Political Animals "Pilot" Review

Everwood and Jack & Bobby were two great series created by Greg Berlanti nine and ten years ago, respectively. I watched those series during my very impressionable early teenage years, which shaped my tastes and interests greatly. Greg Berlanti became as important a creator for young and inspiring writer Chris as Joss Whedon and Kevin Williamson. I had no intention of watching or writing about Political Animals until I learned that Greg Berlanti created and actively involved himself in the mini-series. Berlanti's become a powerful figure in the TV business since his early days on Dawson's Creek. I mistakenly watched No Ordinary Family for a season because Berlanti was attached as a co-creator. Berlanti attached himself to shows like JJ Abrams. So, I tuned into Political Animals, hoping to find the old Berlanti magic.

Political Animals is closer to Jack & Bobby than Everwood. Everwood told the story of a family who moved to New York after the death of the wife/mother and proceeded to tell a terrific story about friendship, family and community. Jack & Bobby followed two brothers, one of whom would become President of the United States. The WB cancelled Jack & Bobby after a season. The season had tons of idealistic optimism, though. Greg Berlanti's an optimist when he's writing about politics. Political Animals follows the Hammond family, closely modeled on the Clintons, as the matriarch works for the man she lost to in the primaries as his secretary of state. I won't drill into your head about how real life and fiction marry like the rest of the internet. Yes, it's like Hillary and Barack. Anyway, the Hammonds are a hotbed for the gossip-hungry media. Former president Bud Hammond is a sex-addict who continues to sleep with any girl he speaks to; brothers Douglas and TJ are opposites--Doug works with Elaine, our protagonist, and is engaged and generally has it together, while TJ is a drug-addict who attempted suicide six months ago.

Elaine is a tremendous character and watching her made me want to learn more about Hillary Clinton's life. I was very young during the Clinton era. I cared about wrestling. I didn't know how to divide fractions. I had a crush on a girl with strawberry blonde hair. I'm not a source for comparisons between fiction Hillary and real Hillary. I quite liked Elaine after the episode ended at 11:24pm. There were several terrific scenes which showcased the character. The first occurred at teaser's end when she declared her intention to divorce Bud. The second occurred when she explained her resolve to Susan Berg, the reporter who won a Pulitzer by ruining the Hammond marriage in the late 90s, because the speech emphasized the essential components of the character: the world is full of failure and pain but good, and even perfect, moments happen few and far between the miserable parts, but one need to keep going to reach those rare moments. The third scene occurred when she verbally dismantled Susan's ethical code after the report of her son's attempted suicide leaked, less than 34 hours after Susan swore the story wouldn't see a newsstand. The second scene displayed Elaine's excellent political savvy; the third scene displayed Elaine the mother, the protector, the human, what she is when she's stripped down and distant from her career as diplomat and secretary of state. The fourth scene essentially closes the episode, sums up what we've seen and what we know about Elaine. Elaine compliments elephants for being big and fearsome but gentle, for being a matriarchal society, and for kicking the males the hell out of the herd when it's time to mate.

The "Pilot" is all about Elaine. Berlanti makes sure the audience knows who she is and what she's about by the time the episode concludes. She handles a family crisis and a political crisis in 48 hours and manages to make significant progress with both. The Iranian hostage situation was pulled from the headlines, albeit with changes. We learn about the President keeping details of the situation secret from Elaine; however, everyone's basically playing her. Susan Berg is always after a story. Her ex-husband Bud showers her with compliments, but he's aiming to become politically relevant again after the divorce hurt his image, so a late-afternoon tryst with his wife is a means to be used to save the three Iranian-American journalists sentenced for execution in mere hours. Her mother tells her she's not president because men don't want to sleep with her. Elaine's always fighting.

The relationship set-up between Elaine and Susan was very good, and it has potential to blossom into the core relationship of the show. Elaine and Bud will be a focal point as well as her relationships with her sons. Elaine and Susan aren't too different, though. The women have an enlightening conversation on a plane ride about Susan's book, a book which aimed to own the word 'bitch' again--indeed, a feminist text trying to take back feminism. Susan is being pushed out by a young and beautiful brunette in the office; her editor boyfriend is a piece of shit who chooses the job over intimate trust. Both possess the tenacity and fortitude to make difficult decisions and deal with the consequences. Both have a heart too. Bud tells his ex-wife about the love he had for her heart; Susan actually apologizes for the leak, seems to feel genuinely bad; and when pressed for the truth about why she's sad, she tells her just-now ex-boyfriend that she's more upset he stuck in his dick in another woman. Perceptions exist that both are made of stone and as cold and brutal as a Siberian summer, but in quiet moments, removed from the media, both are vulnerable. They cry, and it's okay that they cry.

Political Animals biggest strength is Elaine. The show has weaknesses. Berlanti isn't afraid to introduce uninteresting melodramatic soapy plot twists. I'm re-watching and reviewing Everwood on Thursdays and so I've been ranting about a stretch of a season two that shows off Berlanti's fondness for unnecessary melodramatics. In fact, I ranted about a lazy approach to bulimia on Thursday. Doug's fiancée is bulimic. The execution of the story is crucial. TJ is a wild child who snorts cocaine during family dinners. I expect more nonsense melodrama to unfold in the next five episodes. Berlanti usually nails the human moments in his show, though. He told The Daily Beast that Political Animals is the most personal story he's told since Everwood. Everwood was a special show. I don't know how Political Animals will look after five more weeks, but it started off well.

Sigourney Weaver and Carla Gugino were terrific. I wondered about Gugino because Entourage wrote a terrible character for her and, thus, did not impress. With Berlanti behind the computer, she's going to excel.

I'm going to write about the show weekly. Greg Berlanti wrote and directed the "Pilot."

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