Skip to main content

Audra McDonald: "The Good Fight"

 Audra McDonald's time is precious, and I'm sad she is spending so much of it on the increasingly smug show "The Good Fight."


I've lost some interest in the show because the characters don't really grab me; the writers seem to want to be wry about current events, and then they want to congratulate themselves for their wryness.

One particular issue I have with "The Good Fight" is that it's giving a sizable part of its last season to two completely new characters -- and neither character is totally compelling. The Kings made this same error with "The Good Wife," and it's surprising they are repeating history. By contrast, I'm impressed with "Better Call Saul," which has one stable of characters; the relationships get weirder and more tortured, and the last season is (finally) a powder keg.

All that said, I liked Audra's story in Thursday's "Good Fight." Audra's Liz Reddick ("Reddick" sounds like "Florrick," and these writers aren't always gifted with names) goes on a talk show and trashes Clarence Thomas. Later, alone, she gets a call from a stranger: "I'm Ginni Thomas, and I'd like you to apologize for what you said about my husband."

Of course, this is what happened between Ginni Thomas and Anita Hill ten years ago -- and the writers use this real-world moment to offer some brilliant thoughts. Why would Ginni place such a deranged call? Because she was lonely! As Liz Reddick comes to understand Ginni's loneliness, she finds herself in a bizarre phone tango; it lasts for weeks and weeks and weeks. Liz and Ginni discuss Ginni's past (a kind of quiz, because Liz thinks "Ginni" may be a fake); eventually, the two chat about the trashy reality series "Below Deck." Liz finds herself asking if we're all really so polarized; if we all just might be human, under our political cloaks. Liz and Ginni worry together about working too much -- not pursuing the bucket list, not seizing the day. Implausibly, Liz decides that she might persuade Ginni and Clarence to have an early retirement -- so Biden could then choose a replacement for the Supreme Court. This last bit is shaky writing, but it's kind of funny.

The story ends in a smart, inevitable way -- and the script gives Audra opportunities to be weary, suspicious, exasperated, forceful, cunning. So that's one brief TV highlight from this past week.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Host a Baby

-You have assumed responsibility for a mewling, puking ball of life, a yellow-lab pup. He will spit his half-digested kibble all over your shoes, all over your hard-cover edition of Jennifer Haigh's novel  Faith . He will eat your tables, your chairs, your "I {Heart] Montessori" magnet, placed too low on the fridge. When you try to watch Bette Davis in  Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte , on your TV, your dog will bark through the murder-prologue, for no apparent reason. He will whimper through Lena Dunham's  Girls , such that you have to rewind several times to catch every nuance of Andrew Rannells's ad-libbing--and, still, you'll have a nagging suspicion you've missed something. Your dog will poop on the kitchen floor, in the hallway, between the tiny bars of his crate. He'll announce his wakefulness at 5 AM, 2 AM, or while you and another human are mid-coitus. All this, and you get outside, and it's: "Don't let him pee on my tulips!" When...
3 comments
Read more

The Death of Bergoglio

  It's frustrating for me to hear Bergoglio described as "the less awful pope"--because awful is still awful. I think I get fixated on ideas of purity, which can be juvenile, but putting that aside, here are some things that Bergoglio could have done and did not. (I'm quoting from a survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of the Church.) He could levy the harshest penalty, excommunication, against a dozen or more of the most egregious abuse enabling church officials. (He's done this to no enablers, or predators for that matter.) He could insist that every diocese and religious order turn over every record they have about suspected and known abusers to law enforcement. Francis could order every prelate on the planet to post on his diocesan website the names of every proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting cleric. (Imagine how much safer children would be if police, prosecutors, parents and the public knew the identities of these potentially dangerous me...
1 comment
Read more

Raymond Carver: "What's in Alaska?"

Outside, Mary held Jack's arm and walked with her head down. They moved slowly on the sidewalk. He listened to the scuffing sounds her shoes made. He heard the sharp and separate sound of a dog barking and above that a murmuring of very distant traffic.  She raised her head. "When we get home, Jack, I want to be fucked, talked to, diverted. Divert me, Jack. I need to be diverted tonight." She tightened her hold on his arm. He could feel the dampness in that shoe. He unlocked the door and flipped the light. "Come to bed," she said. "I'm coming," he said. He went to the kitchen and drank two glasses of water. He turned off the living-room light and felt his way along the wall into the bedroom. "Jack!" she yelled. "Jack!" "Jesus Christ, it's me!" he said. "I'm trying to get the light on." He found the lamp, and she sat up in bed. Her eyes were bright. He pulled the stem on the alarm and b...
1 comment
Read more