Original story by Stephen Kiehl of Baltimore Sun, 4 May 2006

As mentioned a few times, this Tuesday Geena held a See Jane press conference at the National Press Club. Circumstances given, the attending reporters seemed more interested in the recent controversy caused by the CinC episode “Ties that Bind”, and of course also ABC’s decision to pull the show. The following article also shows that the PG politicians are not letting this pass “just like that”.

Davis was in Washington to promote a new report on how G-rated movies perpetuate gender stereotypes. The media were more interested in talking about her show’s depiction last week of Prince George’s County as a crime-ridden hotbed of racial unrest.

The program portrayed the city of Hyattsville as so dangerous that federal marshals had to be sent in to keep order. It also alluded to the dining preferences of the residents of Prince George’s, a majority black county, by showing a restaurant featuring sweet potato pie, pork chops and chitterlings. Maryland politicians were still fuming this week, even after Davis and ABC issued an apology. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski put out a statement Monday saying the apology was “not enough.”

“You have done a great disservice to a vibrant, diverse community,” Mikulski said. She suggested the show have President Allen visit NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center or Bowie State University. “President Allen should return to Prince George’s to see what we’re all about. I, and the Maryland delegation, look forward to receiving her,” Mikulski said, perhaps forgetting that Allen is only president on TV.

Yesterday, Davis looked commanding if not traditionally presidential, dressed in a black T-shirt she designed (“Women,” it said, above a picture of the Earth, “We’ll settle for half”), jeans and a black jacket. The actress, who is 50, a member of Mensa and an Academy Award winner for The Accidental Tourist, addressed the uproar before a news conference yesterday at the National Press Club — but would not say if she would take up Mikulski’s offer to visit Prince George’s.

“I certainly hope that ABC’s apology and statement have helped assuage any of the hard feelings,” Davis said. “It’s a work of fiction and nothing we said was intended to reflect on the community.”

Davis was more expansive about the fate of her show, which will not be on the air this month after a rocky first season. Commander in Chief debuted last fall to critical acclaim and big ratings – 16 million people watched the first episode. But ABC dumped the show’s executive producer mid-season, put the show on hiatus and brought in a new head honcho, Steven Bochco. By the time the show returned in April, viewers were no longer interested. Only 6 million people watched last week’s episode.

“I’m incredibly invested in the show,” Davis said. “It really is extremely important to me, and it’s become important to a lot of other people, so naturally I’m not happy about them pulling it off during sweeps.”

She noted that a final decision on the show’s status for the fall won’t be made until May 13.