C-Season 2So this is how Designated Survivor ends: Not with a whimper, but with a "... what?"Allison Shoemaker5/17/18 2:02amSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkDesignated Survivor started out like this: the HUD Secretary was about to be fired. Before that firing actually took…
B-Season 2Designated Survivor is back, and is still trying to be two shows at onceAllison Shoemaker3/01/18 1:20amSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkThe world is full of stories that have already been told. It’s nearly impossible, in fact, to avoid all tropes and…
C+Season 2Designated Survivor goes through the motionsAllison Shoemaker12/13/17 11:48pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkFor its mid-season finale, Designated Survivor makes a bold choice: to spin its wheels a bit while it patiently waits…
B-Season 2It's Big Block of Cheese Day on Designated SurvivorAllison Shoemaker12/06/17 10:15pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkNearly every week in these reviews, I call out whichever episode of The West Wing feels oddly similar to Designated…
BSeason 2Designated Survivor turns out two decent episodes in a rowAllison Shoemaker11/15/17 9:48pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkThis review covers two episodes of Designated Survivor: “Family Ties,” which aired on 11/15, as well as “Home,” which…
B-Season 2Designated Survivor's still not great, but it has its momentsAllison Shoemaker11/02/17 12:34amSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkTo say that Designated Survivor still doesn’t know what kind of show it wants to be would be inaccurate. It wants to be…
C+Season 2An uninspired Designated Survivor tries to make 'suckergate' happenAllison Shoemaker10/25/17 10:12pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkIt is not enough to decide that a character, speech, episode, or television series is inspirational. To be…
C+Season 2The Designated Survivor might be a lousy bossAllison Shoemaker10/18/17 10:23pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalink“Equilibrium” isn’t a great hour of television. It bumbles around between its several subplots, often pivoting…
C+Season 2Designated Survivor pulls itself (mostly) togetherAllison Shoemaker10/12/17 1:11amSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalink“Outbreak” is not all that thoughtful. “Outbreak” is not particularly exciting, or funny, or daring, or or sexy. As…
D+Season 2Patrick Lloyd's plan makes no sense, and neither does Designated Survivor'sAllison Shoemaker10/04/17 10:01pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkLet’s try something here. Please bear with me. This is what happens in “Sting Of The Tail,” the second episode of the…
B-Season 2Designated Survivor returns, now with even more The West WingAllison Shoemaker9/27/17 11:15pmSaveEditEmbiggenSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkIt’s been one year since Tom Kirkman became President. In that time, he’s survived an assassination attempt, passed gun…
