In a previous column, I mentioned that I like to watch reruns of the original TV show “Law and Order,” which ran from 1990-2010. So in case you think I’m hopelessly stuck in the distant past, I want to report that I’ve just said goodbye to a more recent series, “The Good Wife.” The end of that initially very satisfying show was anticipated in the press some months before it actually ended a few weeks ago. The ending came with a “Sopranos”-like ambiguous conclusion — a slap in the face from Alicia Florrick’s (the Good Wife herself, played by Julianna Margulies) boss, Diane Lockhart (the imperious and elegant Christine Baranski). We saw Alicia’s shock, watched her pull herself together once again, and then the credits rolled for the last time.
The trouble with the ending was not merely the confusing, melodramatic and inconclusive slap, but rather the previous months-long unraveling of a perfectly good show by the addition of endless new characters, a love interest straight out of the daytime soaps, the disappearance of the main character’s children for the most part, and … no, I won’t go on.
It was clear to me that the writers of the show had lost interest, or at least lost control of what had been a relatively straightforward, if complicated, story line. There was the marriage (not good, but they sometimes worked on it), the kids (always good, if sometimes emotionally taxing), the career (getting there as a new lawyer, then a partner, always up and down), the law firm (full of colorful, combative characters and stressful, often ripped-from-the-headlines cases).
There was also politics, since Alicia’s husband, Peter (Chris Noth) originally a state’s attorney, had become governor of the state. In the initial episodes, she had literally stood beside him, like other wives of real-life politicians, as he weathered a sex and corruption scandal. In later episodes, one and then the other of them was running for office. There was plenty of material, plenty of conflict to be exposed, re-chewed, and possibly resolved.
So it seems to me — though perhaps this is why I don’t have a career in television — that they could have stuck with that formula for quite a few more seasons. It’s true that the death (read job change) of one of the main characters, a lawyer with whom Alicia (at that point behaving like a Not-So-Good Wife) was having an affair, had to change things a bit. But not to the extent of knocking the pins out from under the show.
Of course, the show itself was always a challenge to watch. Blame this on the network and not the writers. Scheduled for 9 p.m. on Sunday nights, it had to compete with Sunday afternoon football elongations and it was preceded by a supremely annoying “reality” show, “The Amazing Race.” Nothing amazing nor real about it, as far as I’m concerned, except its inanity. It’s a silly scavenger hunt across many continents, with young, sweaty contestants pushing the locals around and demonstrating Ugly-American bad manners. Worst of all for me, it made “The Good Wife” wait while the participants ran through bazaars and cheered for themselves.
“The Good Wife” was distinctive in many ways, among them the fact that it showed that network TV could marshal an audience comparable to the cable networks. But burnout was a problem. Producing and acting in 22 shows per season over seven years took its toll. The beautiful and talented Julianna Margulies was definitely looking tired.
“The Good Wife” is described in reviews mostly as a “character-driven” show, as distinct from the likes of “Law and Order,” which is known as a “procedural.” I’ve read that Dick Wolf, creator of the “Law and Order” empire, is planning another procedural for next season called “Chicago Justice.” I may just have to sign on.
Marietta Pritchard can be reached at mppritchard@comcast.net