Tea Leoni IS Madam Secretary

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 8:14am

Anyone else watch? There were some issues, but I think it has lots of potential to be great. Like The Good Wife (Cary!! I woke up still stressed out!), Madam Secretary is chock-full of New York actors and they're clearly trying to market it as a sister show to their critical hit. They need to be careful with this though and just allow the show to develop naturally and not to try to exactly replicate TGW as it will lead to unfair comparisons if/when it doesn't measure up.

I like that they didn't push too hard giving us a million backstories of the supporting characters in the pilot. I just hope viewers stick around and the show is able to find its footing.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 9:06am

I enjoyed it! Definitely not as crisp as TGW but so much talent. I totally agree that it's always so exciting to see so many NY actors. Always love Bebe and Zeljko no matter what they do. Also had Patina Miller and Geoffrey Arend. Erich Bergen who played Bob Gaudio in "The Jersey Boys" movie was also very good as the aide to the secretary.
Tea was great and looked terrific. Can't wait for Tim Daly to start philandering with his adoring students. You know it's coming.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 9:25am

Oh you KNOW Daly (I read that quickly as Tyne Daly, ha!) will be boinking the students soon enough. He's the Chris Noth role! Grace and Zach are the kids.

Bebe is Diane and Patina will be Kalinda. Zeljko is clearly Eli and I bet they develop a similar relationship over time to what Alicia and Eli now have. Now we just need a Jackie!!

[NYadgal]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 9:54am

This was one of my favorite pilots of the new season.
Her performance is dead on - I found myself almost applauding her work at the dinner with all the wives names.

I think there are many ways they can take multiple storylines, and look forward to watching the season unfold.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 9:56am

Arrrgh - missed this one because my TIVO had it at both 8 and 10. Here's hoping it pops up on CBS so I can watch the pilot. I was busy catching up on TGW last night.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 9:57am

Watched it this morning before work and I thought it was great. Tea Leoni was excellent and I was engaged to the story the entire show. Let's hope it is a hit for the network. Too bad the start times will be staggered every week due to football, which might make it difficult to accurately quantify the viewership.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 9:58am

Between TGW, Revenge and now Madam Secretary - and the delays on CBS due to football, my Sunday night tivo-ing is complicated.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 10:42am

I now have my TiVo set to record Madam Secretary with an additional hour of time every week. Hopefully that will be enough!

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 2:29pm

I wish I could be on board with all the positive responses, but honestly.... it kind of felt like a pulpy melodramatic stepchild to the infinitely superior WEST WING, which it closely resembles in looks, musical licks (that drum beat is an exact ripoff), and the logo image of the capitol that opens and closes each act.

I feel the characters so far are only barely less goofy cliches than their counterparts on VEEP. Why does everyone seem so ill-prepared for their job? Why does Keith Carradine's President seem pure evil from the get-go? One of the things I've consistently enjoyed about The GOOD WIFE after all these seasons is how damn SMART everyone there is. Same can't quite be said for MADAME SECRETARY so far.

Fingers crossed it finds its adult footing quickly.

(And yeah, Cary in jail is a WTF plot turn on The Good Wife too, but it's earned my loyalty to ride out the crazy.)

[wonkit]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 8:58pm

Not sold on this yet, but also interested enough to keep watching. Agree that it is reaching for some of the WEST WING walk-and-talk vibe but that is hard lightning to capture in another bottle.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 9:20pm

I don't understand - unpolitical nature or not - why she continually thought it was a good idea to go to work for the federal government me with her shirt unbuttoned.

I was pretty unimpressed. I don't know that I'll watch it again.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 11:39pm

The kids use this phrase a lot but… I just can't with Tea Leoni. The TeeVee won't stop trying to make her happen, however.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 11:59pm

The writing on the first episode of Madam Secretary is nowhere near the quality of writing on The West Wing, even that show's first episode.

[BWF]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 10:31am

Everything is in place but there's no magic. I really wanted to like this because of Tea who is way overdue for a huge hit.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 10:28pm

I see what BWF means, but with Tea Leoni for ear candy (Love, love, love that husky voice!) and Tim Daly for eye candy (even as he approaches 60), what's not to like?

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 10:54pm

I think the problem with Leoni is that she's a little bit hit or miss. Her instinct is to underplay, and that's what directors like about her. The approach can be sort of fresh and unadorned. But her line readings can just as easily come off as dry and disconnected. She's not nearly as vacant as Ali McGraw was, but there's a similar distant stilted quality that they both share.

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 12/27/15 at 8:32pm

Anyone stay faithful to this? Decided to watch it over the holiday weekend (Im on Season 1 Ep. 16) and I'm enjoying it. Not to mention, any show that employs NY talent is always welcomed. 

Updated On: 12/27/15 at 08:32 PM

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 12/27/15 at 10:08pm

Faithful viewer here. Really enjoying season 2. Fantastic show with incredible guest actors. Will continue watching this as long as it's on the air. 

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 12/27/15 at 11:08pm

Any idea if I can catch up on CBS.com for S2?

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 12/28/15 at 12:50am

I've kind of been getting away from this, this season. I watched the first 3 episodes, but just didn't have enough time to watch it again.

[BWF]

Posted: 12/28/15 at 8:07am

I kept on with it and really started to enjoy it. I'll be watching Season 2 as soon as it comes to Netflix or Amazon Video in the UK...

Updated On: 12/28/15 at 08:07 AM

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 12/28/15 at 5:11pm

Surprised to read my bitchy take on the pilot episode a year and a half ago. Mostly because this show comes on Sunday nights right before my beloved THE GOOD WIFE, Madame S has been pretty much required viewing for me ever since. 

 

I will say that the second season has been ludicrous and fascinating in equal measure. Crazy intrigue with a Russia dictatress that implies that WWIII is just around the corner has kept me tuned in every week, even as I scream things to the screen about the ludicrousness of having the Secretary of State and her husband/college professor/ recruiter for the CIA sharing pillow talk about the latest retro-iron curtain intrigues.

 

But no moment this season has come close to the scene last season when our beloved Tea uttered the fateful malapropism: "If it's any constellation..." We've been quoting that line on a daily basis ever since.

Updated On: 12/28/15 at 05:11 PM

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 12/29/15 at 4:08am

I think it is interesting that the ratings are higher for Madam Secretary than The Good Wife since Madam Secretary requires a bit more concentration. Either way both shows are well done.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 1/16/18 at 6:24am

Two years after this thread was started and I am still faithful to this show.  

Anyone catch the Sound and Fury episode on Sunday?  I loved that we got to see Keith Carradine chew up the scenery as a maniacal president determined to nuke the Russians.  Christine Ebersole played the First Lady.  The 25th Amendment is invoked to remove him from power.  Sound familiar?

Sorry to see Bebe Neuwirth depart the show but happy to welcome a butch Sara Ramirez to the ensemble.

Anybody else still enjoying this show?

 

[Marianne2]

Posted: 1/16/18 at 7:32pm

I'll admit, I started to watch this show because I found out Sara Ramirez was joining the show. Unfortunately, I have not seen many episodes before that.

But, I really did enjoy Sunday's episode. Too bad it isn't as easy to invoke the 25th amendment in real life.