Let this be a lesson to all you current and future television showrunners out there. Last night’s instalment of THE EVENT should be looked upon as the perfect example of how not to cleverly construct an episodic cliffhanger. Which is to say, if the “jaw-dropping” final scene that you’ve been spending three episodes building up to involves re-animating a group of passengers that were already pronounced dead on the scene, and among said roster of passengers is none other than highly paid series regular Scott Patterson. Well, we think the technical term is, “Holy Anti-Climactic Batman!”
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Review: THE GOOD WIFE Season 2
Bless THE GOOD WIFE. Last season’s most pleasant surprise returns to put more cerebral goodness into a powerful courtroom drama. In a fall season as tepid as this (it’s sad when MY GENERATION, mediocre by all standards, is the most ambitious of the new fall series), I welcome WIFE’s finely-calibrated approach to the procedural and serial: Poppable as any CBS drama, it rewards returning viewers with a rich, sexy narrative that’s part-thriller, part-soap opera. In the struggle to attract viewers weary of complicated season-long story lines (ahem, Lost), it’s the program of choice: keep up with the story or not, it’s compelling either way.
None of this would be possible without the perfectly-controlled and commanding Julianna Marguiles, who plays the forever-conflicted Alicia Florrick, spouse of a scandalized public figure (in the vein of Eliot Spitzer and Mark Sanford) who returns to work as a lawyer. She arguably has less dialogue than some of the supporting characters — she doesn’t need it, she conveys Alicia’s constantly turning mind with just a peer of her eyes. Her husband Peter (Chris Noth) is fresh out of jail and back on the campaign circuit for district attorney, reopening and creating wounds of their already rocky marriage.
Work is getting trickier too: The firm where Alicia works has just merged with another from D.C., and the motives of her new boss (played by SLEEPER CELL’s Michael Ealy) already smell fishy. Her other boss, Will (Josh Charles), whom Alicia began to rekindle an old college lust with during her husband’s time away, ended last season with a pleading phone conversation as Alicia is being called to the podium to stand next to her husband. She’s always so torn: which man to choose, how to explain their family’s public upheaval to her kids, the best way to proceed in a precarious case, whether to screw over a colleague to get ahead — there’s a grace to all of it, never inciting our impatience.
Season 2 gets us back into the courtroom, where THE GOOD WIFE doesn’t falter: yes, they’re easy (poppable, remember?), but they’re executed with classic LAW & ORDER-like precision and tension — the cast just sparks during trial, which the show presents as this realm of heightened-reality where the stakes seem convincingly dire. More of the enigmatic in-house investigator Kalinda (Emmy winner Archie Panjabi) as well, who now has a rival (and love interest?) in FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS’ Scott Porter as a fellow investigator brought in with the new firm. Where it truly shines in its weekly cases is the rolodex of actors they cast as judges (Denis O’Hare, Russell Edgington himself, has made two great appearances thus far), who bring an element of uncertainty to each with their own idiosyncrasies, and nicely reflects how the nature of a case can be tempered by the judge’s mood.
This season is setting itself up to be even more political, or as it reads better in TV, topical. This can be as precarious as a period show: the temptation to be on-the-nose is almost too seductive to turn down, THE GOOD WIFE included in the guilty party (there is something creepy to Alan Cumming saying “tweet”), but it cheekily plays up the liberal and feminist ideologies of firm partner Diane (the transformative, always-game Christine Baranski) with a wink.
In the end though, it’s always Julianna Marguiles. She is THE GOOD WIFE, her performance of such a caliber that it’d be impossible to execute as well as it is without her. The show reliably rises to meet her bravura performance, making only rare missteps in its otherwise solid progression as a buzzed-about ratings hit. Grade: A-
THE GOOD WIFE returns Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 10PM (EST) on CBS (Global in Canada)
Aleks Chan is a contributing writer to The TV Addict. He has seen every episode of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER four times, has once referred to his DVR as his “best friend,” and has only seen the pilot episode of THE SOPRANOS — and has no intention to apologize for it. He lives in Austin, Texas. His name is pronounced like Alex. Email him at alekschan.thetvaddict@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@alekstvaddict), or his own blog, Screen Reader.
