The Good Wife: Season 5

I love everything about the Good Wife. I love that the characters have grown and progressed in their lives. I love that Juliana Marguiles is so beautiful and that her portrayal of Alecia is so beautifully subtle. Alecia is smart and heartbreakingly gorgeous but she never gives you the sense that she feel entitled. She's kind and funny. And when a priceless wisecrack drops from that exquisite mouth it is breathtaking and endearing. I love to love/hate her formerly philandering husband, Peter, played by Chris Noth. I want him to get his comeuppance but I also want him to succeed. I find myself rooting for him to discover the really good stuff that's there (I just know it) and to be the man that Alecia deserves. As for Will...there is so much that could be said. But let us just say that he was wonderful and now that he is shockingly and heartbreakingly gone we will accept and hope for future reveries that will remind us of the bond that was there. Between Will and Peter Alecia had the perfect man. But let's face it ...neither of them really deserved her. She has loved two deeply flawed men but now only one remains. Thankfully the men in her romantic life do not define Alecia. As in real life they amplify different facets of her character and temperament but there are other contributors. Cary, her partner in her newly formed law firm. Smart and adorable he is a huge part of her future and it looks bright. Clark Hayden. His exposure to the law during his tenure as trustee to Lockhart/Gardner (the law firm where Will was a named partner and the vehicle which returned Alecia to the law after a 13 year absence) inspired him to return to law school and pursue a new career at 60. Encouraging. Nathan Lane is simply a brilliant bit of casting. His uber conservative, Brooks Brothers suit, horn rimmed glasses character is a quasi -father figure in the fledgling firm. Lane is just fabulous as the oracle of "restraint at all times". Combine his cautious temperament with his new passion for the law and you have a reenergized and delighted soul that is a pleasure to watch. Again, a hopeful story line. And then there's Eli. Her husband's campaign manager and now his chief of staff at the Governor's office, Eli is another character that just can't seem to stay out of trouble. He's brilliant, ruthless and has trouble with boundaries but deep down in side...yep! A heart of gold. You can see that the Florricks have become like family to him. They have all moved from positions of wary distance to mutual respect and affection for each other. Which is again satisfying and hopeful to the viewer.Don't get me wrong. There's a lot of drama on The Good Wife. But there is also a lot of humor and a storyline that makes you want to come back to see what happens to these people. They screw up but ultimately they contribute more than they take. When considered as a whole they are irresistably complicated and fascinating. They take a beating but they keep on going like the rest of us. They just do it with better hair and nicer clothes. My free time is precious and when I invest it (even in a televisions show) I want something for my return. I want to be encouraged... not stressed. The fact that these are all impossibly beautiful people, etc is a bonus. I love to see their clothes, hair, apartments, etc. It's fun. And let me tell you fun is hard to find these days. If I can get it for a solid 43 minutes along with some reasonable moral quandaries and romance then I'm thrilled. The Good Wife is worth your time. What more can I say?

Even though I came to this series late and binge watched them all on DVD in less than a week, I knew going in to this season that it was going to be a sad one because I had remembered back when the episode with the courtroom shooting aired that people had talked about it and articles had been written online about it but I was unprepared for the magnitude of feelings this season and this series inspires. First of all, kudos to Alicia for going with Cary. I'm not saying I liked the decision when I first watched because I really like Diane and Will and their relationships with Alicia and if it had been me being Alicia, I would have taken their offer and been with Will on the side. I like to think that even though it wasn't implicitly said that she went with Cary so that one day Will and her could be together, without threats of sexual harassment or people saying she used her relationship with Will to get ahead in the company. Although if she would've taken managing partner deal at LG, she kind of would have been his equal, well minus seniority and the fact that he started the firm so maybe they could've had the relationship in the open there too. Anyways, wills last episode was heartbreaking and I felt like they wrote the grief real. As one who has grieved people that have unexpectedly died, you do feel like that. I liked how Alicia was able to lean on Diane and Kalinda and even her family and Finn in her time of need. I'm really glad she didn't finish walking in the door to the bar when the business man juror was waiting for her because it was just too soon and would've cheapened her feelings for Will. I really wanted to smack Peter upside the head though when everyone was being nice to her and she missed something politically due to her grief being so strong she couldn't get out of bed and Peter being like well at least it wasn't your husband that had died. I get that but come on Peter, where was that love and respect for your wife when you cheated on her in the first place? I loved the scene where they were discussing their affairs and he was like mine didn't matter and she was like too bad because mine did. That was the closest she really came to admitting to anyone the depth of her feelings for Will. I was really sad that she couldn't even admit to Diane that she loved him. I really liked the flashbacks with Will and Kalinda about why Alicia's firm was going to fire her for not having a backbone because I think it showed that will would probably forgive her eventually if he had lived because somewhere between her husbands scandals, will being her boss, and all the other ups and downs, this season proved that Alicia does have a backbone and that she's not being pushed around by anyone anymore whether she loves them or not. I think the other female characters such as Diane and Kalinda gained a bit more of that this season as well. I really enjoy the fact that this show has such strong woman characters, both as career woman, girlfriends and wives, mothers, and a combination of them all. Although if it was up to me, I would've had will Gardner on their for every single episode of this series and a happily ever after ending, I really can't see this season playing out any other way now that I've watched all of it, but I'm still hoping will and Alicia will be back together sometimes in flashbacks and dream sequences.

