Monsters of Television

“Show me the plan.”

It feels like season finales this year are aiming more for epilogues to their seasons than final chapters, if such a distinction makes sense. Some of it is industrial, networks ordering extra episodes, either a little too late to be incorporated into the first bit of the season (like Chuck) or ordered a few more than was originally expected (like Community). As a result, episodes that seem to function like finales become the penultimates, resulting in episodes that don’t pack the finale punch.

The Good Wife isn’t too different. “Running” isn’t as fiery an episode as I found last week’s “Hybristophilia”, an episode that hits all those season finale requirements of character maneuvering and arc resolutions. Indeed, it seems like the show decided to devote an episode to each of its arcs: the law firm and Peter’s trial were resolved last week, and this week follows through on the romantic entanglements among characters as well as set up Peter’s political aims next season.

Perhaps my lack of engagement stems that I don’t find either arc as interesting as the ones last week (though Peter’s arcs are connected), or that there was little in the ways of suspense in either arc. And it also could be that this episode, for the first time since I started watching, had me wishing I had been watching since the first episode. Read more »

Popularity: 3%

“You like to think that you’re a good person, and maybe at one time you were, but we both know you’ll do whatever it takes.”

Does the show need a villain? No. Am I glad it'll be Cary? Yes.

It’s a bit difficult to describe just how good a show can be. At the very least, you can tell a person that they need to watch a show and hope that they get around to it at some point. If you’re more aggressive, you loan them the DVDs of a show (if available) and hope that person gets around to watching them. If you’re really aggressive, you can tie that person down and make them watch the DVDs.

What can you do, however, to make someone watch a brand new show like The Good Wife? I was slightly badgered by a professor of mine and it just happened that there wasn’t anything on Tuesday at 10 so I tuned in. And with Lost ending this Sunday (must…not…cry…right…now…), I’m so thrilled that I now have a new favorite drama to look forward to in the fall, and, on the flip side, go through massive withdrawals for during the summer.

Because The Good Wife is just that good. Read more »

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“As long as we’re solvent ghouls.”

It’s fun watching a show that creates parallels without hitting you over the head with them (I am not talking about…okay, that was totally about last night’s Lost…). Much like the question of whether or not the plug needs to be pulled on Max Wilder, the rock star in the coma by the episode’s end, the fates of L&G and Alicia’s and Cary’s placements within that firm are all in question, and who has whose best interests at heart swirl around the episode at a dizzying pace.

The parallels between who controls Wilder’s fate and those who control the fate of L&G and Alicia and Cary are never made explicit, and it makes for richer storytelling when a show trusts viewers enough to draw those connections themselves (and if they don’t, the show is still enjoyable). They’re there, underlining the episode, making the drama that much better. But perhaps underlining the show overall are contemporary concerns about the economy. Read more »

Popularity: 3%

“It’s getting to her.”

At least the kids came out of their rooms this time.

“Mock” is an interesting case of letting the dust settle a bit after a fairly explosive episode the previous week. In the comments for last week, I mentioned how I didn’t feel they’d be able to keep up the excitement across their 4 remaining hours,, and I was right. This week’s episode isn’t terribly exciting in terms of the serialized elements in the show, but is a solid procedural episode.

Also, we find out that Kalinda can’t speak Hindi. Finally. Something she can’t do. Take note slippery characters of Chicago! Do all your business in Hindi! Read more »

Popularity: 2%

“There it is again. That poker face.”

Again with the on-the-nose episode titles. Subtly, people!

This week’s episode is the tipping point episode. It’s that episode of Lost where everyone’s getting ready to run around the Island for the next 5 hours, wondering where something is or to save someone. The big plot threads are starting to wrap together, answering my questions about how Alicia fits into Peter’s narrative, and Peter’s narrative potentially overwhelming the series.

And, you know, we find out that Kalinda is smarter than FEDERAL BOMB EXPERTS. Read more »

Popularity: 3%

“What do we mean by reasonable doubt?”

This week’s Good Wife didn’t really require the minute and a half “Previously on.” This isn’t a criticism in a major way, but it wasn’t needed to put the episode within the show’s overall narrative since the episode isn’t really about many of those things.

The episode is about the more procedural elements that the show engages in, letting those character elements that the “Previously on” is concerned with be discussed in between, with only limited (in some cases very limited) movement forward. Read more »

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“I’m following the law, not agreeing with.”

It’s a challenge to review a show when you don’t want to pause it or look away. You don’t want to stop the show’s pace in any way or remove yourself from that pace to scribble or type a note about a scene. You force yourself to take it all in as much as possible and hope that your brain can recall the experience, what you were thinking when someone arched an eyebrow or how an actor just hit the beat in a line especially well. Sure, you could always rewind the episode if you’ve got it recorded, but it may play differently out of context of that pace (don’t even get me started if you watch it live).

This week’s The Good Wife had that quality. It moved at such a near seamless clip that I didn’t want to write any notes. And it’s a different experience than with Lost, which often demands, no matter how well made, taking a second to jot down ideas about what happened. While I’ve argued that Lost is at its best when it focuses on its characters, because of its thematic concerns and genre trappings, it depicts its characters in personal but epic ways. The Good Wife is about character in personal and intimate ways. Read more »

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“That, my friend, was a Chicago defense. Get used to it.”

It's like he can see through my soul with his awesomeness

I will freely admit that my unbridled love of this episode stems largely from the fact that it was an episode that allows Josh Charles to dig into a script and just tear up his scenes. It’s not that the other actors on the show aren’t good; it’s just that Charles is vastly superior to them. (I kid. The cast is a very solid ensemble.)

So if I remove my mancrush from the equation, is this still a good episode? Absolutely.  The episode has a bit of everything in it, from the troubles at Stern, Lockhart & Gardner (soon to be Lockhart, Gardner, & Neutral Third Party) to solid courtroom scenes to debates about ethical client representation to Alicia and Peter’s home life and navigating family management (and planning!). Read more »

Popularity: 5%

“Beep beep beep”

First off, apologies on lack of post about the show last week. I just didn’t have much to say about it (even now the episode’s incredibly fuzzy) and I had things to grade. Such is the way of things. Secondly, apologies for this review taking a while to occur. Week before spring break with lots to do.

So, with the niceties out of the way, we can commence. The episode has found me firmly in the “This is a good show” camp. I’m not in the “No. 1 show on TV” camp, but that’s because I can’t possibly watch everything on television, so I just don’t know. But it is a good show, a smart show. An adult show.

Now if I can only change the strainer in my dish washer…

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“What could be more Darwinian?”

It’s a rerun for CBS (and for many watching), but it’s New To Me (TM Jamie Weinman at Macleans). Last week, I tuned into “Hi”, a seemingly pivotal episode for the narrative and the show’s highest rated episode yet. I enjoyed the episode enough to make it part of my regular viewing, so I eagerly awaited another episode, even if it be a rerun.

This was a little bit more what I was expecting from the show when I tuned in last week: bits of courtroom stuff and law firm stuff, the on-going B-plot with Peter, and C-plots with Alicia’s kids.
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