Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Better Call Saul: Season 2

 

The ten-episode second season of Better Call Saul aired from the fall of 2015 to the spring of 2016. All the main cast members, including Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian, Michael McKean, Jonathan Banks, and Michael Mando, return. Ed Begley Jr. has a multi-episode guest-starring arc this season, playing the head of the law firm Davis and Main, which was introduced in season 1. The series also continues to tie into the Breaking Bad universe by bringing back actors from the parent series, both small character actors you may not remember from Breaking Bad and those with larger roles. The main addition to the cast this season from Breaking Bad is Mark Margolis, who, of course, plays Hector Salamanca. The twins, Marco and Leonel, also appear, and Raymond Cruz reprises his role as Tuco. And, while Gus Fring does not appear in season two, there are easter eggs that hint at his arrival.

Interestingly, we see Hector when he can still walk and talk and get a glimpse at just how much of a villain he is. As was the case with the first season, the show uses a serial storytelling format in which the episodes build on each other. The season starts with another flash-forward showing Saul's mundane life in Nebraska as "Gene" but still pines for his life as Saul. Then, the series is primarily set in 2003 before the events of Breaking Bad as we continue to see Jimmy's transition into Saul as he pisses away every opportunity to be a legitimate lawyer because he cannot quite give up the life of the con man. We also see his relationship with Kim and his brother evolve, and we see Mike's transition from a guy who is not afraid to get his hands dirty but still has a code to what he would become in Breaking Bad. 

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc. It has a decent amount of extras spread across the three discs. Every episode has a commentary track that includes at least one of the showrunners, sometimes one or two members of the cast, the writer and/or director of the episode, or other crew members. The extras also include a gag reel, behind-the-scenes material, and a conversation between Mark Margolis and Jonathan Banks, which is very similar to the one on the Season 1 set between Odenkirk and McKean in which they discuss their careers and their characters on the show.

The series continues to be wonderfully written and acted. Even though it is set in the Breaking Bad universe, it has a much different feel than Breaking Bad, as it sets up what would come later. Even though you know that some characters are safe because they have to appear in Breaking Bad, it is still very suspenseful. There is definitely a Cain and Abel feel in the storyline with Jimmy and Chuck, and we see that Chuck has a large role in the creation of Saul Goodman. There is a lot of swearing and violence in the show, and there is a lot of swearing in the commentary tracks (including the use of the f-word). So, the show is not suitable for young kids or the easily offended. Ultimately, however, it is a great season and is absolutely worth watching. 

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Fight Season 3

 

The 10-episode third season of "The Good Fight" aired during the spring of 2019. It ended up being more controversial than it originally was when Juliana Margulies and Alan Cumming let it be known that they were in talks to reprise their characters from "The Good Wife" to be part of the storylines that ultimately went to Michael Sheen (in a role that was probably heavily re-written for his off-the-wall character Roland Blum) and a watered-watered down role given to Sarah Steele's character, Marissa. Ultimately, the network and/or producers were not willing to pay Margulies and Cumming what they were making as series regulars on The Good Wife, and they both said no. If you believe Margulies, she will never appear on the spin-off show because of how insulting the offer to pay her the guest-star rate was. Whether the hard feelings will last forever remains to be seen.

Ultimately, the season combines story-of-the-week episodes with an ongoing anti-t***p resistance theme centered around the characters of Liz and Diane. The show is unashamedly anti-t***p and ties a lot of things from the real-world (or variations of them) into the storylines (e.g., the plaid-shirt guy getting kicked out of t***p's rally, the unqualified judges being approved, etc.). So, if you love the orange genital wart you will hate that part of the show, but realistically, if you were paying attention from season one, it just amps up what they were doing before. On the other hand, if you hate agent orange, you will either find it highly amusing or ignore it. The show does a good job of not painting those involved in the "resistance" movement as heroic or all-good. In fact, in the season finale, the show sets up them as a potential "bad guy" in season four.

Overall, the season is very good. It tackles issues like the "me too" movement, climate change, race relations, etc. There is quite a bit of cast turnover, with some characters being put on the back burner and others getting a larger role. Michael Sheen was excellent in his role as a morally compromised, drug-addled lawyer who was sometimes an ally and sometimes an enemy of Reddick, Boseman, and Lockhardt. Christine Baranski does a great job again as the series lead, and it continues to be well-written and acted.

To me, the one thing it lacked was balancing stories for all the ensemble cast members. It is a very large cast, and given that there are a smaller number of episodes per season (this one had just 10 episodes), there was no way to give all the characters compelling stories. Like the prior seasons, the episodes vary in length from about 44 min to 55 minutes, and because it airs on CBS All-Access (now Paramount+), they can get away with swearing and more risque sex (the latter of which there was really not any of this season) as they could on The Good Wife. The political themes do not bother me. I do find some funny and others silly. But of course, many times when people complain about a show getting into politics it is because the politics are against what he or she personally believes. But, given that the parent show, The Good Wife, was very heavy into politics, it is not a shock that this one would keep at least some politics in the mix.

