Tag Archives: Alicia Florrick

October 26, 2010 · 11:45 pm

The Good Wife – “VIP Treatment”

“VIP Treatment”

October 26th, 2010

That’s more like it.

Thus far, I’ve been disappointed in the quality of The Good Wife’s second season, if not disappointed in the season as a whole. There has yet to be an episode which really lived up to the potential of the first season when it comes to its legal procedural elements: the show’s serialized elements have remained present, but the series was at its most effective when the legal story was novel or particularly well organized (I’d argue “Heart” was the season highlight).

For me, “VIP Treatment” is the best episode of the season and certainly a standout in the series as a whole primarily because it is driven by a legal case as opposed to ongoing character interaction. Like last week’s episode, it features some work regarding Peter’s campaign, the love triangle, and Kalinda and Blake’s feud of sorts, but it’s all done in service to the standalone story. It’s an episode which makes its standalone storyline feel like something much more substanthe episode worked really welltial, and which embraces the show’s uniquely well-drawn workplace environment to tell a small story with potentially huge ramifications.

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Tagged as Alicia Florrick, Analysis, CBS, Elizabeth Reaser, Endorsement, Episode 4, Joe Kent, Peter, Review, Season 5, Television, TV, VIP Treatment, Wendy Scott-Carr, Will

October 20, 2010 · 2:51 am

The Good Wife – “Cleaning House”

“Cleaning House”

October 19th, 2010

The Good Wife was the best new network series of last season, without a doubt: the show was smart, sophisticated, and comfortable in its balance of both procedural and serialized elements.

This season, The Good Wife is a considerably worse show, objectively speaking: the weekly plots are over-written, the serial arc has swapped character drama for fairly rote political maneuvering, and tensions which might have remained subtexts last year become baseball bat attacks this time around.

Normally, I’d chalk this up to a network note about wanting to draw in younger viewers with a more exciting product; while I do think that this is likely part of it, I’m reticent to speak too critically because I’m finding this new version of the show a whole lot of fun. This is not to say that I don’t wish that the scripts could be a bit sharper, or that the show would avoid playing so heavily to the relationships between Will and Alicia as well as Cary and Alicia, but “Cleaning House” demonstrates that there are times when manipulative plotting can be delightful enough to quell most, if not all, of my critical concerns.

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Tagged as Alan Cummings, Alicia Florrick, Analysis, Anika Noni Rose, CBS, Cleaning House, Edward Herrmann, Election, Eli Gold, Elizabeth Reaser, Episode 4, Julianna Margulies, Mamie Gummer, Review, Season 2, Television, TV, Wendy Scott-Carr, Will

May 25, 2010 · 11:59 pm

Season Finale: The Good Wife – “Running”

“Running”

May 25th, 2010

A lot has been written about how The Good Wife is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, presenting itself as a combination of legal procedural and workplace drama on a weekly basis while at its heart remaining a serialized character study. The series’ pilot was one of those skillful bits of television where they presumably lay out all their cards and yet really tell you nothing at all. The clear “structures” of the season were put into place (the competition with Carey, the complications surrounding Peter’s trial, Alicia’s romantic tension with Will, etc.), but it couldn’t tell us that those structures would evolve, and that from their “resolutions” would emerge structures which offer greater complexity.

Ending where the series began, “Running” very purposefully asks us how much has changed since Alicia Florrick stood on stage with her husband one year ago, a cyclical conclusion which for some shows would seem a bit cute (and, admittedly, the ending eventually veers into that territory). However, when you actually consider that question beyond the rote cliffhanger that the episode provides, you realize how much more complex this environment seems, how much it feels like we’ve lived in Alicia Florrick’s shoes and understand the ways in which she’s trapped between different definitions of the series’ title.

And while its ending may be predictable when taken out of that context, I would very much argue that the series’ position heading into its second season is more impressive than even the strong pilot predicted.

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Tagged as Alan Cumming, Alicia Florrick, Amy Acker, Analysis, Archie Panjabi, Carey, CBS, Childs, Christine Baranski, Diane, Eli Gold, Emmys, Episode 23, Finale, Julianna Margulies, Kalinda, Karen Olivo, Matt Czuchry, McVeigh, Peter Florrick, Review, Running, Season 1, Season Finale, Sexuality, Television, TV, Will Gardner

April 28, 2010 · 7:26 pm

The Good Wife – “Boom”

“Boom”

April 28th, 2010

The Good Wife is a lot like Fringe.

