Reviews & Ratings for
"The Good Wife" More at IMDbPro »

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115 out of 129 people found the following review useful:
Best New Drama of the 2009 Season! "Fellow Men" take note: This is NOT your standard "woman scorned", 24 October 2009

Author: tom terri from NY, United States

This wonderful new series, takes what I felt was a dubious premise, and instantly turns it into entertainment gold.

I'd never liked "ER", though Margulies has formidable talent. Given the right character, script & director, I felt certain she could deliver. In The Good Wife she does. Her distinctive ability lies in nuance, & here she is finally given the perfect vehicle.

The scripts as well as the entire cast, take directions you'd never expect. That's is the real appeal of the show. Archie Panjabi is a spiffy surprise as the "investigative assistant", if you will. She approaches her character as if she's the entire supporting cast of "Shark", (James Woods 2-season crime drama) rolled into one easy-on-the-eyes, package. She's tough, loyal, funny, & adds to the show's depth.

Kudo's also, to veteran Christine Baranski for playing her "been-everywhere...done everything" role in a fresh way she seldom has in recent years.

I watched the first episode with my wife.. (ok, FOR my wife) not expecting much at all. Boy, was I surprised. Subsequent episodes have been exponentially better, richer, & have demonstrated that THIS show simply refuses to go down already beaten paths. I really love that! I have yet to be able to predict anything at the beginning of an episode, as I can with just about any other major network drama. This show is a TV page turner...

TGW is at once touching, topical, intriguing, even funny. Example: The courtroom judges are not your "standard-TV-crime-show-judges". They always prove to be yet another surprising element this show takes advantage of. In my opinion, this is the show's greatest strength. There ARE obvious choices at every turn in the story lines, the characters, even directorial choices, but NONE are ever followed. Prepare to be entertained and surprised.

Rare in this era of formulaic crime dramas... formulaic everything on TV, "The Good Wife" deceives slightly, even in it's title, which almost caused me not to watch what I figured was going to be "chick-flick-TV". Males take note. This is simply a great show & will not disappoint.

Everything in it is fresh, imminently watchable, & the result of great creative effort to not be just another law-oriented drama. IMHO, this really IS "Must See TV".

68 out of 79 people found the following review useful:
Love this Show. Hate to see each episode end., 13 December 2009

Author: schnappi_croc from Nova Scotia, Canada

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.

69 out of 94 people found the following review useful:
Compelling, Intelligent, Good Character Development, 18 December 2009

Author: g0b0 from Seattle, WA. United States

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.

37 out of 40 people found the following review useful:
A show about politics, 1 January 2011

Author: fishingvillage from Norway

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.

43 out of 52 people found the following review useful:
One of the best legal dramas I've ever seen - compelling viewing (Review updated May 2012), 2 April 2010

Author: chillgreg from Australia

First post. Thanks to other IMDb reviews, I decided to give The Good Wife a try. And boy I was not disappointed. Julianna Margulies leads a stellar ensemble cast, the acting and script writing is near-flawless, and the weekly stories are believable yet not over-the-top. A nice almost Thriller main storyline flows throughout the episodes, adding a compelling undercurrent to what could have been just another legal drama.

The Good Wife examines the lives of legal professionals as affected by their cases and work circumstances. It certainly does not mirror the style of any other legal drama in style, timing or episode structure, and I believe it has found a well-deserved niche of it's own on current high-quality television drama.

I highly recommend you watch this series if you enjoy fine acting and tight, coherent and interesting story lines.

Greg PS. Thankfully there is no "This is based on a true story" etc. tag-line to distract the viewer from the scriptwriters obvious prodigious talents, and a very enjoyable hour of weekly escapism!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1st May 2012 Review Update (no spoilers): ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have just finished watching Season 3. Literally sitting on the edge of my couch. WOW!. Since my original review this fantastic drama has grown in depth and breadth - I can now place it (almost) with Deadwood, Dexter, The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica and Six Feet Under as an all time television great - no exaggeration.

The interplay between characters (of whom the depth is truly 3 dimensional) is complex, yet does not try to confuse the viewer in an attempt at narcissistic scriptwriting "greatness" (We all know shows that do that). It just flows.