The DVD set is a three-disc set. For those who get the DVD set, I would describe it as a MOD-plus set. It does have a few extras (deleted and extended scenes for some episodes, a gag reel, and the pilot episode of Star Trek Discovery), as well as captions. But, there are no commentary tracks, behind-the-scenes, or making-of features. So it is very bare-bones. Overall, if you liked the first two seasons, you may, but are not guaranteed, to like this one. That will depend largely on who your favorite characters and storylines from the first couple of seasons were. If you did not like the first two, then there is nothing about this one that is likely to change your mind.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Fight: Season 2

 

The 13-episode second season of The Good Fight aired in the spring of 2018. The show continues to do an excellent job of standing on its own without leaning on the success of The Good Wife. That said, there are still nods to the parent show. Many of the supporting actors and actresses from The Good Wife appear this season, such as Mike Colter, Wallace Shawn, Maimie Gummer, and Margo Martindale. The show does keep its own storylines and does not recycle old ones from the parent series. The biggest non-Good Wife guest star this season is Alan Alda, who plays a smarmy lawyer from an opposing firm. Similar to the role Michael J. Fox played, but a very different type of character.

The Season starts with the funeral of Carl Reddick, who died offscreen between seasons one and two. His daughter, played by Audra McDonald, joined the firm after she was fired from the US Attorney's office after sending out an anti-t***p tweet. The writers wrapped up the Rindell storyline early in the season, which was needed because the story had played out. The rest of the season focuses on Diane going through a mid-life crisis, Chicago lawyers being bumped off, Luca and Colin's relationship, and being anti-the-orange-genital-wart. The show pulls no punches in its political bent and hatred of t***p, at least by the showrunners. So, if you love t***p and are one of his idiot cult members, you will absolutely hate this season (and probably the show in general).

The DVD set is a four-disc set. For those who get the discs, they are a bare-bones, almost a made-on-demand set. It does have a handful of extras, deleted scenes for some episodes, and a gag reel. There are no commentary tracks or behind-the-scenes material. Pretty par for the course when it comes to what is being released on DVD for TV seasons these days.

This is definitely not a show that will appeal to everyone. It is highly and unashamedly political. And, because it airs on the streaming platform, it does show nudity and has a lot of swearing, including the f-word. Kind of hilariously, the gag reel bleeps out all the swear words the actors say when they mess up, but the show is full of swearing. So if that kind of stuff will turn you off to a show, then you should skip this. However, if you liked season one, the writing and acting are on par or better.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Fight Season 1

 

The 10-episode first season of The Good Fight aired in the winter and spring of 2017. The show was spun off from the long-running CBS show The Good Wife. It was created by the showrunners of The Good Wife and stars Christine Baranski, Justin Bartha, Rose Leslie, Sarah Steele, Delroy Lindo, Audra McDonald, Nyamibi Nyambi, Gary Cole, Erica Tazel, Michael Boatman, and Cush Jumbo. Even though the show is a spin-off, you do not need to have seen a second of The Good Wife to be able to follow 99% of this show. That is mainly because there was nothing in the final season of The Good Wife done to set up the events that kick off this show, aside from introducing the character of Lucca Quinn (played by Jumbo).

The Good Fight picks up a little more than a year after the series finale of The Good Wife. The opening scene is Diane (Baranski) reacting to the inauguration of t***p, and then planning her retirement in France. Of course, she signed the paperwork to give up her partnership with the law firm (which now has eight named partners because of mergers with two other firms), much to the delight of David Lee. She is then caught up in a Madoff-like financial scheme allegedly run by the parents (and uncle) of her god-daughter and newly hired associate of the firm (who was never mentioned on The Good Wife), Maia, played by Game of Thrones alum Rose Leslie. When Diane tries to revoke her retirement and resume her role as a named partner in the firm, she is essentially forced out and ends up with a rival, mostly black-owned firm, Reddick, Boseman, and Kolstad. That is all the setup the show gives or that the audience needs to know before the show gets going.

There are a few main themes that run throughout the season, Diane trying to catch on at the new firm and being a fish out of water, Maia trying to navigate being a new lawyer and dealing with the scandal involving her family, and, of course, the various cases of the week. We do not really get much of an idea of what happened to the main characters from The Good Wife. We learn through Lucca and Marissa Gold (the latter of which comes in as Diane's assistant) that Alicia has left Chicago, but we do not learn of her "post slap" fate beyond that. The only plot point from The Good Wife that carries over to this show is Diane and Kurt's relationship after the final trial of the other show.

The series does an excellent job of introducing the new characters into the universe the prior show set up. The great (mostly) character actor Delroy Lindo and Justified alum Erica Tazel play the new partners opposite Diane. Justin Bartha (probably known best from the National Treasure movies) plays an AUSA and love interest for Lucca. Those who were fans of The Good Wife will recognize many guest stars, including Christine Lahti, Matthew Perry, and Jason Biggs (among others). Michael Boatman also reprises his role as Julius Cain, who has left Lockhart, Agos, and Lee and become a partner at Reddick-Boseman.

As with the parent show, this one delves not only into politics (and if you are a t***p supporter, you will probably not like the political bent) and current (or recently current) events. It is well written and acted, and like The Good Wife, it gets a lot (although not all) of the legal stuff correct. Any lawyer will appreciate the scene where Maia is refreshing the screen while waiting for her bar exam results to come in, which many would-be lawyers have done. It does take many of the same creative liberties with the courtroom scenes that The Good Wife did to make things more dramatic than would occur in real life.

