Guest Star Goodness: The Good Wife, “Net Worth” and “Silver Bullet” 

Over the past two weeks (and actually for most of the series so far), we’ve had an awesome parade of guest stars on The Good Wife. I have to commend the casting department for this show. I feel like every single role is cast with so much thought and so much care. Sometimes the name or prestige of a particular actor can overshadow the role or the show. I don’t think we’ve even come close to that yet and I don’t think we ever will. The focus always remains on Alicia and everyone in her orbit and that’s the only way it should be. But I would like to highlight some remarkable guest stars from the past two episodes.

In “Net Worth,” Diane is given what looks like a loser by her old friend Rita Wilson‘s Viola Walsh. Diane agrees to take the case as a favor. When Diane actually starts winning, Viola swoops into town and berates her old friend for not falling into line. Viola made it clear this case was a loser. Why can’t Diane understand that? When the client fires Viola, it’s shocking and rewarding all at the same time. Viola does have some hurtful, choice words for Diane though. Maybe Diane really is changing (for the better).

It’s been quite some time since Rita Wilson has done TV. As far as I can tell, her last small screen appearance was in 2003 on My Big Fat Greek Life. In 2001 she guested on Curb Your Enthusiasm. I’d love to see her do more television. I enjoyed her in this role.

F. Murray Abraham‘s Burl Preston just wants to be Will’s friend and it quickly becomes apparent why. He’s looking for Lockhart Gardner to lose this case quickly so he can get back to his vacation house. Everyone knows the case is a loser (except Will and Diane). It is so satisfying when they get a $35 million settlement and without even going before a judge.

Any time you can entine an Oscar winner to work with you, I’m impressed. I loved him in Amadeus and if you haven’t seen the movie you need to put it in your netflix queue immediately. F. Murray Abraham has only done a handful of tv series in the past few years. Aside from The Good Wife, he’s also guested on Bored to Death and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

In “Silver Bullet,” Eli has found the smoking gun that will bring Wendy Scott-Carr’s campaign to an end. She employed a nanny who was in the country illegally. But when Eli goes to meet that nanny, America Ferrera‘s Natalie Flores, she isn’t even remotely what he expects. In fact, he’s attracted to her. And even more than that, Eli’s hesitant to publicize this information now. He doesn’t want to see Natalie deported. Does our Eli have a conscience? I like it. But more than that, I like seeing America Ferrera back on the small screen. I was nervous when I heard she was cast as Eli’s love interest but they work. I believe their chemistry and I know America Ferrera is around for a few more episodes. I’m really curious to see where this goes.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (by the way, have you seen that Geico commerical. It cracks me up every time), you know America Ferrera from Ugly Betty. The only other tv she’s done is a few guesting spots on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Touched By An Angel.

I love it when Gary Cole‘s Kurt McVeigh comes to town. Not only can he be relied upon to send Diane into a tizzy (in a good way), but he’s such an interesting character. I love that he and Diane are so different and I love their relationship. It’s fun to see Diane’s feathers get ruffled but she gives as good as she gets. I hope this isn’t the last we see of Kurt. That would be a tragedy.

Gary Cole has been pretty active on the small screen. You might recognize his voice from Family Guy or Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated and you’ll definitely recognize him from shows like The Good Guys, The Closer, Entourage, and Desperate Housewives. Someone give this guy his own series already. I’d watch it and I think you would too.

I like that Diane won’t be pushed around by anybody these days, much less Dennis Boutsikaris’s Tommy Segara. They’re old friends but no for long after this case. Diane takes a stand against Tommy and her client. She won’t back down just because his client his greedy. The man is guilty and should be happy he’s not in jail.

You may be asking yourself where you know Dennis Boutsikaris from. He looks very familiar to me but I needed some help from imdb.com to figure out what he’s been up to recently. Turns out he’s extremely active on the small screen. Most recently he’s been on Shameless, Outlaw, House, Grey’s Anatomy, and Medium. I could go on and on but he’s done so much television it would be overwhelming. I’ll just say this: I’m glad he’s had such a long and varied TV career. He was great as Tommy Segara and I hope to see him again soon in a guesting role on any one of my other favorite shows.

And finally, we’ve got Sarah Steele‘s Melissa Gold. She wasn’t on screen very long but she made a strong impression on me. Most importantly, she established that Eli is a divorced father who is struggling to be a good father. I loved their scenes together, especially when she warns her dad to practice safe sex. How embarrassing and how precious. I really hope we see Melissa Gold again. She does wonderful things for Eli. And she can hold her own against him, which is hard for a lot of people to do.

I most recently remember Sarah Steele from Please Give, but you may recognize her from TV’s Gossip Girl or Law & Order: Criminal Intent, or Law & Order. I’d love to see more of her on the small screen. I hope her features schedule will allow it.