Designated Survivor (ABC>Netflix) (1 Viewer)

[David Weicker]

I mostly enjoyed S3. Close to mid S1 quality.

I watched all of S2, and while it was not good, I had enough investment in the characters to see it through.

As for S3 and the thriller aspect.

Spoiler

Once you get to Ep8 or so, it is a nice reversal of S1. In S1, the investigation spun off of the White House into its own story. In S3, it began as its own story (and seemed tacked on), but then it fitted in very nicely with the main story.

I agree that the TV-MA aspects were very gratuitous. Definitely a bit too much.

It was odd not to see the son in the last episode. I understand that the actor has another gig, but he could have come in for one scene. The scene wasn’t realistic without him (ok, the show is a fantasy, but still...)

Overall, I enjoyed it

 

[GlennC]

Just finished up to episode 6. I didn’t read the above spoiler regarding the thriller aspect but certainly in this episode the thriller part lasted no more than five minutes. What annoys me is that in quite a few of the episodes they end on a cliffhanger relating to the thriller side of the story only to be barely featured in the next episode.

I know this isn’t supposed to be a comedy but I found myself laughing as more and more “issues” appeared in this particular episode. It is almost as if the writers have a checklist of things to cover.

And I am sorry but the gratuitous bad language just annoys me even more.

 

[ScottH]

Just watched the first episode of season 3. Seems like pretty much more of the same to me, but I do like the idea of an independent actually having a shot to win the election (and let's face it, that scenario is probably the only one where it would be realistic).

Not sure how I feel about the Anthony Edwards character. I'm not really familiar with any of his work since the 80's but he sounds like he's reading his lines off a teleprompter.

I guess I'm so desensitized I didn't even notice the language.

 

[GlennC]

I think episode one wasn't too bad for the language. Just wait until episode 7 when there are three "F" words and the "C" word in the first 20 seconds of the episode.

I have now finished all 10 episodes. Episodes 8 and 9 were quite good and episode 10 was just about OK.

All in all; very disappointed. Keifer Sutherland was excellent throughout but the series was totally ruined by gratuitous language, sex scenes and a comical number of "issues" shoehorned into the episodes.

 

[Francois Caron]

It's an all too common problem in the American entertainment industry. As soon as you remove the limitations, the production mistakenly believes they *must* go over those limitations to excess instead of just adding what's required in the proper context.

It reminds me of Howard Stern. Even though he can use as much foul language as he wants, he tones it down well within reason, and your ears aren't bleeding from his dialogue.

Of course, the rest of his show is pretty much a monumental train wreck, especially if you watch the video feeds!

 

[mattCR]

I thought everything to do with the election storyline was just a disaster. Maybe it's because I have spent a lot of time working in those environments but it seemed so ridiculous and unreal that I just couldn't get past it.

In the end my biggest problem was just a nitpick I was like: WHAT

Spoiler

The conversation they recorded of the candidate was just a recorded conversation.. in a donor meeting. It didn't involve the pegasus thing or anything like it; they said just a busboy recorded it... the leak said "oh no, didn't even come from Pegasus"... but then they acted as though it did, or something?

Actually, the entire plotline around the election was so damn ridiculous that it sucked me out of the story every single time it came up, which was often.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Keifer Sutherland says there will be no season four:

https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/...ewal-unlikely-according-to-kiefer-sutherland/

 

[David Weicker]

Maybe Jack Bauer will finally get out of that foreign prison for another ‘worst’ day

 

[Jake Lipson]

That was quick. Netflix has now made the cancellation official: https://tvline.com/2019/07/24/designated-survivor-cancelled-season-4-netflix/

 

[Josh Dial]

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The show that couldn't get its shit together, despite many many many opportunities.

 

[Matt Hough]

I had started season two since I didn't watch it on the network, but didn't get through it. Now, I don't know if I will even bother with season three.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I dropped off in the back half of season one and never returned. It was a great pilot. It seems to me that the show had a great premise for a limited series, but had trouble sustaining itself into a long-running thing.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

That was quick. Netflix has now made the cancellation official: https://tvline.com/2019/07/24/designated-survivor-cancelled-season-4-netflix/

Hmm, weird. I thought I'd read somewhere that it (like most other Netflix shows) got a 2-season order when it was picked up (especially since part of the reason it was picked up was that seasons 1-2 got really good international ratings on the global Netflix sites). Maybe season 3 underperformed, or the recently-announced quarterly losses meant that they needed to trim back some shows.

Overall, I liked the new, slimmed-down season, although most of the added-in swearing seemed just that (added-in just to be gratuitous, rather than natural), like HBO and Showtime used to do with nudity back in the '80s. At least the show had a sort of ending (even though they left plenty of stuff dangling for a potential fourth run).

I agree with most here, though, that the show went off the rails midway through season one...for my money, they ended the conspiracy/"replace Kirkman" way too quickly. It should have played out over the entire first season. All the showrunner changes (and, as a consequence, direction changes) really hurt the show.

 

[jcroy]

Wonder if they will ever release season 3 on dvd.

 

[jcroy]

Hmm, weird. I thought I'd read somewhere that it (like most other Netflix shows) got a 2-season order when it was picked up (especially since part of the reason it was picked up was that seasons 1-2 got really good international ratings on the global Netflix sites). Maybe season 3 underperformed, or the recently-announced quarterly losses meant that they needed to trim back some shows.

Without seeing the original contract, it is difficult to say for sure.

Though with that being said, another possible "2-season" contractual arrangement could have been a scenario where season 3 got an immediate greenlight, with an "option" for a hypothetical season 4. The "option" part is basically like a "get out of jail free" card for Netflix to exit out of the contract.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Wonder if they will ever release season 3 on dvd.

Germany might be a good bet, since they got blu-rays of both ABC seasons.

 

[jcroy]

Germany might be a good bet, since they got blu-rays of both ABC seasons.

I was thiking of eOne which released the season 2 dvd set in canada.

 

[jcroy]

Now most likely eOne will never release season 3 of DS on dvd (or bluray).

eOne was just gobbled up by Hasbro for $4 billion.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/n...io-buy-may-trigger-more-media-mergers-1234224

 

[Jake Lipson]

Adan Canto Memorial: Kiefer Sutherland, Maggie Q & ‘Designated Survivor’ Family Say Goodbye To Co-Star

Kiefer Sutherland, Maggie Q, and Adan Canto’s Designated Survivor family came together to say goodbye to the late actor. Canto died after a private battle with appendiceal cancer and was memo…

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