Amongst the stellar cast, my favorite character would have to be exotic and mysterious Kalinda Sharma, played by the mesmerizing Archie Panjabi (2009 Emmy award winner for best actress, and Chopard Trophy winner for the phenomenal 2007's "A Mighty Heart").

Subtle humor is so well crafted and acted, you are guaranteed at least one belly laugh per episode; these become almost a small gift from the writers - an (we want these characters to resonate with you) unexpected and welcome tangent from the often serious, sometimes even chilling story lines.

Truthfully I can't recall one episode where I reflected "gee that was a bit dull, I guess they had to do that to pad out the season". Forget the usual clichéd formula episodes from the Scriptwriting For Dummies handbook - you won't find them here. No lame flashbacks, no "24 hours earlier" and no musical/costume themed episodes here thanks. Just gritty, compelling and eminently enjoyable television.

The Good Wife is simply superb.

41 out of 57 people found the following review useful:
A woman scorned by scandal and a sex affair, branches off to independence to fight for justice and success., 21 October 2009

Author: Danny Blankenship from Petersburg, Virginia

This show can certainly be relevant with all of the political sexual affair scandals of recent years. As many high profile politicians have been known in recent years to cheat and have affairs on their wives. To name a few you have John Edwards, Mark Sanford, John Ensign, and most memorable was Eliot Spitzer who cheated and had an affair with a hooker that's the theme that this new drama "The Good Wife" took a page from and started the book. Only later the pages turn over to new chapters of independence in which new answers and the search for justice is sought.

Anyway it begins set in the windy city of Chicago, Illinois as a state attorney Peter Florrick(played by "Sex and the City" and "Law and Order" star Chris Noth)resigns after it is revealed that he had a sexual affair with a escort an attractive hooker type. This was paid for by state money and bribes so he's even sentenced to prison time and this has destroyed and hurt his loving and faithful wife Alicia(the attractive veteran Julianna Margulies). Talk about a woman scorned and feeling down in the dumps as she has her two children to now raise.

However if you were expecting a weekly series of scandal, sex, and affairs, and political back stabbing this series branches off to another direction. After this Alicia decides to once again go back to working for a Chicago law firm where she tries cases of people who've been hurt and have suffered wrong doing. It's like she's using her anger and hurt to help others as she fights for truth and justice trying to prove the corrupt and special interests are wrong.

This so far is one of the better series on TV, even though you don't have to watch it every week still it stands out for the way it branched out from political scandal it proves that from one's hurt that they can become independent and fight back against the corrupt system for others who have been wronged. And it's good to see the veteran Margulies strut her stuff as she's showcasing her independence in a classy way that seeks justice and truth.

37 out of 51 people found the following review useful:
A great drama, 14 June 2010

Author: Anirudh Shivaswamy from India

I have not been watching any of the law-firm based dramas such as Law & Order. Therefore I decided to give this show a try. I had already seen Julianna Margulies' excellent role in "City Island",which also featured the underrated Andy Garcia.

I was expected Margulies' portrayal of Alicia Florrick to bear a more victimized expression. What I saw instead was a strong female character - a character not stereotyped as a woman out to give a free vasectomy to every man who comes in her way. She holds her own, and does so without trying to bulldoze anyone who disagrees with her even remotely. Even the minor characters such as her children and mother are developed in satisfying detail.

I have only watched 9 episodes so far, but I definitely like what I see. Each episode has a definite conclusion, usually a happy one. It is possible to see the episodes out of sequence without feeling like you missed something. I give this show 10/10.

20 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
Simply Brilliant Drama, 3 November 2010

Author: conviction9 from Malaysia

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.

30 out of 44 people found the following review useful:
Soapy seduction, 15 November 2010

Author: galensaysyes

If I were limiting my rating of this show to the realm of present-day American TV, I'd rate it a 9.5. It's the only show I go out of my way to see. And why? Because it's the only one that gets me worked up over the characters, in other ways than by having them murdered or suffering from some dire disease. Dramatic involvement has fallen out of fashion on TV in the U.S.--most shows are too cool to care--and so I take an old-fashioned satisfaction in becoming variously worried, relieved, angry, or cheerful about what the characters are doing and what is done to them. My suspension of disbelief is facilitated by a sharp cast and vivid direction, which puts emotional suspense and its concomitants--focus, pace, mood, foreshadowing--ahead of all else.

