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selenakIt seems there will be a six hour tv drama called Political Animals, with an increasingly stellar cast. The official description: it centres around "Elaine Barrish (Sigourney Weaver), a divorced former first lady, who is struggling to keep her family together while simultaneously dealing with the crises of the State Department. She finds an unlikely ally in a famous D.C. journalist (Carla Gugino) who has spent her career tearing Elaine down". Co-starring Adrian Pasdar as "President Paul Garcetti, who defeated Elaine in the presidential primary and appointed her Secretary of State. Described as a "smart man," Garcetti uses every resource at his disposal to his advantage and deftly uses Elaine's popularity to deflect unwanted attention", and Ciaran Hinds as Elaine's ex: ""A gifted politician who was once loved by the American public, Bud has struggled since his divorce from Elaine, and his out-of-office antics have caused a tumble in his popularity. President Bud Hammond is still as much in love with his ex-wife as the office he once held and is eager to take on the role of elder statesman if Elaine calls on him."
....now who could possibly have inspired these characters?
The rest of the characters already cast has less obvious precedents. There's the VP, played by Dylan Baker apparantly between being creepy yet interesting on The Good Wife: "Vice President Fred Collier, supporting President Paul Garcetti (Adrian Pasdar). Described as a seemingly sweet man, Collier is a fierce combatant of Elaine's with secrets that will ultimately be revealed. And Sebastian Stan, he with the practise in the teary eyed sullen stare from Kings, as "Thomas "T.J." Hammond, the son of Barrish and her philandering ex-husband, former President Bud Hammond. A lost soul who struggles with addiction, T.J. is the polar opposite of his brother, Douglas (Lone Star's James Wolk), who serves as their mother's chief of staff."
(A pretty white male who feels overshadowed by his brother, is "troubled" and played by an actor good at the angry teary eyed stare. Mmm, three guesses who'll be the fannish woobie of the show.)
Anyway, I must admit I get a kick out of the idea of Sigourney Weaver playing a Hillary Clinton avatar, Adrian Pasdar as a Machiavellian version of Obama (who perhaps could use some Machiavellian skills?) and Ciaran Hinds as a Bill Clinton If Hillary Had Divorced Him. The enemy-turned-ally relationship with the female journalist could be playing to one of my favourite tropes (if done right), and while I frivolously wonder whether this means the series' creators ship Hillary Clinton/Maureen Dowd, I do like that it's described as central. I've heard good things about Carla Gugino, too. And whoever had the idea to put Sigourney Weaver in the same room together with a) Adrian Pasdar and b) Ciaran Hinds deserves my gratitude for this alone, because yes, I wants it, precious. Err, just the acting. Naturally. Being fond of all these actors as I am.
I do hope the writing is good because political drama with interesting characters and convoluted relationships with each other = one deliriously happy viewer. But even if it isn't, I won't be able to hate the show for giving me these actors together alone.
....now who could possibly have inspired these characters?
The rest of the characters already cast has less obvious precedents. There's the VP, played by Dylan Baker apparantly between being creepy yet interesting on The Good Wife: "Vice President Fred Collier, supporting President Paul Garcetti (Adrian Pasdar). Described as a seemingly sweet man, Collier is a fierce combatant of Elaine's with secrets that will ultimately be revealed. And Sebastian Stan, he with the practise in the teary eyed sullen stare from Kings, as "Thomas "T.J." Hammond, the son of Barrish and her philandering ex-husband, former President Bud Hammond. A lost soul who struggles with addiction, T.J. is the polar opposite of his brother, Douglas (Lone Star's James Wolk), who serves as their mother's chief of staff."
(A pretty white male who feels overshadowed by his brother, is "troubled" and played by an actor good at the angry teary eyed stare. Mmm, three guesses who'll be the fannish woobie of the show.)
Anyway, I must admit I get a kick out of the idea of Sigourney Weaver playing a Hillary Clinton avatar, Adrian Pasdar as a Machiavellian version of Obama (who perhaps could use some Machiavellian skills?) and Ciaran Hinds as a Bill Clinton If Hillary Had Divorced Him. The enemy-turned-ally relationship with the female journalist could be playing to one of my favourite tropes (if done right), and while I frivolously wonder whether this means the series' creators ship Hillary Clinton/Maureen Dowd, I do like that it's described as central. I've heard good things about Carla Gugino, too. And whoever had the idea to put Sigourney Weaver in the same room together with a) Adrian Pasdar and b) Ciaran Hinds deserves my gratitude for this alone, because yes, I wants it, precious. Err, just the acting. Naturally. Being fond of all these actors as I am.
I do hope the writing is good because political drama with interesting characters and convoluted relationships with each other = one deliriously happy viewer. But even if it isn't, I won't be able to hate the show for giving me these actors together alone.
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Date: 2012-06-21 04:46 pm (UTC)I'm sold. Can we have this now, please, if not sooner?
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Date: 2012-06-21 04:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-21 08:31 pm (UTC)I'm also happy to hear it will be six hours. I'm getting really unable to deal with all the filler of the regular American 22-episode seasons.
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Date: 2012-06-22 11:12 am (UTC)What I'm in two minds about is the two sons. Presumably to make the Clinton connection less obvious - the sons sound modelled on Reagan's lot, if anyone - and I can see how a successful daughter sans scandals of her own doesn't make for drama, but then again: I think that's part of who Hillary and Bill are, that they did manage to raise a daughter under these circumstances who came out of it splendidly. Ah well.
I hear you on the six hours format.
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Date: 2012-06-22 11:01 pm (UTC)I haven't, but maybe I should!
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Date: 2012-06-23 04:07 am (UTC)http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/609643.html