ABC's 'Chief,' Politicked Off

BEVERLY HILLS,

Critics at Summer TV Press Tour 2005 demanded to know the politics of everyone on stage Wednesday at the Q&A session for ABC's new drama "Commander-in-Chief," about a set of plump red lips that take over the Oval Office after the president has a massive stroke and croaks.

First, they asked show creator Rod Lurie.

Then, they asked star Geena Davis.

Then, they asked everyone else.

"Is anybody onstage a Republican. Openly?" one critic inquired.

No one responded.

"It's not like when I hired them they had to fill out a questionnaire and say, 'I'm a Democrat,' " said Lurie, who earlier talked about having consultants on the show who had worked for Republican as well as Democratic politicians.

"We come from a community [of actors and filmmakers] that happens to be mostly Democratic. With all due respect, your question is loaded; you had to know the answer before you asked."

Lurie said that he's none too happy with the Democratic Party these days but that "Commander-in-Chief" will not be his personal soapbox. He also wrote and directed the political thriller "The Contender," about a female senator nominated to replace the dead veep.

Overall, we'd say the critics didn't seem too happy with the notion of a show about a female president or, possibly more important, a male first lady. One called Davis's husband on the series, played by Kyle Secor, "emasculated."