Must Read TV: MODERN FAMILY, VERONICA MARS, THE OFFICE & More!
• From the department of life isn’t fair, MODERN FAMILY kids get a shot at our dream job! (See Video Above)
• An Open Letter to fans of quality television, from LONE STAR creator Kyle Killen.
• Just when you don’t think she could get any cooler, Kristen Bell reveals she’d finance VERONICA MARS movie herself!
• ANATOMY Answers: from Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey.
• The Odd Couple 2.0, Michael Emerson talks about his new NBC series with Terry O’Quinn.
• How do you solve a problem like Michael Scott’s OFFICE exit? Top writers from BONES and LOST have more than a few ideas.
THE EVENT Premieres and We’ve Got Your Good, Bad and Ugly
The GOOD: Heading into last night’s premiere with highly dubious expectations as a result of NBC’s recent track-record coupled with the immense disappointment we still feel after wasting more hours than we care to admit on FLASHFORWARD, we for one found ourselves pleasantly surprised by almost all of THE EVENT. Call us a complete sucker for a killer ending, but as a result of last night’s closing line that had the mysterious Sophia Maguire (Laura Innes) tell President Martinez (Blair Underwood), “I haven’t told you everything,” it pretty much goes without saying that we’ll be back next week to find out the rest of the story. That said….
Reviewapalooza! LONE STAR, MIKE & MOLLY and HAWAII FIVE-0
LONE STAR
Premieres Sept. 20 at 9PM on FOX (Global TV in Canada)
Bob Allen (the impossibly charming, deceptively handsome Josh Wolk) is Don Draper in the Texas heat: when he’s not shacked up with his girlfriend (Eloise Mumford) and conning the small community they live in with a phony investment, he’s worming his way into his wife’s (Adrianne Palicki) family business to clean them out. Problem: he’s in love with both of them. Cast with moody, swooning ambiance by director Marc Webb, it’s like a high-concept cable series that perches itself atop a very slippery slope — but if it doesn’t fall victim to implausibility, it could be the richest, most poignant new hour of the season. Grade: B+
MIKE & MOLLY
Premieres Sept. 20 at 9:30PM on CBS (“A” Channel in Canada)
It remains to be seen if the same people who make Chuck Lorre’s other shows (TWO AND A HALF MEN and THE BIG BANG THEORY) the ratings hits they are will flock to this comedy about a school teacher (Molly; Melissa McCarthy) and police officer (Mike; Billy Gardell) who meet each other in Overeaters Anonymous. The two leads play off each other nicely and have genuine chemistry, but it’ll be especially perplexing to see this be a hit given how lazily this show goes for fat jokes (that Mike’s last name is Biggs is nearly unforgivable) and insipid pot gags. It’s lowbrow Apatow. Grade: C-
HAWAII FIVE-0
Premieres Sept. 20 at 10PM on CBS (Global TV in Canada)
Alex O’Laughlin is a star dammit! His third series for CBS is finally better than his limited thespian skill set, a reboot of the classic procedural by the same team that jumpstarted Star Trek. (He is easily out-shined by Scott Caan, who picks up the Danno role with caustic machismo.) Rich with a noticeably bigger budget and lush location shots, it is a testament of the steamrolling power of the CBS procedural machine that creates vastly entertaining mini action flicks that are so easy, you can’t help but enjoy them. Nostalgic but accessible, I foresee an explosive initial sampling. Grade: B+
Aleks Chan is a contributing writer to The TV Addict. He has seen every episode of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER four times, has once referred to his DVR as his “best friend,” and has only seen the pilot episode of THE SOPRANOS — and has no intention to apologize for it. He lives in Austin, Texas. His name is pronounced like Alex. Email him at alekschan.thetvaddict@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@alekstvaddict), or his own blog, Screen Reader.
The Showrunner Chronicles: David Marshall Grant Previews the new Season of BROTHERS & SISTERS
It has not been smooth sailing for the good ship BROTHERS & SISTERS. Yet despite changes both in front of and behind the camera that began even before the series launched four seasons ago, the show has managed to weather the storms. Of course, navigating rough waters falls upon the shoulders of showrunner — or, to continue our cheesetacular metaphor, ship’s captain — David Marshall Grant. Recently, Grant stepped away from the helm long enough to chat with us about cast members walking the plank, pesky rumors that the voyage will soon come to an end and dealing with industry’s equivalent of icebergs: budget cuts.
