RECAP & REVIEW: The Good Wife “Battle of the Proxies” S4 E10

I’m so mad at myself that I haven’t been as up to speed on The Good Wife as I would have liked.  But Sunday’s have been brutal.  I basically had a marathon this weekend and now I’m even more mad at myself.  I know there are some people who aren’t happy with the story lines this season but I’m not one of them.  Well, except for the Kalinda/Nick story line which has been horrible.   But it appears the writers agree and Nick is now gone so I’m not going to crush them for one bad idea over 4 seasons!

This whole thing with Nick probably wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t been for the build up.  The last 3 seasons, we were led to believe that Kalinda was on the run from a really bad dude and that her life could be in jeopardy if he were to find her.  Instead, we got a kinky, sex crazed, wacko, who did nothing but make me want to FF every scene he’s in.  I mean really?   This is the guy Kalinda was so afraid of?  We all know how tough Kalinda is so I would think it would take a pretty significant person to make her squirm.  But Nick was a joke.  Hell, Scott Porter was more intimidating than Marc Warren was.  And I know Kalinda has this whole sex appeal thing going on, but does everyone in contact with her need to be about sex?  Because it’s hard for me to buy her being deathly afraid of this man is she’s constantly screwing him every chance she gets.  But he’s gone…thank God.  So the question remains, HOW is he gone.  The ending was left very vague.  And maybe if this were a more interesting storyline, we would care what happened to Nick.  Since it wasn’t, I don’t…I just want him to stay gone.

I’m loving the addition of Amanda Peet this season.  She doing a fantastic job and I hope they keep her on moving forward.  And seeing Chris Bulter made me realize how much I miss seeing Matan Brody.  He was such a good character and then he just vanished.  Big mistake.  Bring back Matan!!!   But Peet has been solid and I’m liking the chemistry she is developing with Will.  I hope that starts to go somewhere because I really like them together.

By the way, Jackie and condoms…one word…ew.

And I know this happened in A Defense of Marriage but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the last scene in the bathroom between Peter and Alicia.  Holler!!!!!!!   You all know I want those two back together.   They are amazing.  I think the key to remember in all of this is that Peter and Alicia NEVER stopped loving each other or being attracted to one another.  They may have had their issues with their spouses choices (rightfully so) but they never fell out of love.  Which is why they will always find their way back to each other.   And Stockard Channing, I love you woman but STAY OUT OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP!!!  Don’t you be telling Peter to back off.  You back off!

So what do we think is going on with Eli and this investigation?  Is this a Maddie Hayes creation?  And what a crappy position to be put in…assist us in nailing your current candidate or we’ll nail another candidate who just so happens to be your ex-wife.  Low blow man.  Those justice agents go right for the gonads don’t they?   Luckily he has Diane on his side to assist him and I’m sure they will both find a way to get Eli out of this.

And for the love of all that’s holy and good, can we PLEASE give Cary Agos a storyline.  We wasted half the season on this stupid Nick guy, now it’s time for Cary to shine.  Please?   Pretty please?  I’m begging the writing staff…do something for my guy!

How are you all liking this season?   And are you as happy as the rest of the world seems to be that Nick is gone?   Let me know!

 

SEASON FINALE REVIEW: The Good Wife “The Dream Team” S4 E22

Unbelievable!!!!  I really didn’t think this would be much of a season finale….when will I learn?  Last night’s season finale of TGW was fabulous.  I’ve mentioned several times how there is no show on TV that has done a better job with guest stars the way TGW has.  All their guest stars should win Emmys.  They are that good and that magnificent.  Martha Plimpton is absolutely brilliant as Patti Nyholm.  And really, what more can I say about MJF.  Them teaming up to take down LG is genius.  But will it be successful?

The Dream Team vs. LG

LG has just won another class action suit.  One they believed they had no chance of winning.  Since they realize this will be tied up in appeals for years, LG tries to go for an immediate settlement to get the money to the client faster.  Seems reasonable.   But Canning isn’t budging.   In fact, he’s delaying the discussion because he is waiting for his attorney…one supermom, Patti Nyholm.  Then the bomb drops…they are suing LG for $50 million for fraud.  Basically the case should have been a $1 million settlement or jury trial.  Instead LG insisted it be a bench trial and they were awarded $25 million.  Canning and Nyholm are accusing LG of judicial tampering since the judge was someone Will played basketball with and mostly likely bribed for the favorable judgement.  We know it isn’t true but with Will’s history and his issues with the bar association now public knowledge, that’s what they are playing off of.   Not to get too off topic, but how can this not be an issue for the firm moving forward?  In real life, they would have to cut Will loose for this exact reason…they can’t have every judgement that goes their way result in a countersuit for fraud.  So regardless of whether or not Will is guilty (and he is) a struggling firm can’t have that liability around.  Especially a firm that is in the financial straits (which learn later on) that LG is in.  Diane will always have Will’s back and therefore will do anything for him.  If Will were a bigger person, he would step down from the firm so they wouldn’t be vulnerable to these types of actions.  But, since Josh Charles is a major character, he isn’t going anywhere.

As this is all playing out, Canning and Nyholm have made one thing very clear to LG….they are there to destroy them.  Now here’s my question.   Is this a personal attack or a professional one?  It’s one thing to go after a firm for your clients.  It’s another to take someone down because of your personal feelings.  What would be the motive for Patti and Louis here?  Patti has lost to them but Louis has beaten them more than he’s lost.  So what’s with all the venom?  Why go after them so fervently?  In the end, everything really spins on its heels.  Just when LG has gotten the upper hand on the Dream Team and destroyed their countersuit and therefore declared victory, the Dream Team had one more shoe to drop…..this wasn’t their end game.  This was all a distraction for a bigger picture move.   Patrick Edelstein, LG’s largest client, isn’t happy with them and the Dream Team was able to snatch him from their client list while this “case” was going on.  This whole thing was a rouse to steal their top client.  So while the intent to destroy them is still going strong, the action by which they are doing it was slightly different from what was originally perceived.  Ouch.  Diane and Will realize that they have been cut at the knees and are in trouble.

Kalinda

I am about to say something very unpopular so whatever you choose to throw at me, please have it be soft.  Kalinda is starting to annoy me.  (DUCK! for throwing objects!!)   I know Kalinda is a very private person.  I respect that.  But she lost the only girlfriend she ever had because of secrets.  Alicia has extended an olive branch to her but it comes with a price…Kalinda has to be more forthcoming and honest with her.  Alicia has been helping Kalinda with a tax case.  She finds an old check and reaches out to the company who issued it to see if they would be willing to reissue the check.  The man on the other line is very serious and cryptic and Alicia senses that something is off with him.  She hangs up and tells him she’ll get back in touch.  She doesn’t, but he gets in touch with her…twice.  Once on her cell and once at her home.  Both times, Alicia tells Kalinda about it and it wasn’t until Kalinda heard that he called her at home and called her by name that she brings her in the loop on who this is….her husband.  Kalinda also keeps all of this from Will when she asks him for money so she can run.

Ok.  I don’t know if Will knows her background.  My assumption is no because I think he would have asked if her running and asking for money had anything to do with her husband.  He didn’t.  In fact, he tells her that he thought she was happy here and couldn’t understand why she’d want to leave.  So I don’t think he knows.  Alicia doesn’t know.  No one knows.   Safe to say, this is a dangerous man.  Why else would Kalinda be so evasive (and have all that ammunition in her dry wall?)  We already know she had another name and life but we weren’t sure why or the story behind it.  I guess this was an abusive relationship that she escaped.  But here is where I start to get annoyed with her.  I get that you don’t want your private past aired out for all to know and discuss.  I get that whatever happened probably screwed you up so badly you don’t know if you like men or women.  I get that whatever happened has you so guarded, you don’t want to let that guard down for anyone.  But you know what, you did let your guard down for two people you thought you could trust….Will and Alicia.  Therefore, they deserve the truth.  Tell them what is going on.  They have proven themselves to the point that you know they won’t tell anyone and keep your confidence.  If this guy is that dangerous to the point where he now knows Alicia’s name and where she lives, you need to do something.  Running away isn’t the answer (which thankfully she changed her mind and is sticking around.)  So ask them for help.  Let them in on what is going on.  Don’t pull this “don’t worry about it I can handle it” crap again.  She is putting other people at risk by withholding information.   I don’t want Kalinda’s inherent character to change because it’s what I love about her. But there has to be some growth.  And this is an area she could grow by keeping Alicia in the loop and having her help her (as well as do what she need to do to protect her family.)  At this point, Alicia deserves to know what she is dealing with so she can protect her family.  Hopefully, Kalinda will give her that chance.  Or blow the guys brains out so no one has to deal with him ever again!   That would work too!