Unfortunately while watching Season 5 I ran into problems with a couple of the discs, dirty and marked, so had to reorder another box set from another trader. It rarely happens but we were unlucky and I have since written to the original supplier (too late to claim a refund) to make them aware.If many reviewers complained about the state of the discs when they watched this I would be tempted to downgrade my star rating, as it might appear to be a common fault with 'the product' ----- as it is not so it would be unfair to downgrade this excellent season of 'The Good Wife' because of my bad luck in receiving a faulty box set. I hope some reviewers who habitually complain about 'the wrong region received' or 'the disc wouldn't play' might think twice about the low star rating given to a product and instead complain to the seller even after the guarantee period. It is not the actors fault that your disc wont play in your player!My 5 stars is for the Season 5 programme consisting of 22 episodes on 6 discs all with English subtitles.Once again each episode has a self contained case that revolves around Julianna Margulies playing Alicia Florrick, and her law firm, with the background story arc of her relationship with husband Peter played by Chris Noth who becomes Governor.The strength of the series has always been the immense quality of the writing by the Kings and that continues with characters that are outstandingly acted and are believable in every episode whether they are clients of the law firm or the lawyers appearing in the court cases for both sides.To my mind this season focuses on Alicia's determination to succeed and not be dependent on others ---- success is prime and to the cost of her relationships, swinging away from Will Gardener (Josh Charles) her boss, and from husband Peter when it suits her. She becomes truly independent, not just the good wife, but indeed 'the good woman', with her priorities being both her children and her own well being.By the end of the season we are looking at Alicia Florrick moving forward again.......... politically ? Watch Season 6.

I bought this fifth series in August. Meanwhile I casually watched all the series preceding it. When I finally came to this - cracked and spillage. Whatever was spilt, also wound its way down to disc six and up to discs three and four. I scrubbed it clean and what you see is the condition after it was cleaned with a lint-free cloth and optical lens spray. It's cheap, what's my criticism about? Cheap doesn't mean you can be liberal with your definitions or negligent in checking the condition before it is sent out.

I watched "The Good Wife" on Netflix (series 1-4) first and had to buy this series 5 to catch up before watching series 6 on TV. This is such a great series - great scripts, great acting and great development of characters - that I find it hard to believe that series 5 is as good, if not better, than the earlier series. By watching on DVD I had the benefit of the "behind the scenes" discussions and rationale behind the main episodes involving Will (I say no more to avoid spoiling the episodes) - superb series. Worth all the plaudits it gets - and as a lawyer, sadly so real with its depictions of law firm politics and "types." As I write this, series 6 is on More 4 but I think I prefer the ability to "glut" out on 3 episodes at a time on Netflix or DVD! Buy this!

Obviously series 1-4 is a prerequisite, however, this continues an interesting journey of a woman handling the complexities of life, returning to work after child care, out of necessity developing her sense of self, dealing with children growing up, dealing with others seeing her as much the Governors's wife as well as an individual, partner in a start-up law firm etc., others dealing with it all.My only slight criticism is the seemingly infinite capacity of the investigator, Kalindar, to mysteriously come up with the information slightly Perry Mason-esque (an approach amusingly referenced by a Judge in a trial)Still gripping, though.

Obviously it is too early in the morning for me as I gave the review to the much lesser series of Veep that I intended for this wonderful series.I wait with anticipation for each series to be released as it just gets better and better. There is no way to anticipate the twists and turns that each episode takes and there is almost a season ending size cliff hanger every one.I hope this runs long in its present high quality and exceptional value for money! Drooling over Chris Noth is just an added bonus whilst my husband enjoys the beauty of julianna Margulies.