Amazon.com: The Good Wife: Season 3, Episode 22 "The Dream Team": Amazon Instant Video

The Good Wife, Season 3, Ep. 22 "The Dream Team"

Will and Diane scramble when Louis Canning and Patti Nyholm team up to bankrupt the firm.

Runtime: 44 minutes
Original air date: April 29, 2012
Network: CBS

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Episode 22, "The Dream Team"

Synopsis: Will and Diane scramble when Louis Canning and Patti Nyholm team up to bankrupt the firm.

Original air date: April 29, 2012

Runtime: 44 minutes

Captions and Subtitles: English

ASIN: B007YYY5TW

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,227 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

The Good Wife, Season 3

Synopsis: THE GOOD WIFE is a drama starring Emmy Award winner Julianna Margulies as a wife and mother who boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail.

Starring: Julianna Margulies, Matt Czuchry

Supporting actors: Archie Panjabi, Graham Phillips, Makenzie Vega, Alan Cumming, Josh Charles, Christine Baranski, Anika Noni Rose, Bryan Brown, Carrie Preston, Michael Boatman, Edward Herrmann, Maggie Lacey, Chris Henry Coffey, Jenny Powers, Zach Grenier, F. Murray Abraham, Greg Hildreth, Gerritt Vandermeer

Season year: 2012

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Executive producer: Meredith Averill

Network: CBS

ASIN: B005PK57NU

Rights & Requirements

Purchase rights: Stream instantly and download to 2 locations. Details

Format: Amazon Instant Video (streaming online video and digital download)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart And Surprisingly Funny: Network TV's Best Cast Has A Stellar, Game-Changing Year May 7, 2012

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

There seems to be a tendency to think that ANY TV show that we watch and like should automatically warrant a five star review rating. I have never felt that to be so and would accordingly rank the various shows I watch on a regular basis from 3-5 stars (most falling into the 4 star designation). I say this in preface to my comments about the third season of CBS's ratings challenged but critically acclaimed drama "The Good Wife" because it is a show that has improved substantially since its debut. Almost instantly, critics lauded the Julianna Margulies vehicle for its timely presentation of a political wife scorned. As Margulies set about restructuring her world, the first season was a mix of politics, family, workplace, and courtroom drama. Margulies masterfully juggled the intracacies of the varying plot threads, but not all things were created equal. In my opinion, the element that really made the show stand out was Margulies relationship with her husband, Chris Noth, and other aspects of the show were certainly less compelling. The program, however, has become one of the richer and more rewarding endeavors on TV over the next two years. (For my taste, I'd rank Season One at 3 1/2 stars, Season Two at 4 1/2 stars, and Season Three at 5 stars).

The twenty-two episode Season Three is easily one of the smartest and most surprising entries on the network TV landscape. While Margulies is still front and center, "The Good Wife" has skillfully developed the most talented and reliable supporting cast of any show on contemporary television. While this sounds like hyperbole (and I hate hyperbole), I honestly think that it is true. Margulies starts the season contemplating a new relationship with Will (Josh Charles) but the promise of this love affair may be more enticing than its payoff.... Charles has his biggest year yet as his entire career is put on the line. Christine Baranski shows more depth and grit as the woman struggling to keep the firm together. Archie Panjabi, as an enigmatic investigator, unravels more secrets to what makes her TV's most fascinating supporting player. Noth still has a strong presence, as does Matt Czuchry, in the prosecutor's office as sometimes foes and sometimes allies. Alan Cumming has an increased presence as well taking an office within the central firm.

Anyone of these personalities can step up to take an episode lead without the show faltering, that is how well integrated they are now. But in addition to the irresistible core cast, "The Good Wife" has a literal revolving door of other lawyers and judges that are handled by a stellar group of actors. Michael J. Fox continues an invaluable recurring role (and I always appreciate the reappearance of the creepy Dylan Walsh and the hysterically off-putting Martha Plimpton), but it seems that everyone that steps in for a day or two is at the top of their game with interesting quirks and relatable foibles. I credit the show's writing for developing every character with precision. The cases continue to be as good as always, but what really elevates Season Three are the continuing story threads. Some HUGE changes, ENORMOUS power struggles, and REVELATORY surprises occur this year. And as the dramatic imperative keeps upping the stakes, "The Good Wife" also remains (slyly) one of the funniest dramas on TV. It's a terrific balancing act.

Margulies' kids remain the weak spot of the show. As every other aspect of the program has gotten so good, they continue to stand out. I dread when a full story is devoted to them, but they are marginalized quite a bit this year and the show has finally made Margulies' mother-in-law the villainous foil she was always meant to be. Genius. If you sampled and left "The Good Wife" in an earlier season, you're missing something quite special and I would strongly encourage you to check back on what you've been missing. KGHarris, 5/12. Read more ›

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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great season--this show is consistently terrific! May 7, 2012

By Kate McMurry TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I am delighted to report that Season 3 of my favorite network-TV drama is as consistently top notch across every episode as Season 1 and Season 2.

