Anybody watch "The Good Wife" last night? It was all about dirty politics.

[Cleita]

For those who don't know what the series is about. It's about a woman lawyer, who is also wife to an ambitious politician. She is separated from him but still married because she caught him in one affair too many. She works for a high powered law firm in Chicago.

Last night's episode involves an incident with another lawyer, a Republican, who is running for governor and may run against her husband, a Democrat. Well, there are a few plot twists so I will simplify it and say that the opposition candidate pays a visit to the woman lawyer and wife with some kind of ruse to be in her office. He then goes on TV and completely lies about their encounter. The campaign manager for her husband, who also works for the firm, tells her to ignore it. It's just politics, but she goes and confronts him about his lies.

This is where the interesting part comes in. Right to her face he tells her she is wrong. He repeats the lie and tells her she doesn't know what she's talking about and what happened between them in her office was exactly what he said in his TV interview. He bold-faced sticks to his lie, in her face, in a sense making her think she's crazy. She is so pissed.

I'm really glad that TV shows like this are beginning to show what is going on in politics behind the scenes. The lying politician/lawyer is like a Newt Gringrich, who doesn't know where the lies begin and the truth end. I hope to see more of the dirty dealing behind the scenes of a campaign to be shown on this show. Kudos to the producers and Julianna Margulies the star of the show for daring to do so.

[leveymg]

1. That was a particularly good episode w/ several interesting subplots.

The juxtaposition of the trial of the HS Senior for selling the Morning After Pill to minors juxtaposed with the raunchy lawyer's association "talent show" was brilliant. The actor who plays the Fundie Assn't State Att'y has a huge creepy factor, and his comment to opposing counsel about how his daughter's All American Girl doll looks just like her and how he likes to "cuddle up to the doll all night long" was really incredibly twisted for network TV.

[EC]

4. Harry's Law

this episode was Harry's Law last night. It was good.

[Samantha]

5. Two of the most worthwhile shows on television today (and they are few)

The Good Wife -- I absolutely love this show. I have watched it from the beginning and believe it is loosely based on Elliot Spitzer's story. However, the show has evolved into a truly riveting television hour based on the superb casting and excellent, original scripts.

Harry's Law was interesting from the beginning, but it improves with each show. Last night's show actually had me laughing out loud. Did you see that assistant performing? It is truly amazing how creative lawyers can become once they realize 3.1 million dollars rides on their performance....

Sam

[EC]

10. yes.

I laughing most of the way through, including the intro.

[justiceischeap]

13. According to the behind the scenes commentary on the DVDs

it's based on that spate of sex scandals and the husband/wife creative team found the women who stood by their men fascinating. And hence, The Good Wife was created.

[leveymg]

7. Oops. My bad, but also a good show.

[Cleita]

15. Other than the fact that Harry is a Republican, who likes to kill birds like

Dick Cheney, I do like the show. Kathy Bates actually makes the bird killing Republican likable.

[hlthe2b]

2. Yes.. it is an excellent show for that and exploring the "shades of gray" in terms of ethics...

as well. Great show and Matthew Perry is actually good in that role (slimy lawyer/gubernatorial opponent)

[marlakay]

3. The part I found interesting was

When the campaign guy came into the office and told the guy (sorry don't watch show enough to know names) he had to pick to help his ex wife with her campaign or the more important governor one.

All I could think of is how dirty politics is.

I don't know the story but it looked like he was getting back with his ex and having to turn her down ex'd that for good...

[Samantha]

8. I remember that scene

He (the man you refer to as the campaign guy) was from the DNC. He did not want the female candidate (a Republican) to run and win in the statewide Senatorial race because the Dems were backing a male. She jumped ahead in the line, and it was the man's turn, so the DNC rep said. Sensing that this might be the year of the woman, he gave the political adviser who represented both (and the woman is his ex-wife but Chris Noth is his long-term ticket-to-ride first to the Governorship and then on to the Presidency) an ultimatum. Drop the ex if you want the DNC to back your candidate for Governor.

Some small references over time in the show allude to Chris Noth's character as being "the next Bill Clinton."

Sam

[coalition_unwilling]

6. One of my favorite shows on TV right now. I found the part where

the party boss coerces Eli into discontinuing his work on his ex-wife's campaign even more gripping and realistic. I'm sure that type of shit happens all the time. I really like the presentation of strong female protagonists, like Alicia or Callinda. Along with CBS' "Cold Case," shows that CBS is not afraid to show women in power and competent at the same time.

[MagickMuffin]

9. I thought she should have called her own press conference,

and explain that she had recused herself from the Blue Ribbon Panel. The BRP would have backed her up because she had the truth on her side. She should have also told Diane what was going on, since Mike Kresteva was in Alicia's office and he left the papers on her desk.


But of course that probably wouldn't have driven the plot along the lines they are taking the show.

[Cleita]

12. She was advised not to and decided to confront him instead. n/t

[PatSeg]

11. This was a good show from the beginning

and it has only gotten better.

For some reason it didn't record last night, so now I have to wait until it shows up On Demand.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. Dirty + Politics = Redundancy