This likely seems like an odd statement, but both are shows which despite fairly substantial serialized elements largely present themselves as procedurals. Both shows are also at their best, when telling procedural stories, when those stories feel in some way distinct: like Fringe, the characters are usually interesting enough that a more mundane trial can largely be carried by the show, but The Good Wife (and Fringe) are both capable of twisty, complex narratives that embody the shows’ particular universes as different as they might be.

“Boom” eventually succeeds due to some interesting serialized elements and some nice work around the edges, but the central case feels like something pulled out of an episode of Law & Order. This isn’t a slight on Law & Order so much as a sign of The Good Wife’s limitations: this show isn’t as capable of “solving” a case in the way that show is, and the case eventually becomes a burden which interrupts, rather than complicates, the show’s other drama.

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Tagged as Alan Cumming, Alicia Florrick, Bomb, Boom, Carey, Cartoon, CBS, Chris Noth, Christine Baranski, Cosco, Episode 19, Jonah Stern, Julianna Margulies, Kalinda, Lockhart and Gardner, Matt Czuchry, Mohammed, Newspaper, Peter Florrick, Religion, Review, Season 1, Will

April 7, 2010 · 2:49 am

The Good Wife – “Doubt”

“Doubt”

April 6th, 2010

It is possible that I’m running out of ways to discuss the quiet confidence of The Good Wife, which has become one of network television’s most consistently entertaining drama series, but let me run this one by you.

“Doubt” is in many ways a concept episode: it takes us into the jury room to witness the post-trial deliberations of 12 men and women, then weaves its way back through the case in a vaguely chronological order that has us guessing at certain bits and pieces of information before they truly arrive.

However, maybe it’s just me, but it didn’t feel like a concept episode. This is not a show defined by its bells and whistles, neither within its premise (which focuses solely on character) or in its general approach to legal proceedings (where each case is handled separately). The show doesn’t do anything to call attention to an “extra-special episode,” but rather drops us into the jury room just as they dropped us into the clerks creating an impromptu court room a few episodes ago.

By balancing the novelty of this shift in format with an episode that relies just as much on serialized character development as it does on the narrative structure, “Doubt” continues a fairly lengthy streak of episodes that demonstrate the sheer potential in this series and its cast.

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Tagged as 12 Angry Men, Alicia Florrick, Ballistics, Bianca, Carey, CBS, Christine Baranski, Diane, Doubt, Episode 18, Gary Cole, Josh Charles, Julianna Margulies, Jury, Kalinda, Marlboro Man, Matt Czuchry, Murder, Reasonable Doubt, Season 1, Television, TV, Will

March 17, 2010 · 2:58 am

The Good Wife – “Heart”

“Heart”

March 16th, 2010

Contrary to appearances, I don’t actually blog about every show I watch; yes, I blog a lot, but there are still shows that I’ll watch, and even enjoy a great deal, within a given week that just don’t make it into the rotation. Usually, there’s a draft or two about these shows kicking around, posts started but eventually abandoned either for a lack of time or a lack of content: I really enjoy Greek, for example, but rarely have anything substantial to say about it. But other times, I’m reminded that I never wrote an individual review of any episodes of a show like United States of Tara despite the fact that I really enjoyed the show’s first season and am excited about its second.

The Good Wife is a show that I haven’t blogged about since November because, well, no one else is blogging about it. It’s not that people have stopped watching it, per se, but rather that no one expected it to be the kind of show that you would write about on a weekly basis. I’m still not convinced that it’s the kind of show I could “review” in the way that I review something like Lost, but I feel it’s necessary to take a moment to reflect on just how far this show has come. I reviewed the show early on in its run, noting its growing confidence for a freshman series, but the new year has seen the show improve even further.

While Entertainment Weekly was a bit bullish in claiming it as the best show on television (RIGHT NOW), it continues to make a strong statement as its mix of workplace, family and courtroom drama seems both more complex and more comfortable with each passing episode, and “Heart” is another fine example of its continued success, and a great excuse to finally talk about it some more.

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Tagged as Alicia Florrick, CBS, Chris Noth, Drama, Episode 17, Fetal Surgery, Heart, Julianna Margulies, Kalinda, Law, Martha Plimpton, Patty Nyland, Peter Florrick, Review, Season 1, Television, TV

November 18, 2009 · 2:03 am

The Good Wife – “Unprepared”

“Unprepared”

November 17th, 2009

The Good Wife has earned the rather ominous title of being the most unexpected critical “success” of the new season, maintaining the positive response to its pilot and growing into a confident, sophisticated mix of procedural law constructs and some intriguing serialized character dynamics. The show isn’t extraordinary, but in a year where the biggest new drama series (like ABC’s FlashForward and V) are still searching for an identity the simple elegance of The Good Wife is legitimately refreshing.

