“The Good Fight”
My wife and I and our cat Zorro just began streaming "The Good Fight" on CBS. Our cat doesn't have much to say in the matter, though he seems to approve by sleeping between us while we watch. All he knows is that there is no whistling — whistling being the universal cat signal meaning there's a dog loose somewhere. We've watched a lot of shows with whistling lately. So, while he sleeps, we laugh.
"The Good Fight" is not technically a comedy. Still, every episode seems to have something in it that makes us laugh out loud: a visually constructed incongruity (two people in Trump masks having sex in the window of a skyscraper); Diane Lockhart's (Christine Baranski) face during a #metoo episode when a much younger woman tells her character "you're a second-wave feminist," get out of the way, you deserve a rest; the TV news parroting the latest Tweets from Trump (or are they?) which make Baranski's character react "did I just hear that?"; or a Trump-appointed judge who can't figure out how to zip up his robe (or has food in his mouth when he shouldn't). As for the Trump-appointed judge, Baranski’s character confuses him by pointing out the law.
The show isn't for everyone. But this is one Hollywood show that doesn't argue "we're not prejudiced" because it bathes in being just that. It's a show for the resistance.
On the other hand, it's also smart about identity politics, harassment issues, ICE tactics, racial stereotypes, Democrats being no different than Republicans when it comes to winning, and non-disclosure statements used by almost everyone these days. The framework seems to be our reality, where few people agree on how to solve anything even if they're on the same side.
The core ensemble includes Baranski, Delroy Lindo (Get Shorty, Malcolm X), Michael Boatman, Cush Jumbo, Audra McDonald (Fresnophiles make a note), Nyambi Nyambi, Sarah Steele and Rose Leslie (Downton Abbey fans make a note). What makes the show fun for a geezer such as myself are all the "where-are-they-now" actors rolling through each episode. They include Bernadette Peters, John Larroquette, Tim Matheson (Animal House), Alan Alda, Rob Reiner, Louis Gossett Jr., Andrea Martin (SCTV), and Jane Curtain. Many others require a glance at IMBd or Google to figure out why their faces are so familiar.
Zorro’s publicity portrait.
I was a fan of "The Good Wife." Many of the same characters return. After all, it is Chicago, and it is about lawyers. My lawyer friend says the "lawyering" part of "The Good Wife" was good for a TV show. In "The Good Fight," the same writers and producers picked up where "The Good Wife" left off. Unfortunately, the description in IMBd makes this show sound awful: "When Diane Lockhart's life savings are lost, she must start from scratch at a new firm." I guess that's true, but it's like describing your own life like this: "When (your name here) discovers there's no more milk, (your name here) goes to the store."
For the most part, the show also seems to hold up to the modern bane of entertainment, Google. For me, it passes the "that didn't happen, did it?" test.
I know many of you will hate this show for its politics. But it's why we like it. And Zorro seems to like it, too, if only because it passes his "not fond of whistling" test and he can get some rest after a long walk from his food bowl or the last place he slept.
No bed required.