The DVD set is a three-disc set. It is a very bare-bones release. It is almost a MOD release, but it does have some extras (deleted scenes for most episodes and a gag reel) and captions (which kind of hilariously were clearly done knowing most sets would likely be sold in the UK because they spell words like honor as honour, and use mum for mom, as would be done in the UK). However, given that most shows do not get a DVD release in the US these days, it is nice to get anything from those who prefer physical media. I think the showrunners made a good decision to keep the season shorter, 10 episodes, as opposed to the 22-24 per season that The Good Wife got. It enables them to get in and out of the main storylines and leaves the viewers wanting more. Because it airs on the streaming platform and not over the air, the episodes are a bit longer (usually between 45 and 55 minutes), and they get away with swearing (there are many f-bombs dropped). While I cannot say that everyone who was a fan of The Good Wife will like this one, I generally think if you enjoyed that show, you will like it. That said, the show really goes out of its way to stand on its own, and while it does pay homage to the parent show it, wisely, does not try to be a carbon copy of The Good Wife.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Better Call Saul: Season 1

 

Better Call Saul is the series spun off from the iconic crime-drama Breaking Bad. It is centered around the "criminal" lawyer Saul Goodman. It was created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, the co-creators of Breaking Bad. It stars Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Jonathan Banks, Michael Mando, Patrick Fabian, and Michael McKean. The first season's recurring cast includes Kerry Condon, Julie Ann Emery, and Jeremy Shamos. The ten-episode first season aired in the winter and spring of 2015. The first episode starts out after the events of Breaking Bad, where we see that Saul is indeed working as a manager at a Cinnabon (paying off on the line from Breaking Bad when Saul was about to skip town) in Omaha, Nebraska, under the name Gene. He lives a drab life as a fugitive, longing for his old life. Then, the series flashes back to Albuquerque in 2002, before the events of Breaking Bad (the time period most of the series is set in). We see Saul working under his real name, James/Jimmy McGill, as a struggling solo practitioner who is working on public defender cases for $700 a pop, living and working out of a storage room in a nail salon, trying to drum up clients, and being a caregiver for his brother, Chuck (played by McKean) who was a named partner in one of the largest firms in Albuquerque (HHM) but is not a shut-in because of a hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields. Chuck has disconnected all the electricity from his house using a lantern and gas stove, and relying on Jimmy to fill a cooler with food and ice. Jimmy's best and seemingly only friend is an associate at HHM named Kim, and Mike Ehrmantraut (played by Banks, reprising his role from Breaking Bad) is working as a toll booth operator at the courthouse. Like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul is mostly a serial that slowly tells the story of how Jimmy transforms into Saul Goodman. It also has some story-of-the-week procedural elements that are usually secondary to the serial arcs.

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set, with the episodes and the bonus content spread across the three discs. The set has a lot of bonus material, including deleted scenes, a gag reel, a conversation between Odenkirk and McKean about their respective careers and their characters on the show, and some behind-the-scenes material. Each episode has a commentary track featuring Gilligan and/or Gould, the writer of the episode, the director and/or a producer, and one or more cast members. The seventh episode has a second commentary track just featuring Julie Ann Emery and Jeremy Shamos in character as their characters, Betsy and Craig Kettleman hilariously reacting to the episode. The episodes can be watched in a "play all" mode or from their own episode pages (which is where the commentary tracks and deleted scenes are accessed). You can stop the disc and pick up where you left off when you resume playing, even when watching the bonus material.

The series is a wonderful spin-off of Breaking Bad. It is well-written and very well-acted. Throughout the season, we see Jimmy transform from a small-time con artist, turning his life around to secretly get a law degree, pass the bar exam, become a very good lawyer, and sowing the seeds of who he would become as Saul Goodman. Odenkirk is fantastic as the series lead, but all the actors are wonderful. While we know the fates of some of the characters (and there are more than just Banks and Odenkirk who reprise their roles from Breaking Bad), the show pulls off the balance of setting up what will come later with telling its own story and standing on its own. Like the parent series, it is very much an adult drama. There is a lot of swearing, violence, and a bit of sexual content. The bonus material contains spoilers, so if you did not watch the series when it aired, you want to watch the episodes before you listen to the commentaries or watch the behind-the-scenes material. Ultimately, the show is an excellent mix of legal, crime, and character-driven drama with some humor. You do not need to have seen Breaking Bad to get what is going on in Better Call Saul, but some things will make more sense if you have. If you have watched Breaking Bad, this is a must-watch. Even if you have never seen a single episode of Breaking Bad, however, this is absolutely worth your time to watch.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Wife: The Final Season (Season 7)

 

The 22-episode seventh and final season of the long-running and popular CBS show, The Good Wife, aired during the 2015/2016 TV season. It is, as all the other seasons have been, mostly about the journey of Alicia Florrick. The series takes the show back to its beginnings with Peter ending up in hot water again, after making a failed run for President. Since the show is set in the real political world (at least in part) that is not giving anything away. The first part of the season is about the presidential run, and Alicia is trying to make it as a solo attorney (with Louis Canning still trying to woo her). It is part case-of-the-week, and part larger storyline (as it has been during its entire run). The latter half of the season sees Peter back in court, much like he was in season one, and Alicia trying to decide whether to stand by him (yet again). I will not say too much so as not to spoil anything for the handful of people who have not seen the season yet, but I do think it did a good job with that.

