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Political Animals: The Complete Series
R1 - America - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Ethan Stevenson (12th September 2013). |
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The Film
 When American cable network USA announced 2012’s short-run summer series “Political Animals” as a Limited Event Series, no one was really sure what that meant. Even USA didn’t really know; they only knew what it didn’t mean. At six episodes, “Animals” was about half a dozen hours shy of a proper cable television season, but USA was also hesitant to use the word miniseries in its promotional run-up because, no matter what network execs say now, there was a brief hope that additional seasons of the show would follow the first. With a big name star like Sigourney Weaver in the cast, it was necessary for USA to forgo the regular put-pilot-then-pickup production cycle, and instead push ahead full force, giving “Animals” the green light in one go, with a 6-episode run. It was a decision that essentially made the entire 360-minute endeavor a back-door pilot for a potentially recurring summer series. Unfortunately, the ratings just weren’t there—sadly, the network’s demographic seems to prefer a very specific buddy-cop, procedural-comedy formula, which the more serialized and dramatic “Animals” most certainly didn’t fit in to—and so a second season will never come to air. It’s a shame that there won’t be more, as “Political Animals” is one of the best original series USA has aired in years. The story told over the first and only season is certainly engaging; equal parts politics and journalism, both wrapped in ambition and integrity, with a dash of salacious sex and scandal for an extra-soapy but entertaining ride. The characters are, eventually, complexly drawn, and the acting is out-and-out excellent. On the bright side, although later seasons ultimately didn't pan out, the six-episode “complete” series has a clear beginning, middle and end—although the latter is decidedly open-ended. Despite an unsuccessful run and unfulfilled promise of an encore, “Political Animals” works as a whole. Sigourney Weaver stars as Elaine Barrish Hammond, a former First Lady at one time married to smarmy southern Democrat Bud Hammond (Ciarán Hinds), a popular president in the 1990's who was ultimately shamed for his womanizing ways, but still exited office with the highest approval rating of any Democrat since JFK. In the interleaving years since Bud left office, Elaine left him, ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign herself and lost, only to find a seat in the winning party candidate, President Paul Garcetti’s (Adrian Pasdar), cabinet as Secretary of State when all was said and done. Sound familiar? Yeah, “Political Animals” is basically a broader, and heavily fictionalized, version of that Hillary Clinton miniseries Fox and NBC can’t decide if they actually want to make or not. The parallels are less than subtle at times, but the writers distance themselves from the real life political figures early on by taking a few notable diversions from historical record—namely, Elaine, unlike Hillary, divorces her unfaithful spouse after his second case of infidelity comes into the court of public opinion. In interviews around the time “Animals” came to air, Weaver and series creator Greg Berlanti proposed that the series is as much about politics as it is about family, and the intersection at which the two often meet for those in Washington DC. What is it about the pressures families in the White House face that make them want to leave the public eye, and ultimately make them want to get back into it? Nepotistic legacies, be them Bush, Clinton, Kennedy, or even the Adams, it does seem curious that so many families have longed to return to the top job in the land, unsuccessfully though some of those bids may have proven. Family is the focus here. Be it empowered Elaine’s rocky relationship with her philandering former president of an ex-husband, whom she keeps in her life for the sake of their two adult children, or her children themselves—a pair of fraternal twins who couldn’t be more dissimilar. As the series opens, do-gooder Douglas (James Wolk), who works within his mother’s team, and managed her aborted run for president the first time around, is set to marry Anne (Brittany Ishibashi), while “TJ” (Sebastian Stan)—the first openly gay child of an in-office President in history—battles a nasty substance abuse problem, made worse by his heavily publicized attempted suicide a few months earlier. Elaine’s verbally abrasive, but mostly adorable, alcoholic elderly mother, Margaret (Ellen Burstyn), lords over the family with a watchful eye. Elaine’s balance between the realm of politics and parenthood is where the series’ most effective drama comes from. Her conflict over what’s in the best interest of the nation, and what’s in the best interest of her family—and the fact that the two aren’t always, indeed are rarely, aligned—are the driving line to the end. Her conflict of interests comes to blows following a mishandled hostage situation in the earliest episode, which is saved at the last minute by her quick thinking and unprecedented power within the political playground. Barrish decides she’s had enough of the ineffectual Garcetti, a lame duck president who won the title of Commander-in-Chief due to lopsided popularity and not policy, and floats the idea that she’ll run on her own in two years