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Why 'The Good Wife' Season 1 is a must

With a strong choir of supporting actors to complement the brilliant casting of the leads, ‘The Good Wife’ Season One is necessary to revisit upon completion of its final season. And with Netflix airing the series in its entirety, now's the perfect time to start watching the courtroom drama from the very beginning.

But why should you watch a show that has finished it's seven-season run, you ask?


The writers establish empathy for the characters early on, particularly those who become greatly flawed in later seasons. They are characters we can invest in, and whom translate as believable onscreen.


Female equality and empowerment is a strong theme throughout the series, but sensible cinematic direction ensures it remains subtle at all times. No in-you-face political points to be made here.


Commendably, the writers never left their viewers in the dark when it came to the legal lexicon. Though the dialogue remained authentic in its legalese, it also maintained a simplicity that appealed to a wider viewing audience.


In retrospect, spotting now-famous faces in the law firm setting is an inevitable game contemporary viewers will play when watching the first season. (See our list below.)


However, it is the prominent female leads that define 'The Good Wife' as a show worthy of its seven-season run.

Stoic Alicia Florrick (played by Julianna Marguilies) holds her own in any situation, whether it be personal or professional - even despite her infamous position as wife to a dishonorable Governor. Alicia Florrick’s piercing eye contact, quick thinking and fantastic fashion-sense assures viewers of her ability to obtain the truth from even the most deceptive of clientele.


The presence of impressive female characters continues in the way of Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) – a partner at law firm Stern Lockhart & Gardner, who maintains civility and order in any given situation. Lockhart’s mere presence in any shot illustrates her as a smart, elegant and powerful woman that is to be respected, and her dialogue does everything to support such claims. Her fashion sense ain’t too bad, either.

Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) on the other hand – a tough in-house investigator, may be be treated by her superiors as equal, but she is paid only a fraction of their colleagues’ salaries. Despite, it is through professional expertise, shrewd networking and great determination that Kalinda gets what she wants in Season One… though her ability to gain knowledge of people’s personal and professional infractions doesn’t hurt her case.


These women wonderfully dismiss the stereotypical conception that all women are irrational, needy and dependent upon their male counterparts. They also thwart the limiting expectations that a woman must choose between being a wife and mother, and having a successful career. Whatever is to happen in later seasons, it is Season One that provides a brilliant female cross-section in the show - groundbreaking in its ability to destroy the conventions of gender inferiority in television and depict a stronger contemporary image that viewers can relate to.


Powerfully, the debut season further switches the male/female dynamic on its head when Alicia’s husband Peter Florrick (Chris Noth, ‘Sex and the City’) is placed under house arrest. Acting as a metaphor for female domesticity, many of Peter’s scenes take place in the family kitchen. Notably, he is joined by a male support cast in the same setting who ironically make and eat sandwiches with comfort and ease, but whose suits and ties displace them from their typical business setting.

As if to blatantly juxtapose, a cut to the next scene will often find Alicia in the courtroom, Diane negotiating in her huge office, or an undercover Kalinda collecting evidence from oblivious eyewitnesses. It’s a brilliant directorial technique that enforces the theme of female empowerment and capability without the presence of verbose dialogue or an outspoken feminist to make its point.


The show’s well-structured episodes are captivating and easy to follow from the very start, yet they avoid predictability. ‘Doubt’ is a particularly gut-wrenching episode, its conclusion drawing attention to major flaws within the justice system without overt declaration. It is an unusual standout from the rest of the season, revealing its episodic variety and potential longevity as a legal drama.


Matchlessly, ‘The Good Wife’ manages to convince viewers to tune into the next episode (or in 2017, allow Netflix to automatically marathon its seasons) through its balanced variety of story conclusions: sound court case resolutions, cliffhanger endings, and heartbreaking injustice are evenly dispersed throughout the season’s catalogue of episodes; this is quite uncommon for a legal drama, whereby episode and story arc conclusions threaten to evoke stress, anxiety and even frustration from its viewers. ‘The Good Wife’ found its balance early on in the series, setting it up to become the legal drama with a twist, on so many levels.


Though known for its exceptional writing and clearly structured episodic and progressive narratives, ‘The Good Wife’ is a treasure trove of actors who have since found fame in other television programs.


Supporting characters such as Eli Gold (played by the ever-adaptable Alan Cumming) fast becomes a fan favourite; his quick wit, sarcastic humour and ability to manipulate situations within seconds leaves viewers laughing out loud when championing the good guy, cheering him on when justice prevails, and on the edge of their seats anticipating his next move during sticky situations.


Then we have the bit parts: the actors we love in 2017, who played episodic victims, criminals and employees.

Sonequa Martin-Green, now famously known as Sasha on AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ finds herself playing an aspiring paralegal in Season One – a very different role to her emotionally torn, knife-wielding character on the hit zombie-drama.

Betty Gilpin, who played the awkwardly daft yet likeable Doctor Carrie Roman on Showtime’s ‘Nurse Jackie’, makes an appearance as an opinionated babysitter in the first season, three years before her hospital exploits with Doctor Cooper.

It is in revisiting this season that previously unknown actors like Gilpin can really be admired for their capacity to embody the characters they play. In this particular episode, Gilpin is almost unrecognisable. Not only does her appearance conflict that of Doctor Roman’s, but so too does her body language, her facial expressions, and her verbal emphasis.


Hilarious Zoe Lister-Jones – now known for her on-point sarcasm in ‘Life In Pieces’ where she plays a wife, mother and suffering daughter-in-law to a family of eccentrics, makes an appearance in ‘The Good Wife’ episode titled ‘Bad’. We won’t give away any spoilers, but it is clear that her talent is limitless. Lister-Jones is certainly not to be typecast to comedies alone.

Rather cleverly, a sling of established actors appear as courtroom judges throughout the series, bringing a fun 'Easter Egg' type appeal to the show. Brilliantly, each judge remains unique in their approach to the gavel.

To name only a few from Season One alone: Denis O’Hare (‘American Horror Story’), Tony Goldwyn (‘Scandal’), John Pankow (‘Episodes’), comedienne Ana Gasteyer, Joanna Gleason (‘Sensitive Skin’), Peter Hermann (‘Younger’), Peter Gerety (‘Brothers & Sisters’), Peter Riegert (‘Damages’), and seasoned actor David Paymer. It’s worth tuning in for these guest appearances alone.


Without a doubt, ‘The Good Wife’ Season One is worth a retrial. Forget about the television ads of recent years that depict the series as nothing more than a diary of sexual conquests. It’s so much more.


Regardless of Alicia Florrick’s actions in future seasons, Season One is a necessary starting point to understand her characterisation and complexities as an ‘every woman’, forging her as relatable to the wide viewership the show has gained in recent years.


This season is a must-see: a fantastic reminder of female endurance, equality and capability.

Catch up on ‘The Good Wife’ via Netflix.

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