Time: 10:00-11:00pm
Cast: Julianna Margulies, Christine Baranski, Chris Noth, Josh Charles, Archie Panjabi, Matt Czuchry
Creator: Michelle King, Robert King
Summary: After she finds out about her politician husband's infidelity, Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) has to pick herself back up and find a job so she can support her kids while her husband Peter (Chris Noth) is in prison for allegedly abusing his office as Attorney General. So when her old boss Will (Josh Charles) offers her back her old job as a defense attorney, she takes it. Meanwhile, Peter is claiming he's innocent of the crimes he supposedly committed, though he admits to the infidelity. So Alicia's starting a new job, raising two kids, living with her mother-in-law, helping Peter sort out his mess, and still trying to be the good wife to the media. No pressure.
Review: Hello, Chris Noth. It's been a long time since I saw you play a sleazy guy who cheats on the woman he's with. Oh, wait. No, it hasn't. Luckily for The Good Wife, Chris Noth really isn't the focus of this show, Julianna Margulies is. And she's a much more likable character. There are positives and negatives for this new show, and I'm not entirely sure what side I'm going to come down on yet.
Positive: Decent cast. My affection for Josh Charles goes back to his Sports Night days, and Christine Baranski is a really stellar classic actress. Julianna Margulies is a work in progress to me, but she can carry the show, so I'm impressed. Matt Czuchry seems to be reprising his role as Logan in Gilmore Girls, but annoying creep works for him, so I say go for it. And I have no idea who Archie Panjabi is, but I love her character.
Negative: The characters. They fit into some pretty clear stereotypes: the abused wife (who wasn't physically abused, but more emotionally abused) who's picking herself back up, the sleazy politician who cheated on his wife, the compassionate boss torn between helping a friend and focusing on his job (that's a stretch because they really didn't give Will much of a storyline yet), the lawyer who's been there for awhile and is ruthless at her job, and the new associate who's desperate to prove himself.
Positive: The case work. I love good legal dramas, and this one's pretty good. There's plenty of court time, and the case was interesting enough to hold attention while still being believable. It is a bit of a stretch to believe that Alicia would take the lead on a case so quickly after being hired, but she was a defense attorney before she quit her job and became a politician's wife, and she did work for the same guy, so there's some plausibility there. There's also a bit of investigative work while Alicia acquaints herself with the case (also because it gives Panjabi's character Kalinda something to do; she is the in-house investigator).
Negative: It's slow. I don't know why I expected a fast-talking, quick-witted program, but I did, and I was disappointed that the Good Wife isn't that. Things drag out a little, and the overall effect was a feeling that the story was shorter than the show.
All in all, it's worth another few weeks at worst. I may be more receptive to it in the second week because I'm not expecting something different. Good characters are essential, so I hope they'll continue to develop them and give them personalities outside their stereotypes. The basics are there, and I see this as a show with a lot of potential.
Rating (this episode):
[1] Run in the other direction
[2] Don't bother
[3] Worth a watch if you've got nothing better to do
[4] Definitely try it out
[5] A total keeper
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