The Good Wife

I have not been watching any of the law-firm based dramas such as Law & Order. Therefore I decided to give this show a try. I had already seen Julianna Margulies' excellent role in "City Island",which also featured the underrated Andy Garcia.

I was expected Margulies' portrayal of Alicia Florrick to bear a more victimized expression. What I saw instead was a strong female character - a character not stereotyped as a woman out to give a free vasectomy to every man who comes in her way. She holds her own, and does so without trying to bulldoze anyone who disagrees with her even remotely. Even the minor characters such as her children and mother are developed in satisfying detail.

I have only watched 9 episodes so far, but I definitely like what I see. Each episode has a definite conclusion, usually a happy one. It is possible to see the episodes out of sequence without feeling like you missed something. I give this show 10/10.

Why is The Good Wife such an extraordinary show? (I write this while eagerly waiting for the fist episode of Season 7) 1) The character. Alicia is independent, but not a feminist; she sometimes fails, but she never gives up; she is deep, but witty and funny; she has principles, but is sexy; she is true to herself, but dares to experiment and change; she is wise, but you can never take her for granted. In a word, Alicia is brain, morals, fun and passion.

2) The secondaries. They are all pertinent, unpredictable and greatly acted characters. They give perfect balance without distracting from the main line.

3) The themes. The show presents very contemporary and controversial legal issues, related to seldom visited subjects such as Bitcoin money, odd consented sexual behaviors, electronic fraud, bots interactions, non-conventional marriage, new intellectual property rights, and the like.

4) The action. The show is always fast-paced but not frantic; lots of interesting and very gripping things happen across the episodes, which always seem plausible and well-grounded, and are a pleasure to see.

5) The direction and concept. It is a 23-episode per season show. Now, when many series are restricted to less than 12 episodes per year, The Good Wife keeps the fantastic habit of producing lengthy seasons, with time enough to develop both short-time and long-time parallel stories and create loyalty among fans.

I really like this show. It never bores me, it always delivers, it keeps surprising me but not to the point of losing the essence. I remember watching the first episode 6 years ago without great expectations, just to give it a try, and I came to love it and wait for each new season with renewed enthusiasm. Kudos for Ms. Margulies who works the magic in such a natural way! And long life to this superb show!

This wonderful new series, takes what I felt was a dubious premise, and instantly turns it into entertainment gold.

I'd never liked "ER", though Margulies has formidable talent. Given the right character, script & director, I felt certain she could deliver. In The Good Wife she does. Her distinctive ability lies in nuance, & here she is finally given the perfect vehicle.

The scripts as well as the entire cast, take directions you'd never expect. That's is the real appeal of the show. Archie Panjabi is a spiffy surprise as the "investigative assistant", if you will. She approaches her character as if she's the entire supporting cast of "Shark", (James Woods 2-season crime drama) rolled into one easy-on-the-eyes, package. She's tough, loyal, funny, & adds to the show's depth.

Kudo's also, to veteran Christine Baranski for playing her "been-everywhere...done everything" role in a fresh way she seldom has in recent years.

I watched the first episode with my wife.. (ok, FOR my wife) not expecting much at all. Boy, was I surprised. Subsequent episodes have been exponentially better, richer, & have demonstrated that THIS show simply refuses to go down already beaten paths. I really love that! I have yet to be able to predict anything at the beginning of an episode, as I can with just about any other major network drama. This show is a TV page turner...

TGW is at once touching, topical, intriguing, even funny. Example: The courtroom judges are not your "standard-TV-crime-show-judges". They always prove to be yet another surprising element this show takes advantage of. In my opinion, this is the show's greatest strength. There ARE obvious choices at every turn in the story lines, the characters, even directorial choices, but NONE are ever followed. Prepare to be entertained and surprised.

Rare in this era of formulaic crime dramas... formulaic everything on TV, "The Good Wife" deceives slightly, even in it's title, which almost caused me not to watch what I figured was going to be "chick-flick-TV". Males take note. This is simply a great show & will not disappoint.

Everything in it is fresh, imminently watchable, & the result of great creative effort to not be just another law-oriented drama. IMHO, this really IS "Must See TV".

I keep under-estimating this drama; perhaps because there are no big names associated with the production of it - my mistake! This drama continues to capture me hook, line and sinker every week. I am loving it to the point that it has become one of my 'must see' TV shows.

The writing is strong, the acting is as good as one finds on any other hit drama show (CSI franchises, Law & Order franchises, Criminal Law, etc.) and the direction is excellent. The budget is clearly huge. Given all that, this show may not win a bountiful of Emmy's although it may win for the lead actress or the support actress.

However, with all that is on the air these days, this is in the top 10% of all television and the top 2-3% of Drama.

This is not a family/drama series.

This is an intelligent and well written series about politics and the law.

The system, if I may.

The character developments are great, indeed, but the focus of the series is not on the main character as a wife or parent - but as a lawyer, and the cases her firm handles. Her struggles with her husband becomes another way of portraying examples from politics, rather than being the center of the series. With that being said, the drama scenes here and there are extremely well written.

This is a show that grows on you, like great series does, building up slowly - Until you find yourself hooked. It gives me the same feeling as another great TV-series, The Wire. It is also visually stunning.

Take your time with it, watch the whole first season. It won't disappoint you.