What the season did a terrible job of is setting up the spin-off show, The Good Fight. If you have at least seen the pilot of that show (which I did before ever watching The Good Wife), the only thing about the new show that gets established is the character of Lucca Quinn (played by Cush Jumbo) who was brought in to replace Kalinda as a best friend for Alicia. But nothing in the final season's storylines set up the story that began the new show. I am not sure whether The Good Fight was decided on after The Good Wife wrapped, but if the showrunners knew ahead of time that the spin-off was a go, they did a crappy job setting it up.

The show did not wrap everything up in a nice bow, either. You only get a vague idea of what might have been next for the various characters, but there was very little of, even for the main characters, "this is what was next" for them. So, the show leaves a lot to the imagination of the viewer. They did manage to bring Josh Charles back for the final episode in a unique way. The only series regulars that did not at least make an appearance were Archie Panjabi (who had gone on to her role in Blindspot and, given the reported bad blood between her and Margulies, likely had no interest in returning for the finale) and Matthew Goode. Another bright spot was the addition of Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the new investigator to replace that part of the Kalinda character and as a new love interest for Alicia, as the real replacement for Will. He seemed to have good chemistry with Juliana Margulies and played the role of the mysterious new character very well.

The DVD set is a six-disc set. For those who get the DVD set, it is much like the other seasons (sans the commentary tracks that appeared in the first couple of seasons). Most episodes have deleted and/or extended scenes, ranging from about 45 seconds for some to around 11 minutes for the longest group. The final disc has the rest of the bonus material, about 45 minutes of making-of and behind-the-scenes material, a short wrap-party red carpet event, and a series-spanning gag reel.

Overall, I would say the season was enjoyable but I would not have ended the show the way they did, at least not without adding about 10 more minutes to give the show, and the characters, more closure. Although, will say that I can see what they were going for with the way it did end. I cannot say that everyone will like how it ended, but as a whole, I think if you liked the prior seasons you will like most of this one.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Wife: Season 6

 

+++Warning, this reveals the big season 5 spoiler but does not have any major season 6 giveaways+++

The 22-episode 6th season of The Good Wife aired during the 2014/2015 TV season. It is the penultimate season of the show. It split the season into two big story arcs. One involves Cary and Kalinda, and the other involves the state's attorney race, which goes on throughout most of the season. I will not spoil any plotlines, although chances are anyone reading this by now already knows how the season played out. There are a lot of great guest stars again, some of the usuals like Michael J. Fox and Mike Colter (who plays a larger role this season than he has in the past seasons) as well as new ones such as Ed Asner.

The season also had more cast turnover. Matthew Goode would come on as a series regular after being introduced midway through season five. At first, it seemed like he would be a replacement for Will in Alicia's life, but I think the choice the writers took with the character was better, although by the end of the season, his arc was pretty much played out. The more controversial departure was that of Archie Panjabi. As most know, there was some friction between her and Julianna Margulies, which resulted in her leaving voluntarily (which was the party line) or being forced out. In the bonus material, everyone was cordial about her leaving the show, and kind of hilariously made it seem like Kalinda and Alicia's final scene together was some great acting chemistry between Panjabi and Margulies, given that it is now pretty well known that they did not film it together. I think the circumstances of her leaving the show were unfortunate, but the writers gave the character a good sendoff. Christine Baranski also had a pretty good story arc with her character having to pick up the pieces of the law firm after Will's death.

The DVD is a six-disc set. The extras include deleted scenes for every episode, and on the final disc, about an hour's worth of making-of and behind-the-scenes material, a couple of promotional character shorts for Diane and Alicia that ran on CBS, and a gag reel—pretty similar to what was included in the prior seasons.

Overall, the season was good. I think they did a good job with the evolution of the characters and gave everyone in the ensemble cast something to do. They also did a good job keeping up with current legal cases with shows that dealt with issues like the Second Amendment, freedom of religion versus gay rights, etc. While the show had a liberal bent, I think they did a good job with the counter-point by adding conservative characters like Diane's husband, and a new client for the firm played by Oliver Platt. Chances are, if you liked the prior seasons, you will like this one. If you were not all that big on the show in the earlier seasons, then there is probably nothing about this one that is likely to change your mind.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Wife Season 5

 

The 22-episode fifth season of The Good Wife aired during the 2013/2014 TV season. It continues to do an excellent job of reinventing itself, given the storyline that started the series has played out. The show has managed to move past Alicia's re-entry into the workplace and her dealing with the scandal that kicked off the series and made her, and made all of the other characters, evolve.

Chances are anyone reading this review by now generally knows what happened during the show. Still, for those who do not, I will not spoil it except to say that there are major developments throughout the season, starting with the cliffhanger from season 4 playing out with Alicia agreeing to start a new firm with Cary. The season begins exactly where season 4 ended, and does not do a time jump. As a result, the actual leaving of Lockhart-Gardner has to play out, and needless to say, it does not go over all that well. It leads up to a major event that occurs a little over halfway through the season and then plays out for the rest of the season. The season then ends with Alicia having to make another big life decision.

