"The Good Wife": The season's best new drama?
Despite arriving in the wake of the Eliot Spitzer and Mark Sanford scandals, "The Good Wife" manages to create its own spin on political scandal. "So often quality TV is defined mostly by writing," says Rob Owen. "But CBS's 'The Good Wife' is both a well-written legal drama and a terrific showcase for actress Julianna Margulies, who elevates the already-good material with her perceptive, open performance."
"Wife" gets the underbelly of politics // "Good Wife" stands above all new dramas
Too much telegraphing // "Good Wife" made Margulies look at cheating diferently
Christian Slater's "The Forgotten" is the worst new drama
"The worst new series of fall, ABC’s 'The Forgotten' calls to mind a TV show that was conceived on toilet paper, sold to drunken network executives and brought to the small screen by felons working off their court-imposed community service," says Mark A. Perigard.
So many things are wrong with "Forgotten" // Why Christian Slater came back to TV
"NCIS: Los Angeles" is really just a buddy cop show
"CBS' latest dramatic brand extension really amounts to a lazy way of promoting a buddy-cop procedural," says Brian Lowry, "with Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J as crimefighters who see a lifetime's worth of action in just the premiere. That the show was a planted spinoff from 'NCIS"' rib and signals its 'Los Angeles' locale with conspicuous beach backgrounds represents the network's determination that viewers know everything from the title, which is mostly true. O'Donnell and Cool J have credible chemistry, and it's nice to see Linda Hunt as their boss. Beyond that, no investigation is necessary to grasp the formula."
LL Cool J on landing the role: He didn't have to audition // Behind the scenes
Rocky Carroll pulls double duty // How Linda Hunt ended up on "NCIS"
It somehow works despite feeling surprisingly baroque and picturesque
"NCIS" has the TV-cop recipe down pat — it's fun to watch without being innovative
Like the original, funny banter will be a staple of "NCIS: LA,"