As Season 3 opens, Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) has emerged with greatly increased confidence in herself, both as a woman and as an attorney at Lockhart/Gardner, after the intense personal and professional struggles she endured during Season 2. She has left her husband Peter Florrick (Chris Noth) after finding out he had a one-night stand years ago with Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjaba), the firm's mysterious private investigator. In spite of the fact that Kalinda did not know Alicia then, this explosive revelation makes it impossible for Alicia to be anywhere near Kalinda without feeling an overwhelming urge to scream at her friend or burst into tears--which is a real problem since they have to work together on cases at Lockhart/Gardner.

Kalinda, who normally is a really tough nut, is shown at the end of Season 2 visibly heartbroken over losing her friendship with Alicia, which was clearly one of the closest relationships she'd ever had. On the heels of what Alicia sees as a double betrayal, she has kicked Peter out of their apartment and dumped him and his possessions into an apartment she obtained for him without his prior knowledge. As apparent retaliation, Peter, who has just been re-elected to his old office as State's Attorney, strictly because of Alicia's high-profile loyalty and support during his campaign, has hired Cary Agos (Matt Czuchry) to be his second-in-command.... Cary has been Alicia's enemy since Season 1 when she beat him out for an associate position at Lockhart/Gardner.

Alicia has begun talks with Lockhart/Gardner's barracuda divorce attorney, David Lee (the immensely talented Zach Grenier), and launched a torrid affair with Will Gardner (Josh Charles). For multiple reasons, Alicia and Will opt to keep their affair top secret: he is her boss, she is still legally married to Peter, and she doesn't want her kids to know about the affair.

This show does a fantastic job this entire season, as it did the previous two seasons, delivering interesting cases for Lockhart/Gardner to represent. The series's excellent writers (led by award-winning, writer/producer, husband-and-wife team, Michelle and Robert King) keep these cases enthralling to viewers by offering spicy--and sometimes humorous--conflicts for the lawyers, such as client chicanery to be worked around, in-house rivalries threatening to torpedo the success of a given case, or mysteries for the ruthlessly capable Kalinda to solve in order to prove a client's innocence or win a case. In addition, whatever the overarching legal plot, it always deftly intertwines with several personal-relationship subplots every week. All of the main characters are linked to each other and numerous other subcharacters in an ever expanding web of secrets, lies and conniving. This could easily become confusing rather than pleasantly intriguing in less skillful hands than those of the show's writing team, but they never drop any plot threads, and never allow the show to slide into outright soapiness, a failing that seems to afflict the vast majority of nighttime drama.

The acting continues to be terrific. I concur 100% with the Emmy wins of Julianna Margulies for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Archie Panjabi for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and the nominations of Josh Charles as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and Christine Baranski, as Diane Lockhart, for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Though Matt Czuchry has not yet been nominated for an Emmy for this show, he contributes greatly to its success by his capable handling of his recurring role as ambitious attorney, Cary Agos. I quite enjoyed the growth arc of his relationship with Alicia this season. Czuchry's outstanding ability to portray Cary's intense emotions through subtle facial expressions--in keeping with the poker face that men in general employ, and lawyers especially are forced to cultivate--never fails to entertain.

Mary Beth Peil as Jackie Florrick continues her excellent work as the ambitious mother of Alicia's husband, Peter, and Peter also gets a lot of stage time this season as he contemplates a run for the governor's office. This goal is made all the more fascinating because it is impossible to achieve without the cooperation of both Alicia and cagey political operative, Eli Gold.

Eli is one of my favorites on a show overflowing with talented actors playing plum parts. Alan Cumming's portrayal of Eli is filled with delightful contradiction. Just when Eli's ruthlessness is about to push him over the edge into the territory of unsympathetic, irredeemable jerk, out peeks a soft-heartedness that is often quite funny to behold. After Season 1, Cumming received an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Apparently because his work was so exceptional that year, he was promoted to a recurring role, and for Season 2, he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor.

I could go on and on about the caliber of the many actors with recurring guest roles, but two in particular deserve special attention: Michael J. Fox received his 12th Emmy nomination for his portrayal of attorney Louis Canning, who cynically attempts to gin up sympathy from judges and juries for his Parkinson-type symptoms in order to win his cases. Martha Plimpton (Emmy winner as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Raising Hope) plays cutthroat attorney Patti Nyholm who, like Louis Canning, uses a physical health condition--in her case pregnancy and later the baby that resulted from that pregnancy--to deceive and manipulate her opponents.

