Liars and Saints

  It's tricky to be married to a football spouse.  I feel deep indifference to the sport--except that I wish that various players would stop assaulting their wives and girlfriends, and I wish that competitors weren't at risk of suffering permanent brain damage (and I wonder if Will Smith's crusading work, in "Concussion," has moved any needles, anywhere). It's also tricky to feel ambivalent toward my hometown--because, if the Buffalo Bills do well, people come to me and say, "How challenging to be a Bills fan married to a Chiefs fan!" I've never been a Bills fan. To me, the best of Buffalo is Joyce Carol Oates. And Christine Baranski. I'd welcome this kind of text: "Go Buffalo! That's a seventh-decade veteran, Baranski, scoring yet another Golden Globe nomination!" To his credit, my husband really limited the crazy-talk this season. He became upset when Buffalo grocers stopped selling KC barbeque sauce--and this was presented to...

My own comfort viewing right now is "The Good Wife," and I'll give you my three reasons: (1) Ask any gay man what he wants. The answer? Christine Baranski squaring off against "Scandal"'s Kate Burton, in a tense discussion about courtroom politics. "The Good Wife" can offer this. (2) A TV show should be kind to Broadway. Broadway stars need to earn a living, and they do this by turning in brief performances in big-budget TV shows. I'm still in Season One of "The Good Wife," and I've already seen: a pre-"Hamilton" Renee Goldsberry, a pre-"Saint Joan" Condola Rashad, a "Pal Joey"-era Martha Plimpton (I should say.... EMMY AWARD WINNER Martha Plimpton), and a pre-"Anastasia" Mary Beth Peil.....And this is just Season One! And they are all fabulous women! (Add Kate Burton--once again--and I start to have flashbacks to "Spring Awakening" ....) (3) This show is almost entirel...

A hero's journey: anytime a plucky warrior is removed from an Ordinary World and plunged into the Enchanted World. The Enchanted World doesn't need to have castles and dragons; in "The Good Wife," the Enchanted World is the terrain of Hillary Clinton (or Silda Spitzer). After Alicia Florrick discovers--via CNN--that her husband has been having numerous affairs (and possibly with some illegal twists), she, Alicia, must go back to work. It's not easy to be a woman at a law firm. You have the young male associate you're competing against; Christine Baranski favors the young guy, unfairly. You have secretarial candidates who blatantly forget there is anyone in the interview room who isn't a man. You have the voice of the mother-in-law on the phone, asking when you'll be back home. At the same time, Alicia contends with case-of-the-week dramas. To get an innocent young man detached from a spurious murder charge, Alicia must throw her estranged ...