You Should Be Watching...

THE GOOD WIFE

For those of you hiding under a rock I just don't have the patience to lay out the whole premise for you; it makes me feel like I'm writing the blurb on the back of a DVD cover. It's boring. So go read this blurb from the back of a  DVD cover. The gist? Julianna Marguiles plays Alicia Florrick, the wife of a disgraced State's Attorney, caught in a public scandal after his infidelities (sound familiar - like right out of the daily news?), and forced to re-enter the workforce after a 13-year absence from law. Alicia literally is the good wife who stands behind her husband and supports him after he has publicly humiliated her, and in the beginning at least, Alicia represents the position of moral rightness. We trust her character. And Marguiles plays her brillinatly, so quiet and subtle and perfectly calibrated. She is surrounded by other fantastic actors including Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart, one of her new bosses, Matt Cruzcy (of Gilmore Girls fame) as Cary Agos, fellow first-year and sometimes adversary, Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma, the film's enigmatic star investigator, Chris Noth (Mr. Big on "Sex and the City") as Peter Florrick, her disgraced husband, and Josh Charles (of Dead Poets Society and "Sports Night") as Will Gardner, her boss and former law school friend. The acting on this show is simply top tier.

And it doesn't end with the regular cast. One of the greatest strengths of the show is it's guest actors. Like "Ally McBeal" before it, the casting has a familiar rotating bench of judges (including "Hey, It's That Guy" regulars Denis O'Hare, David Paymer, Kurt Fuller and Ana Gasteyer) which makes the Chicago law scene feel more real (and don't let that comparison scare you off; tonally, the shows couldn't be more different. Where Ally McBeal was quirks and whismy and dancing babies all the time, The Good Wife is more grounded, complicated and the whimsy is dosed in very small increments.) It also boasts amazing guest lawyers from Michael J. Fox as an opposing counsel who uses his handicap to underhanded advantage, Martha Plimpton as their most shameless and ruthless foe, Carrie Preston as a delighfully oddball fixer, and Nathan Lane as a reserved accountant. And it doesn't end with them; the show is univerally praised for it's excellent casting and guest actors. I could write an entire post just about them.

This show certainly doesn't need any help shilling from me. It gets solid ratings on CBS and has amassed about 30 Emmy nominations over the past 4 seasons. (Go ahead and count how many are for it's guest actors alone.) Currently in it's 5th year this show continues to take huge risks. The showrunners have a talent for implementing radical upheavals in their storylines that constantly shift and change the dynamics of the show (from destroying relationships to legal takeovers, dirty political campaigns to low-key affairs), but still craft entertaining procedural cases on a weekly basis. The relationship between Alicia and her husband is never as simple as "he cheated, it's over." These characters have a rich history, two children and his political career to think about and the decisions they make about their relationship are never obvious or simple. The writers choose a more realistic and nuanced path. Peter is a compelling character on his own and his storylines became immensely enjoyable further into Seasons 1 and 2, thanks especially to the addition of Eli Gold (Alan Cumming) as his crisis counselor and campaign manager.

 

More examples: when Alicia and fan-favorite Kalinda have a serious falling out, it takes almost a year for the ice to thaw. The two characters hardly had any scenes together and the show didn't suffer. When extreme liberal Diane begins a relationship with a ballistics expert who is a member of the Tea Party (Gary Cole) the writers takes him serioiusly as a character and challenge the idea that people of opposing political beliefs cannot find common ground, even love. The will they-won't they, love triangle aspects of the show never take the expected course and still have the ability to surprise and challenge audience expectations. And just recently, an upheaval in the main law firm has pitted all of our good guys against each other in such a way that you don't know who to root for.

Simply put: this show rocks more than any other network drama on television. It doesn't underestimate the intelligence of it's audience. It has fantastic, multifaceted female characters of all types. It's funny and smart and fast-paced and breaks your heart at least once a week. It plants story ideas and characters every episode that spiral out in the most unexpected ways. Just please watch it. I want to talk about this show with everyone!



Now out of fairness, anyone have any recommendations for me? And they cannot include any of the following (which I have already heard are great and as soon as I have Netflix and more time, I plan to catch up on all from the beginning): Game of Thrones, Breaking Mad, Mad Men, Homeland, Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead, Sleepy Hollow, Masters of Sex, The Sopranos, The Wire, Parenthood, Sons of Anarchy, Pushing Daisies, Fringe, Parks and Recreation, Girls, Veep, or American Horror Story.