Alicia and Peter

Talk about a dream team.  This is why they belong together….her heart keeps pulling her back to him.  Her heart isn’t pulling her towards Will.  Her vajay-jay might be but not her heart.  It was clear in this year’s elevator scene (which I liked much better than last year’s) that while they don’t regret what they did, it’s over.  It was a moment (or ten) but it wasn’t love.  Will knows it.  Alicia knows it.  You can see it on Alicia’s face and Will’s face as he walks out of the elevator.  You can see it on Alicia’s face as she stands outside her old home.  She wants so desperately to be inside with her family.  But her heart has been shattered so many times, can she really put herself through it again.  I think she can.  I said it when it came out last year that while she was brutally hurt, and rightfully so, that hurt will eventually pass because she will realize that he did it when he was being an ass.  Not after they reconciled and were falling in love again.  Big difference.  It will certainly take time but I really believe that it’s not a matter of if, but when, they are back together as a family!

Another phenomenal season of TGW has come to a close.  What did you think of the finale?  It sets up for terrific 2012/2013 season and I am already looking forward to September!!!!

 

RECAP & REVIEW: The Good Wife “The Penalty Box” S3 E21

There were some very eyebrow raising moments in tonight’s TGW.  Some confused me and some intrigued me.  The only thing I wasn’t confused about was seeing Lemond Bishop again.  Wow is that man just beautiful to look at!!  But more on him a little later.  Let’s break down “The Penalty Box”

Alicia and Diane’s Case

Judge Cuesta (who will always be Leon Kodak to me, played by the fabulous David Paymer) is being asked to step aside from the bench because he is being accused of prosecutorial misconduct stemming from a case in which an innocent man went to prison for 20 years for the murder of his wife.  (DNA later exonerated the man.) This has to be difficult when a lawyer has to defend a judge.  The judge is used to putting these lawyers in their place and having the power that when they speak their directives are followed, most of the time without question.  Likewise lawyers are used to biting their tongues most of the time out of respect for the men and women wearing the robes behind the bench.  But when a judge needs a lawyer, those rules are thrown out the window.  It’s hard for both sides but if the best case is to be put forward, all egos have to be pushed back to do what’s in the best interest of the client.

This case was my first eyebrow raising moment.  It appeared as though Cuesta was bending over backwards to protect his ADA.   First there was evidence that was left in the community smoking area where the jury was able to see it.  This was also evidence that was inadmissible due to the inflammatory detail that could cause prejudicial bias towards the defendant.   Then, there were banking receipts that would have proved the defendant didn’t commit the crime, that were withheld from the defense.  On both counts, Cuesta went over and above to protect ADA Lloyd.   Why?  I understand protecting your people and not being a snitch to save your own skin.  I can respect that.  I can also respect protecting a good person who made a simple mistake and you don’t want their career ruined over an honest mistake.  But Lloyd is out of the practice of law (he’s now in real estate.)  Plus, at what point is protecting someone making you just as culpable as the person who made the mistake?  This is a man who went to prison for 20 years for something he didn’t do.  This is also something that will destroy your career.  It’s obvious this ADA was a bad seed.  Making a mistake is one thing.  But choosing several despicable methods to win your case, shows a pattern of egregious behavior, not a green lawyer making one mistake.   So why was Cuesta so willing to destroy his career for a kid who couldn’t care less about him?  If Lloyd cared about Cuesta as much as Cuesta seemed to want to protect him, he would have owned up to his decisions and not let Cuesta take the heat.  And the other thing I couldn’t get over is that this guy is out of law!!!  He’s not a practicing attorney any longer!  He’s in real estate!  What are you protecting?  At some point, it’s gets to be stupid rather than honorable.   I didn’t get it.  Once you realize there were so many things Lloyd did to send an innocent man to prison, the quest to protect him should have ceased because it proved he could have cared less about protecting you.

Cary vs. Callie 

LG needs a new litigator and ASAP.  Diane wants Cary, Will doesn’t, and Howard just wants to know who Cary will take with him on a desert island.  Which cracked me up when he asked Diane and Will if he was gay considering he mentioned two men and not one woman.  Ha!  Diane also interviews Callie (played by Julianne Nicholson.)  Will didn’t know about this so when she tells him he lets her know that he is sleeping with her.  To which Diane replies “can’t you keep your pants on?”   I love her!   Ultimately Callie takes a job with another firm and Cary is offered the job at LG to which he is welcomed back with open arms…except Will.  His arms are only slightly opened and is very cautious with having Cary back on board.

Eyebrow raising moments #2 and #3.  The #2 moment was Will’s reaction to bringing Cary back into the fold.  Why was he so hesitant?  I know Cary was one of the ASAs prosecuting Will but as he explained to him, it wasn’t his choice.  He was given the case and it was his job to pursue it.  While Will might be upset about that, he has to understand that it wasn’t personal between him and Cary.  He had a job to do and he did it.  So other than the target was you, what’s your beef?  He also has to know that most of the dirty tactics being used were Wendy Scott Carr.  Will’s been around the block long enough to know who was driving the train on that inquiry.

Having said all that, could Will have another reason to not trust bringing Cary back to LG?  Which brings me to moment #3: the end of the episode where Peter calls Cary.  Is this all a set up?  My conspiracy theory mind is going crazy trying to put all these pieces together.  Let’s go back to last season’s season finale.  The final scene is Cary going into Peter’s office to discuss getting his job back.  Peter realizes that he used to work with Alicia and LG.  So all indications were that Peter was going to use Cary to go after LG, Will, and possibly Alicia.  My guess was that Peter wasn’t going to go after Alicia because he still loved her and eventually wanted her back.  But if he can take down LG or Will, then ok.  That seemed to go by the waste side this year though.  I thought that final scene was going to set up a massive showdown with Cary in the middle.  While it did happen (sort of), it didn’t in the way I thought.  Yes Peter wanted to go after Will but when he put Wendy Scott Carr on it and she took it down paths Peter didn’t want it to go, he nipped her and her agenda in the bud.  But Cary was put in the middle of that.   I think since Peter realized that going after Will meant, by extension, going after Alicia, he pulled back.  But maybe he isn’t finished yet and is trying to go about this another way.  That’s where Cary working for LG comes into play.

I think Cary going to LG for a job was originally an innocent proposition.  He lost favor in the SA office so he’s looking for another opportunity.  He loved working there, his relationship with Alicia is much better (or is it), so he took the jump back to the “dark side.”  When Peter found out, he was genuinely upset.  He brings Cary into his office and they discuss the information that was brought to Peter’s attention.  Peter talks about loyalty and Cary tells him that he is loyal.  After Peter tells him to turn his cases over to Geneva and that he’ll receive 1 month’s severance, the scene is over.  Was there another conversation that was had that we weren’t privy to?  I don’t know.  After Cary bumped into Alicia at LG and asked her not to say anything to Peter, does Cary assume it was Alicia who spilled the beans?  I don’t know.  Does that phone call by Peter that Cary took while talking to Alicia (celebrating his return to the “dark side”) mean something more than Peter asking him where he left his stapler?  I don’t know!  As usual, I’m probably reading MUCH more into this than there actually is.  But I can’t help it!  I always think there is more to something than meets the eye and while TGW, for the most part, has been a straight forward show, that doesn’t mean there isn’t something bigger brewing.

Kalinda

Someone needs to explain to me what happened with her and Lemond Bishop…yum.  My husband and I were on opposite sides.  I think my husband was right though (don’t you dare tell him I said that!!!)   He thought Kalinda did some work for Bishop and he was pissed that the FBI found out about and are questioning him.  I thought, you know what, never mind.  What I thought was dumb.  Even revisiting it in my head it makes no sense.  I change my mind, hubby was 100% right.  Anyhoo, Bishop tells Alicia and Kalinda that he doesn’t like the FBI sniffing around him (what a shock) and tells them to handle it.  Kalinda goes to see Agent Delany and tells her…I’m sorry fondles her into submission…to stop going after Lemond Bishop because it will get her killed.  Lana tells her no can do and Kalinda leaves.

This does drive me crazy about Kalinda.  She always uses sex to get what she wants.  Isn’t that how she lost her only friend for a while there?  Hasn’t she learned from that?  Kalinda is sharp and she’s a bad ass.  She doesn’t need to resort to the sex thing every time.  It’s one area I wish the writers would clean up.   In fairness to Lana, it’s not fair of Kalinda to ask her to not do her job.  As a FBI agent and with Lemond Bishop the biggest criminal in Chicago, Lana has to go after him.  On the flip side, can’t she go after Bishop without dragging Kalinda into it?  There has to be a million other ways she can pursue him without bringing Kalinda into the fold.   I don’t think the writers would kill off Kalinda because she’s way too popular a character, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit that this storyline does have me a bit concerned.

