The Good Wife - Home - Recap

(Here's a recap of last night's episode of The Good Wife starring Julianna Margulies. Our Good Intern Noelle is taking on "serious dramas" now, woot!)

Tonight I attempt to apply witty banter and just as much enthusiasm to CBS and their new legal drama The Good Wife. I'm not that familiar with this new show but the many familiar faces of the cast is enough to get me to sit down and watch it. So here we go.

The show is loosely based on the many political scandals this country has been linked to lately. In this instance, a politician played by Chris Noth (or Mr. Big to you Sex and the City fans out there) gets himself in a public scandal by cheating on his wife, drug use etc. However, this show focuses on how the wife of the politician (Alicia) is handling things now that her husband is in jail and she has to get her life back in order.

This episode starts off with Peter (Chris Noth) calling the house after waiting in line at the prison for his turn to use the phone. He's trying to reconnect with his wife and kids. He doesn't have much luck and is blown off after being told they're running late. Alicia makes her way to work and gets called out of a meeting by a kid who is pretending to be her son. He isn't a stranger though. Alicia knew him as a child. She was friends with his mother before the political scandal. His mother and her other former friends cut off contact with Alicia once Peter ended up in jail. The kid's name is Kenny. Kenny tells Alicia that he got into some trouble the previous night. He tells her he might be wanted for possession of marijuana and would like her to be his defense lawyer.

She decides to drive him back to his parents house to see his mother. He stays in the car as she knocks on the door and comes face to face with his mother for the first time since before the scandal. It's a bit awkward as the mother is throwing a party and is trying to act like nothings changed between her and Alicia. Alicia fills her in on all the possible problems her son is now facing until they are interrupted by a party guest. Kenny is being arrested outside for felony murder. That's quite a larger problem than drug posession. Someone is leaving out some rather important details. Looks like we'll hear those after the break.

Alicia gets all the details about Kenny's crime and finds out he's accused of burglary and murder. In other words, breaking into his friends house and murdering a security guard. Alicia has another talk with Kenny who is adamant about being innocent. His parents then show up with their own attorney. His father is angry that Alicia even considered representing him without their consent.

At the bail hearing, Alicia finds out that one of her associates will be helping with the defense. Gasp! It's Logan from Gilmore Girls. Another familiar face. His name is Cary and he's a snide little lawyer. At the hearing they are denied bail after finding out that there was a witness to the murder. It's a friend of Kenny's (although really, not much of a friend if he's selling him out for murder) who has apparently cut a deal with the state attorney and sold out his friend.

Alicia is now home and trying to tell her kids about Kenny because they used to be friends. They already know because kids gossip like housewives alone on a summers day...and they don't care. Kenny wasn't their favorite person.

Alicia and Cary set to work to try and prove that there was no burglary and that Kenny has permission to be at his friends house that night. They make their way to Kenny's school and try to find Spencer. He's the kid who lives in the house that was broken into. Cary is quite the smooth talker. He knows what he's doing and how to get what he wants from people. They end up getting Spencer to admit that Kenny did indeed have permission to be there. Cary and Alicia discuss trying to get Kenny's sentence reduced but that isn't good enough for Alicia. She believes that Kenny is 100% innocent and should therefor be cleared of 100% of the punishment.

Kenny's mom shows up to Alicia's house. There's some awkward small talk until they get around to talking about the case. There's a flashback to Alicia and her husband and Kenny's parents back when they were friends. It's the good ol' days and they're hanging out having a good time. Back to reality and Kenny's mother is crying over her son's predicament. Awkward hug follows.

Cary makes his way to the hot young state attorney and smooth talks his way to inviting her to lunch. Raise your hand if you think he has ulterior motives. At lunch he fills her in that he has proof that the burglary didn't happen and Kenny had permission to be in the house. After some playful arguing, he gets her to knock Kenny's prison sentence down to 2 years. Not bad considering it was originally a life sentence. Rich kids do get away with murder. He should represent me the next time I commit a crime.

Alicia and an associate visit the rich neighborhood that Kenny lives in to try and find an alibi. They talk to a neighbor who saw someone come home late at night. She gives them a time and they leave feeling accomplished. They then set out to test if it was possible that kenny could have run home in 5 minutes from the crime scene. It's tight but possible. Spencer's dad comes out of his house angry, accusing them of intimidating his son and forcing him to give false information. He refuses to let him testify. They're screwed.

At the trial, the judge is rambling about how there is no jury and she is God in this court room. It's all about her. Isn't it always all about the judge really? Cary is failing miserably at his first trial. He's stuttering and fumbling over his notes and the judge is not amused. Brian testifies and tells his side of the story. Kenny is pissed that Brian is able to lie so easily.

Alicia goes to visit Kenny's dad and they talk about the trial. He isn't sure who his son is anymore and isn't sure if he's innocent. Nice. Alicia goes to the crime scene to check it out and see if Brian's story is plausible. Sprinklers turn on and surprise her. They make sure to showcase what time this happens. I'm going to guess it's because we're supposed to realize that the sprinklers are on a timer and this will prove Brian is lying. We'll see...

Yep, it is. Brian's story is crumbling in the courtroom and Kenny is slowly looking innocent. The state attorney lady is really obnoxious when she has the rug pulled out from under her. The judge is reprimanding her for not doing her research. It's pretty awesome. Cary is also a skilled negotiator and they've gotten Kenny no jail time at all. Woot! Just 1,000 hours of community service and some drug counseling. Don't do drugs kids. After the trial, Kenny's mom wants to have lunch with Alicia and catch up as old friends. Alicia isn't interested in reconnecting with the former friend that blew her off when she needed someone the most. Take that!

I liked this show more than I thought I would. It's nice to take a break from shows that are all about the gore and dead bodies. This has a strong cast and I understand why it's building a strong fanbase. What did you guys think of it tonight?