The Good Wife Season 3

Ddidn't know that Alan was Scottish?

I was busy last night, but I set the DVR to record this preview show, and am looking forward to watching it. As I said in my review of the second season box set, I think it's the finest dramatic show on network television and only got better during its second season. I can't think of another show with so many fascinating running characters, and the array of guest stars who pop in and out of the trials has given many of them in-depth personalities, too, making them a part of the family that we're happy to see when they make return appearances.

I enjoyed the recap of the first two seasons and really liked seeing those few provocative clips from season three. But waiting for the new season to start is EXCRUCIATING!

Thanks for starting a thread, Matt. I'm really excited about the move to Sundays. I didn't watch anything that night, and it eliminates the Sophie's Choice decision between this and "Parenthood" on Tuesday nights at 10. I wouldn't be surprised to see the ratings for both shows go up now that they won't be cannibalizing each other's audiences. Very Scottish, and very gay. You wouldn't know either watching "The Good Wife." Brilliant performance from an actor that rewards with something new in every single role. This cast is an embarrassment of riches. Julianna Margulies's demands that the show a) be shot in New York (despite being set in Chicago) and b) have a shooting schedule that accommodates Broadway performance schedules has resulted in one of the best guest rosters on television, too.

Football overruns will play havoc with the scheduling of CBS' Sunday shows, so I'll likely be watching The Good Wife from On Demand at least until football season is over. I do have my fingers crossed that the move to Sunday will be beneficial. It should draw the same strong audience numbers that Cold Case drew for so many years.

The season premiere airs tonight at 9 p.m. EDT, but given possible football overrun on CBS, you may have issues with getting it all if you timeshift with DVRs.

Thankfully, CBS' football was in the early afternoon today so it didn't interfere with their primetime schedule. Too bad thatg isn't the case every week, but we'll manage.

 

This was the show I was most anticipating the return of, and this first episode was  . . . . good. I do worry that they're making Cary possibly too ruthless, too much the hatchet man.

 

I was hoping the case would be won in court rather than the way it was resolved, but it was still entertaining. Of course, I haven't seen an episode of this show yet that wasn't entertaining. 

It all depends on your part of the country, I guess. The Jets-Raiders game ran well into the "60 Minutes" time slot here in New York. I've sent this show to record an extra hour every Sunday, though, so it wasn't a problem. Peter makes a much better villain than Childs did, because he's much smarter and much more ruthless. Did Alicia try to get the judge to recuse himself the day before Rosh Hashanah in order to bag a non-Jewish judge? Maybe, maybe not. But Peter knew that the judge would see it that way if the suggestion was planted. So not only did Alicia not get the judge recused, but Cary successfully turned him against her. It really made me want her to rub the floor with Cary.

How long will Cary feel content to be the ball tossed around in Alicia and Peter's marriage issues is an interesting question. He's got a lot held against Alicia, so at first I'd imagine he won't mind it so much. But eventually, being used by a powerful man to pummel his very legitimately wronged wife is going to get old. Especially if Kalinda fills him in on all of the details.

Finally, it was nice to see a friend for one of the kids who isn't being used to target Peter or be used as a wedge issue against Peter. Becca was only interested in Zack because of the sordid details surrounding his father. Nisa was introduced to highlight the racial exploitation of Peter's campaign. Grace's friend Shannon Vargas was introduced to pick at Peter's newfound Christianity. The tutor for Grace feels like the first character introduced purely for the sake of developing one of the kid characters, without tying in literally or thematically with what's going on with Peter.

I agree, and thanks for pointing this out. Very interesting and valid point.
 

 

I find that I don't really care about the kids subplots.

Thanks for bringing back the married bisexual investigator lady.

Are Alicia and Will stupid enough to think that they can carry on their clandestine affair for any reasonable length of time? I guess Alicia's panic at the end alluded to that realization. Love, a potent thing that can absolve most people of coherent thought processes, I guess.

What? No mention of "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" at the start of the episode?

You just knew it referred to Alicia and Will.

How can anybody possibly fault Alicia for her affair with Will, considering what the entire world knows Peter to be? I saw, the more action she can get from whatever quarters she seeks to find it in, more power to her. Diane has a right to be pissed if it's affecting the law firm, but she's the only one from where I'm standing.

It started at about 9:15 PM for me. I'll definitely have to keep the overrun in mind every week.

I thought it was another good episode. One thing I do find upsetting about the DA's office here and in some other shows is that they are often portrayed as primarily wanting to get a conviction of someone as opposed to being sure that they are getting a conviction of the right person. The whole red light camera ploy reinforced this idea. Still, we did see both sides here ultimately working to get to the truth. That way both sides won in this case.

As far as Alicia and Will's affair - they did leave some of it to the imagination, but I hope they keep more of it off-screen in the future. I wonder whether Peter suspected something when Eli told him how "cold" they were to each other in the company of others. Diane already senses a problem.

I wonder how Alicia and Kalinda's relationship will evolve. I think their current state led to her making the mistake of taking the red light camera shot at face value.

Always strange seeing Eddie Izzard without a dress. I liked the end with Diane throwing down the gauntlet to Will, all the more because we know she likes Alicia. But business is business, and it might not be fair that Peter is a unprofessional, vengeance-seeking prick, but he's still the D.A. -- not someone any trial lawyer firm wants to be on the wrong side of.

Peter this season has definitely been the puppetmaster pulling all the strings and making folks jump. I'm looking forward to a little payback at some point and hopefully soon.

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I don't know how things are done in Chicago or Illinois but I believe Florrick is the State (or States) Attorney. I assume it's similar to a County District Attorney.

You're absolutely right. My mistake. "State's Attorney" is just the Illinois name for district attorney, sort of like how some states have a DMV while Massachusetts has a Registry of Motor Vehicles, and most states' top court is the Supreme Court but in New York the supreme court is the trial level court. I believe the "state" is used not to refer to the state of Illinois but to the generic state, as in the government instead of a private party.

Not only was it a monumental relief for Alicia, but I think it may alter her perception of Peter a little bit. Not enough to consider a reconciliation maybe, but certainly to mend to some bridges that had been burned. And since she admitted that she's not in love with Will, well, I'm not sure where that is going to go.

I liked the conflict between Eli and Lockhart/Gardner, where their differing responsibilities conflicted. Of course, it would be easier to get to an amicable place with Peter if he wasn't using the state's attorney's office to screw her law firm at every turn. Dropping the fraud investigation against the implant doctor just to torpedo Lockhart/Gardner's settlement was mustache-twirling bad. It speaks well of Peter that he took marginal responsibility with his son, but his professional behavior is beyond childish. I'm still not sure what to make of that last scene. Why did her brother lie about Jackie coming over? Was it to hide the fact that he had his tantric-obsessed boy toy over, or was it something that Jackie said? And why was Jackie poking around the apartment when she thought nobody would be home? Was Alicia telling the truth when she said she didn't love Will? Is he really just a rebound for her from her failed marriage, or does she not want to admit there's something more to it?

Maybe Alicia is conflicted by her relationship with Will because she knows it is inappropriate for her and unethical for Will.

Was that a flicker of disappointment that crossed Will's face when Alicia didn't return the "love ya" sentiment or want to even discuss the matter in their discussion?

 

Once again, a superlative episode.

Will agrees because he knows it'll mean Diane will owe him one -- and some day he's going to need to collect.

I love this show but sometimes they need tighten up the story lines a little bit.

I guess no one thought of doing a GSR test which would have proven the client innocent right away.

I was thinking about that as well. That test should probably have been done before the client was charged in the first place. Where is CSI-Chicago when you need it?