However, the show’s consistency has been its undoing in one area, as the show’s persistence in crafting connections between Alicia and the cases she tries has begun to wear thin. Last week’s episode was actually really compelling, smartly introducing a new character for Alicia to interact with (the non-lawyer) and introducing a case that had both ramifications in the law firm (being the partner’s daughter) and that involved the unique questions of orthodoxy. However, the show used the marital strife which resulted from the case in order to make Alicia an ideal lawyer not because she is particularly skilled, but rather because she knows what her clients are going through.

There’s nothing wrong with this, and perhaps some could argue it actually helps solidify her character, but as long as she is defined by her past the show feels as if it has less forward momentum than it should. An episode like “Unprepared” works because of how legitimately central Peter Florrick’s trial is to the events in the episode, but in his absence the show relies heavily on those aspects of her life. At some point, Peter Florrick is going to come home, or be sent away for a long time: at that point, what does The Good Wife become?

It’s a question that’s been bugging me, even while I’ve found The Good Wife to be consistently enjoyable.

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The Good Wife – “Crash”

goodwifetitle

“Crash”

October 20th, 2009

One of the things which makes any legal show somewhat interesting is when it largely evades the law. At the heart of The Good Wife is less a question of what is legal or moral, but rather what is just. The central premise is such that Alicia is forced to consider whether or not her husband committed a crime, and whether or not that even matters to a broader question of justice. It’s one thing to say whether Peter broke any rules, but it’s another to say whether he was unjust to his family.

And because “Crash” focuses on a story where the goal is to actually avoid the legal system, where the crime being committed is a moving target while the injustice is staring everyone right in the face, it really brings this type of story to the forefront. Mixing that case, which on its own was interesting, with a couple of interesting sidenotes, some more work on the ongoing storyline with Peter, and even some acknowledgement of the tension between Will and Alicia, and you have yet another solid hour for the series.

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The Good Wife – “Fixed”

goodwifetitle

“Fixed”

October 13th, 2009

The Good Wife is a solid show, and a lot of this has to do with a very solid premise. What works about the show is how versatile it can be, even within each of its various elements. As a legal workplace drama, the show covers an extensive range of potential cases, and because Alicia is a junior associate it means she could end up doing a variety of jobs (like digging through files, or second chairing a bigger case) whether they’re representing the plaintiff or the defendant.

The show is ultimately a procedural, but it’s managed to be quite the chameleon. This week’s episode follows the basic formula, presenting a legal case that dominates the episode while Alicia is similarly burdened by her husband’s indiscretions. However, they’ve done an impressive job of providing variety in both of these departments, to the point that the twists and turns in either storyline are still effective.

The show is never going to blow me away, per se, but it’s nonetheless impressed me so far.

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Tagged as Alicia Florrick, Bracelet, CBS, Chris Bauer, Christine Baranski, Drugs, Entertainment, Episode 4, Fixed, Julianna Margulies, Jury, Kozco, Law, Peter Florrick, Season 1, Television, The Wire, TV

September 29, 2009 · 9:40 pm

The Good Wife – “Stripped”

goodwifetitle

“Stripped”

September 29th, 2009

I’m on the record as suggesting that The Good Wife’s pilot was one of the most accomplished of the fall season, delivering a clever take on the legal procedural that emphasized but didn’t contrive a personal story for Alicia Florrick, part rusty trial attorney and part struggling wife of a shamed politician serving behind bars. The pilot was sharp in how it weaved the two worlds together, both her new job and her life balancing shame and anger, and the show has a pretty bangup cast.

As always, it’s interesting to see how a second episode reacts to the pilot, especially with a procedural where the “hook” of the show seems like something that might only exist in the first episode before being slowly phased out with time. However, with “Stripped,” it becomes clear that The Good Wife is not going to be a show that sees Alicia’s husband or his infidelity fade into the background, which is both good in the long term and perhaps somewhat awkward in the short term.

The core of the series, the integration between her personal life and her job, remains an interesting combination of workplace drama and Alicia’s personal struggle. However, the way that the episode brought her husband’s stripper past into the story was less graceful than it was in the pilot, forcing things into the open by conveniently introducing a stripped-based rape case into the proceedings. It’s not ineffective, per se, but it feels somewhat more forced than it was before, and feels almost like a second pilot as opposed to an example of what the show will do in the future…but a second good pilot.

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Tagged as Alicia Florrick, CBS, Childs, Chris Noth, Christine Baranski, Civil Case, Entertainment, Episode 2, Josh Charles, Judge Abernathy, Julianna Margulies, Law, Lawyer, Matt Czuchry, Procedural, Rape, Season 1, State's Attorney, Stripped, Stripper, Television, Titus Welliver, TV