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Season 1, Episode 1, Aired
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Episode Summary

Alicia returns to work as a defense attorney after her husband's corruption scandal and incarceration. She is assigned her first case; a retrial of a woman accused of murdering her ex-husband. Her firm successfully deadlocked the first jury, and they hope that sticking to that strategy will work again, but Alicia realizes that this trial will be more of a fight than anyone expected.moreless
8.9
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EPISODE RATING: Great
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Fan Episode Reviews (9)

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  • hard to imagine how they could have improved on this - excellent writing, casting, character set up, domestic versus worklife boundary issues, launch of mid-life self-reinvention trajectory...

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By sramv9, Sep 08, 2011 Report Abuse
    The name "the good wife" almost scared me off but thankfully I gave it a whirl. Watching Julianna Margulies's character Alicia Florrick struggle with the incredible combination of challenges recently ripped open in her life (husband disgraced (politically and also with a sex scandal), resigned, incarcerated; mother in law moving in; becoming the breadwinner and returning to law career after a fifteen year hiatus....) was fascinating. She is a great actress and really well matched with the other cast members - notably Chris Noth as her disgraced state's attorney husband, Christine Baranski as formidable workplace rival, and Archie Panjabi as a tough and cheeky young investigator in the firm. So many intriguing dynamics have already been set up. The mother in law helping out but simultaneouly making waves at home while hubby is in jail, Alicia navigating an uncomfortable contrast between biological age and newbie/junior role at the firm and butting up against expectations of others in the process; intense competition with another junior associate (Cary) hired at the same time (only one will be kept on after six months); Cary and Alicia competing for the loyalties of their shared asssistant... the list goes on. But a favourite moment in the episode came early - it was while Chris Noth's Character Peter Florrick gave his resignation speech, and Alicia is up there with him, and it's so overwhelming she just tunes into this piece of lint on her husband's jacket - one of those frozen moments in time - well dramatized and speaks volumes about the internal emotional processes. This is a show to keep watching.moreless

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    8 2

  • Wonderful

    10
    "Perfect"
    By damanray, Sep 08, 2011 Report Abuse
    It really is a wonderful start. Julianna Margullies is wonderful as Alicia Florrick, who can act without speaking, her face paints a thousand words.
    You can see her trying to bottle up her emotions in the press conference at the beginning..Superb acting.
    Kalinda is Kalinda from the beginning, her character reveals very little, however is a delight and Archie is perfect in the role.
    Chris Noth is also perfect in the role of Peter and him and Julianna have great chemistry.
    As for Cary I love that smile of his.
    Will's history with Alicia is adressed, while Diane comes off as a jealous, intimidated woman. Thankfully they develop her further than this and we get a set of complicated characters.
    As for Jackie she just makes me laugh...always.
    Brilliant startmoreless

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    1 0

  • Great show with a great concept!!

    8.0
    "Great"
    By tvjunkie2010, Jan 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    I just started watching The Good Wife this week due to the fact that it has been nominated for a Golden Globe in the best drama category, so i decided to give it a try and check it out.
    My goodness, great show!! I can't believe I hadn't watched it before!! It has got a great plot and I think it has a high potential of becoming one of TV's greatest legal dramas as the years go on.
    I like the fact that it is building up on many different story lines which makes it enjoyable to watch and thus avoids being too monotonous.
    A big thanks to the writers and producers for developing this show with such a great concept.moreless

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    1 1

  • Talk about judging a book by it's cover.

    7.5
    "Good"
    By lexacliche, Dec 02, 2010 Report Abuse
    When I heard about the series 'The Good Wife' I thought "...not another one of those again", talk about judging a book by it's cover. The opening scene established the basis of the promotion; a good wife who stuck by her husband just up until his cheating and fraud scandal. In those moments the premise of 'Jack and Bobby' and other politician based shows with the extra drama came to mind, but then the series took a new spin when Alicia Florrick stepped into an apparent law firm to continue her career after her husband had been jailed.

    I think back to court based shows like Boston Legal and placed them together to see if it measures up, because I wasn't certain of the show's identity few minutes into it. That was wrong without reason, I usually give a series four episodes for the most for it to be appealing, but in a sudden twist 'The Good Wife' spun a new definition of interesting and kept me watching till the end and surprisingly looking forward to the next installment.