Next week….the season finale!!!!  It’s hard to believe with the way CBS has scheduled this show all year that it’s already time for the last episode.   But it is.  I have to say, I don’t have nearly the giddiness I had last season for that finale, but I am thrilled to see Patti Nyholm (Martha Plimpton) and Louis Canning (Michael J. Fox) returning for the finale.  Will we be seeing a little Chandler Bing as well?  One could hope!

 

RECAP & REVIEW: The Good Wife “Pants on Fire” S3 E20

Chandler Bing is horrible and amazing at the same time.  In typical The Good Wife form, they are flipping fantastic when it comes to guest stars on this show.  I was hoping “Blue Ribbon Panel” wasn’t going to be the last we saw of Mike Kresteva (played by the always remarkable Matthew Perry) and after last nights episode, we only scratching the surface of Mr. Kresteva’s devious and manipulative ways.

I think the key with finding a good foil for our heroes (that would be Peter and Alicia in case you were wondering) is finding someone we can’t stand because they are making or are about to make life very difficult for our protagonists but at the same time is so charismatic that we want to see more of them.  The old “I love to hate you” mentality if you will.  And that’s what Kresteva brings.  He is calculating, dastardly, and beguiling. But you know why I love him the most?   Yes you do.  You know what I am going to say before I even write it down.  Kiki, you know where I’m going!   I love him because he is already starting to bring Peter and Alicia back together.

To me, Peter and Alicia will always belong together and I believe that’s what they want as well.  For obvious reasons, Alicia was hurt.  But Peter has changed and so has Alicia.  I believe that once the hurt is gone they will find their way back to one another.  It happened once, it can happen again.  And what better way to start the reconciliation than to have a common enemy to fight!

Peter has been going back and forth about his run for Governor.  Of course Eli wants him to run but does Peter?  He has mentioned several times that he really enjoys being the State’s Attorney again and that he wants to run a tighter, more above ship this time around.  So does he want to throw that away for the chance at the Governor’s office?  By the end of the episode the answer is, yes.  What gives Peter that final nudge towards running?  Alicia’s support.

First, Alicia goes to see Eli.  You see, Kresteva came to see her in her office regarding the BRP report and asked if she would be willing to write a minority report.  She declines again because of the conflict of interest since he husband was possibly involved in the case.  He leaves.  Later that day, he is on the news saying how it was Alicia who invited him to her office to discuss suppressing certain information because it would expose her husband.  He says he refused to do it because the most important thing is the truth.  Alicia’s jaw (along with mine) is on the floor at this point.  After this grandstanding of insidiousness, Kresteva then announces he is running for Governor of Illinois.  Of course he is!!!!   So Alicia goes to see Eli and at first wants him to go after Kresteva and tell him to stop spreading lies about her.  Eli tells her that will get them no where and to just let it go.  Who are we kidding?   There is NO WAY she is letting this go.  She confronts Kresteva who recounts a completely different version of events (a were-you-smoking-crack-then-or-now version of events) and Alicia is beside herself.  It’s one thing to lie to a pundit or a TV audience.  It’s an entirely different matter to lie directly to the person you are lying about and look at them, like they have lost their mind because they don’t remember it the way you are fabricating it.  When Alicia gets back to LG, she tells Eli what happened and before she can finish, he finishes it for her.  He reminds her how good he is at his job and to let him handle it.  At this point, she says she wants Peter to run and win and she is behind it 100%..whatever Eli needs.   That’s my girl!!!  Of course there is the ubiquitous reminder of no kids involved.

Finally, Alicia goes to Peter.  She tells him what a fantastic Governor he would make and that regardless of their issues, she has always supported his politics and belief system.  She will back him and he really appreciates the support that he desperately needs.  This pushes him over the edge to run.   When he meets Kresteva in the elevator later on and lets him know that he will be running against him, Peter asks him to leave out the families.  You can go after him all he wants, but leave out the families.  Kresteva says no way.  In Mike’s mind, that’s what makes it fun.  How far will you go to get elected when it could destroy your family.  In particular, his wife.  This is setting up for a MONSTER campaign that I cannot wait to watch.  With Alicia and Peter teaming up, there is no way they can lose!!!

Another interesting twist on the political front is Eli being torn between Peter’s campaign and his ex-wife, Vanessa’s (played by Parker Posey) campaign.  I’ve never been a huge Parker Posey fan but I LOVE her as Eli’s ex.  Eli isn’t running her campaign but he is consulting to help her out (and, as to be expected, they have started sleeping together again.)  Unfortunately, the head of the DNC comes to see Eli and puts him in a brutal position.  He doesn’t want Vanessa to run.  He has another candidate the committee would rather see this time around and if she runs, she takes all the women voters away from him and he’ll lose.   If Eli continues to help Vanessa, the DNC will not support Peter’s bid for Governor.  If Eli pulls his support from Vanessa, the DNC will back Peter.  Ugh!!  That is brutal!!  Eventually, Eli gives Vanessa the bad news therefore giving the DNC what they want and Eli and Peter get what they want.  But Vanessa left hung out to dry.  That sucks.  But that’s politics.

Lastly, there is one more thing I need to touch on….Alicia and Peter vs. Jackie.  We knew the showdown was coming based off the ending from “BRP” (that you may not remember considering it was close to a month since the last new episode!)   Curse you CBS!!  Anyhoo, when last we left, Alicia was trying to buy her old house but it didn’t work out.  However, her agent called to congratulate her when she saw the name Florrick on the agreement of sale.  Putting 2 and 2 together, Alicia realized it was Jackie who bought the house.  She confronts the witch at her salon and asks why.  Jackie says she bought it for Peter and the kids.  And Alicia chimes in “with the hopes of you moving in as well.  That way you get what you want…me out of the picture.”  Alicia is pissed and tells Jackie that she will stop it.  ”How” Jackie asks.  ”I’m a lawyer, watch me” Alicia replies.  I love their pissing matches!!!

Alicia calls Peter about what Jackie did and Peter tells her that he will handle it.  Peter invites Mommie Dearest over to his office and tells her to withdraw the offer.  She says she can’t but Peter is very firm with her and he isn’t messing around.  Seriously, if she wasn’t his mother, I would have thought he was threatening her.  She tries to tell him that Alicia is manipulating him (oh and she isn’t trying to do the same thing…weasel) but Peter isn’t buying it.  He tells her to back off and pull the offer or he will make the call and do it himself.  She relents and walks out with her tail between her legs.  But Jackie is not one to go down without a fight….

Alicia gets a call from Jackie telling her that she had a stroke and to please call Peter.  They both arrive at the hospital but Alicia is there just a minute before Peter.  Jackie asks her to lean down and whispers “I forgive you.”  Just then Peter comes in and immediately apologizes for yelling at her earlier and Jackie lays in bed with a smug look on her face.

Ok, so here is my question.  Did Jackie really have a stroke or not?  I know you can’t fake a stroke BUT she has a lot of money and influence.  Could she set this up to make it look like a stroke to wear Peter down?  If not and she really had a stroke, then she is using it for everything she can to paint this as Alicia’s fault and get Peter to do what she wants.   WEASEL!!!   Either way, she sucks.  It just seems a bit of fortuitous timing that right after Peter scolded her, she has a stroke.  Also, we didn’t see her have the stroke.  We just see her in a hospital bed.  So until I am proved wrong, I think Jackie just had an episode of some sort that she is blowing up to be a stroke.  And yes, I do think she is that awful a person to do something like that!

Only two more episodes until the season finale!!  What are you hoping to see before we break for next fall?

 

RECAP/REVIEW: The Good Wife “Gloves Come Off” & “Blue Ribbon Panel” S3 E18 & 19

The best show on TV delivers another fantastic episode on Sunday night.  But I would be remiss if I didn’t at least comment on the March 18th episode “Gloves Come Off.”  I watched both yesterday so there are a few things I want to discuss from each.