If you haven't been watching this show every week, or even if you have, this DVD is a worthwhile investment in some of the best TV drama of this season or any other. Read more ›

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still great after three seasons September 6, 2012

By L. Miko

Format:Amazon Instant Video|Amazon Verified Purchase

This show never disappoints. Every episode is well written, engaging, humorous, interesting and very entertaining. Some TV series seem to fizzle out after the first season but not this one. It's still as great in the third season as it was in the beginning. I highly recommend it.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Show September 9, 2012

By Rachel

Format:DVD

This show is really excellent. I never imagined that a show about lawyers and courts could be so good. A show doesn't need any shooting or explosions to be riveting, it just needs a good story and great character development -- which this show has week after week.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Abrupt Ending to 12/11 episode December 20, 2011

By missyvonne

Amazon Verified Purchase

Love this show but can't always get to watch it on Sunday nights. Yay for Amazon Instant video. Well worth the $1.99 investment so I can view whenever it's convenient but what sort of techno glitch happened at the end of this episode. It just seemed to stop in the middle of the last scene, not a good thing for a show that relies on the last scenes to set you up for the next episode. Not very worth the $1.99 to be left hanging

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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Episode 1, "A New Day," Season 3, The Good Wife March 20, 2012

By Kate McMurry TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Update 1/11/13: I wrote this review for the first episode only, at the beginning of Season 3 when the DVD set for the season was not available. Amazon since cross-posted this review under the reviews for the whole season, so it appears as if I wrote two reviews for Season 3, which I actually did not. On to the review for Episode 1:

This show remains consistently high quality! Season 3 gets off to an exciting start with this initial episode titled, "A New Day."

Coming off of all the struggles of Season 2, Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) has emerged as much more confident in herself both as a woman and as an attorney at Lockhart/Gardner.

In her personal life, Alicia has left her husband Peter Florrick (Chris Noth) after finding out he had a one-night stand years ago with Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjaba), the firm's private investigator. In spite of the fact that Kalinda did not know Alicia then, this explosive revelation makes it impossible for Alicia to be anywhere near Kalinda without feeling an overwhelming urge to scream at her friend or burst into tears--which is a real problem since they have to work together on cases at Lockhart/Gardner.

Kalinda, who normally is a really tough nut, is shown at the end of Season 2 visibly heartbroken over losing her friendship with Alicia, which was one of the closest she'd ever had. On the heels of what Alicia sees as a double betrayal, she has kicked Peter out of their apartment and dumped him and his possessions into an apartment she got for him. As apparent retaliation, Peter, who just got re-elected to his old office as State's Attorney, strictly because of Alicia's high-profile loyalty and support during his campaign, at the end of Season 2 hires Cary Agos (Matt Czuchry) to be his second-in-command.... Cary has been Alicia's enemy since Season 1 when she beat him out for an associate position at Lockhart/Gardner.

Alicia has begun talks with Lockhart/Gardner's barracuda divorce attorney, David Lee (the immensely talented Zach Grenier), and launched a torrid affair with Will Gardner (Josh Charles). For multiple reasons, Alicia and Will opt to keep their affair top secret: he is her boss, she is still legally married to Peter, and she doesn't want her kids to know about the affair.

On a professional front in this episode, Alicia takes the lead when the firm opts to defend a Muslim college student accused of assaulting a Jewish student during a campus brawl. Initially the case seems like a slam dunk for Alicia because no physical evidence exists to link their client to the crime, and Kalinda discovers a photo that offers an alibi for their client. Alicia is also convinced that the State's Attorney's office's hate-crime charge against her client is simply Peter showboating for the news media during his first week back in office. Then Cary and his prosecution team reveal their true plan--the same evidence that exonerates Alicia's client from the assault may implicate him as the primary suspect in a murder investigation.

This show does a great job every week (both for this first episode and all the other episodes of this season and the previous two seasons) of offering interesting cases for Lockhart/Gardner to represent. The writers keep these cases enthralling to viewers by offering spicy--and sometimes humorous--conflicts for the lawyers such as client chicanery to be worked around, in-house rivalries threatening to torpedo the success of a given case, or mysteries for the ruthlessly capable Kalinda to solve in order to prove a client's innocence or win a case. In addition, whatever the overarching legal plot, it always deftly intertwines with the many personal-relationship subplots occurring every week. Each of the characters is linked to multiple other characters in an ever spreading web of secrets, lies and conniving, but the show's highly talented writers (Michelle and Robert King) never drop any threads or cross the line into outright soapiness, which so much of nighttime drama seems to inevitably end up doing. Read more ›

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great TV show!

I really enjoy the Good Wife series. Looking forward to the new season starting up. I started watching the series on Amazon and now I am up to speed for the new season. :D

Published 20 hours ago by D. L. Heath

5.0 out of 5 stars Again - Love it

I like all of these. They have many characters that are very well developed. The actors are terrific. Keep em coming

Published 1 day ago by angcan