The DVD set is a six-disc set. The extras include deleted scenes for most episodes, a series of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes (that total just under an hour), including one on the pivotal 15th episode of the season, and a gag reel. The only drawback is that the deleted scenes are not included in the bonus materials menus as in they were in seasons 1-3 so you cannot play them all at one time. If you want to watch them, you have to click on the episode title from the main menu and play them on episode-by-episode. It is a minor point, but annoying given that it is a change from earlier season sets.

Overall, I think the show was still doing well through the 6th season. It was starting to get a bit long in the tooth, but not so much that it was getting stale. You can also tell that the characters of Alicia and Kalinda were being separated, which seems to be the start of the alleged friction between Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi. Matt Czuchry's character was more involved this year after being more on the back burner the prior couple of seasons. The show also had a decent spate of guest stars, including some of the usuals (like Michael J. Fox) and new ones (like Jason O'Mara). Toward the end of the season, Matthew Goode joined the cast as a new member of the state's attorney's office. If you liked the prior seasons, you will like this one.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Wife: Season 4

 

The 22-episode fourth season of The Good Wife aired during the 2012/2013 TV season. It is really a transition for the show. The original premise of the show (Alicia recovering from Peter's affair) had pretty much played out, so this season was really about what comes next for all the characters. Peter is in the midst of his run for Governor, so many of the state's attorney storylines took a back seat this season. As far as the law firm storylines go, the season picks up at the tail end of Will's suspension and with the firm on the brink of Bankruptcy. Much of the first third to half of the season revolved around the partners trying to save the firm, working with a Bankruptcy trustee played by Nathan Lane. We also get the payoff of Kalinda's husband showing up paying off on the cliffhanger at the end of season 3. Alicia is progressing in the firm while also trying to deal with her feelings for Will, even after breaking things off with him. Cary is also brought back into the fold after leaving the state's attorney's office.

The season again ends with things up in the air. It's not really a cliffhanger as it occurred in the prior seasons. The show gives away where things are going for the characters in season 5 but leaves you to wonder how exactly things will play out. A lot of the "regular" guest stars make at least one appearance this season, with Michael J. Fox appearing for a few episodes and causing problems for the firm as usual. Jason Biggs reprises his role in a great episode involving a rape victim suing her alleged attacker in civil court. There is also a great episode where Cary and Alicia go up against Will and Diane in a mock trial.

The DVD set is a six-disc set. There are quite a few extras for those who get the DVD set. Deleted scenes for most episodes are spread across all the discs. On the last disc, there is approximately 50 minutes worth of behind-the-scenes and making-of material. This is a good amount, but maybe not quite as extensive as there have been in past years.

If you have liked the show's prior seasons, you will probably like this one. If you do not like the earlier seasons, this one will probably not change your mind. Given that the show has been off the air for a few years as of this writing, chances are anyone coming across this review will have a pretty good idea of what the show was and how it progressed. I don't think it is a show you can just jump into midstream. While the show is mostly a procedural drama with weekly storylines, it has enough serial arcs that you need to watch from the beginning to follow everything that goes on. It is definitely worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Wife: Season 3

 

The 22-episode third season of The Good Wife aired during the 2011/2012 TV season. To me, the third season was all about character development, now that the main themes from seasons 1 and 2, namely Peter's release from jail and re-election to the state's attorney's office, are resolved. The show continues to balance case-of-the-week episodes with larger story arcs. The latter is mainly comprised of the fallout and consequences of Will and Alicia hooking up at the end of season two, the continued investigations of the firm, and individuals in it, by the state's attorney's office.

Most of the characters from prior seasons return, although both Michael Ealy and Scott Porter (who played Derek Bond, and Blake Calamar, respectively) both left when their character arcs ended. I think Blake could have remained as a foil for Kalinda, but Porter would get a lead role in the show Hart of Dixie, which nixed any chance of that. We do learn a bit more about Kalinda's past that Blake hinted at during season two, which leads up to a mini cliffhanger at the end of season three. Alan Cumming is promoted to a series regular in season three and joins the law firm as a consultant and equity partner while he waits for Peter to decide on a run for Governor. He makes for some great comedy during the season, including interacting with his ex-wife, played by Parker Posey.

The show continues to balance the large ensemble cast, which includes a lot of great recurring characters (including a few more great appearances by Michael J. Fox). That said, Alicia continues to be the clear lead character, and her development is clearly the focus of the show. Her arcs mainly involve taking on more responsibility at the firm, making sense of her feelings for Will and the consequences of a relationship with him, becoming more independent from Peter, and deciding whether to repair her relationship with Kalinda. I do think the character of Cary got the short end of the stick story-wise early in the season, but his arc definitely got better in the latter part of the season.

The DVD set is a six-disc set. For those who get the DVD set, the extras include deleted scenes for most of the episodes spread throughout all the discs and a few behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes, the longest of which are on the last disc. All in all, probably over an hour of bonus material.