time, against both Garetti and whatever Republican candidate the opposition can dig up. Few in her inner circle think this is good idea, for reasons beside the fact it’s essentially a career-ending coup. The last campaign nearly tore Elaine, and the family, apart. On the other hand, Barrish has gained immense popularity following her divorce—which positioned her as a major player in impending 4th wave of feminism—and would have a much better chance of winning the second time around. Literally in the center of all this is Susan Berg (a pitch-perfect Carla Gugino), a ruthless investigative reporter for The Washington Globe. Berg who won a Pulitzer for a scathing piece she wrote about the White House under Bud Hammond, which had a particularly mean-spirited skewering of Elaine, painting her as a callous b***h. Although critical of Barrish in the past, when Berg gets a front-side seat to the behind-closed-door proceedings that are leading up to Elaine’s possible presidency, and all the other political nonsense, the journalist gets to know the real woman, who’s much more than the puffed up politico she pretends to be. Berg, and the show’s rather accurate depiction of long-form journalism as seen through her, is one of the best aspects of the series. Not only is Gugino fantastic in the role, especially when she’s sparring with Weaver, but she makes Susan’s quest for the story (and not simply the headline) an absorbing and complex watch. The plot line also makes some insightful commentary about the nature of news in the era of 24 hour coverage, and the proliferation of blogging, and how that’s affected—nay, infected—news with its “publish first, redact later” mentality. There’s a slightly hammy, soapy quality to “Political Animals” that gets a bit much at times. It’s not too bad, and certainly never unwatchable, but the constant barrage of sex-for-sex sake and hokey melodrama do sort of rob the series’ of its intelligence. Intertwined with all of the interesting political maneuvering, and more believable aspects of the character drama, are bits that don’t ring true. Anne has bulimia, seemingly only because it keeps her character in play in the middle episodes, where she’d be lost if we didn’t see her sticking a finger down her throat at least once each hour. And a subplot involving TJ’s desire to open a night club, coupled with his alcoholism and drug abuse, suicide, and affair with a married Republican congressman, comes together to form a sort of jumbled mess; overly kitsch and cliché, in need of streamlining. The writing, soapy subplots aside, is largely excellent, and the dialogue approaches Aaron Sorkin-esque quality. The series belongs to its mostly perfect ensemble. Weaver is her typical self—a fantastic force of female power. Burstyn is immensely enjoyable too; Grandma Barrish is one of the most loveable lushes to come across the airwaves recently. And while Ciarán Hinds got some flack when the series first aired for his over-affected Carolinian accent—I do agree it is pretty cringe worthy in the Pilot—he tones it down in the later episodes, and if Bud Hammond isn’t the best Bill Clinton this side of Darrell Hammond, I don’t know who is. By the end, the cast totally endeared themselves to me. Although it has closure, the finale is open-ended enough (What will ever become of Elaine’s campaign; will she win, second time around?) that another season would’ve worked. It’s a shame that we won’t get more of this series. It’s an even bigger shame that USA will probably shy away from serious drama entirely for a long while after this. Instead, they’ll probably pick up five more shows about a neurotic psychic lawyer-turned-FBI agent who teams up with an unlikely partner with an incompatible personality to solve the medical mysteries of the rich and famous… or something. WB splits “Political Animals” in two, with three episodes on each DVD. The episodes are as follows: - “Pilot” – Ambitious journalist Susan Berg follows former first lady and current Secretary of State Elaine Barrish Hammond during the emotionally charged week of her son’s engagement… and a burgeoning hostage crisis. - “Second Time Around” – Elaine’s plans to run for president become known. Meanwhile, she sends Bud—the ex-president, and her ex-husband—to diffuse the Iranian hostage situation, throwing him back into the spotlight and putting Douglas and Anne’s engagement party in peril. - “The Woman Problem” – While President Garcetti devises a plan that puts Elaine at odds with her longtime mentor, a Supreme Court justice (played by Vanessa Redgrave), the Hammonds are at odds with each other—and with Elaine’s plans for her future. - “Lost Boys” – After a gruelling overseas tour, Elaine, returns home to find the country in diplomatic and ethical crises. She stands alone against the administration’s agenda while the family circles the wagons around TJ’s club opening. Meanwhile, Bud hires a publicist, and the campaign rumors gain traction. - “16 Hours” – Hard decisions are made in the spotlight and behind the scenes. Elaine is torn between staying by TJ’s side and handling the rescue of a Chinese submarine crew stranded off the coast of San Diego. Douglas may cross a boundary that could jeopardize his future, and Elaine’s future campaign. - “Resignation Day” – When a betrayal at The Washington Globe jeopardizes the entire family’s reputation, and an unforeseen tragedy leaves the administration at a crossroads, the Hammonds take some time to come together and plan the next chapter of their lives.
