Martin Hall (TV series)

Martin Hall is the name of a new Georgeland television drama series, to begin airing on Channel 12 in May 2007. The series, created by Joe Starnes, will centre around the recently elected President of Georgeland, Joan Tanner, played by Rebecca Jordan-Wiley. The series is described as a West Wing or Commander-in-Chief for the Georgeland marketplace. The first episode, entitled "A Great Leap Forward", aired on May 12. The show recieved a total of 7 million viewers.

Show concept
President Tanner, a new grandmother who has also been recently elected President (in a popular election, which Georgeland will hold in 2008 but has not held since 1954), will come into conflict with the Prime Minister, played by Mark Collins, and consent to a general election. Unfortunately, she gets more than she bargained for when Alan Wheatley (Kevin Bosley) emerges as the winner of the election; when he is appointed Prime Minister, he starts to conflict with Tanner even more than his predecessor. Tanner and Wheatley struggle for control and influence, while Tanner tries to be a national figurehead and yet influence government without damaging the Presidency. She also must deal with her family life as well as the duties of Georgeland's head of state.

Characters

 * Dr. Joan Tanner (Rebecca Jordan-Wiley) is a 56-year-old mother and grandmother from Long Island who, as the series begins, was elected President four months previously. Tanner is a former schoolteacher and later a professor of political science, and is therefore an expert in political matters. She will learn, through the series, that politics is different in theory than in practice. Highly intelligent and very devoted to her family, President Tanner is a consensus-builder, a political independent who dislikes partisan politics. She is not inclined to try to govern the nation, but she has her own ideas about what should and should not be, and this brings her into conflict with the elected government. Tanner tries to keep her family life and her political life separate, but things never seem work out that way.
 * Alan Wheatley (Kevin Bosley) is Leader of the Opposition at the beginning of the series, but will be sworn in as Prime Minister in Episode 1. Wheatley is charismatic and charming, but somewhat obsequious and patronising when dealing with President Tanner. Tanner and Wheatley are not on good terms, and their differing ideals is a central point of conflict. Wheatley's political party will, initially at least, be kept vague and not explicitly stated. Small amounts of personal information about Wheatley has been revealed - he is a Roman Catholic, hails from Sergiocitta and is married with several children.
 * Robbie Dahl (Vijay Kanya) is President Tanner's Chief of Staff. He comes from a corporate background and is well-suited to the task of managing the President's affairs. He dislikes Wheatley intensely. Robbie is a jovial sort who makes light of almost everything, and in many ways is still a 'high-flier' and behaves like a wealthy corporate executive. He is slightly eccentric and can border on the manic sometimes, but is very good at his job and highly protective of the President.
 * Ingrid Sutter (Amy Roe) is President Tanner's Executive Secretary. Ingrid is young and idealistic, and has a somewhat naive view of the world and of politics in particular. Ingrid and Robbie have an ambiguous relationship.
 * James Tanner (John Riley) is the First Gentleman. A clinical psychologist, James still works actively and has little time for politics. He would probably have preferred his wife not to run for office, but he supports her when he can and acts as a sounding board.
 * Luke Tanner (Colin Beach) is Tanner's eighteen-year-old son, and the only one living in Martin Hall with his parents. Luke is a teenage rebel, who, despite now being a legal adult, behaves like he is still in high school. His adolescent behaviour and delinquent tendencies will cause trouble for President Tanner and her staff.
 * David Walker (Mark Collins) is Prime Minister in the first episode until his replacement by Alan Wheatley. He conflicts with Tanner over draconian anti-terrorism legislation, but in the past had a good relationship with her and her predecessor. Walker will make periodic appearances in the rest of the series.
 * Cynthia Drummond (Wendy Frist) is the new Leader of the Opposition. She will try to manipulate Tanner as much as Wheatley, to the President's disgust. Drummond will first appear in Episode 3.
 * John Richmond (Eddie Bilson) is President Tanner's immediate predecessor, who served for eight years. Richmond is a counsellor and adviser to his younger successor, who from time to time will offer sage advice on how to deal with a hostile government.

