Nick who? That's what fans of The Good Wife are — thankfully — asking after a recent string of strong episodes have erased the unpleasant first half of Season 4 from memory. In September, the legal drama (airing Sundays at 9/8c) suffered a rare critical misfire when it introduced Kalinda's (Archie Panjabi) cold and abrasive estranged husband Nick (Marc Warren), who was not popular with the fans. No irreparable damage was done, but for a show that was regularly in critics' top 10 lists during its first three seasons, the negative attention was surprising. Producers caught on and quickly expunged Nick. Less than four months later, the show is stronger than ever. So how'd they do it? Here's seven ways...read more
Send questions and comments to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter!
Question: Along with Parenthood, The Good Wife is in my opinion still one of the best dramas on network TV. And the mock trial episode was, as you recently noted, the best so far of the season. However, I have recently been feeling that this show has been lacking, not necessarily in quality (with the exception of the whole Kalinda's husband debacle), but in freshness. For me the show has been very stagnant. A case here, a little Will/Alicia flirtation there, mixed in with Peter's campaign and/or Eli's troubles. Every week is pretty much the same thing with a different guest star. Nothing seems to be new or fresh. What's most frustrating about the lack of freshness is how easily they could remedy that. I would be extremely interested in watching what Cary proposed unfold, for he and Alicia to form their own firm. Watching Cary and Alicia go head to head with Will and Diane would be a welcome change to the same old same old.
read moreElsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston) sure does get around.
In the first season of The Good Wife, she not only helped the Florrick kids cover up Peter's (Chris Noth) brief (but illegal) house arrest breach, but she also got him acquitted. In Season 3, she came to Alicia's (Julianna Margulies) defense against the Treasury Department before helping prevent Will (Josh Charles) from being indicted. Now in Season 4 (Sundays at 9/8c on CBS), she's up to bat once again — this time to...read more