One would imagine that you’ve had quite an interesting summer! Just how prepared were you for the multitude of changed that were thrust upon you?
David Marshall Grant: Rob Lowe leaving was something Rob had been considering for a while last season, something we talked about, and was not a surprise for me in the least. In terms of Calista [Flockhart], she’s got the same deal as all the other actors this year and is excited and happy about having a great season without any diminished episodes. That said, there certainly were some unexpected changes. Emily VanCamp is only coming back for two or three episodes, which is a change for us and of course losing Rob is a big deal for us.
So yeah, I think it was in some ways a lot of loss for us, yet at the same time I think that all you can do is look at the positive side and really try to move forward. As fans are aware we’re going to jump ahead a year this season and we’re just sort of hoping to start the show this year certainly honoring Rob because that’s a big thing that happened in the season finale, but at the same time move us forward into new and exciting directions.
An In Depth Look At… THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ Wedding Shocker!
It’s been an interesting couple of months for THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ Billy and Victoria. The unconventional couple got married in Jamaica, found out that union wasn’t legal, broke up, got back together and this week, find their latest attempt to become man and wife thwarted by — who else? — her dad!
“If there’s one thing everybody in Genoa City knows, it’s that the Newmans despise the Abbott’s… and vice versa,” explains Soaps In Depth executive editor Richard M. Simms. “Which of course means that they keep falling for one another! Victor married Ashley, Nikki married Jack. But all of those rocky unions were just sort of laying the groundwork for the ultimate merger of the two clans, which began when against all odds, Victoria fell for Billy.”
10 Pressing Questions Prior to the Launch of the Fall 2010 TV Season
By: Vlada Gelman
1. Will THE GOOD WIFE be even better in season two? One of the most successful new dramas of last season isn’t playing it safe. Season two spoilers hint at major shakeups and new characters played by incredible actors like Tammy Blanchard and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS’ Scott Porter in a storyline that will set him up against the mysterious Kalinda. Add to that guest star Michael J. Fox, Carey working for the other side, Alan Cumming as a regular cast member, and THE GOOD WIFE seems poised to top itself. I can’t wait.
2. Can THE VAMPIRE DIARIES’ Nina Dobrev successfully pull off playing two characters in more than just flashbacks? Early buzz seems to suggest, “Yes,” and what we’ve seen so far in previews of season two looks very promising. Plus, after Dobrev’s surprise Emmys performance, I’m not going to bet against the girl.
3. Will the COMMUNITY writers run from Jeff and Annie again? I was lucky enough to visit the Community set recently, where Joel McHale and Alison Brie talked about their characters unexpected chemistry, so I’ll have more about this later. But I’m still concerned that the Community writers are scared of the unexpected, somewhat inappropriate chemistry between Jeff and the much younger Annie.
Time-Slot Showdown: CASTLE vs HAWAII FIVE-0
Attention TV Addicts: Come September, assuming you’re still living in the stone-age (translation: unlucky enough to not own a DVR) you’re screwed you’ve got some fairly big decisions ahead of you. CASTLE versus HAWAII FIVE-0! PARENTHOOD versus THE GOOD WIFE! THE BIG BANG THEORY versus COMMUNITY! Suffice to say, it’s the TV Addict equivalent of Sophie’s Choice. And why, as we inch closer and closer to our favorite time of the year (read: Fall TV!) we’ll be spending some time shining the spotlight on a few of the week’s most compelling time-slot showdowns. Today’s focus: The drag ’em out knock ’em down face-off that is about to go down between ABC’s CASTLE and CBS’ highly-touted newcomer HAWAII FIVE-0 [Read more…]
Good News, Bad News: BROTHERS & SISTERS, PARTY DOWN & SCREAM 4
Good News: In lieu of their problematic surrogacy, joining Kevin and Scotty on BROTHERS & SISTERS come Fall will be a troubled teenager played by relative newcomer Bobby Soto. Bad News: Showrunner David Marshall Green may have spent a little too much time during his hiatus re-watching QUEER AS FOLK. We’re just sayin’ [Source]