SCANDAL

An ABC series

To wow a writer, a series has to have its head together. Every time I watch an episode of SCANDAL, I come away wanting more. What can I say? The writers of this series make awesome pale in comparison to their art.

To me, fiction is enhanced reality, and SCANDAL with all its political finery and cutthroat politics truly makes Washington, D.C. a city where if you want a friend, get a dog.

Intrigue and relationships are central to everything that brings Washington political life to television viewers. There is Olivia’s relationship with the President of the United States. Then there is the Olivia who has her business and her relationship with her investigators and researchers. And, of course, the researchers have their own histories and tortured pasts. Then there is Millie’s relationship with the President as First Lady and Lady-In-Waiting as well, in a word, to Olivia, the heartthrob and off-and-on mistress of the President. Did I mention Olivia is black? (This opens a Pandora’s box of current events and themes going on in this country that can make your head spin.) Then there is Cyrus’ relationships as Chief-of-Staff to the President, the First Lady, Olivia, and his partner, who knows Cyrus is a monster, but he is his monster.

Love and betrayal with shades of gray will have you gasping as the imperfect, manipulating and manipulated characters do their jobs, while they commit a barrage of human foibles.

Did I mention the government sociopaths who work for the different intelligence agencies? Silencers and hits to the head abound. There are more than enough deadheads, if you will excuse the pun, to keep a morgue doing big business.

SCANDAL is precisely what I want to read about and see on the larger-than-life movie screen or the big high definition screens. I even fantasize about being a character on this show. This is exactly the type of show I want to see, and heaven forbid to actually live it in my real life. That’s the good thing about fiction. It remains in a dimension all its own. I’m just glad I am allowed to glimpse at it and live it from the comfort of my easy chair.  What would this country be without great writers, directors, producers, and actors, who bring this other dimension safely into our homes for our entertainment? Maybe another name for Hollywood should be Dimension Entertainment.