Video
“Political Animals” takes the stage in a fine looking 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Like Barrish-Hammond’s pantsuits, WB’s transfer is no-nonsense but smart looking affair. Of course, the standard definition DVD is limited by the formats inherent resolution deficiencies, and so it doesn’t quite match the detail of the HD broadcast and/or 1080p streaming options available, but this is a very solid disc all the same. “Animals” is nicely shot series, and it approaches a cinematic quality not usually seen in a USA series. Colors are bold and mostly naturalistic, although skintones, especially faces, take on a temperamental orange tinge in some scenes; in those moments the image occasionally verges on over-saturation. Blacks are deep, and while contrast is good, it's at the mercy of the intentionally stylized, digital cinematography. Most exterior scenes, and many interior ones set against exterior windows, are slightly blown-out, with excessive blooming whites. There is just a hint of rare blue lens flare here and there, too. Flashbacks employ slight diffusion, which softens up faces and gives the image an ethereal glow. The stylistic choices aside, each disc seems free of egregious errors or issues. I’m pleasantly surprised to see that Warner is still taking care of DVD customers in the era of HD, with more than adequate results.
Audio
At first, I feared the worst for “Political Animals” English Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The Pilot opens with a chaotic party, full of loud music and loads of chatter, but with most of the dialogue muffled and lost in the mix, due to what I assumed was some rather lousy reproduction. Either that early scene was intentionally unintelligible, or a technical error of some kind occurred, because the rest of the series, which is largely front-focused, and dialog driven sounds fine. There is a smattering of subtle atmospheric effects throughout the series (the low whirring jet engine in a plane cabin, the tires of a limo rolling against the pavement). Composer Blake Neely provides a slightly anachronistic synthesizer score. The opening theme by The Kills in the beginning of episodes 2-6 in forceful, filling the full sound field, and proves to be the only consistent instance of LFE for its 30 or so seconds heard 5 times throughout the series. Episode 4, which revolves around the opening night of TJ’s club, is the liveliest single episode of the series, simply for the thumping club scenes, which sonically seem like something out of another series. Optional subtitles in English, Spanish, and French are included. Note: Several episodes—including episode 4, which features a brief exchange between Barrish and the Chinese ambassador where they rapidly switch between English, Chinese, and French—have default English subtitles during select scenes.
Extras
The only extras are a handful of unaired deleted scenes. DISC ONE: In an unusual move, Warner offers each episode’s deleted scenes in separate reels that play all when selected “Deleted Scenes” is selected from the menu. Up first are four deleted scenes from the “Pilot” (1.78:1 widescreen; 1 minute 58 seconds); the second reel includes two deleted scenes excised from "Second Time Around" (1.78:1 widescreen; 1 minute 37 seconds). DISC TWO: Three deleted scenes from episode 4, "Lost Boys" (1.78:1 widescreen; 3 minutes 51 seconds) are included on disc two.
Packaging
“Political Animals: The Complete Series” takes the pulpit running as a candidate for Warner Brothers Home Entertainment, on a strictly isolationist platform: two Region 1 locked DVD-9's, in an eco-friendly keep case. An episode guide has been included.
Overall
Weaver’s certainly worthy of praise, but so is the entire enable—most of them, most of the time, anyway. The cast, characters, and sharp almost Sorkin-esque dialogue make “Political Animals” one of the best things to air on the USA network in recent memory, silly soapy asides be damned. It’s a shame the series didn’t catch on, as I’d vote for at least one more season. Warner’s DVD has solid AV, but is slim on extras.
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