Gloves Come Off

Elizabeth Reaser is back as Tammy.  I must say, the slick dark hair is a really good look for her!  I’ve said this before when Tammy was around more, I can’t stand her character and I really don’t think Reaser is a very good actress.  The only good thing about Tammy coming back is that her visit precipitated a reunion between Alicia and Kalinda..sort of.  Tammy tells Alicia that she and Will weren’t over when she slept with him.  But once they did sleep together, Will seemed to forget all about Tammy and appears to have lost her number. It put some things in perspective for Alicia…good people make bad choices sometimes.   Alicia isn’t a bad person but she had just found out about another person Peter had slept with and it happened to be her current BFF. Between that and the chemistry she and Will had once shared, she let her guard down and gave into her needs.  Unfortunately, she hurt someone else in the process.  I think this is why Alicia is seeing Kalinda’s situation regarding Peter in a different light.  People have their reasons for having an affair.  You may not agree with their reasons and they may not agree with yours.  But people have them and if you are going to be someone who is one part of a cheating tandem, you can’t judge other people.  So Alicia decided to extend an olive branch to Kalinda to see if they can get back to where they were.  She doesn’t know if they can but she’d like to try.   Yeah!!!!!   You knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

The case involved a former hockey player suing a snowmobile company for the death of his wife, which turned into a countersuit since the former hockey player suffered head trauma so he decides to go after the league.  It’s a complicated case and one that was really fascinating until the end when for some reason, the snowmobile company dropped their countersuit and settled for what the plaintiff was requesting in the first place.  I was as confused as Alicia and Julius.  The case did bring back a TGW favorite…Louis Canning (Michael J. Fox.)  Canning has been trying to woo Alicia to his firm now for over a year.  Alicia isn’t interested because she doesn’t want to be considered a poacher.  I really don’t understand her logic here.  Well I do and I don’t.  People get recruited from rival companies all the time.  It doesn’t mean they aren’t loyal (especially if they keep turning down the offer.)  If someone out there is willing to pay you a better compensation package for the work you do with a potential for better advancement, why wouldn’t you at least consider it.  You’d be a fool not to.  You may be perceived as loyal but now you’d also be perceived as stupid.  And I still don’t buy the loyalty angle.  Just because you change jobs, doesn’t make you disloyal.  In the end, Alicia used Canning’s offer to solicit a better offer from Lockhart Gardner.  At first she was really pushing Diane but she pushed one step too far when Diane asked Alicia to give her until the end of the week and Alicia said no.  Diane stood her ground and said “the end of the week Alicia or you can clean out your desk now.”  Both women were taking big risks.  Alicia needed more money for a house and Diane didn’t want to see one of the stars of her company leave but she wasn’t about to be strong armed by her either.  It was also hard to feel for Alicia somewhat in this scenario.  Because of the different flashbacks we were seeing, I couldn’t tell if she really wanted her old house again or not.  So if you can’t afford $1.9 million for a home, then find a home you can afford.   Why is it LG’s fault that they don’t pay you enough to buy that kind of home?  Also, you and Peter are still married.  These are his children that will be living there.  Why not pull your resources and buy the home together?   You and the kids live there and he can still live in the city until you guys work things out.  I know she wants to do this on her own, I get that.  But sometimes your pride has to take a back seat (if you can’t do it on your own) to do what’s in the best interest of your family.  Or simply buy a cheaper home.

Show of hands.  How many people love seeing Diane Lockhart playing the field?   That’s what I thought…everyone.   I loved watching her get flustered on the phone as she is switching back and forth between Kurt and Jack’s calls and trying to schedule dates with both of them.  In case you were wondering, Team Kurt right here!  I can’t get behind Bryan Brown’s Jack because I still remember him being such a jerk in the movie Cocktail.  Sorry Bryan.  I know it’s not fair, but it is what it is.

The last question I want to raise…who is leaking information about Will to the review board?  In typical form when it comes to my feelings about Will Gardner, I can’t feel bad for him.  He is hanging around helping with cases (even though he thinks he’s skirting around it by being ambiguous and dismissive.)  He is doing things he shouldn’t be doing.  So I can’t feel bad for him that someone is saying it to the review board.  However, the Judas must be captured and punished!!  You don’t squeal on your firm or your teammate.  And that’s what someone is doing.   But who?

Blue Ribbon Panel

I need someone to explain the point of a Blue Ribbon Panel.  How do these things come about and what is the end goal of these panels?   Because I don’t get it.  Isn’t the most important thing to find out the truth to what is happening so the victims’ receive justice?   Well apparently that isn’t the goal of this particular panel which is headed up by the devious Mike Kresteva (played by the delicious Matthew Perry.)  Alicia was asked to step in on Diane’s behalf and step in she did.  One of the things I love about TGW is the real world feel the show has at times.  Here is a woman who is confident, intelligent, determined, and excellent at her job, who is thrown into the deep end of the pool with very powerful people.  She was out of her league at first.  And we get to see Alicia’s self-doubt creep in very much the way we saw her in the early parts of Season 1 when she was just trying to find a way to be successful and figure out what is going on.  Even very successful people have moments where they aren’t sure if they are up for a certain task (whether they want you to know it or not.)  But in typical Alicia form, she outshines everyone in the room.   No one tells her this is basically a formality because all Alicia cares about is the truth….how refreshing.  But it starts to backfire on her because in her quest for justice, she may be putting her career in jeopardy by pissing off judges and other lawyers.  So she needs to weigh what’s more important.  She of course falls on the side of justice and sooner than later starts to have some people in her corner.  It backfires though when it is revealed that her husband was involved in the early investigation and he chose to shut down the pursuit for unknown reasons.  It was a racial charged case with a white man shooting black man.   So Kresteva gives Alicia the choice…file the amended paperwork and the case goes away or file the truthful paperwork that will come back to bite her husband and other people, in the ass.  She chooses to save Peter.

I love when that happens!!!  Not because the victim won’t receive justice for his father’s death, but when the outcome isn’t as neat and tidy as we would like.  Why can’t Alicia find justice and protect Peter?   Because you don’t always have that choice.  Sometimes, your choices are hard and someone has to be the loser.  That’s how the real world works.  And that’s what happened to the victim’s family.  Perry was terrific as the slimy but charming Kresteva.  It’s another thing that TGW has always been the best at….perfect guest stars that you just want to see over and over again (except Elizabeth Reaser.)  And they bring these guest stars in just enough so you remember them but not too often that you get sick of them.

Overall this was a very strong Alicia-centric episode.  Between her fighting the old boys club on the Blue Ribbon panel to fighting the IRS and FBI for Kalinda, she was not someone to mess with this week!  You know where all that intensity is coming from?   The stress of buying a home.  It can make you do some crazy things and act in insane ways.  I’ve been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, starred in the movie.  I have to say though that the one eye-rolling part of the episode is when the real estate agent asks Alicia to write a letter to the home owner about why she should get the house.  I’m sorry, but I’ve bought and sold enough homes over the years that it has nothing to do with that.  Yes you want someone to buy your home that you know will love it and take care of it as much as you did, but you can’t control that.  What you can control is how much you get for your house.  Because ultimately, it’s your decision who you sell your home to.  You can write me the most beautiful letter in the world.  But if your offer is several hundred thousand dollars less than other offers, sorry for your luck.  That’s kind of what happened to Alicia.  They called to say they loved her letter and they want her to have the house, but they still wanted their money.  So they are giving Alicia the chance to match the best offer so they can give the house to her.  So it kind of worked, kind of didn’t.  But it didn’t matter because Alicia got the house!  She has no idea how that’s possible since she didn’t up her bid but the agent said she was looking at the paper work with the name Florrick on it.  ”How many Florrick’s are there” she asks.  Really? You’ve never heard of the State’s Attorney Peter Florrick?   Ugh.  Alicia confronts Peter about it but he is clearly in the dark and has no idea what she is talking about.  It then dawns on her that there is a third Florrick. That’s right.  It’s the God awful most horrible character on this show, Jackie Florrick.  She bought the house in Peter’s name.  Damn her.  And that’s how the episode ends….with Alicia tracking Jackie down to her salon where she asks to speak with her.  I can’t wait to see the fireworks when we come back on April 15th.  APRIL 15th!!!   Yikes.

As you can tell from my recent post on the renewals for CBS, TGW was renewed for Season 4.  Can I get an Amen?   AMEN!!  Can I get an Oh Yeah?   OH YEAH!!!!  Can I get a Hell Yes?   HELL YES!!!   I’m not excited in the least that TGW is coming back.   We only have 3 more episodes until the season finale.   What do you think will happen with this Jackie/Alicia showdown?   Is there any chance that Peter and Alicia, with this new house situation, will find their way back to each other again?  What will happen with Will and the review board? What is going on with Kalinda’s situation and why is Lana after her?   So many questions to answer before the April 29th season finale!!!!

 

SERIES PREMIERE REVIEW: “The Firm” “Part 2 – Pilot” S1 E1

I’m not going to lie.  This is one of the shows I was REALLY looking forward to for mid-season.  If for no other reason that John Grisham is one of my all time favorite authors and I was very curious to see how they would adapt the book/movie into the small screen.

My initial thoughts…it has the potential to be a really good show.  There were things I liked (Josh Lucas), things I didn’t (Molly Parker), and things that surprised me (Juliette Lewis.)  I know I listed more people than things, but whatever.  I know a lot of people were upset that it was 2 hours.  That didn’t bother me.  I think there was a lot to introduce and revisit so I was ok with the idea that NBC decided to make it a 2 hour premiere.  The only crappy part was that I missed The Good Wife last night, which I heard was awesome!!!  But I digress.