The show continues to be well-written and acted. I would say if you liked the first two seasons then you will probably like this one. There are no major changes to the show's overall formula. Conversely, if you were not a fan of, or lukewarm to the first couple of seasons, this one probably will not change your mind. I definitely think it is worth checking out (for the handful of people who have not seen the show by this point).

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Wife Season 2

 

The 23-episode second season of The Good Wife aired during the 2010/2011 TV season. It continued the format that worked well in the first season. Namely, it used a part procedural and part serial format. There were the case-of-the-week stories which played out in the courtroom scenes, and then larger themes throughout the season, like the power struggle with the new managing partner, Peter's campaign to regain the State's Attorney position, and Alicia and Will doing the will-they-wont-they dance, creating a love triangle of sorts.

The season picks up right where season 1 left off, with Will leaving the messages for Alicia during the press conference. We see the result, which creates unease between the two during the first part of the season. For the most part, Peter and Alicia's arc play out separately (his taking place mainly in the campaign headquarters with Eli Gold (played brilliantly by Allan Cumming), and hers in the law firm or in court). There is some crossover as Alicia and Peter try to reunite their marriage, and Eli pressures her to get more involved in the campaign. The big additions to the cast this year are Scott Porter (who would go on to be one of the leads in Hart of Dixie), who plays a rival to Kalinda as an investigator brought on by the new managing partner, Derek Bond (played by Michael Ealy), and for those of us old enough to remember the 1980s, the great Michael J. Fox plays a recurring role as a rival lawyer who is often on the opposing side to the firm.

The DVD set is a six-disc set. It includes many extras that are spread throughout these six discs. There is a featurette entitled "Real Deal Inside the Episode," which details the process the writers and production staff work through to get an episode made. Then there is a short featurette called "Conversation with the Kings," which is an interesting discussion with co-creators and executive producers Michelle and Robert King. They discuss how carefully they and the writers craft each episode to advance that week's plot while simultaneously developing each character. There are also a handful of deleted scenes, a 20-minute discussion with some of the cast members and showrunners, a glimpse of the season-one DVD release party, six behind-the-scenes videos by Alan Cumming (each around 5 minutes), and three campaign music videos that were used in the show (one full length, and the other two basically just the clips shown in the show).

If you liked season 1, then chances are you will like this season. If you did not, you probably will not get on board because of this season. It does take liberties with the courtroom scenes, as all legal shows/movies do, but it gets a lot right which is nice for any lawyers who love to nitpick things. It is definitely worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Wife: Season 1

 

The Good Wife is a series that ran from 2009-2016. The 23-episode first season aired during the 2009/2010 TV season. It saw the return to network TV as a series regular for Julianna Margulies, nine years after she left ER, playing a Chicago lawyer named Alicia Florrick. The premise is that her husband, Peter, the IL state's attorney (played by Chris Noth), resigns from office amid a combined sex and corruption scandal (back when that kind of thing mattered). After that opening scene, the show immediately does a time jump to almost a year later when Peter is in prison. Alicia decides to dust off her law degree and work as a junior associate at a large Chicago law firm, at which her best friend from law school, Will (played by Josh Charles), is one of the senior partners along with Christine Baranski's character, Diane. The main cast is rounded out by her fellow junior associate, Cary (played by Matt Czuchry), and the firm's investigator, Kalinda (played by Archie Panjabi).

With that as a background, the show essentially becomes a weekly procedural with a case-of-the-week format with larger themes (like Alicia trying to adjust to life as a kind of single working mother, her husband appealing his conviction, which junior associate will get the permanent position, and a will they, won't they sexual tension between Alicia and Will). It does an excellent job of being as realistic as the courtroom scenes of any show I have seen. Given how boring actual trials tend to be, no show can be 100% accurate, so there is always some "ask a question and give a closing argument in response to the witness' answer" that you get in any show or movie that portrays trials. Sometimes, the show has cases that clearly play off of real-life events, but most are made up. Sometimes, things play out pretty straightforward, and other times, there are twists. There is also some good old-fashioned Chicago political corruption thrown in. I think the show did a good job of not being too cookie-cutter with the storylines and kept things interesting throughout the season.

The DVD set is a six-disc set with many extras. There are commentary tracks with the showrunners and cast on select episodes, deleted scenes on many episodes (which also allows an option to play the deleted scenes with commentary by at least one of the writers), a 17-minute featurette on real-life events that the show fictionalized, and an hour and 15-minute making of feature (which is split up into several parts you can watch individually, or using play-all). So, if you like to get shows on physical media when there are a lot of bonus features, this is worth picking up.

Overall, the show is well-written and acted. It does not tie up everything and ends on kind of a cliffhanger going into season two. If you are a fan of procedural dramas, this one holds up well. As someone who discovered the show late, I think it would be enjoyable even if it premiered this year as opposed to a decade ago. Chances are, most people who are reading this by now will already be fans of the show, but if you are one who is just checking it out for the first time, it is worth the time to watch.

