The best show on TV just got better

Sunday night I watched THE GOOD WIFE and HOMELAND. Both are hour long dramas. Both star extraordinary actresses (Julianna Margulies, Claire Danes). I’m fans of both series. In HOMELAND this week the main character, Carrie is playing a dangerous game of espionage trying to capture a scary supervillain terrorist leader. Her life is in jeopardy every minute. She’s under constant surveillance. One tiny slip, one innocent misstep and thousands of people could die. Add to that: she’s mentally unstable, the leadership of the CIA is about to change in a bad way, and she’s trying to protect the most hated man in America.

On THE GOOD WIFE, the lead character, Alicia, is leaving her law firm to start another one.

THE GOOD WIFE was riveting. I was spellbound for sixty-minutes. Halfway through HOMELAND I was yawning.

You don’t need guns and car chases and suicide bombers to create compelling suspense. THE GOOD WIFE trumps it with delicious human drama. We’re watching a conflict we’ve never seen in a lawyer show – senior lawyers splitting off from a major firm to start their own. It involves poaching clients, severing ties, betrayal, establishing territory, blocking each other’s moves, and seeing trusted friends and lovers (Alicia and Will were so hot together!) now hating each other. Watching two middle-aged security guards gently escorting Alicia out of the firm was more disturbing than the comparable HOMELAND scene where two terrorist thugs hauled Carrie out of her house with a bag over her head after forcing her to strip at gunpoint.

As Twitter follower @raylancon referred to Sunday's GOOD WIFE: Unbelievable. That was the most thrilling restraining order hearing in TV history.

Great drama is great character interaction. And no show does it better right now than THE GOOD WIFE. I not only marvel at the inventiveness of the stories and complexity of the characters, I just can’t believe this show is on a broadcast network.

By the way, THE GOOD WIFE is also one of the best comedies on the air now. I laughed out loud when Alicia, all professional and lawyery in her business suit realized she wasn’t wearing panties.

Like I said, this high end corporate civil war is subject matter I’ve not seen dramatized before. And of course the acrimony and shifting alliances for personal gain resonated even more with me because well… that’s also Hollywood. I’ve been on the other side of it. Agents splitting off from big agencies to form their own. I was once forced to choose between staying with my TV agent (whom I loved) and going with my feature agent (whom I equally loved). Today I’m at neither agency. The only thing certain about all the upheaval is this: it’s never to benefit the clients; it’s ONLY to benefit themselves.

Congratulations to Robert & Michelle King for mounting the best show on television, even if the cool kids don’t know it.  Ha ha.  Us uncool kids know something you don't. 

Robert & Michelle have totally flipped their show on its ear.  And the result is mesmerizing.   Special bonus:  more for Josh Charles to do.   Maybe now he'll finally get that elusive Emmy he's long deserved.  Sorry Jon Hamm.  I'm voting for Josh. 

I can’t wait to see what happens next week on THE GOOD WIFE. Meanwhile, Carrie will figure out how to deal with the terrorist on HOMELAND. She always does.