What I Liked/What Worked

Right off the bat, I have to start with the leading man…Josh Lucas.  He was great as Mitch McDeere.  He was likable, smart, and easy to root for.  He played the perfect amount of intelligence, toughness, suspicion, family man, and grit.  He is someone you don’t want to mess with but someone who could be very fair.  He is well liked and respected but also someone who people feel could be manipulated…(cough, cough, Alex Clarke.)  I like seeing this mature version of Mitch McDeere.  In the book/movie, he was very green and made some very poor decisions.  I wouldn’t say he was a bad guy, but he was certainly easily swayed and controlled.  But after what he went through…taking down the mob and the law firm laundering money to them and almost losing his wife to an affair….he is the wiser and savvier McDeere.  He knows what he wants and what is precious to him and he will stop at nothing to do the right thing while keeping his family safe.

I have to say, I was surprised by how much I liked Juliette Lewis.  I have never liked her in anything.  She is not my cup of tea.  But I thought she was great in her limited screen time in the pilot.  I hope we get to see more of Tammy and Ray’s story.  Speaking of Ray, I really like Callum Keith Rennie.  I hated him in The Killing as Rick, the creepy fiance, but I like him here, so far.  My jury is out on whether or not Ray will really be the stand up guy he is right now.  So we’ll see.  I also liked Tricia Helfer as Alex Clarke.  I understand Helfer is one of those actresses that you either love or hate.  The only show I remember her from is Chuck.  I know she was on Battlestar Galactica but I never watched that show.  But I liked her here I thought she was set up to be a get foil for Mitch.

I think the biggest thing The Firm needed to do, was to set itself up as something other than a “family on the run” type of show.  I think watching the McDeeres flee terrible danger every week would not only get boring and redundant after a while but unbelievable and absurd.  You can have the tension, drama, and suspense, but you can do it without Mitch running for his life.  Even though the show opened with Mitch ostensibly, running for his life it doesn’t appear this all this show is going to be about.  This show, I hope, is going to be about this family and how they have rebuilt their lives both personally and professionally.  This show will be a law procedural but will also have the suspense elements of the book/movie.  At least, that is how the pilot set this up.  And I really like that.  We never got to see Mitch as a lawyer because he was just out of law school and eventually spent most of his time trying to bring down Bendini, Lambert, and Locke (BL&L.)  So I am looking forward to seeing him in the courtroom, handling cases, and seeing how his ”association” with his own firm and the new firm collide.

There was a lot of things happening in the pilot and at times, it could be confusing.  I saw a lot of people on Twitter upset at the back and forth, they were confused, and thought the show was a bit boring and plodded along.  I think people were expecting more action because the big question I saw was “is this a law show or a suspense thriller?”  I think the answer is…both.  You have to remember, pilots, most of the time, are a bit stiff and slow because they are setting up the characters and story arc for the series/season.  So instead of being non stop action and suspense, it’s setting up the good stuff that is to come.  That’s, I think, what was happening last night.

What I Didn’t Like/Didn’t Work

If you followed my tweets last night during the show, you know the number one thing/person I didn’t like and that was Molly Parker’s Abby McDeere.  I thought Parker was very stiff, standoffish, and bland.  It’s hard not to make comparisons to their original portrayers from the movie (if you saw the movie) but Jeanne Tripplehorn, she is not.  Tripplehorn’s Abby was very sweet, supportive and slightly naive, but very intelligent and very strong.  Parker is none of those things.  But in fairness, she shouldn’t be the same character.  After what she went through, Abby should be very different.  Abby can still be sweet, supportive, intelligent and strong, but with her experience and knowledge, she should have those traits in an adapted manner.  And she most certainly shouldn’t be naive!!   The scene that bothered me the most was when they were visiting the new law firm and she was all giddy like a 5 year-old who just received her first Barbie doll.  How can you not be suspicious?  After what happened to you the last time?  And I hated that it felt just like the movie from the tour, to the party, to the music…it was a little too familiar.  There was also another time when Mitch went outside to look at the car outside their house and she came out wondering what he was doing.  After he said nothing, she bounced back inside to the party.  If that were me, I would be a little more suspicious.  After what happened in Memphis, after being in witness protection for 10 years, my senses would be on high alert.  I would have taken his curiosity outside, slightly more seriously and then asked him if he would tell me if there was something to worry about.  She seemed more concerned with cutting the cake.  I’m not saying the woman has to live like a bruting, panicked, wife but she just seems too matter-of-fact, life is a big bowl of cherries, for me.

In most of her scenes, she seemed to have a very blank look on her face to the point that she felt devoid of emotion in anything she was discussing.  I have commented before about how I really respect actors who can emote or convey just what they are thinking by the look on their face.  Parker isn’t in that category.  She’d be great on the World Series of Poker though. Her delivery was also deliberate and stale and some times came across as condescending.  And she seems to have very little chemistry with Lucas.  I think the young girl who played their daughter Claire, Natasha Calis, had more chemistry with Lucas than Parker.   I feel horrible saying all these bad things about Parker….I’m sure she’s a wonderful person and a good actress.  But I don’t buy her in this role.

One thing I thought was left out there was, what happened with witness protection?  I assume you can’t just leave the witness protection program and go back to your old life and your old names like nothing happened.  Especially if there is still danger out there.  Well apparently the McDeeres can.  I would have thought that during a 2 HOUR PREMIERE, it would have been addressed.  I hope they do at some point, because it needs to.  I’m not saying it will make or break the series, but it’s a question that should be answered.  Why were the McDeeres allowed to go back to their real names, move to a big city, and go back to their former careers with Joey Moralto’s son still out there hunting the McDeeres?   That makes no sense to me and I want an explanation.

Finally, I hope the show clearly defines what it wants to be…a law procedural, an action drama, a thriller, or a little of everything.  It seems the show is going to be a law procedural (using the success of The Firm franchise to sell it) with a little action/thriller mixed in.  My one suggestion is that the Moralto storyline be dropped.  While it could be interesting, it would force the McDeeres to be on the run.  It’s going to be hard to make this show a law procedural if every season the McDeeres are setting up a new shop on the run from the Moraltos or someone else.  However, I like the corrupt firm having something to hide and Mitch being involved without knowing it.  The only problem is, how long can you run with that?

I think the biggest problem this show will run into is association.  Because NBC went with The Firm, 10 years later, there is an expectation because of the book/movie, for more action and suspense vs. courtroom drama.  However, in order to sustain the show for multiple seasons, I think you need some element of law procedure to make it work.  You need something else.  The McDeeres can’t always be on the run because it’s not believable and would get tired very quickly.  I mean if NBC just wanted to make a thrilling law show, you could have went with a brand new name and cast of characters.  But using The Firm, I think you pigeon-hole yourself and there is a certain expectation from the viewers that you hope NBC can live up to on TV.

What’s the Early Rank (0-5 DVRS)

Drumroll please…..ok stop.  I give The Firm 3 DVRs.  I think this show has potential and I really liked it.  There are many great points to this show but there are some things that need to be worked on.  Also, since this pilot was really setting up the new story of these familiar character, I think it will delve into the law and the suspense more now that the “explaining” is, for the most part, behind them.  I think when people are SO familiar with a story, like people are with The Firm, you have even more set up to do, believe it or not, because people want to see what you are going to do differently.  What new, fresh ideas and spin are you bringing to the story.  I think the show did that last night and I am looking forward to see what happens to the McDeeres this season!

The problem is, the ratings were terrible.  The Firm premiered to a 1.4 in 18-49 with 6.3 million viewers.  To put that in perspective, The Cape, which NBC eventually canceled, debuted with a 2.6.  The Firm was 46% lower than The Cape and it was NBC’s lowest rated drama debut EVER.   Yikes.

Now, making lemonade out of lemons…The Cape wasn’t as a good a show as The Firm has the potential to be.  While I was REALLY looking forward to The Cape last year and thought it had enormous potential…the pilot and subsequent episodes, never lived up to the promise.  The story telling wasn’t sharp or compelling.  The Firm, doesn’t seem to have that problem.  Plus, last night was Tebow Mania!!!!!  Except in my house where my husband, the Steelers fan, was ready to sell every bit of Steeler memorabilia and jersey he owns….which is a lot people, trust me.  Not happy times in the For the Love of TV household last night folks.  So with the NFL playoffs, The Good Wife returning, I think a lot of people DVRed The Firm and will watch it later.  Which many people mentioned on Twitter last night.  I think the real test will come Thursday night in its regular time slot.  If that’s bad and the subsequent night is bad, start calling the fat lady.  Hopefully, this will be one area where name recognition helps the show.  But time will tell.

