Good Wife: Second Season [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

WARNING: This review contains spoilers for Season 1. If you have not watched it, please don't read this review.

This DVD set is for Season 2 of the award-winning legal drama, The Good Wife, starring Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick, the "good wife" of the title of the series. I'll try not to repeat myself too much from the review I previously posted on Amazon for Season 1 which is located here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RBHXRDL3D0W5C/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B003FSTN52&nodeID=130&tag=&linkCode=#wasThisHelpful.

A summary of the main events of Season 1 are as follows: Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) is publicly humiliated as the "good wife" of a cheating politician, Peter Florrick (Chris Noth). What makes it even worse for Alicia's situation is the fact that for years she sacrificed her own legal career on behalf of her disloyal husband. Soon after Peter's relationship with a hooker is exposed to the world and he resigns in disgrace, he is thrown in jail for paying for the prostitute with public funds. While Peter is in jail, Alicia gets a job practicing law with the firm of Lockhart & Gardener in an attempt to take over from Peter as the family breadwinner.

One of the two main partners at the firm is Will Gardner (Josh Charles), a man Alicia had strong feelings for before her marriage, feelings that Will shared, though they were never officially romantically involved. At Lockhart & Gardener, Alicia is thrown into competition for a permanent job with another, much younger associate, Cary Agos (Matt Czuchry). Cary is extremely competitive, but Alicia is naturally collegial and kind, and it goes totally against the grain for her to try and cut him out. Ultimately, though, Alicia realizes she wants, and financially needs, her job badly enough to push aside her scruples and call on the help of Eli Gold, Peter's cagey political adviser (Alan Cumming). Eli helps Alicia defeat Cary by bringing major business to Will's law firm. This is where we are at the end of Season 1 for this amazing series which was nominated for an Emmy.

At the start of Season 2, the firm of Lockhart & Gardener is about to merge with another legal practice, and everyone's job security is threatened. In particular, Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) is no longer the firm's only private investigator, and the new one, Blake Calamar (Scott Porter, Friday Night Lights) has a seedy past and the ethics to go with it.

The series continues to have standout performances by the regular cast, and wonderful guest spots by brilliant actors such as Michael J. Fox, who repeats the role he played last season as disabled lawyer Louis Canning, who uses his disability to manipulate juries. Gary Cole (Bill Lumbergh in Office Space) returns in his role of Season 1 as Kurt McVeigh, a sexy ballistics expert who is the unlikely sometime lover of Will's politically progressive partner, Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski). Rita Wilson (an outstanding character actress who is married to Tom Hanks) plays hotshot attorney Viola Walsh who sends a fascinating case to Diane. Jerry Stiller (Frank Costanza on Seinfeld) plays a narcoleptic judge. America Ferrera (the star of Ugly Betty) appears as an undocumented-immigrant nanny working for Peter's campaign rival, Wendy Scott-Carr, a role played with just the right twist of apple pie and arsenic by Tony-award winner Anika Noni Rose.

This show is on the top of my must-watch list. It never disappoints. The acting is terrific, and the scripts are continually outstanding. Every week there is a great blend of fascinating cases and enthrallingly devious relationships between the members of the talented cast and the wonderful actors brought in as guests to interact with them. This is a viewing experience not to be missed.

This has become one of my top ten shows on tv. I look forward to it every week. The drama has been greatly enhanced by several developments in the plot and characterization.

First, Michael J. Fox has been added to the cast. He doesn't have a big role but when he is on, he is great. He is a lawyer who will do anything to win his case, including using his significant physical disabilities in order to win the jury's sympathy and understanding. He tries to lure Alicia into his firm and I can see that becoming a real viability for season three. One thing he can do is an incredible job at winning his case during the day and then putting it away at night when he turns to his long term marriage and family. This no other character on the show can manage to achieve, especially Alicia.

Alicia's husband has been kind of the bad guy throughout whereas her old boyfriend, now law boss, has been seen as the good guy. These lines have been considerably blurred this season. There is an element of ruthlessness to both men this season. However, Chris Noth as the husband, comes across as untrustworthy in every frame. You do not grow to like him. Ironically, this is a change for Noth who more familiarly played the "good cop" on shows such as Law & Order.

The very best though are the characters of Alicia and her best friend, her firm's detective. There is a terrific crescendo which builds in the second season which involves both of them and the potential to make them enemies instead. I can't say more because this is something you want to watch develop on your own.

Eli is becoming a favorite of mine too and he is especially great this season when he is attracted to a new character, the former star of UGLY BETTY. Slowly you begin to see Eli like and respect Alicia a lot more than his political client, her husband. Alicia and Eli have come a long way together without becoming love interests.

Everyone else does a great job too but I have outlined my favorite characters and developments in the show.

The exquisitely written and stunningly executed CBS drama "The Good Wife" (created by Michelle King and Robert King) airs here in Australia on Network TEN, and I love it!!!! Season One certainly set the tone for what was to come in Season Two with just the right texture of family and legal drama. But it is the intrigue of intra-office politics taking center stage in Season Two which takes the viewer captive, and leaves you with a thirst for what is to come in the next episode. If this tv show was a novel..... it would be a real page turner. I highly, highly, highly recommend it. And I look forward to the DVD!!!!