Like a deflating souffle, no other series in recent memory has launched with as strong ratings as ABC's "Commander in Chief" only to be abandoned so quickly by viewers.

		'Commander in Chief' When: 10 tonight, WTAE.

The series returns on a new day and in a later time slot tonight at 10, fighting for its survival. If "Commander" continues in the direction it begins tonight (and if viewers find it, two big ifs), this series may still have a shot at renewal.

Tonight's hour begins and ends with enjoyably idealistic scenes of President Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis) watching the State of the Union speeches of past presidents (Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, Reagan) and later delivering her first State of the Union address.

In between, first gentleman Rod Calloway (Kyle Secor) winds up making front-page news when he takes a tumble into the chest of a young female intern, and resident villain Nathan Templeton (Donald Sutherland), the Republican speaker of the House, continues to plot against the Independent president.

I've given up hope that the show's writers will make Templeton three-dimensional, but at least the political challenges Allen faces are inventive obstacles that require creative solutions. This "Commander" episode wins points with a plot twist that might surprise Republican viewers irked by the repetitive use of Templeton as the bad guy.

So why did "Commander" flame out after such a promising start? Certainly reports of behind-the-scenes turmoil didn't help matters (creator Rod Lurie was replaced as show runner by Steven Bochco who was replaced by head writer Dee Johnson), but the series' ratings began to tumble before articles about viewers abandoning the show in droves started to pop up in the press.

This may be a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. The series began as an idealistic exploration of the challenges facing the nation's first female president, especially the idea of the president as a working mom. But too quickly -- and perhaps because of all the behind-the-scenes changes -- "Commander" abandoned the family stories for international crises that played like the weakest episode of "The West Wing" ever. "Commander" can't out-West Wing "The West Wing," nor should it try.

Tonight's and next week's episodes return more to the heart of the show, exploring both partisan politics and family matters. Next week, the president's mother goes AWOL, a plot twist that seems dopey at first but ultimately may provide an interesting avenue for story exploration. Tonight, the mistake of bringing Rod into the West Wing gets undone -- a smart move that should allow the show's writers to explore the nation's first first gentleman, an area ripe for storytelling.

But problems remain, most notably Davis' wooden, stilted performance. Too often her attempts to look steely come off as pouty. After winning a Golden Globe Award for best dramatic actress in "Commander," it's unlikely Davis will alter her performance much in the future.

At the start of the season, I admired "Commander" and wanted to like it more than I did. After throwing in the towel with the terrible Korean nuclear crisis episodes in January, I'm back to rooting for the show, but I still wish it were better.