List of Episodes

 * 1) A Great Leap Forward Air date: May 12, 2007 President Tanner conflicts with Prime Minister Walker over a counter-terrorism bill. The President's influence leads the bill to be defeated in the Senate, and Walker calls a general election. Wheatley wins the election, but after the campaign is over announces plans to pass the counter-terrorism laws after a pub bombing in Scoita. Tanner begins to realise that Wheatley may be worse than his predecessor as the two go head-to-head over who has a mandate to run the country.
 * 2) A Time to Heal Air date: May 19, 2007 Wheatley's new government has written Tanner's speech for the opening of Parliament, but she doesn't want to read it because she doesn't agree with it. The crisis begins to boil over as Robbie rewrites the speech and Tanner tells Wheatley that it is the speech she'll be reading and not the one his government has written. Wheatley urges the President to reconsider, and uses Tanner's daughter as leverage to get Tanner to comply.
 * 3) Malconsensus Air date: May 26, 2007 The new Leader of the Opposition, Cynthia Drummond, offers President Tanner help in creating a bipartisan policy forum, something Tanner has wanted for months, but Robbie doesn't trust her motives or her attitude. Drummond turns out to be just as manipulative and just as Machiavellian as Wheatley, giving Robbie little faith in politics. Meanwhile, Wheatley and his Treasurer have a very public feud over superannuation funds, and Tanner feels tempted to back the Treasurer's view.
 * 4) The Origin of Species Air date: June 2, 2007 A maverick MP from the religious Right introduces a bill to mandate the teaching of creationism in public schools. Initially opposed to the bill, Tanner finds the arguments somewhat compelling, and when Wheatley insults Tanner at a speech to a Catholic gathering, she decides to back the bill and embarrass Wheatley. Robbie argues with Tanner over the legislation, Drummond tries to get the President to switch sides while Wheatley is content to let Tanner shoot herself in the foot.
 * 5) Gathering Storm Air date: June 9, 2007 President Tanner faces her first military test after a Georgeland airliner explodes over Saudi Arabia. While Tanner urges a diplomatic solution and United Nations action, Wheatley flies a khaki flag and threatens military retaliation. Finding herself in conflict with Wheatley again, Tanner is heartened by overwhelming support for her position and forces Wheatley to bring the Saudis to the bargaining table, extracting promises to crack down on terrorism against foreign targets. The motivation for the bombing remains unclear, but Wheatley seems convinced it was Islamists, while Tanner's information points to Scoitan seperatists. Can they both be right, or is Wheatley deliberately keeping Tanner in the dark?
 * 6) Luke Air date: June 16, 2007 Tanner's son Luke is arrested for drug offenses, causing embarrasement to Joan and James. They find a surprising ally in Wheatley, or so they think, until the Prime Minister unveils a new anti-drug initiative which threatens to leave the Tanners high and dry. Wheatley might be persuaded to withdraw the legislation - but at a very lofty price. Tanner conflicts with Drummond over an opposition amendment to the education funding bill, while Robbie discovers a shocking secret about his parents.
 * 7) Out of Town 'Air date: June 23, 2007'' President Tanner embarks on an overseas visit to Japan. While she's gone, Wheatley sees his chance to circumvent her.
 * 8) Welcome Home 'Air date: June 30, 2007 Returning from Japan, the President must deal with the repercussions of her trip; a drunk and disorderly son, a chronically-depressed husband, a smug Prime Minister and a recalcitrant Governor of West Mainland. This episode may not air on schedule due to coverage of the general election
 * 9) Phone Home 'Air date: July 7, 2007'' Can there really be an alien spaceship hovering over Long Island? The Air Force radar operators seem convinced that there is, leading to a chain of events that would make Orson Welles gasp in amazement. Tanner argues with James over what to do about Luke's self-destructive behaviour.
 * 10) Our Sons 'Air date: July 14, 2007'' Three FISIA agents are captured by rebels in the African nation of Enkidu. Tanner and Wheatley co-operate on a plan to rescue them, but relations between them quickly deteriorate after the Enkidu rebels launch a surprise attack.
 * 11) Title Unknown 'Air date: July 21, 2007'' Synopsis unknown
 * 12) Title Unknown 'Air date: July 28, 2007'' Synopsis unknown
 * 13) Title Unknown 'Air date: August 4, 2007 Synopsis unknown Series final. Creator and writer Joe Starnes has suggested the episode final may include a "real life politician" as a guest star and implied the plot will revolve around a hostage crisis.''