ABC's Scandal Good Show, Headed Toward Hitsville; A Review

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When I first heard about this new offering from ABC-Scandal I got a tad excited. I do like shows about politics, shows about real life on a grand scale, shows that offer a variety of plots based on reality. Well that's what I though Scandal would be like. Below the info from the show's own web site:



Olivia Pope/Kerry Washington

Olivia Pope left the White House to open her own prominent crisis management firm. She is hoping to start a new chapter in her life—both professionally and personally—but she can't seem to completely cut ties with her past. Slowly it becomes apparent that her dysfunctional staff, who specialize in fixing other people's lives, can't quite fix the ones closest at hand-their own. The creator and executive producers of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice delve into the behind-the-scenes machinations of a mesmerizing top crisis manager in ABC's highly anticipated new drama, Scandal.

Olivia's accomplished staff, who would follow her anywhere and do whatever it takes to save someone's reputation, include Stephen Finch, who has dated his share of women but is trying to settle down and have a family; Harrison Wright, a slick litigator; Huck, hacker extraordinaire; investigator Abby Whelan, who has an enduring crush on Stephen; and Quinn Perkins, the new young woman in the office who is in awe of Olivia, but is initiated in a trial by fire on her very first day on the job.

Olivia's former boss, President Fitzgerald Grant and his chief of staff, Cyrus Beene, are never far from her beat. Her clients aren't the only ones with secrets, though; surprisingly, she may need to exercise all her damage control skills on her own behalf.

As of this writing I've watched two episodes and overall, it's a good show. There's some hackney but the characters are played well and the storyline intrigues.

We could do, just throwing it out there, without many minutes with the camera focused on Olivia Pope's (Kerry Washington) botoxed lips as they move as what the producers evidently consider sensually but it gets old.

The first show featured a war hero who was accused of a crime that he did not commit. Olivia Pope's firm is not necessarily a law firm as this story line might indicate. Her firm handles public relations disasters. By the nature of her business, and her affiliation with the President of the United States as his former Communications Director, her clients are often people in politics or very much in the public eye.

President Fitzgerald Grant/Tony Grant

What's interesting is Pope says several times in both of the episodes that I watched that she is an expert at her job and she does it well. But she was wrong about the little filly her former boyfriend, the President, had been sleeping with, driving her to attempted suicide with her wrath. Which makes question how well she does her job if she didn't pick up that little tidbit.


The thing about the war hero, he had an alibi for the night of the murder that he was suspected of. A street camera caught this vaunted American hero running to and embracing a man at the time of the murder. But our hero didn't want to reveal his alibi as he was an army guy, viewed as a man's man.

Which was totally unbelievable, dear Lord, nobody's going to sit in jail for the rest of their life rather than come "out" as it were. Further, in real life I doubt Americans would want to see anyone sit in jail and would not scorn a homosexual hero such as this character was portrayed as.

The second episode featured a Madame who had a list of famous client that included a Supreme Court judge nominee. The story revolved around Pope's firm dealing with this public relations problem. It would turn out that the future judge actually was dating one of the Madame's prostitutes, who kept her career a secret from her esteemed husband. The Supreme court judge nominee didn't know of his wife's former job and he did not frequent prostitutes.

Pope's firm eased the fellow's nomination through without revealing his wife's sordid past by gathering a group of senators and such who would be voting for the nomination. Said group of America's House of Lords were ALSO on the Madame's client list.

Oh come on. This whole story line was a bit too smug.

The show has ongoing storylines, including Pope's firm's representation of the President's former young girl lover. Already a reporter is on to her and viewers have the second stage of this and other stories to look forward to each week.

So while I'm a bit harsh with my criticisms of a show that must complete a story line within an hour, I do enjoy this show and suspect I will continue to enjoy it in the future. I see it as a show with the elements of a hit series, a modern era "West Wing" if you will.

Cyrus Beene/Jeff Perry

I simply must point out how much President Grant's Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene resembles Dick Cheney. This character is a bit dark and righteous and I wonder if the resemblance and characterization is coincidental.






Scandal airs on ABC, Thursday nights, at 10 pm.

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