...And I have just now realized that what I'm describing, or working toward describing, is a seduction. That pinpoints the type of pleasure the show furnishes, and explains the slight suspicion it engenders. Watching it, I feel as if I'm being enjoyably had by a high-priced, attractive call girl who's very good at what she does; but it is what it is, no more. And so, though I count myself a fan of the show, I can't for a second regard it as serious drama, although it's endeavoring to pass as such. Apart from a strong satirical streak--more like marbling, really, since it runs through every part--what it is is soap opera of a fairly high order, showing genuine cleverness and feeling. Of course it bears only a tenuous relation to real life: the legal cases are resolved patly, in sudden courtroom revelations; the personal turmoils resolve themselves into neatly defined crossfires; and in between, one gets little sense of life as it's lived, i.e. continuously. What does Julianna Margulies do in her office all day? What do her kids do while she's at work? The show doesn't care much. It's concerned with the big scenes, the sweeping flourishes, the successive waves of crisis that batter its heroine.

Margulies' persona, probably even more than her performance, is what holds it all together. The series sets her off like a diamond, but she's the gleaming center. Somehow the actress seems universal: elegant yet earthy, modern but timeless; one can imagine her in any form in which a beleaguered heroine might figure, from Jacobean tragedy to telenovela.

...And so I keep watching.

30 out of 46 people found the following review useful:
The Good Wife is a GREAT SHOW!, 17 December 2010

Author: Mydbe from United States

I have to say that I simple love The Good Wife. When I first saw previews of the show when it was starting, I was a little hesitant to watch it. Thank Goodness I watched it! I LOVE it. I am a mother of 3, and (lets say age 40+), but when I get ready to watch this show I feel like a teenager again. I wait until it is on Demand after it air on Tuesday nights, and I watch it all alone the next day. But I have to definitely wait until my husband and children are asleep. I do not want anyone to talk to me, nor answer the phone when I watch The Good Wife. This show is so great! It is not only interesting in sense of court cases of great interest, but also has awesome personal issues & interests. When my oldest daughter sees me watch the upcoming previews on occasion if she is watching TV, and I say that I LOVE this show and cant wait to watch it when everyone is asleep, she laughs and says it sounds like a stupid show or soap opera. She says the title alone. But she has no idea how great this show and writers, actors & actresses are. I love all the cast, each and everyone one of them. My personal feelings towards the relationship side to the show: I wish Alicia works things out with her husband and just moves on from this. She already proved to everyone that she can get herself out there, work on a great professional level, and let nothing interfere with what happen with Peter. She holds her own. I love Alicia. I like Will also, but I rather see them as co-workers and friends only. I think if the writers put them together it will change the show entirely-as referring to its title. I also love Ely Gold! His character is so great. He can do anything he sets his mind to do. I love when he told Zack's friend Becca off and threatened her when she was putting things out there and hurting Zack's family. He set her straight, I laughed at that one. He seems to be everywhere when needed. Please let him be a regular to the show, and please make him remain loyal to Peter. I also love Kalinda. I am not sure why she hated Blake the first time she set eyes on him. Kalinda has a way of getting things done as well-she is great! I love Diane, and was sad when she revealed to Ely that she will be starting her own firm-I would hate to see them all split apart. On another note, I crack up to myself when they have that lady judge who insists that both parties answer their pleas & comments by saying: "In my opinion". I laughed at that one, and enjoy her ruling the courtroom on those days. Well to end this: "In My Opinion" this is one of the BEST shows on television. The Good Wife has GREAT: entertainment, drama, suspense and surprises around each corner and always has awesome endings.You also learn a few things when watching each court case. I am never bored when watching any scene, whether is the courtroom, the law firm, Alicia's home or even when they on occasion go for drinks: This is of course is "IN MY OPINION" LOL. Please writers, if you read this extra long review: Keep up the good work! AAA+ Show - Simply Love It!

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