DVD/TV Series Review: Bull: Season 2

 

The 22-episode second season of Bull aired during the 2017/2018 TV season. All of the main cast members, including Michael Weatherly, Geneva Carr, Jamie Lee Kirchner, Freddy Rodriguez, Annabelle Attanasio, and Christopher Jackson, all return. The glaring omission in the cast is the character of JP Nunnelly, who was a character that was set up to be either a major recurring character or a series regular at the end of the first season. It was revealed that Eliza Dushku, who played Nunnelly in three episodes toward the end of the first season, left the show after alleging sexual harassment and mistreatment by Weatherly (who has subsequently claimed he was merely joking and apologized). Therefore, her character was written out of the show and never referenced in the second season.

The season starts off with a bit of a disjointed feel. This is due in large part because of a new addition to the showrunner team. The character of Bull was written as more of an egotistical jackass at the beginning of the season who would lay into the team for little or no reason. Thankfully, that did not last the entire season. There was more of a focus on the character's life outside TAC and the courtroom this season. Of course, that was still a large part of the show, but it was good to dig deeper into the characters' lives. 

The DVD extras include an 18-minute behind-the-scenes feature on the season, some deleted scenes, a gag reel, and the pilot episodes of the new shows Seal Team and The Good Fight. So, if you like bonus content, you get a decent amount. The show continues to be a good case-of-the-week procedural. Unlike season 1, this season ends on a major cliffhanger (actually a couple cliffhangers, one major and one more minor), which will set up a couple good storylines going into season 3. If you liked the first season, this one is worth watching.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Primal Fear

 

Primal Fear is a 1996 movie starring Richard Gere, Edward Norton, and Laura Linney. It also includes a great supporting cast, including John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand, and Andre Braugher. The movie was made at a time when Gere's role as a leading man was winding down, and it was Edward Norton's first major role. The movie plays on a variation of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. Norton plays Aaron Stamper, a 19-year-old alter boy who is arrested for the murder of an Archbishop. Gere plays Martin Vale, a criminal defense attorney who agrees to represent Stamper.

The original Blu-Ray release is a single disc with just the movie itself and no bonus features. The A/V quality is fine, but it did not get a great HD restoration and transfer, so it is not a huge upgrade from the DVD version. The movie has been released on 4k-UHD which does include some bonus content, so if you don't have the movie on physical media or really love it and don't mind double or triple-dipping, you may want to opt for that version.

The movie is outstanding. It is well-written and very well-acted. Norton was excellent as well and really stole every scene he was in, playing an alter boy arrested and on trial for killing the local bishop. Gere had the smarmy criminal defense lawyer role nailed, balancing an "I don't care if you are guilty or innocent " attitude with really caring for a client he truly believes is not guilty. While it is likely that a lot of people reading this will have seen the film multiple times and know how it plays out, I will not spoil the movie on the off chance that someone out there has not seen the movie. What I can say is there are a lot of real-world parallels to what has played out with the church in real life with sex scandals and allegations of corruption and the movie does have some twists throughout. Some of the twists are predictable, and others are not. While Gere and Norton are certainly the main attractions in the film, the supporting cast are all wonderful. Laura Linney is great as the prosecutor and former flame of Richard Gere's character. It is a great legal drama that is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: A Time to Kill (Spoilers)

 

+++Warning, the review has spoilers in the third paragraph. If you have not seen the movie and care about being spoiled, skip that paragraph.+++

A Time to Kill is the 1996 movie adaptation of the John Grisham novel of the same name starring Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, and Samuel L. Jackson. The wonderful supporting cast includes Ashley Judd, Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, Kurtwood Smith, Octavia Spencer, Chris Cooper, Charles S. Dutton, and Oliver Platt.

There are a couple things to keep in mind about this movie. One it was only a story. The movie clearly fictionalizes the very real lynchings and attacks of blacks that were common during the Civil Rights era in the South and the corrupt Southern justice system that allowed the people who were doing the lynchings to go free and make a more modern-day story from it. The twist in this movie is that the father of a child who was attacked takes justice into his own hands and subsequently ends up on trial in that same corrupt justice system. 

Anyone who knows history (especially legal history) is aware of the fact that there was jury nullification many times in the South in favor of whites who had murdered blacks (and who had done so for far less compelling reasons than for which Samuel L. Jackson's character commits murder in this story). What is ultimately done in this story is having the jury nullification going the other way, after leading you to think that it could not possibly happen.

The second thing to keep in mind is that the movie is a courtroom drama, so (despite the story being written by a lawyer) the legal elements, especially the courtroom scenes are almost completely wrong. Anyone who has sat through more than one real trial knows that the vast majority of the time nothing dramatic happens. Lawyers are not allowed to ask 5 min long questions to a witness, and then present another 5 min long soliloquy after the witness answers the question. For the most part, trials are usually very dry and boring, with little to no excitement or things like breaking the witness. So pretty much every courtroom drama ever made has little to no authenticity to any of the legal aspects and this is no different.

If you can get past all that however and just focus on the acting and suspend your disbelief, the movie is very good. The suspension of disbelief will be hard for lawyers and law students. I remember when I watched this while in law school I was basically counting everything it got wrong. But now I can watch it without focusing on all that stuff. I think Samuel L. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey had great chemistry and played off each other very well. Sandra Bullock and McConaughey sold the tension between their characters well, and Donald Sutherland did a great job as the old, washed-up, alcoholic attorney who was advising the young upstart. I also thought Kevin Spacy (regardless of what you might think of him now) did a great job as the slimy district attorney.

