We’re starting with season one and up to about halfway through that season. It seems to be well-acted and written, but the theme seems to keep repeating itself. Somebody falsely accused, Alicia spots something nobody ever saw before, WIN! Close with weepy, sappy people blubbering over it all.
I’m really hoping that the plots get a bit more complicated and have longer story arcs. Am I deluding myself?
Bumpity. Anybody?
Yes, the first season was devoted to the murder case of the week. They started to back off from the rigidity of the format once they were established. It is a CBS procedural series, after all. Much of its appeal was that you could watch individual episodes and still get a good story, unlike Lost. The second season had mostly murders but started to explore other themes. The third season was deeply flawed because of a horrible character arc that they vanished abruptly mid-season. The fourth season was fantastic.
You are going to see lawyers doing law in every episode, and there will be twists and fine points and weird judges. They start using real world incidents as the basis for a lot of the cases that aren’t murders, which are usually interesting because so much law is being made up as they go along in this new world of technology. The story arcs will definitely get longer, but I wouldn’t recommend the series for story arcs.
Oh god yes. I liked it from the start (literally, the opening scene when she reaches to pick the lint off her husband’s jacket. Nice.) but the trial du jour definitely takes second place behind the machinations of the characters. It’s all about the characters. And the intrigue and the politics. And the great reoccurring characters.
Keep watching.
(and the last episodes of the third season, which set up the fourth season, were unbelievably tense. Of course, the entire fourth season was tense.)
I loved it from the start. I don’t think the format changes at all. So, my hopes are not high for you. But at least finish the first season, and see how you feel about the finale.
All I can say is that The Good Wife is must-see-TV for me. Wouldn’t miss it. Haven’t missed an episode. One of the few decent things CBS has on nowadays, in spite of the staying power CBS shows seem to have.
My only real problem with the series, and it’s a really stupid one, is that Margulies has to be the whitest woman I’ve ever seen. She looks like she’s in kabuki makeup; and in the outdoor scenes, she looks like some sort of zombie. Other than that, I’m liking it, especially the judges.
Kalinda is my favorite character. I’d watch the show just to see her.
I’m a big fan but didn’t watch the show from the beginning because I thought it was going to be a domestic drama about a wronged wife. I’ts great fun, particularly for the guest stars (many of whom are from New York theater). And Alan Cumming’s character of Eli Gold was a great addition.
Minor trivia (although this won’t help if you’ve not warmed to the show): In the first season, each episode title was one word, in the second, each title was two words and so on (only through the fourth season).
I’ve never looked at the title list so this is the first time I knew this.
But the trend does continue. The fifth season was all three word titles and so far this season has been all two word titles.
Does this mean that next season will be all one word titles again and therefore the last season?
Is it your new “Grey’s Anatomy”? 
(“Big Bang Theory” reference)