"The Good Wife" Was Pretty Good
A review of "The Good Wife," a new TV drama on CBS.
The Good Wife premiered last night on CBS, and we were finally able to see what all those billboards, magazine and subway ads were all about. Turns out the show isn't half bad.
As advertised, the show is about Alicia Florrick, the wife (Julianna Margulies) of corrupt politician Peter Florrick (Mr. Big… I mean, Chris Noth). The opening scene shows the bad boy admitting his mistakes and apologizing at a press conference. As he finishes his speech his wife reaches for his hand. Afterwards, away from the cameras, she slaps him.
Fast forward six months, and Mr. Corruption is in jail, so his wife needs to support the family. She re-enters the workforce, baggage in tow, with a job as a lawyer at a high-profile law firm. The pilot centered around her efforts to prove that even though she hadn't worked in several years and she was the wife of a disgraced politician, she was still a great lawyer. Career And Family: Can We Really Have Both?
We won't give away what happens in the episode in case you catch it online or in reruns, but the plot is packed with a juicy momentum that we hope will continue throughout the season.
The acting is great, which isn't a surprise: Julianna Margolis is winsome and Chris Noth is handsome. The husband-wife dynamic is pretty believable—she visits him in prison and they display the understanding and familiarity that comes from years of marriage, with an undercurrent of anger. 16 Reasons To Date A Convict
There were some fairly predictable moments, which could have been done more artfully. For example the question that's on everyone's minds during these scandals is, of course, why do the wives stand by their husbands? The writers addressed this question head-on, when new co-worker flat-out asks Julianna why she didn't leave him. She says she was caught "unprepared."
All in all this was a pretty good show, and we'll be watching it again.
Anyone else catch the show? What did you think?
Discussion
I have to admit. I liked it better than I thought I would. I think a lot of women are coming back to work for personal and financial reasons and I think this show really relates to that.
My mom went back to work after almost 30 years out of the workforce (not because my dad is a cheating politician), but she likes this show and connects with it very well. I also can't wait to see how the clash between the career woman and the professional wife works out.
I'm typically afraid to like new shows never knowing if they are going to be stay on the air. But, I won't miss this one. I waited a bit for that moment that would hook me and I got it during a portion that was not mentioned so I will not disclose in case someone hasn't seen it. The duo is great together and like you said, believable. I'm in for the long haul.
This show is off to a great start and I really enjoyed it. What I enjoyed most was the strong woman bouncing back from something that the "husband" did. I know the feeling and I so admire how my wife bounces back and does her best. Women like this are hard to find and it is so unfortunate that those on the outside "peeking in" wish to judge these women so harshly. Hopefully, this show continues to show what really happens.
So park yourself in front of CBS at 10PM on Tuesdays or catch it online at cbs.com. I am sure you will start to cheer for our heroine and her supporting cast. Outstanding!
I think CBS has a real winner with The Good Wife because of the public’s insatiable appetite for all things infidelity -- especially when cheating politicians and other public figures are involved. The popularity of this show confirms what I’ve been saying for several years now – Infidelity has become the new spectator sport.
For more info on this, check out the article entitled The Good Wife Confirms That Infidelity Has Become a Spectator Sport at http://bit.ly/4G5mHl or see my Infidelity News and Views blog.
As an infidelity expert who is frequently called on by the media to comment on high profile infidelity and infidelity issues in the news, I can attest to the public’s never-ending interest in cheating politicians, celebrity infidelity and other public figures having, or even rumored to be having extramarital affairs. The Good Wife is a TV series whose time has come.
