The Good Wife season 1

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So I finished watching The Good Wife season 1 today.

Have to say, I really love this series.

Spoilers within and please don't spoiler me for season 2.



I don't think I can remember another show with so many terrific, adult female characters. BSG possibly comes nearest, and usually I'm a big fantasy fan. But The Wire has really taught me (or more like re-taught me, after too many years watching BtVS) how good serious (hmm, not the right word to use, as it implies I think fantasy shows can't be serious, but I can't think of another word) shows set in the present day can be. Speaking of The Wire, three alumni of that show turned up in The Good Wife, two of them (Erwin Burrell and Chris Partlow) in the same episode, playing father and son. That was a bit jarring, though I liked it. I like seeing anyone from The Wire getting a serious part in another quality drama, though sadly, these were very small roles. Then today, in the finale, there was Amy Acker. "Oh," I said, aloud to the empty room, "it's Fred."

Anyway, yes, the characters are terrific. Unlike a lot of American shows, the emotion is very understated and the dialogue well written. Plus I feel I really learned something about American law and politics (probably deceiving myself there). Terrific show, roll on season 2 (which for me means roll on the DVD box set going on sale). I've learned to love the Sainted Alicia.

I don't know what to watch next. I only have just over a week before I have to go back to work. :( so there isn't time to watch anything much. I thought of Dollhouse season 2. It's doable - only 12 episodes. But as I've said before, I've been so spoilered for it it hardly seems worth bothering. Also, I think it'll be a long time yet before I manage to put season 8 far enough behind me to want to watch anything Whedon.

I'm still not getting on very well with SPN. Have reached ep 9, Legacy, by dint of fast-forwarding through large chunks of most of the preceding episodes. At least there was a character I quite liked in Legacy - the psychic, Missouri. So far, she's the only one. :(

Comments

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I don't think I can remember another show with so many terrific, adult female characters.

The only other one may be Damages. Although Grey's has great female characters but it leans heavily towards melodrama, often jumping over it into soap opera.

Unlike a lot of American shows, the emotion is very understated and the dialogue well written.

Very true. There's a couple of others that fit this - Justified,
Damages, The Killing, Breaking Bad, and to a degree In Plain Sight.
But all of those have a great deal of violence in them. This is the only one that doesn't.

Plus I feel I really learned something about American law and politics (probably deceiving myself there).

More so than from most American Television dramas and comedies at any rate. ;-) It's not perfect, but it's the closest I've seen to date.

As for recs? I think you might want to try either Damages or Justified. Both are quite violent though and Justified doesn't have a lot of great female characters, very male centric series. Another one - that is brilliantly written is Friday Night Lights. Also has understated performances.

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Although Grey's has great female characters but it leans heavily towards melodrama, often jumping over it into soap opera.

I wouldn't like it, then, I don't think. Not keen on melodrama. Damages is the one with Glenn Close, right? I do like her, but in general I'm not a great fan of law dramas. This one has a lot of other elements I like. The politicking is great fun, but mainly it's the characters. They're all so interesting.

Thanks for the recs.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Damages is the one with Glenn Close, right? I do like her, but in general I'm not a great fan of law dramas.

Yep. Not a fan of law dramas myself to be honest. It's my legal background partly - I cringe through most of them. The Good Wife is the only one I like at the moment.

Damages...it's not really a legal drama per se. There's relatively few court-room scenes, and it is mostly political manipulation.
Glenn Close and Rose Byrne's characters engage in a cat and cat game with law as their setting. I didn't love it - the characters didn't grab me. But it is well written, with very complex and interesting characters. Worth a visit.

If you don't like melodrama - best to avoid Grey's Anatomy, it's very melodramatic in places. And very soapy. Some great episodes, but if you dislike or hate melodrama - it would drive you crazy.

[ningloreth.livejournal.com]

I notice that shadowkat67 mentions The Killing. Did you watch it? We got the original Danish version on BBC4, but when I was in Vancouver I saw the trailer for what was obviously an American remake, and they'd gone so far as to find actors who looked remarkably like the original Danes, so I would think it's a pretty faithful copy.

If you didn't see it, the Danish version has just come out on DVD, though it's a bit expensive. It's a whodunnit with lots of red herrings, but that doesn't do it justice. It's a complex and subtle drama and practically every character in it is multi-layered and unforgettable.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to comment that based on everything I've read - this is a very accurate representaion of Chicago politics. Certainly, in the rest of the country, no one would give much of a damn about who won the state's attorney position. But Chicago is a horse of a very different color and every race is treated as if it's the most important thing in the world.

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Glenn Close and Rose Byrne's characters engage in a cat and cat game with law as their setting. I didn't love it - the characters didn't grab me.

That's one of the things I really loved about The Good Wife - the fact that not all the relationships between the women were antagonistic.

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I didn't see The Killing actually. I wish I had now. Everyone says how good it was. Perhaps I'll wait for the original version to get a little cheaper and then buy it- that is, if I can avoid being spoilered.

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Good to know. Thank you.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Me too. It may be why I wasn't crazy about Damages. While their relationship does build towards a sort of friendship, it's highly adversarial and very mother/daughter or mentor/protegee - which got on my nerves a bit.

Another good series worth checking out is AMC's the Killing. I tried that last night and was rather impressed. Reminds me a little of Twin Peaks, but less creepy and more realistic. It is a bit brutal though - because it's a mystery involving the brutal slaying of a 17 year old girl.

The Good Wife actually is amongst the few series that is well written and I enjoy which is neither melodramatic or violent. To date no one has been shot at or shot at anyone else.

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The original Danish version of The Killing was shown over here. Sadly, I missed it.