Political Animals (2012)

Most of the time I dismiss politicians as heartless opportunists. I understand that this series does not give the whole story, but it does allow some insight why they do what they do and it may not all be sinister. Sigourney is excellent. A hard "bitch" with a brain, integrity and a heart made of glass.Her husband, the president is the real "bitch", but being a male he bathes in respect and popularity. Sounds like real life :) The two sons are hot, smart and over privileged. Tough love is one of the hardest things to do for a parent, something that Sigourney's character has yet to master. This is an excellent series reflecting, power, love, disappointment, family and personal challenges staged in the most prestigious address in the USA, perhaps the world.

Completely taken by surprise with this show. I honestly loved it.Well written, good strong characters and lots of things going on, so no chance of it becoming a bore.The series is definitely helped by the fact they have Sigourney Weaver playing the lead character. A perfect choice if I say so myself. I reckon if they had anybody else it may not have actually worked, so excellent casting.I love the gritty aspect to the series if I am honest. The behind the doors language gives a far more sense of reality to the real world.Loving the plots which shall remain a mystery to those who are thinking on whether to watch the show or not, but I would say, definitely watch it.I hope the series does not get cancelled, I am left stunned by the US cable channels pulling the plug on many series and yet, the trash remains. Very puzzling.Great casting, great show. If you liked West Wing you should like this.

Yes. Sigourney Weaver is a treasure. It is great to see her on the TV in this series, and she is perfectly cast. The writing coupled with her great spirit allows the artistic medium to look at political issues, in particular, issues affecting women, with an eye that is impossible via the MSM. The one problem I have is seeing reporters like Andrea Mitchell appearing "as themselves" in a fictional story. I believe Ms. Mitchell lowers, perhaps even destroys her credibility by showing up in a drama like this. It is a very distasteful trend in films these days, and I would point the finger of shame at any modern journalist who does this. I am also not at all a fan of the blow hard actor, Ciarán Hinds, but considering the intent of the show, I can get used to it. Perhaps his objectionable is why they cast him. It is great to have an actor of Ms. Weaver's stature in a drama like this. She can lend her formidable presence and integrity to the issues explored by the writers. The rest of the cast is quite god. The producers set up a formidable and interesting family, encompassing most of the red hot issues of our times.

While I never got deeply into West Wing whenever I watched it you can't help but love the intelligent plots, the snappy dialog, and the smart characters. This show appears to be missing pretty much all of that. Granted it's not trying to bill itself as West Wing but as I watched the first few episodes I couldn't help but feel like it was trying really hard to make me interested and make this a 'hard" and "realistic" portrayal of political life. But I don't buy it. There is some pretty top notch talent here. Carla is usually solid, although generally lacks dimension in her characters, Sigourney, well she plays the same thing in everything and rarely impresses, Ellen Burstyn is actually fun to watch but doesn't get a lot of meat to her role, so ultimately it's not that great, the greatest disappointment here is Ciaran Hinds. Personally I think he is an excellent actor. Everything I've seen him in he's done great. But here is completely wasted. Not only does a southern drawl not suit him well, but it's just not the kind of character he portrays usually. He plays the Bill Clinton-esque philanderer who is supposed to be magnetic. Instead he feels kind of slimy, old fashioned, and just uninteresting. Too bad, too bad. I think Ciaran would be better suited for a more intellectual and layered role, but oh well. Regardless the whole show to me just feels like it's trying too hard and really trying to be this hard political show when it's just another USA snoozer. USA puts out good stuff occasionally but ultimately it's usually unoriginal or unintelligent takes on better shows from cable networks like AMC, HBO, and Showtime. Too bad, I was curious, but now I have no interest.