Screens: CBS
What's The Next Plotline Inspiration From The Good Wife's DVR?
This season alone, it's borrowed from Glee and Low Winter Sun; we have some ideas for other shows that could use the Good Wife homage treatment.
There are probably a lot of reasons the fact of TV comes up so seldom on TV shows. Maybe writers don't want to threaten the illusion of the world they've created by reminding us that we are watching a TV show. Maybe writers are slightly ashamed that they're not writing movies. Or maybe writers don't want to start beef by drawing less-than-flattering versions of other genres or specific shows. Judging by its fifth season, though, the last of these is of absolutely no concern to the producers of The Good Wife. Earlier this year, an episode revolved around Band Camp, a Glee-esque teen musical series that had stolen a musician's arrangement (and, unlike the real-life story of Jonathan Coulton and his "Baby Got Back" spoof, let the indie artist win); and the latest episode features Alicia trying to get caught up on "AMC's Darkness At Noon," a cop drama that's an obvious gloss on Low Winter Sun.
There are a couple interpretations for the dramatic relevance of the Darkness At Noon runner. One is that even though your premium-cable cop shows feature line-crossing badasses who solve cases by showily roughing up witnesses and perps, the really nefarious crimes in this country are being committed by legally sanctioned nerds in call centers and defended by tiny, unassuming, avuncular sharks. Another is that, biologically, once a woman becomes a mother, she loses the ability to keep track of who's who in any filmed entertainment (though maybe it's less because of her having gone through labour and more because moms only watch TV with large glasses of wine).
Whatever its specific dramatic purpose, The Good Wife's taking on Low Winter Sun puts us 2/3 of the way to a trend, so why wait? Here are some other shows that deserve to be Good Wife-enized, and how.
Girls
The Good Wife Context? The wunderkind creator and star of a boundary-breaking sitcom hires Florrick Agos to represent her in a case dissolving the production company she formed with her mentor, a comedy icon.
How Would The Real Show Be Fictionalized? Calling it Chickago would let it fit better in the Good Wife universe.
Who Could Guest-Star? Allie Grant as fake Lena Dunham; Enrico Colantoni as fake Judd Apatow.
The Bachelor
The Good Wife Context? An African-American contestant on a reality dating show sues the series for not giving her the same access to the show's white star because of her race.
How Would The Real Show Be Fictionalized? The litigant in question could have been one of several non-white contestants in her season, the rest of whom decline to join her action.
Who Could Guest-Star? Jurnee Smollett-Bell as the former contestant; Colin Ferguson as fake Chris Harrison.
Saturday Night Live
The Good Wife Context? The wife of a writer who, she says, worked himself to death trying to keep up with the strenuous schedule of a long-running sketch show sues the show's producer for damages.
How Would The Real Show Be Fictionalized? Move it to Chicago; cut the musical guest.
Who Could Guest-Star? Constance Zimmer as the show's star witness, fake Tina Fey; Michael Cristofer as fake Lorne Michaels.
Project Runway
The Good Wife Context? A model on a fashion-design competition series brings a sexual harassment suit against the production, claiming a producer made her casting conditional on her sleeping with him.
How Would The Real Show Be Fictionalized? The accessory wall is sponsored by Nordstrom, and no one ever uses it thoughtfully.
Who Could Guest-Star? Chanel Iman as fake Heidi Klum; Ted Danson as fake Tim Gunn.
Scandal
The Good Wife Context? The creator/showrunner of a sexy, buzzy political drama featuring a storyline about NSA surveillance seeks Florrick Agos's help in bringing a suit against the government when she comes to believe she has been put under surveillance herself.
How Would The Real Show Be Fictionalized? On fake Scandal, the crisis manager's had the sense to break up with the President.
Who Could Guest-Star? Octavia Spencer as fake Shonda Rhimes; Meagan Good as fake Kerry Washington.
The Walking Dead
The Good Wife Context? The original showrunner on an enormously popular sci-fi drama sues the network for profits after getting fired from the show.
How Would The Real Show Be Fictionalized? Instead of zombies...vampires?
Who Could Guest-Star? Jim Beaver as fake Frank Darabont; Justin Theroux as fake Andrew Lincoln.
Community
The Good Wife Context? The irascible creator of a self-referential sitcom engages Florrick Agos to defend him against libel and slander charges brought by his difficult star.
How Would The Real Show Be Fictionalized? The producer never gets fired; the star refuses to quit, out of spite.
Who Could Guest-Star? Lance Barber as fake Dan Harmon; Paul Reiser as fake Chevy Chase.