If you think today’s Washington is dysfunctional and cutthroat, take heart: It’s not nearly as bad as the Washington you’ve seen this decade on fictional TV
If you think today’s Washington is dysfunctional, venal, cutthroat, uncaring and winner-take-all, take heart: It’s not nearly as bad as the Washington you’ve seen this decade on fictional TV.
And nothing screamed “higher calling” more than “The West Wing,” which aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006, tracking the righteous souls who worked for President Jed Bartlet. The soundtrack was stirring and majestic; the opening sequence was gauzy and triumphant; in most episodes, someone gave a speech about doing the right thing.
And a new era of political TV shows took that disillusionment one step further. Shows like “Veep” and “House of Cards” offered a new, darker theory: The system can never work if everybody in politics is terrible and venal and self-serving—and the very nature of Washington makes people terrible and venal and self-serving.
“House of Cards,” too, had roots across the pond; it was loosely based on a British political-thriller series from the 1990s. But where “Veep” spun nihilism into farce, “House of Cards” turned it into high melodrama. The credit sequence shows the monuments of Washington in ominous time-lapse photography, with dark clouds sweeping overhead and shadows climbing up the buildings.
In 2016, ABC launched “Designated Survivor,” a political thriller starring Kiefer Sutherland, best known as fearless agent Jack Bauer in “24.” Here, Sutherland plays Tom Kirkman, a mild-mannered career academic who serves as secretary of Housing and Urban Development—but is so bad at navigating Washington politics that one morning, he learns that president plans to fire him.
“Madam Secretary” is more like “The West Wing” in the sense that multiple characters have virtue. The president is a basically a good guy; the McCords’ marriage is a mutually supportive dream; the State Department staff is behind her. Still, the show’s backdrop is a Washington that’s compromised and divided, full of conspiracies and unworthy opponents, from secretive bureaucrats to government moles and ambitious two-dimensional senators.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
This LED TV Is Only $80 Right Now — Plus More After-Christmas TV SalesTake advantage of these markdowns before the decade ends
Consulte Mais informação »
Scrolling Acorn TV: The 10 Best Series to Stream Right NowLooking to cozy up with AcornTV during the holiday break? Here are our picks for the best series on this Anglophile-centric streaming service:
Consulte Mais informação »
TV Ratings: Clippers-Lakers Game Tops Christmas DayThe crosstown match-up between the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers — which saw the Clippers win 111-106 — scored a 1.8 rating and 5.6 million viewers, per preliminary data, …
Consulte Mais informação »
Every 'Little Women' TV and movie adaptation, rankedEW weighs in on the best big- and small-screen takes on Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel
Consulte Mais informação »
Lee Mendelson dies; brought 'Charlie Brown Christmas' to TVThe man who brought 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' to television and penned the lyrics to the special's signature song, 'Christmas Time is Here,' has died. Lee Mendelson was 86 and died on Christmas day.
Consulte Mais informação »