'The Good Wife' Gets Better

here is the original 'good wife' ad

but here is the good wife after last seasons hot finale

after all is said and done it seems this good wife is getting better

from the season 2 finale. the beginning (or the end?) of longing. i love this show. season 3 begins on sunday 9/25 at 9et on cbs. please note day and time change.

season 2's final moments

TV's Best: First Six Months 2011

first and foremost tv has been a helluva lot better than film these past six months. it has offered better acting, better scripts and certainly more adult fare. is this new? probably not but these past six months have been better for tv than in the past. so in alphabetical order these are the best tv had to offer and they were good and in some cases great.

'army wives' has been consistent. with the death of recurring character jeremey in the afghan theater of war they surpassed themselves. catherine bell as his mother was amazing. she made us feel her loss. it certainly is her best work to date...ever. the rest of the cast as always stepped up to the plate. this remains one of cable's best.

'big love' redeemed itself after last year's dismal season. sadly it is now in the past as it has come to an end. i will miss this show with and family with all it's complexities. it was nice to see amanda seyfried come back for the finale.

'the borgias' had a slow start. how exciting can a conclave be? i think more exciting than the premier show especially in the time period the borgias, the medicis et al existed and ruled the catholic church. bit episodes 2 thru 8 steamrolled on and made for grand spectacle. i can't wait for season 2. francois arnaud all but steals every scene he is in. i think he has a post borgis career to look forward to.

'castle' is one of the best scripted series on the networks. nathan fillion and stana katic shine week after week with great support from it's other cast members. it had the best season finale this year. maybe the best any other year also. if the leads do not get emmy noms this year it will be criminal.

'downton abbey' showed up on pbs. for some odd reason they cut about 70 minutes out of it???? however, it worked. i'd recommend renting it to see it in full. it was great to see elizaeth mcgovern back on screen as she has been spending most of her adult life on the british stage. she has certainly improved on her craft. maggie smith as always was grand. and a hoot.

'fairly legal' was the best piece of froth the cable networks offered. a slight diversion at best but a happy romp. sarah shahi is a charmer. tired of all the reality crap on air? check this out. and have a good time.

'game of thrones' seduced me with episode 1. i thought not having read the books i'd be lost. after the first 2 episodes i was able to just roll along with it and go with the strange names and manner of speech. it is a good old fashioned epic presented anew.

'the killing' on amc is a good old mystery. a murder, suspects galore, twists and turns abound. each episode takes place in a single day. it ravels and unravels at it's own pace. it's adult. it's one more notch on the bed of amc which is shining in original fare. don't let this one get by you.

(to be continued)

The SAG Nominations in TV

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES

"Boardwalk Empire"

"Dexter"

"The Good Wife"

"Mad Men"

"The Closer"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES

"30 Rock"

"The Office"

"Glee"

"Modern Family"

"Hot in Cleveland"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"

Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"

Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"

Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"

Hugh Laurie, "House"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"

Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"

Glenn Close, "Damages"

Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"

Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"

Steve Carell, "The Office"

Chris Colfer, "Glee"

Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"

Ed O'Neill, "Modern Family"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Betty White, "Hot in Cleveland"

Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"

Tina Fey, "30 Rock"

Edie Falco "Nurse Jackie"

Jane Lynch, "Glee"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES

John Goodman, "You Don't Know Jack"

Al Pacino, "You Don't Know Jack"

Dennis Quaid, "You Don't Know Jack"

Edgar Ramirez, "Carlos"

Patrick Stewart, "MacBeth"

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES

Claire Danes, "Temple Grandin"

Catherine O'Hara, "Temple Grandin"

Julia Ormond, "Temple Grandin"

Winona Ryder, "When Love Is Not Enough"

Susan Sarandon, "You Don't Know Jack"

'Supernatural' Seasons 1-4 Gets an A

every summer i seem to catch up via netflix on a series i previously missed. last summer it was '24'. this summer it's 'supernatural with' breaking bad' on deck.

i don't know how i missed 'surernatural' at all. it is right up my alley: demons, devils, ghosts, vampires and all sort of evil things. two hot guys hunting them down, their own devilish ways and remarks. plus their total hotness. or did i say that already? what the hell they are. the they being the older brother dean and the younger sam *

i only have the as yet unreleased fifth season to go which won't be released until september. so the dvr will be holding season 6 for a bit. i love my dvr. the best thing about watching this series in sequence was seeing how much better the two leads became as they got a better understanding for better or worse, of their destiny. they are really damn good actors.







*jared and jensen: to be continued

'In Plain Sight' Gets Two More Seasons*

USA Network has given a two-season pickup for "In Plain Sight."From the net's own Universal Cable Prods., the New Mexico-set drama stars Mary McCormack as a U.S. marshal who works in the witness protection program.

Show ended its third season in June with strong ratings, one of a handful of successful USA summer skeins. Net recently launched "Covert Affairs" in mid-July, a month that saw a slew of basic cable dramas fare well, including TNT's "Rizzoli and Isles" and "The Closer," as well as freshman skein "The Glades" on A&E.