The A/V transfer of the movie is very good, especially for a pre-DVD era movie that does not have a ton of special effects. The only extra is a trailer for the movie. There are no deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes material, or the like. Ultimately, if you cannot get past how unreal the story is, then do not get the movie because you probably will not like it. If you are good at suspension of disbelief and can just enjoy the story and good acting (both of which are top-notch), then it is well worth the time to watch.

DVD/TV Series Review: Bull: Season 1

 

Bull is a legal drama that premiered in 2016 starring Michael Weatherly (of NCIS and Dark Angel). Weatherly stars as Dr. Jason Bull, a psychologist who owns a trial analysis company (called Trial Analysis Corp, or TAC) that acts as a jury consultant company and also provides defense counsel to both wealthy defendants and pro-bono clients. The premise of the show is that Bull can select the best jurors to get a verdict for their client, conducts mock trials to figure out how potential jurors will react to the case, and once a jury is seated, uses mirror jurors (people with similar traits to the real jurors) who watch the trial to see how the real jurors are reacting. The show is loosely based on the early career of Dr. Phil (who is a producer on the show) when he did jury consulting work.

The show is basically a case-of-the-week procedural drama, with any serial arcs mostly focused on the personal lives, or lack thereof, of the main characters. The rest of the main cast includes Freddy Rodriguez as Benny Colon, the in-house lawyer for TAC, Geneva Carr as Marissa Morgan, Bull's second-in-command, who is also a psychologist and basically runs the team from TAC while the trial is going on, Christopher Jackson as Chunk Palmer, a fashion stylist who works with the clients to prepare them for court, Jamie Lee Kirchner as Danny James, TAC's lead investigator and a former NYPD detective, and as Cable, TAC's computer expert. The main recurring characters in season 1 are Yara Martinez who plays Isabella Colon, who is Benny's sister and Bull's ex-wife, Jill Flint who plays Diana Lindsay, an adversary and love interest for Bull, and Eliza Dushku, who had a very controversial behind-the-scenes experience on the show.

For those who get the DVD set, there are a handful of extras including a gag reel, deleted and extended scenes, the CBS launch promos that aired before the show premiered, and a behind-the-scenes featurette on season 1. Not a ton of bonus features, but they are there if you want to watch them.

The show is very good and very entertaining. They actually manage to get quite a bit of the law correct, but as in all legal dramas, the courtroom scenes are highly dramatized, and much more entertaining than what happens in real life. Also, the time frame is very compressed, with each case being resolved in a matter of weeks from the time the crime is committed. The big controversy of the season involved Dushku, who asserted that Michael Weatherly sexually harassed her on the set, which ultimately resulted in her leaving the show after her three-episode arc and not being brought back for the second season, which was originally the plan. Weatherly acknowledged he made comments to her that he intended as jokes, but was not aware she was offended until much later, after which he apologized. Whatever the situation was, Dushku's character was a great addition to the show and the fact that her arc abruptly ended when she was clearly being set up for a larger role sucks. That may color whether you want to watch the show, but as far as what was on-screen, it is a good drama that is definitely not a carbon copy of any other legal drama. 

DVD Review: Bull Season 5

 

The 5th season of Bull is the post-covid-lockdown season, so it is shorter (just 16 episodes) and incorporated the pandemic into its storytelling (mostly the use of masks and social distancing in nearly every scene). The first episode, entitled Corona, was a totally covid-centric episode that saw the characters break the fourth wall at the very end to welcome the fans back. After that, the show continued on with its case-of-the-week format with the pandemic always looming in the background. 

For those who get the DVD, it is just a MOD set. It does not have captions in any language and the only extras are deleted scenes for some, but not all, episodes. The length of the deleted scenes for a given episode range from about 35 seconds to over 6 minutes. Overall, the show does a good job with the ensemble cast, giving all of the main characters one centric episode, and then having actual story arcs for others. The focus is still on Bull and this season his relationship with Izzy. Benny had the second-largest arc of the season as he mulls a run for district attorney. Chunk and Miranda are also more involved in the cases this year with Chunk acting as lead attorney in several cases, which would never be the case in real life for someone with his experience level. 

Overall, the show has evolved a lot since season one. The days of focusing a ton on jury selection and the mirror jury are over. The show presumes that the audience understands that (although people just jumping into the show this season may not get the full idea). The show deals with a lot of real-world issues, including BLM, the "Me Too" movement (which is a bit ironic given the allegations Eliza Dushku made against Michael Weatherly), and the like. I think the show continues to be strong, and I can mostly watch it even as a lawyer without getting too nit-picky. They get a lot of the court stuff right, and some they totally dramatize (like the length of time from the incident or crime until the trial). Hilariously, in one episode they ask someone why he does not have any bruises as if a trial would actually take place a week or so after the incident that prompted it. But, if you can overlook that, and things like the lawyers testifying when they question witnesses, it can be an enjoyable show even for those of us who know what they are taking creative license with. While I cannot say that everyone who was a fan of the first couple of seasons will automatically like this season, I think the show is still good and worth checking out.