What did you think of The Firm?  Did you watch it?  If not, make sure you do and watch it live on Thursday night at 10pm!!!   But please let me know what you thought of the pilot!

 

RECAP & REVIEW: The Good Wife “Parenting Made Easy” S3 E10

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas is my favorite holiday (tied with Thanksgiving) but the holiday is not the reason for my song choice to start the blog.  And you know me, you know why I posted that it is the most wonderful time of the year….because Alicia and Will broke up!!!!!   In my opinion, this was just a matter of time.  When Alicia told Owen that she didn’t love Will and that realization hit her like a ton of bricks, it was only a matter of when not if they would split up.  Add on the conversation  Diane had with Will last week and it was definitely happening.  So I am really celebrating today!!!

This episode was a bit of a flashback to “The Marthas and The Caitlin’s” episode because the case (which was actually an arbitration)  pitted the girl Alicia wanted to hire at Lockhart/Gardner, Martha Reed (played by Grace Rex) vs. the girl Alicia did hire, Caitlin D’Arcy (played by Anna Camp.)  And while Alicia (and myself) could sympathize with Martha with how the situation went down, Martha didn’t want to let it go and both Alicia and myself got annoyed by her and wanted Caitlin to crush her in the arbitration.  At first, Martha was the stronger of the two with Caitlin struggling.  Eventually though, Caitlin started to gain confidence and really put Martha in her place and majorly impressed Alicia.  Martha struggled to the point, she needed to call in her boss for help….Louis Canning!!!!  God I love that character and wish I could see him more often!   So not only has this case become Martha vs. Caitlin, it’s now Alicia vs. Louis which is always so entertaining.  Throw in the always incredible John Michael Higgins as the arbitrator (and I learned it’s not pronounced arbiter but arbitrator) and Dexter’s own Debra Morgan, Jennifer Carpenter, as the woman who was suing her University for wrongful termination, and it’s a hell of a case!!  I have to say, it was nice to see Jennifer Carpenter playing a mild-mannered, very religious professor.  What a far cry from Deb Morgan, foul mouth Miami Metro Police Lieutenant!

While it looked like Team Lockhart/Gardner was going to pull out the victory, Team Canning pulled a very devious move and plucked information out of Alicia’s briefcase that helped exonerate their client.  I really don’t like that the writers went down that road.  The thing I always liked about Louis Canning is that he is very smart and always several steps ahead of everyone else in the courtroom.  It really forces Alicia to more on toes that normal.  Stealing information out of someone’s briefcase just seems beneath him.  It’s the kind of thing a less competent or dirty lawyer would do.  I’ve never found Canning to be dirty just crafty.  This was dirty, especially considering the situation Alicia was in.

If you saw the previews for last night’s episode, you knew that there was going to be a situation with Grace.  She goes missing.   The thing is, she really isn’t missing, she’s just off the reservation for a bit.  Unfortunately, somethings happen that cause Alicia to jump to conclusions.  First, she has a terrible dream that something happens to Grace.  Second, she sees around 13 missed calls from Grace on her cell phone and then can’t get a hold of her.  Third, Grace didn’t leave a message on the fridge saying where she would be (which she always does.)  Fourth, her friend from school tells Alicia that Grace got into the car with a strange man that she had never seen before.  While some people may think Alicia overreacted, I can see how her heart would go in her throat and she would think the worst.  She happens to be at lunch with Canning while all this is going on, and he was a good friend to her and helped her get to where she needed to be and was there to support her.  That is until he stole the email correspondence from her briefcase.  But if you ask him, at least he waited until her knew her daughter was safe.  Ugh.  How awful.  I don’t want the writers to write him to the point where I don’t like him, and I really didn’t like him last night after that.  So here is my shout out to the writing team at TGW….DON’T WRITE CANNING AS AN ASSHOLE WHO I DON’T LIKE!!  Thanks for listening.

Meanwhile, Alicia called Peter about her concerns and he jumped right into it and did everything he could to help find Grace.  In addition, Zack was at Alicia’s office fixing her computer when Kalinda overheard his conversation with Alicia about Grace being missing.  Kalinda also jumps in to help but unbeknownst to Alicia and Peter.  As soon as she took off to track Grace, my husband and I looked at one another and said…”Kalinda will be the one to find Grace.”  And she did.  Turns out Grace went with the kid we have seen on her computer that talks about Jesus, the bible, and other religious proclamations.  He was baptizing her.  Which I find completely bizarre and creepy.  Grace surrounds herself with the strangest people and week to week I have absolutely no idea what to make of her character.  Regardless, Kalinda brings her back to Alicia’s and leaves before Alicia and Peter have the chance to see her.  Grace walks in and immediately her mom hugs her and Peter emerges from the kitchen and a big group hug ensues.  And guess who is watching this whole thing….Will.  He showed up at Alicia’s for whatever reason and saw the big Florrick family bonding moment.  Awesome.  I have to say, it was nice to see Peter and Alicia so close again!

The next day, Alicia goes to Will’s office and tearfully tells him that she can’t do this right now.  It’s too much for her.  She also tells him that she is really going to miss him and then she walks out.  I was doing cartwheels in my house!!!!  Not really, but it gives you an idea of my excitement level!  Diane witnesses this because they have glass doors so everyone can see everything, and goes to see Will to tell him that he did the right thing and that she will get over it.  He agrees with Diane by saying yes she will.  However, I’m not so sure if Will will be getting over it anytime soon.

Another stellar episode of the Good Wife.  What did you guys think?  Are you happy or sad that Alicia and Will are no more?   And what did you think of Canning’s actions?  Sound off below!

Final Points From the Episode:

• Does anyone else think that Diane and Eli are going to hook up?   They have been spending more time together lately and they could both use a little lovin’ so I’m wondering if the show is going to go there.
• Peter and Alicia’s tender hug when he came to check on her was so sweet and it really made me miss them as a couple.
• I LOVE the fact that Cary and Wendy hired Andrew Wiley (played by fabulous Tim Guinee) to investigate Will.  Wiley is a great character and he’s another one that I really enjoying seeing when he’s on-screen.
• I hate Dana more and more with every passing episode because I really don’t understand what her point of being on the show is and I want her gone.
• I have a feeling that Alicia will eventually find out that Kalinda was the one to find Grace and bring her home.   They have to start softening that tension somehow!

 

QUICK REVIEW: The Good Wife….The Season so Far

This show is never not on its game.  It’s just a tremendous show and this is another stellar season for TGW.   There is a lot going on but none bigger than Peter’s quest to take down Will and using Wendy Scott Carr to do it!!!  How great is this??  Plus you have Cary really struggling with taking Will down since his beef has always been with Alicia not Will or Diane, Cary and Kalinda forming a “relationship” yet he’s now sleeping Dana (who I can’t stand) and Dana “I am not a lesbian” is having vicious flirting sessions with Kalinda, Alicia really being oblivious to all of this right now, and her quest to destroy Jackie (which you know I love because I HATE Jackie with every fiber of my being.)

I think this whole dynamic with Alicia and Will this season has been fascinating (and that’s coming from a Peter fan not Will.)  Alicia flat-out admitted that she doesn’t love Will.  I think she really cares about him but she isn’t in this for the long haul.  This is a rebound relationship.  However Will is in much deeper than Alicia is (can anyone forget the “love you” slip on the phone?)  However, now that Diane has confronted him about this case the States Attorney’s office is building against him (which is much more serious than he thought) and informing him that she is very aware of his inappropriate relationship with Alicia that is the foundation for most of this (although for Peter, he doesn’t really know how close they have become) and reminds him that he would choose the firm over Alicia so he better fix this and quick.  She has his back, she knows he’s innocent of the charges against him, but he better make this go away so it doesn’t bring down the firm.  It was awesome.  But it’s incredible how completely out of the loop Alicia is on this.  And I am really looking forward to what happens when she finds out.

I have to admit that I am missing the Alicia/Kalinda friendship.  I understand it and it wouldn’t make sense for them to be friends again this soon but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss it.  And Alicia could really use some friends right now.  It seems like all she has is her brother and he isn’t in the picture that often that she could use a girlfriend.  Plus, I don’t like seeing Kalinda doing shots with Dana.  Please.  She should be doing shots with Alicia!!!!  I don’t know what it is about Monica Raymond but every time she’s in a show, I hate her character.  I just think that was such a strong friendship on the show that it is definitely a big missing link.   Even if they could have them working together a little more, that would at least be something!

