The Good Wife

This is the best new show of the season. The "story within a story" method is used to great effect, as we follow Alicia's marital woes, the inter-office politics, the husband's efforts to get out of prison, and the family ups and downs at home. Interwoven with these ongoing plot lines, there's a new legal case to tackle each week. I find this show a rich combination of humour, pathos, romance, mystery...

Kudos to the young actors who play Alicia's children (Makenzie Vega and Graham Phillips). They are likable teenagers, neither bratty nor too-good-to-be-true. In fact, I think this show is very well cast overall.

I wouldn't say it's a perfect drama but it sure is entertaining and manages to capture my attention from beginning to end in every episode. Margulies is a great actress, no doubt about that, this show gives her the platform to showcase her acting prowess. The writers have done a good job inter-connecting the law and politics elements of the show, plus there's complicated relationships and family issues thrown in. The characters are all equally brilliant and interesting, my favorite is Panjabi's character the cynical private investigator Kalinda for which she deservingly won an emmy for. Do hope the writers keep up the good work would be a shame to see this be a 1 season wonder.

Why is The Good Wife such an extraordinary show? (I write this while eagerly waiting for the fist episode of Season 7) 1) The character. Alicia is independent, but not a feminist; she sometimes fails, but she never gives up; she is deep, but witty and funny; she has principles, but is sexy; she is true to herself, but dares to experiment and change; she is wise, but you can never take her for granted. In a word, Alicia is brain, morals, fun and passion.

2) The secondaries. They are all pertinent, unpredictable and greatly acted characters. They give perfect balance without distracting from the main line.

3) The themes. The show presents very contemporary and controversial legal issues, related to seldom visited subjects such as Bitcoin money, odd consented sexual behaviors, electronic fraud, bots interactions, non-conventional marriage, new intellectual property rights, and the like.

4) The action. The show is always fast-paced but not frantic; lots of interesting and very gripping things happen across the episodes, which always seem plausible and well-grounded, and are a pleasure to see.

5) The direction and concept. It is a 23-episode per season show. Now, when many series are restricted to less than 12 episodes per year, The Good Wife keeps the fantastic habit of producing lengthy seasons, with time enough to develop both short-time and long-time parallel stories and create loyalty among fans.

I really like this show. It never bores me, it always delivers, it keeps surprising me but not to the point of losing the essence. I remember watching the first episode 6 years ago without great expectations, just to give it a try, and I came to love it and wait for each new season with renewed enthusiasm. Kudos for Ms. Margulies who works the magic in such a natural way! And long life to this superb show!

I keep under-estimating this drama; perhaps because there are no big names associated with the production of it - my mistake! This drama continues to capture me hook, line and sinker every week. I am loving it to the point that it has become one of my 'must see' TV shows.

The writing is strong, the acting is as good as one finds on any other hit drama show (CSI franchises, Law & Order franchises, Criminal Law, etc.) and the direction is excellent. The budget is clearly huge. Given all that, this show may not win a bountiful of Emmy's although it may win for the lead actress or the support actress.

However, with all that is on the air these days, this is in the top 10% of all television and the top 2-3% of Drama.

This is not a family/drama series.

This is an intelligent and well written series about politics and the law.

The system, if I may.

The character developments are great, indeed, but the focus of the series is not on the main character as a wife or parent - but as a lawyer, and the cases her firm handles. Her struggles with her husband becomes another way of portraying examples from politics, rather than being the center of the series. With that being said, the drama scenes here and there are extremely well written.

This is a show that grows on you, like great series does, building up slowly - Until you find yourself hooked. It gives me the same feeling as another great TV-series, The Wire. It is also visually stunning.

Take your time with it, watch the whole first season. It won't disappoint you.