USA is also preparing to add some comedy to its lineup now that "Monk" is off the air, ordering up sitcom "Driven" from Linda Bloodworth in May.



*reprinted from 'variety'

Julianna Margulies: I Never Thought 'Good Wife' Would Be a Hit

No one was more surprised that the CBS freshman drama "The Good Wife" became a hit than its star Julianna Margulies. With one season in the can, she's been rewarded with both a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series and a Screen Actors Guild award for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. And not only is she expected to be nominated for an Emmy on July 9, but many critics already are promoting her as the favorite.
She talked to TheWrap about why she came back to television and her views on awards and the Emmy in particular.

Now that you have a successful TV show, is it still possible for you to do movies -- you recently did "City Island"? And how do you feel about trying to do both?
For me it would be next to impossible to do during the season because I am the central character on the show. But offers did start to come in and I could have done a movie while on hiatus but I chose not too. I have a 2-year old son, and felt I should be home with him.

What was the movie?
I told my agent not to tell me.

You won an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress for your role on "ER" in 1995 and were nominated several times after that. Do you ever regret leaving the show while you were still at the top of your TV game?
No, never. Not once. It was the right decision at the time. I've had a great life and career since then and leaving the show afforded me other opportunities. I went right from "ER" to a TV mini-series. I've done other mini-series. I did "Scrubs," "The Sopranos," "Canterbury's Law." I've also done some movies. Maybe I wasn't on the highest radar, but I continued to do a lot of television.

How did the role on "The Good Wife" come about?
When I decided to dive back into television, my manager thought from the script that it would be the best new show of the season. When I first saw the script, I couldn't believe CBS wanted to do this type of show. CBS is known for procedural dramas and this show wasn't a pure procedural. My first impression was that it will never be picked up. The pilot storyline was too ambiguous. And it was about a woman. CBS rarely invested in female lead characters. I was surprised they picked it up.

How was it initially described to you?
CBS said it was going to be 60 percent procedural and 40 percent personalized. But it's turned into 60 percent personalized and 40 percent procedural. Going back and forth is what makes the show work.

Did you think it would be a popular as it was, almost right from the start?
Never in a million years.


Why?
I thought it was too intelligent. I thought CBS would dumb it down. But they didn't.

What were your concerns before you took the role?
I wanted to make sure the writing held up. I talked to Ridley Scott (executive producer), who had worked before with CBS', doing "Numb3rs," and he assured me that it would and the network would support it.

You've already won both a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award this year. What's your view on awards?
It's always nice to be recognized for what you do. I was particularly pleased with the SAG award because that one was from my peers. But the Golden Globe really helped the show. It premiered in London right after, and it gave some recognition there.

How do you feel as the favorite to win an Emmy in your category?
If that's what they're saying, it's lovely. It beats the alternative. But I don't read much of that stuff. I think ignorance is bliss.

How would winning another Emmy make you feel?
You want to win because you can publicly thank people who have meant so much to your career. But in the big scheme of things, we can't lose sight of what's really important. I didn't come up with a solution to ending world hunger. It's a lot of fun to walk away with the gold, but unlike the Olympics, it's a different type of competition.

What do you mean?
Well, you really can't compare performances by actors unless each one plays the same role. How can you compare Kyra Segwick's performance on "The Closer" with mine? If I win does it mean I'm better than her as an actor? No. The only way you can compare is if each actor gets up and plays the same character and does the same scene and then have people vote.

So you won't be disappointed if you don't win?
Richard Burton never won an Academy Award. Does that mean he wasn't a good actor?

By John Consoli
Published: June 25, 2010

Wed, Bed, Behead: A Fond Farewell to 'The Tudors'

wed, bed, behead...well not all of them...but there was a lot of beheading and more...there was drama, love, romance, blood and guts and conniving and intrique. oh those tudors...tonight we say fare thee well to one of tv's best limited series and certainly showtimes best ever.
a great cast headed by jonathan rhys meyers brought history to life. he excelled as henry VIII king of england from 6/24/1509 to his death on 1/28/1547.

special kudos to maria doyle kennedy (katherine of aragon), natalie dormer (anne boleyn), joely richardson (catherine parr), jeremy northam (sir thomas moore), sarah bolger (princess mary tudor), james frain (thomas cromwell), anthony brophy (ambassador eustace chapuys) and last but never least henry cavill (charles brandon 1st duke of suffolk).















showtime will next visit 'the borgias' in 2011 starring jeremey irons as the cunning rodrigo borgia.
i can't wait for lucretia's antics and ring of poison.

'Glee' Returns Tonight: Guess I'm a Gleek Now

yes there's a helluva lot of talent on this show but Matthew morrison and lea michele are the standoutss




'don't rain on my parade': lea michele

Happy Birthday Mary

Season 4 Tonight: 'Big Love' on HBO

'Bones' Returns Tonight and the Summer TV Doldrums Are Past