I have never seen a Shonda Rhimes show. No Grey's Anatomy, no Private Practice, nothing. I'm not sure what made me want to watch the series but I have to say Kerry Washington is a very strong actress and I was impressed what she was able to do with the role of Olivia Pope. With that being said, I have very mixed feelings about this show.

After watching two episodes I want to like it. There is an interesting dynamic with Olivia Pope and the world around her which just seems intriguing. The feeling I have for the show is kind of the same feeling I had for Hunger Games; the story I was given was boring but I wanted to see how the society was built, how the system worked out. Scandal, for me, has a lot of things going on outside of the main stories I want to explore those more.

Scandal is part soap opera, there's no denying that. It seems that the soap opera part is the main thrust of the show. The scandals they are called in to fix are Washington fantasy soap opera stuff. The first case they take is of a marine who is accused of killing his girlfriend. That could be the a good line up but the story is piled on by revealing the marine is gay, then by the end of the story he has to come out on national television. The second episode starts off with a madam with a secret list of clients which expands to a Supreme Court nominee who didn't realize for over twenty years the innocent encounter he had with his now wife happened because she was a hooker on her first night, she got stood up and she didn't want to go back empty handed so she had sex with him, didn't make him pay because she fell in love with him.

Just those two main stories is what gives me a sick feeling about the show. It gives a typical, almost believable premise then it piles on so much to make it different from similar stories that it becomes unbelievable to the point of fantasy. I did say I like Kerry Washington's acting in the show, but I can't stand Olivia Pope. Actually, can't stand is too strong a word, but when you have a character where the mere mention of her name is suppose to open up doors, again you head into the fantasy realm. There are so many people who fawn over this woman not because she is beautiful but because she has 'power.' On the one hand it is a good twist that it isn't her looks that opens doors, but then we find out she used to work for the President, probably was instrumental in getting him elected President. OK, your pushing the envelop to the fantasy world but I can go there with you as long as you don't get too silly. Oh, then we find out the President and Olivia had an affair. OK, stop the train I want to get off. We just hit fantasy land.

That is the nagging issue for me with Scandal in a nutshell. The creator takes situations that are fairly plausible then pushes them to a level that forces you to suspend your logic to get into the show.

I do have some questions that I would love to understand, because never seeing a Shonda Rhimes show before I wonder if she has a pattern of doing some rather annoying things I have found with characters. Does the new person to the firm, who was supposedly recruited because she was a competent person who was supposed to be able to adapt to any situation, have to be so clueless after two episodes? If she is concerned about her job, could she have the balls to sit down with either Pope of one of the other people in the firm to find out what she is supposed to do? Are we going to be subjected to an 'Olivia Pope jumps on the soapbox and give a rapid fire one minute righteous speech' two or more times every episode? Do the main female characters in the show have to be strong and assertive in the presence of men, but when they are alone or with other women must they break down emotionally to reveal they really are in love with the men they pretend to loath?

I'm going to give the show a few more weeks and hopefully it will develop into something interesting.

PS: OK I guess my hopes for the show have been dashed considering a comment I read by one of the actors on the show. There is a hacker character in the show (don't they all have one) and the actor says he's not a stereotypical hacker. The actor then describes what he does, which is to go into an office, not say much, then gets the information they need. Dude, that is a stereotypical hacker! That same hacker character supposedly worked for the CIA. So how is it that your character isn't like Penelope from Criminal Minds? She is a hacker with a shady past (not CIA but close) and when the team needs something, they go to her, and she gets information no other human could because of her hacking skills which moves the plot along.