The Delta Institute Newsblog: Commander In Chief Returns

This Thursday at 10 pm et on the ABC network, the political drama "Commander in Chief" returns. The show, starring Geena Davis as the first female President, began the fall season as the most watched new show on all the networks. However, a huge production shift occurred six episodes into the program, and it shifted the entire direction of the show. The "7th Heaven in the White House" that Americans loved and watched each week suddenly became more of a political thriller, with MacKenzie Allen having to outwit her opponents each week to get what's best for the American people. And audiences didn't respond to well to this change.

When "Commander in Chief" returns, it will have undergone another change in direction. This team promises to return to the show to the "roots," focusing once again on the struggles the First Family faces while they live in the White House. And according to the previews for Thursday's episode, they're wasting no time; the First Gentleman is accused of being "inappropriate" with another woman, threatening to steal attention away from the State of the Union address.

Hopefully, the show will now find a comfortable middle ground between being "7th Heaven" and "The West Wing". There's no question that after Steven Broncho took over, the show immediately took on a more serious tone and demeanor. But without Rod Lurie's sense of family dynamic, the characters lose some depth and warmth that we had come to expect. And please, for goodness sake, make Donald Sutherland's character evil again. It's just no fun anymore with Nathan Templeton making nice with the President from week to week! Bring back the snide remarks, the evil glances, the power plays. That's all part of what made his character so likeable in the first place, and it was a shame to see it all go away.

While your humble author will be watching to see, it doesn't look like many Americans will; ABC scheduled the show up against ratings juggernauts "ER" and "Without a Trace."