| Season | Episode |
| 1 | 1 |
| Production number | 101 |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Original airdate | September 21, 2014 |
| Nielsen rating | 18-49 rating: 2.00 Viewers (million): 14.75 |
| Written by | Barbara Hall |
| Directed by | David Semel |
| Previous | Next |
| "Another Benghazi" |
Gallery
Newly appointed Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord is immediately faced with a maelstrom of complex political challenges, and an international hostage situation is her top priority. Meanwhile, at home, Elizabeth questions whether she did the right thing by taking this job, as her children are finding it difficult to adjust to their new schools.
Summary[]
The camera pans to a tower in Damascus, Syria. Men are pouring tea and playing checkers while two boys are brought into the jail. They are American boys, demanding their captors to call the American embassy, or state department. They throw the two in cell, saying that they will die here. One of the boys is desperately clinging onto the jail bars, while the other resigns to the back of the cell.
At the University of Virginia, Dr. McCord is approached by a student about his thesis. She sarcastically rejects his extension request due to his parents being in town and walks away. The scene then pans in a library, where a man is lecturing a group of girls about Aquinas' Summa Theologica, however they are more infatuated with his looks rather than what he is saying. Dr. McCord walks in and pulls "his brilliance" away. The two are walking away from the school discussing his "cult following" when McCord reminds him he is cooking tonight because she is going into DC for a "spy reunion".
Dr. McCord is at dinner with her friends talking about their work. George, an older white man, is "staring at screens" at a desk job, seemingly bored of the mundane occupation. Someone remarks that he "loves" that job. McCord consoles him that they (the government) didn't want to risk his life in the field anymore. She also suggests that he go "complain to [their] former boss" about his desk job, to which he has. Their former boss was the President of the United States. One of the women as McCord about her "bucolic life", revealing that she now lives on a farm, and she and her husband are horse owners. All of a sudden, everyones' phones ring. The Secretary of State's plane went down over the Atlantic.
The next morning, Saturday morning, the news are reporting on the Secretary of State's plane going down on his way to Venezuela. Jason, Dr. McCord's son, is revealed to be an anarchist and complains about how they cannot see the conspiracy of the present. The show is cut to Dr. McCord shoveling hay out of a barn, next to the previously mentioned horses. Jason comes in with Dr. McCord's phone saying the President's office is calling. When she grabs the phone, police and CIA cars show up at her house. The President has come to Dr. McCord's house to ask her to be the new Secretary of State. He reminds her in private that he was the one who recruited her for the CIA, trained her as an analyst, and that he trusts her. He says he'll give her a day to discuss with her family, but he will not take no for an answer.
Quotes[]
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Téa Leoni as Elizabeth McCord
- Tim Daly as Henry McCord
- Patina Miller as Daisy Grant
- Geoffrey Arend as Matt Mahoney
- Erich Bergen as Blake Moran
- Kathrine Herzer as Alison McCord
- Evan Roe as Jason McCord
Also Starring[]
Guest Starring[]
- William Sadler as George Peters
- Patrick Breen as Andrew Munsey
- Sebastian Arcelus as Jay Whitman
- Michael Aronov as Anton Durchenko
- Ato Essandoh as King Nungunde
- Mozhan Marno as Roxanne Majidi
- Mike Niewski as Gordon Becker
- Jordan Baker as Susan Cole
- Kevin Kilner as Robert Cole
- Keith Carradine as President Dalton
Supporting[]
- Scott Lindley as Ethan Cole
- Sean Kleier as Tyler Cole
- Marin Hinkle as Isabelle
- Nilaja Sun as Juliet
Appearances[]
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Advertising and marketing[]
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Screencaptures[]
| Madam Secretary Season 1 (2014 – 2015) | ||
|---|---|---|
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101. "Pilot" |
109. "So It Goes" |
117. "Face the Nation" |
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| DVD | ||
| See also: S1 • S2 • S3 • S4 • S5 • S6 | ||