I’m still waiting for the day that Alicia REALLY puts Jackie in her place.   Yes she’s done somethings over the years to stand up to Jackie but I still think Jackie needs more of a smack down.  Seeing my mother-in-law go through my computer with the sole purpose of trying to find something on me to take my children away would set me over the top.  I wouldn’t be as calm and methodical as Alicia.  But changing the locks and buying Zack a car so that they don’t have to depend on Jackie, is a great start.  Plus let’s be honest.   They’re in high school.   They don’t need Jackie watching them and cooking for them.  It’s ridiculous.  I also think it’s ridiculous that Jackie would just use a key to get into Alicia’s house whenever she wants.  How about knocking?  How about calling first?   But you know what else I liked, that Alicia NEVER bad mouthed her to Grace and Zack, and that on their own, Grace and Zack have decided to hate her for her actions.   I don’t know why Jackie has always had it in for Alicia.  Maybe it’s jealousy.  But every time she’s put down a level, it makes me smile!!!  However, if you have seen the previews for the next episode, Grace goes missing.  You KNOW Jackie is going to blame Alicia for this and do everything she can to fault her.  But I am looking forward to seeing Peter stand by Alicia’s side!

Some other quick thoughts on the season:

• I hate Grace’s tutor.  I really don’t see the point and I don’t find her interesting or funny….just incredibly annoying and I wish they would get rid of her.
• I am very much enjoying more of a Cary focused storyline.  TGW fans have been saying for 3 seasons that Cary needs his own story lines.  This season, he’s starting to get them and I always enjoy the Cary centric episodes.  Plus, I like that what they have him doing is more than just going after Alicia in court.  There are so many layers to Cary we have yet to explore but this season is slowly starting to peel back the onion.  I would like a little more back story on him but I’ll take what I can get.
• What is Dana’s deal?  Is she trying to help Kalinda and therefore Lockheart/Gardner or is she playing them because she is loyal to the SA office and Cary?  I’m not sure because she is telling both sides everything so I have no idea what her end game is.  And as usual, I don’t like it and I don’t like her.
• Eli’s role this season.  They needed to find something to do with him but I sincerely hope that at some point it’s more than lobbying for the cheese consortium.  However, it has brought on a delightful foe and that always brings out the best in Eli.  I also like the budding business relationship forming between him and Diane.
• Is Peter still fighting for Alicia?  Is that what this whole Will Gardner thing is about?   Trying to show Alicia that he isn’t the good guy she thinks he is and therefore destroy any potential between them opening up the door for himself again?   I think that’s what he’s doing.  I just don’t know how that will go over.  Yes it’s true that he isn’t personally going after him, but Alicia’s smart enough to know who is pulling the puppet strings.
• I’m still concerned about Sunday nights.  The ratings aren’t great but it doesn’t help that this time of year, NFL football runs over and usually pushes TGW back 30 minutes causing it to run over into “CSI: Miami” time.  And if people are taping those shows and not accounting for it, they may give watching because they don’t have full episodes.  Now you know what I say to that…get it On Demand, watch it on-line, hulu it!   There are ways you can watch it but will casual viewers take the time to do that?  It doesn’t look like they are.

What are your thoughts on this season of TGW?  Are you loving it as much as me?  Sound off below!

 

QUICK REVIEW: Franklin & Bash “Pilot” S1 E1

Franklin & Bash premiered this week on TNT Wednesday night.  It stars two of my favorite people…Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer as Peter Bash and Jared Franklin.   They have their own law firm and they also employ a private investigator, Carmen Phillips (played by Dana Davis) and researcher Pindar Singh (played by Kumail Nanjiani).   I wouldn’t go as far to say they are ambulance chasers (even though they did witness an accident and ran over to the one victim looking to attract him as a client) but they do take any case they can without any care or direction.  They end up getting that case and winning while Stanton Infeld (played by Malcolm McDowell) watches in the gallery.  He is one of the senior partners at Infeld Daniels.  Turns out they beat his nephew, Damien Karp (played by Reed Diamond) who is supposedly an up and comer at the law firm of Infeld Daniels.  As a result, Infeld hires them (along with Carmen and Pindar) and an automatic in-house feud between Franklin & Bash and Karp commences.

For summer time shows, I don’t need anything very heavy.  It’s like reading a book.  I can read Dan Brown or Tom Clancy in the winter time because I am ready for something thought-provoking and intense.  But in the summer, give me my James Patterson and Nicholas Sparks.  It’s lighter, it’s easier to follow, and I don’t have to think too much.  I feel that way about my shows too.  Franklin & Bash is one of those shows.  It’s relatively entertaining and incredibly predictable.  It’s characters are pretty standard characters without too much originality.   Bash is a great people person, a ladies man, and everyone loves him plus he’s very good at his job.  But the ladies man does long for the woman he used to have but doesn’t anymore because he screwed it up and now she is engaged to someone else so of course he wants to win her back.  She also happens to be an ADA he fights in court constantly, Janie Ross (played by Claire Coffee.)  Franklin is the wild card, hates authority, doesn’t care what anyone else thinks, wise-cracking best friend and partner of Bash.  It reminds me a lot of The Defenders but without all the smugness.  Plus I am willing to forgive a lot more for summer viewing on an non-major cable TV network than a fall, major network, broadcast TV show.  I really didn’t like The Defenders.  I didn’t like the writing because it felt like they were trying to be a serious law show, defending serious clients, with crack pot, jokes of lawyers in Belushi and O’Connell.   As soon as a law show tries the “our client is innocent because he’s a great guy and we believe him, therefore you should too” defense and they win off of that, the show has lost me.  This show is slightly different in that right now, they aren’t trying to be serious lawyers with serious cases.  They defend car accident defendants who were distracted by naked girls and prostitutes who fell in love with their clients.  This show certainly isn’t trying to be The Practice.  It isn’t taking itself too seriously so that’s why I don’t mind it.

Considering I really enjoy The Closer, Rizzoli & Isles, and HawthoRNe, Franklin & Bash, right now, isn’t as good as those shows are.  But if I have nothing else to watch on Wednesday night and it’s on, I will watch it because I like the cast and I didn’t hate the show.  I’m not going to make a point of DVRing it or making it must see TV this summer, but if it’s on and I’m home, I’ll definitely watch it.

 

SEASON FINALE RECAP & REVIEW: The Good Wife “Closing Arguments” S2 E23

I started this post about 3 times and each time erasing and starting over because I wasn’t sure where to begin.  The last 3 episodes of the season dealt with Alicia finding out about Peter and Kalinda sleeping together (including this season finale.)  While I think the other episodes were more powerful because she was confronting the betrayers, this episode set up how changed these 3 people have become as a result of this revelation and how different they would be going into Season 3.   Another 3 people will also be significantly impacted by all this…Will, Eli, and Cary.   We will discuss all of this but let’s get into the case first because it was interesting this week.

A man is on trial for murdering a judge.  He and his wife went court to sue a dentist for the wrongful death of this 9-year-old son.  Judge Ellerby drew the case and the judgement went against the defendant.   Two months later, Ellerby is dead and Jake Richter is on trial for first degree murder.   According to the crime scene photos, the judge was stabbed to death and he was wearing gloves.  One glove is missing.  An expert forensic witness testified that the missing glove would have the killer’s blood on it.  How was that determined without the glove?  I’m not sure why the glove would have the killer’s blood on it and ONLY this glove and nowhere else in the crime scene would have the killer’s blood.  You would think that if the killer was bleeding, there would be blood in other areas of the crime scene or body, but whatever.  I’ll let it go.  Neither the police nor the SA’s office have been able to locate the glove that would either exonerate or condemn his client (reasonable doubt) so Will is driving that fact home.

Alicia is back at the office talking to Diane about expanding her role at the firm…yeah!!!  Meanwhile when they wrap up, she receives an envelope and while talking to Owen on the phone she opens it and the missing bloody glove slips out and onto her desk.  As soon as that happened I knew who sent it but more on that later.  She asks her secretary to get Diane and while Kalinda walks by, she begrudgingly asks for her help.  Kalinda calls Sophia (Kelli Giddish) and Sophia offers her assistance.  Diane calls Will to tell him what is going on and to get to the judge in the case.  Before Will does that, he runs to his client and asks if there is any chance his DNA is on the glove.  He says no.  At this point, I thought either he was guilty or he was covering for his wife committing the crime.  I just didn’t like the way he responded to Will.   Will, Childs, and Cary go to see the judge and an all out fight breaks out in her chambers because Will wants a mistrial.  The judge says no but find her something and she’ll reconsider.  As Will is leaving she tells him in not so many words that if he finds something for her that’s concrete, she’ll declare the mistrial because she is on his side.   Once the jury comes back, it’s out of her hands and the appellate judges aren’t likely to overturn the guilty verdict of a judge killer.

