The essential episodes of Commander in Chief

Watch these 15 in order and you've got Commander in Chief — each pick states its reason.

1. 01

   S01E01 · Pilot · September 27, 2005 · 1h

   Pilot7.3

   Vice President Mackenzie Allen becomes the nation's first female president---and its first independent chief executive---when her predecessor dies in office. On his deathbed, incumbent Teddy Roosevelt Barnes says he wants House Speaker Nathan Templeton to succeed him, but Templeton's patronizing attitude so infuriates Allen that she won't resign.

2. 02

   S01E02 · Top rated · October 4, 2005 · 1h

   First Choice7.0

   Machiavellian House Speaker Templeton meddles in the new president's search for a vice president; Mac's press secretary, Kelly Ludlow, gets a rude introduction to her new job; and Mac's teen daughter, Rebecca, can't find her diary, which has some things in it that her mother wouldn't want to be public knowledge.

3. 03

   S01E03 · Top rated · October 11, 2005 · 1h

   First Strike6.5

   As damaging information concerning her VP choice, Warren Keaton, is rumored to emerge, Mac faces her first foreign crisis: the execution-style slayings of nine DEA agents in Latin America. Meanwhile, her teen twins go back to school---only this time with full Secret Service details. Horace laps up the attention, but Rebecca is terrified of it.

4. 04

   S01E05 · Top rated · October 25, 2005 · 1h

   First... Do No Harm6.5

   Mac faces her first terrorism crisis when a Saudi is stopped at the Canadian border with explosives in his car and a map outlining a Halloween-parade route in Springfield, Mo. He stonewalls the FBI, prompting a dispute over interrogation tactics between Mac and the attorney general, a Templeton ally. Meanwhile, Rod gets an offer he doesn't want to refuse; a Jimmy Kimmel joke about Rod on TV leads to schoolyard brawling for Horace; and Mac walks in on Rebecca and her new boyfriend.

5. 05

   S01E06 · Top rated · November 1, 2005 · 1h

   First Disaster6.5

   When an oil spill threatens hurricane-ravaged Florida, Mac and Templeton (a Floridian, as it happens) differ on how to deal with it. Meanwhile, Rebecca's request for privacy with her boyfriend has some unintended consequences; and Rod is offered the commissionership of baseball without Mac's knowledge. Hall of Famer.

6. 06

   S01E07 · Top rated · November 8, 2005 · 1h

   First Scandal6.5

   As the confirmation hearings for Gen. Keaton begin, the White House is rocked by a slash-and-burn book about Mac that reveals Bridges' deathbed request for her resignation for the first time. The author cites "senior White House officials" as the source. This crisis means that Rod will skip his first day as baseball commissioner. Meanwhile, Rebecca goes to a party at her boyfriend's house and Horace gets a "D" on a school paper.

7. 07

   S01E08 · Top rated · November 15, 2005 · 1h

   Rubie Dubidoux and the Brown Bound Express6.5

   While Rod persuades Mac to give him an official role, Jim hears---from Jayne---that Templeton is aware of Vince's HIV status. Meanwhile, Kelly obtains a video of a racist speech Templeton delivered in 1965. On the home front: Horace is caught cheating in school, and Flemming lies about what he and Rebecca did at a party.

8. 08

   S01E10 · Top rated · January 10, 2006 · 1h

   Sub Enchanted Evening (1)6.5

   A U.S. sub runs into trouble in the eastern Pacific and drifts into North Korean waters, and the only way to save it will be with Chinese help. And while it doesn't hurt that the Chinese ambassador is a golfing buddy of Templeton's, his government will exact a stiff price for its assistance. Meanwhile, Mac considers running for election, but her daughter Rebecca is opposed; and Templeton wants to rehire Jayne.

9. 09

   S01E11 · Top rated · January 17, 2006 · 1h

   No Nukes is Good Nukes (2)6.5

   The sub crisis escalates rapidly once the North Koreans learn that the disabled U.S. craft has drifted into their waters, and the Koreans immediately threaten war. Templeton urges that Mac not "back down," but she's more concerned about the sub's stranded crew, who are quickly running out of oxygen. Meanwhile, Sarah Templeton delivers a message from her husband to Jayne; and upstairs at the White House, Kate tries to calm Amy. She's baking cookies.

10. 10

    S01E12 · Top rated · January 24, 2006 · 1h

    Wind Beneath My Wing6.5

    While Mac is enduring fund-raising events in Southern California, an unlikely terrorist hijacks Air Force One at the Orange County Airport. Back at the White House, the kids are bored, so Kate suggests that they have their friends over for a party.

11. 11

    S01E13 · Top rated · April 13, 2006 · 1h

    State of the Unions6.5

    Rod finds himself in a compromising position with an intern, compromising Mac's standing as her first State of the Union address nears. And Templeton's up to his usual tricks with Mac's homeless bill, and once again the gloves are off.

12. 12

    S01E14 · Top rated · April 20, 2006 · 1h

    The Price You Pay6.5

    Mac stands by her attorney-general nominee, longtime friend Carl Brantley, who's pummeled during his confirmation hearings for being soft on crime. Elsewhere, a military cargo plane carrying surface-to-air missiles goes missing over Pakistan, and Vice President Keaton takes command of the situation. And having resigned his job in the West Wing, Rod retreats to the East Wing, where there's also a crisis: Kate is missing.

13. 13

    S01E15 · Top rated · April 27, 2006 · 1h

    Ties That Bind6.5

    While Templeton's forcing a harsh crime bill through Congress, an old friend of Jim Gardner's from their gritty suburban Washington home town shows up at the White House to tell Jim that his wife has been murdered. Meanwhile, missiles lost in a military-plane crash in Pakistan surface on the black market, and Keaton is particularly testy as he deals with it; and Dickie urges Vince not to invite Mac to his commitment ceremony because he fears political fallout.

14. 14

    S01E16 · Top rated · May 31, 2006 · 1h

    The Elephant in the Room6.5

    Mac's appendix bursts mid-flight on Air Force One and, with Vice President Keaton having resigned, House Speaker Templeton becomes acting president, and he relishes the role. Meanwhile, an airline strike is crippling air traffic on the eve of Memorial Day weekend, and Templeton deals with it in a way Mac certainly wouldn't.

15. 15

    S01E18 · Series finale · June 14, 2006 · 1h

    Unfinished Business4.7

    Mac makes a new push for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment when a longtime congressional ERA foe dies and his widow prepares to take his seat. Mac also participates in a Get Out the Vote function with Templeton that turns into an impromptu debate. Meanwhile, a reporter approaches Rod about a story on his relationship with Mac; Rebecca makes a surprising discovery; and Mac's differences with Dickie become apparent.