Monsters of Television

“Can you ask me that question again?“

What do you do with a problem like Kalinda?

I’ve never been crazy about Kalinda. She of the Awesome Boots and Tight Mini-Skirts has never really done it for me. Instead Kalinda has been unnecessarily mysterious and opaquely sketched as a character, suddenly having knowledge or skills that makes her useful in each episode. And while she may be smarter than federal bomb experts, her talents (for me) have always left outside the norms of the show (as I point out in the link), making her a crutch for the show to rely on to get out of tight narrative spots with a sultry wink and a smile.

And now, after digging itself into a very deep, dark, and unnecessary hole all season with the Blake absurdness, the show needed a way to pay off all that time spent on a story that essentially went nowhere and failed to reveal anything particularly earth-shattering about Kalinda. So in an episode hyped up to reveal some serious character meat (and what better way to do that than a grand jury investigation?), The Good Wife instead turns Kalinda into another wedge in the larger story of Alicia and Peter’s marriage. Read more »

“God. I hate Chicago. Such a mean place.“

And I thought that the show was cynical before this episode. Sheesh.

“Great Firewall” (it took me until today to get that) is an example of The Good Wife firing on cylinders. Well, almost. The case of the week was a bit vague, even though it ultimately served a more interesting purpose (along with the case from “Net Worth”, as it turns out!), but I’ll get to that. All in all though, “Great Firewall” showcases just how well the show is able to pull together its narrative threads into a coherent whole (the Blake and Kalinda debacle being the glaring exception, and I can only assume that story is on ice at this point) and crafting a complicated and rich world. Read more »

“Why do you hate Jesus?“

Can you say breather episode?

I don’t mean that in a bad way per se, just that, well, I was pretty bored with “Silver Bullet.” I even kind of clocked out during the last ten minutes of the episode to do something else, with the episode just playing in the background (seriously, my notes stop after McVeigh suggests running off with Diane).

There were things to like in the episode, but these were things that I’ve liked in previous episodes (Eli talk to people outside the normal narrative, McVeigh and Diane’s very adult-ly written relationship, Grace being Grace) without much in the way of shiny newness. As a result, none of this feels all that interesting or engaging. Just a minute to take a breath before Will and Diane try and stop Bond, in what I hope will be the most exciting board meeting ever shot for TV. Read more »

“Sure, let’s talk. Let’s all talk.”

I enjoyed “Net Worth” a great deal, but perhaps that was because everything didn’t quite work perhaps as well as it should have. Some things worked smashingly well (Owen and Alicia, but that’s a given at this point), some things were enjoyable but too on the nose (the legal aspect of the case that was a little too much like The Social Network but had moments of real delight), and then there’s Kalinda and Blake. And you can imagine how I felt about that.

But I think that the shagginess of some parts of the episode it what makes me like “Net Worth” more than I perhaps should. It’s nice seeing the The Good Wife not be as tight and controlled as it normally is, to be a bit different in spots and give us something other than its weekly greatness.

Read more »

“You’re an OG Hater.”

Mark it down, folks. 3/4 of the Monsters of Television (sorry, Matt) kick off a podcast with sports. This week saw the most watched television broadcast of all time, Super Bowl XLV. Nick muses about his (World Champion) Green Bay Packers and they all discuss pre-game, half-time, and post-game Glee, as well as a number of other shows from this week, including Being Human and the pilot for Chicago Code. Check it out. And while you listen to that, I’m going to check out Sarah Walker bellydancing again.

Also, in case you’ve never seen the Cosby Show clip Noel references during the Community segment, you really should check it out.

Topic: Place in the podcast

Running time: 71 minutes

• Super Bowl XLV 0:00:51
• Glee: 0:19:10
• Chuck: 0:29:35
• The Office: 0:33:58
• Community: 0:40:16
• The Good Wife: 0:49:39
• Being Human: 0:58:28
• Chicago Code: 1:03:02

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

“Carob chips, anyone?”

I’ve been waiting for a Cary-centric episode all season, and “Silly Season” is as close I’ll ever probably get to one. I mean, I get why we couldn’t have a purely Cary-centric episode on the show (aside from the fact that the show it’s called The Good Cary), but I’ll take what I can get.

Overall “Silly Season” is a strong episode (aside from Blake, who just seems to bring out the pissy in everyone he meets (except Bond)), and one that rewards viewers familiar with the show’s big moments (Bishop’s relations with Lockhart-Gardner, Peter finding the condoms in the bed side drawer) while still managing to tell a pretty self-contained story and continue the season’s larger stories. Indeed, it’s a very find example of what the show does best. Read more »

“Microbursts of contempt.”

Man, did the court case just get in the way in this episode or what?

Normally I like the case of the week in The Good Wife as it allows for a breather in between whatever arc developments — law firm politics, Alicia/Will, Peter’s campaign — occur in the episode. But, here in “Two Courts”, the courtroom/procedural plot (the jury whisperer and Will’s feud with the judge) is decidedly underdeveloped, which is to the detriment of the episode as a whole.

Luckily, the on-going stories are strong enough to carry the episode, so that it is still decidedly entertaining, but not up the show’s regular standards. Read more »

“Are you uncomfortable with emotions, Noel?”

Much like the Force and those pesky dogs at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market coddled by their people-aggressive owners, Noel got a little unleashed here at about the 1:04:07 mark. Sure, we talk about other stuff like the Golden Globe/SAG award nominations, some TV for this week, and the mid-season series hitting the networks next month but we like it when Noel has a chance to go off on the mockumentary style (which has been committed to the public record earlier) because it’s so rare to see (or hear even) Noel get all up in arms.

So listen to the other stuff, too, because it’s good (despite Matt not being able to hang with us) but prepare to crack a smile just past the hour mark.

Running Time: 69 minutes

Topics: Place in the Podcast

• Golden Globes/SAG Award Nominations: 0:00:43
  • Neil Patrick Harris: 0:19:01
• The Good Wife: 0:21:31
• Psych: 0:33:56
• Mid-Season Shows
  • FX: 0:40:14
  • NBC: 0:43:43
  • FOX: 0:55:48
  • ABC: 0:58:29
  • Showtime: 1:01:11

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“Ma’am, I live in a world of rules.”

Death penalty stories are inherently manipulative. The stakes are clearly and easily defined, and since our protagonists are always defending an “innocent person”, we’re quickly caught up in their story. Said death row inmate will also have an estranged family member that our protagonists will convince to see their relative one more time. Pile on the ticking clock of a last-minute appeal, both legal and emotional, and you might as well just go ahead and toss us, the audience, into an emotional pressure cooker.

And it’s surely to the The Good Wife‘s credit then that while I was aware of its shameless deployment of the death penalty tropes that I didn’t really care that I was being manipulated (well, okay, twice I got a little annoyed). The episode is tightly constructed, suspenseful, and emotional, and it’s a real treat to get this before the winter hiatus settles in. Read more »

“We don’t share information any more?”

It’s like the Kings decided to reward me for mainling The Wire this summer with this episode. Between listening to wiretaps, dealing with drug dealers, sifting through corrupt politicians, and a J.D. Williams cameo, “On Tap” is indeed a big splashy acknowledgment of the HBO drama.

I don’t have all that much to say about this particular episode, so this will not only be brief, but more recappy than my normal pieces. But sometimes a recap is simply more fitting of an episode than an in-depth navigation of it. In my opinion. Read more »