They start investigating not only the DNA on the glove but also the fingerprints on the envelope it came in and who the potential whistle-blower may be.  Alicia and Kalinda have to work together and Alicia is still cold but professional with Kalinda.  The other problem is that they have no alley in Childs because this is his swan song case before leaving the SA’s office.  So Diane wants someone (possibly Alicia) to talk to the newly elected SA to see if they can get him up to speed on the case and get an alley on their side.  Will steps up and says he’ll talk to Peter.  Alicia warns Will that she and Peter are having some issues so don’t be surprised if he’s a little chilly towards him.   Will talks to Peter.  I LOVED this scene.  Peter thinks Alicia is sleeping with Will therefore he hates him.  Will has no idea what’s going on in Peter’s mind.  All he knows is that he and Alicia are separated.  But Peter doesn’t know he knows that.  It’s fantastic!!!  So they discuss the case  and Peter tells Will he will look into Childs’ misconduct in the case…when he’s in office.  Which means no help.  Will asks Peter how he’s doing and Peter asks Will about how Alicia is doing.  I couldn’t stop laughing.  Here are two men who despise each other and would probably love nothing more than to go off and kick the crap out of one another, but they don’t.  They keep it civil and pointed.  Brilliant!

The prints come back and they match 2 cons.  One happens to work in their mail room who’s an ex sex offender but they decide to deal with that later.  They are also looking into another person who was wronged by Ellerby, Saul Barbarini.  Kalinda interviews him but doesn’t think it’s him.  Diane tells Will this and Will’s response is “Really?  Construction, Italian?  Did she even talk to him?”   Gee Will profile much?   So the guy is Italian and works in construction so he must be a killer?  Another reason for me to hate Will…he’s a bigot.  But back to the case.  Will asked the bailiff watching the jury to start serving them lots of coffee.  The bailiff wasn’t sure why (neither was I) until this scene happened.  On the phone with Diane, Will is about to enter the men’s room and asks Diane to ask him about the case.  He starts talking about a new suspect and the fact that they found the glove and guess who’s in the bathroom with him?  One of the jurors!!!!  Since it appeared the jurors were near a verdict, Will wanted to have more time so he set up this plan to get one of the jurors kicked off the jury and have an alternate replace him.  Therefore having to start the deliberation process all over again.  But it backfired slightly on him.   There was also another juror in the bathroom at the same time but he was in one of the stalls.  It was the only juror LG thought they had on their side…juror #2.  So as a result, he’s gone as well.  Way to go Will with your dirty cheap tricks!!   While all this is going on, DNA comes back and it’s female!!  So it will clear Jake and their other suspects but they still have no idea who the killer is.  At this point, I still thought it was Jake’s wife.

The case takes them to the daughter of the murdered judge.  She and her father didn’t have the greatest relationship and she informs Alicia and Kalinda that her father was taking bribes.  At this point they haven’t been able to find any females wronged by Ellerby and Diane asks them to look into cases where he recused himself.  If he took a bribe and stepped down, someone could have been very angry.   They were able to find someone and they were able to get her DNA from a fertility clinic to analyze it against the DNA on the glove.  It matched.  Kalinda brings it to Cary and the next thing you know, they are all in a courtroom and the judge is declaring a mistrial.  Jake can go home to his family!   So I was really wrong about Jake and his wife!!  And as everyone leaves, we see Peter hidden around the corner and he is the one ripping up the UPS slip of paper proving he was the one who sent the glove to Alicia.  That one I was right on.  I knew it would be him!

While this was all going on, Peter’s political aspirations were being worked out by Eli and the Democratic Committee.  They are setting their sights on higher levels of office…the governor’s office, the US Senate.   The DC wants Alicia involved and Eli, knowing what is going on, tells them no.  But they say, it’s not her choice.   In the meantime, Eli needs to work in between campaigns and he is looking for a law firm to align with and bring his consulting business to.  So of course, he chooses LG.  This is also the big promotion Diane wanted to discuss with Alicia.  She wants Alicia to be the liaison between the legal side and the political side.    Alicia immediately goes to Eli and tells him to take his business elsewhere and he firmly says no.  While he has deferred to Alicia about many things, this will not be one of them.  It’s in the best interest of his business so he is going to move forward.  It’s business not personal.  I’m so glad he stood his ground here.   While I love Alicia to pieces, she doesn’t have the right to tell him where to take his business.  And in this instance, she needs to suck it up.

We started by talking about how these last 3 episodes are really starting to transform people.  One big transformation we saw was with Kalinda.  After a sexual romp with Sophia, Sophia gets a call…from her husband.  Now we didn’t know this but apparently Kalinda did.  When she hears about the husband, her face and attitude completely changes.  She asks Sophia why she didn’t tell her about her husband and Sophia reminds her when and where she told her about her husband and even the picture she showed her.  Kalinda immediately leaves after feeling like a home wrecker again.  Before Kalinda wouldn’t have cared about sleeping with married people (which to be honest, really knocks her down a peg in my book.)  After what happened with Alicia, she is thinking twice about what her actions would mean to the person on the other end of the relationship.  She is starting to realize that her decisions have consequences to them.   I honestly believe the Sophia told Kalinda about her husband and Kalinda just blocked it out because that is what she always did before.  Now it seems moving forward, that all changes.

I also think Eli is going to have some tough decisions to make moving forward.  He and Alicia have developed their own bond.  There is a huge respect level between the two of them and I think he is slightly protective of her and not just for political reason.  So when he goes to work at LG, is his allegiance going to be stronger with Alicia than with Peter or will Peter still be the Florrick he gives preference to?   Because there are going to be times he has to make a choice.  So who will he choose.

Cary should be a very fascinating piece to this puzzle.  I think Peter will use him and his ambition to get information on Alicia and LG.  The problem is, will Cary see that he’s being used and not care, will he see that he’s being used and use it to his advantage (sounds like him) or will he not see it at all and pretty much hate all Florricks from here on out.   Cary is all about Cary but I do think he has a heart and do think he wants to do the right thing, even if sometimes things have to get messy for justice to prevail.   The key here is Peter’s motives.  I think Peter would like to bring down Will Gardner, but not at the expense of Alicia.  I really believe Peter wants Alicia back.  So anything he uses Cary for will not be to attack her but to attack Will.

I guess I have to talk about that final scene huh?   Ugh.  I put it off as long as I could.  Alicia and Will are at the bar celebrating their victory by doing shots…something Alicia always did with Kalinda.  It ends up with Will asking Alicia about their “timing.”  It’s always been off.  But he has broken it off with what’s her name (Elizabeth Reaser) and she is separated from Peter.  So he says to her, what would happen if our timing was finally aligned, even if it was only for an hour?  The go to the front desk to get a room.  Everything is booked.  He keeps asking but she keeps saying no.  Finally she says they do have the presidential suite but it’s like $7,500 a night.  At that point, I would have left to find another hotel.   Give me a break.  They get the room and hop in the elevator.  Unfortunately a little girls has hit the buttons to about 30 floors hence the preview scene with elevators opening and closing and we seeing varying stages of Alicia and Will hooking up.  It was a really well shot scene.   They get to the room and the key doesn’t work.  At this point I would think that someone is trying to tell me something.  I couldn’t get a room and the only one cost $7,500.  Then some kid pushes all the buttons to make the climb to the penthouse that much longer giving me more time to think about what I am doing.  Finally, the key doesn’t work.  I would have left.  But Alicia has another idea.  She takes the key and tries and voila!  It works.  The go into the room and we end Season 2.   I’ll tell you what though, that better be some balls to the walls amazing sex for $7,500!!!!

Needless to say, I hated the last scene.   Ha!!  As much as I dislike Will Gardner, I disliked this more so for the fact that I don’t think she should be with anyone right now.  Alicia needs to focus on Alicia and her kids.  If she needs to knock boots with someone, pick someone you don’t have a history with or feelings for or work for!!  I can understand after everything she has been through, that she deserves some happiness and some loving.  I just don’t think it should be Will.  I think he will break her heart just like Peter.  And not by cheating on her but by betraying her in another way.  I just feel it.  I worry that the end game of this show is to have her with Will so I am ready for that disappointment.  But I am still holding out hope for Peter.  I think eventually, when Alicia isn’t so hurt anymore and can see the situation clearly, her friendship with Kalinda will be renewed and she may be willing to start again with Peter.   I just don’t think that’s what the writers want sadly.   I did see an interview with Julianna Margulis where she said she doesn’t think Alicia should be with Will and that that ship has sailed.  So hopefully if JM has any say in her character’s progression, Alicia won’t end up with Will.   Yeah!!!  A girl can dream right?

What an AMAZING season of The Good Wife!!!   I am constantly blown away by the talent of the cast and crew.  I think moving to Sundays in the fall could be good for the show.  The only bad thing is with CBS having football, if games run late, so will The Good Wife.  I hate that!!!  But otherwise, I think it’s fine.  I already can’t wait for next season and I hope you will all be back with me in the fall to continue the journey!!!