    Not only does Julianna Margulies have presence, she gives a definition to her character that I find myself loathing her husbands character and questioning his credibility. How would you feel about a leaked tape of your husbands infidelity, you surely would not like to be in Alicia's shoes. She started off shaky in the court room but managed to hold her ground which might have been based on weak evidence. Non the less I wondered if the Judge really despised her or was just not into the case as much. He did despise her husband, they probably shared that in common.

    I didn't grasp the full concept of the show, as I'm sure more would be revealed as we get the know these new characters spending some time on television with us. I did learn that Alicia's children aren't really tuned into the full details of their father's conviction. She seemed more like a rookie intern than the real deal, that's what you probably get from spending time away from work and being 'The Good Wife'. There might actually be a relationship that goes far beyond friendship between her and Will Gardner. Alicia may also have to be on the lookout for Diane Lockhart who seems to be threatened by her for some apparent reason. Let's hope her husband's enemies keep themselves at bay, especially if it turns out that he's innocent. I'm not to sure about the affair though, that would take more convincing on his part.

    There is still a new whiff to this series and there is a fine line between it and resembling a remake of another hit series. 'The Good Wife' is making it's name and the drum roll would hopefully get louder as the season progresses. Things don't become gold in one make, if only things were that simple.

    Lexa Reviews

    http://lexabuti.blogspot.com/

    _______________________

    Four out of Five Stars

    Grade B+
    _______________________moreless

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    5 1

  • Okay start.

    6.8
    "Fair"
    By thefanof, May 20, 2010 Report Abuse
    The Good Wife, one of television's most anticipated new shows premiered last night. I know what you're thinking: wow, another law show? We've already got Law and Order, CSI, and a plethora of Boston Legal and The Practice reruns taking up tv slots, so why watch this.

    Because it's different. Julianna Margulies plays Alicia Florrick, a lawyer unlike any you've seen. She's not aggressive, but she's also not a push-over, she's not charismatic, but she's not slow-witted. She's sort of a well-balanced, average working gal who is just really good at her job, and there is something definitely appealing about that.

    The supporting cast is also strong as Chris Noth, Josh Charles and Christine Baranski all contribute and put effort in, despite only getting a few moments of air time. Archie Panjabi also does a good job in her role, but stop having her follow Alicia around everywhere, it's creepy.

    Final Verdict: Okay start, could go either way on it. Let's see how things play out.moreless

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    1 3
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Every episode titles of season 1 are one word long.

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    • The Good Wife is set in Chicago. Edit

  • Notes

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    • International Episode Titles: Czech Republic: Nový začátek (New Beginning) Edit
    • Original International Air Dates: Czech Republic: January 24, 2010 on Hallmark Germany: March 31, 2010 on ProSieben Finland: May 31, 2010 on Nelonen Slovakia: August 22, 2010 on JOJ Edit
    • Matt Czuchry and Katie Walder previously starred together in Gilmore Girls. Matt played Logan, Rory Gilmore's college boyfriend and Katie portrayed Rory Gilmore's college roommate, Janet. Edit

  • Quotes

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    • Kalinda: You know what I don't get? Why you stood by him? I would've stuck a knife in his heart. Alicia: I always thought I would, too. When I heard about those other scandals, the other wives... I thought... how can you allow yourself to be used like that? And then it happened, and I was... unprepared. Edit
    • Diane: (after Alicia changed strategy without updating the firm) She's a junior associate who doesn't think she's a junior associate. Her husband was a State's attorney. She lived in Highland Park. It's not just teaching an old dog new tricks. It's teaching an entitled dog new tricks. Will: Oh, come on, Diane. The problem is she's catching evidence that you overlooked. I've seen you mentor these women until they start competing with you. And then you... Diane: What? Excuse me? I say we reprimand Alicia and put Cary in as first chair. Edit
    • Alicia: Why did my husband fire you? Kalinda: He accused me of working two jobs. Alicia: Were you? Kalinda: Oh, yeah. Edit

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