They can’t go out and collect it for themselves.
I’m wondering about the significance of the lone survivor of the bombing? What would the conspiracy gain by saving him? I’d guess he’ll be the focus of up coming episodes.
Much as I liked this episode. I’d suggest one minor improvement. The Michigan Governor’s state police bodyguards should have been with him. I would have enjoyed seeing them confronted by Federal Marshals and standing down. Realizing they are Americans and are sworn to uphold the law. They couldn’t prevent the Governor’s arrest by Federal Authorities. Would have been a cool scene that could have been done with little additional dialogue. Just eye contact between the State Police and the Federal Marshals.
Oakland airport diverted their air path about 10:30pm last night, so I only saw the first half. 
I’ll have to watch it on the internet next week. :mad: :mad: :mad:
I was ready to give up on this show, but the most recent episode was a big step up in quality.
I’m wondering whether they’re going for the double fakeout and in fact that random terrorist group IS responsible for the attack. We so expect them not to be because the plucky FBI agent who plays by her own rules should always be right. But there sure seems to be an overwhelming amount of evidence all pointing in the same direction…
Its on Netflix.
I couldn’t find it on Netflix.
Did you mean hulu? Unfortunately, all of the episodes on hulu are for paid subscribers only. If you mean on abc.com, ABC doesn’t let you watch shows until 8 days after they’ve aired unless you subscribe to a participating cable company. You can also buy individual episodes on amazon.com.
I watched it on Netflix, maybe its not available on US Netflix?
That is quite possible.
Can you watch the show on over-the-air TV where you live?