Bang (The Good Wife)
Encyclopedia
"Bang" is the fifteenth episode of the first season
of the American legal drama television series The Good Wife. It originally aired on CBS
in the United States on March 2, 2010. In the episode, ex States Attorney Peter Florrick (Chris Noth
) is released from prison to his home. He is confined by house arrest and starts working on restarting his legal career. His wife Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies
) has conflicted emotions about his return and distracts herself with a legal case, in which she defends a man of killing a mutual fund manager who assisted in Bernard Madoff
's investment scandal
.
The episode was written by co-producer and staff writer Courtney Kemp Agboh and directed by Rod Holcomb
. "Bang" included guest appearances by actors Alan Cumming
and Gary Cole
. Cole plays a forensics expert with a country persona and a strong set of ethics, while Cumming plays a cutthroat political operative several commentators said closely resembled White House Chief of Staff
Rahm Emanuel
. The opening scene of "Bang", in which Peter returns home to his family, was planned to be the final scene of the series if the first season was unsuccessful and additional episodes were not ordered.
"Bang" received generally positive reviews, with several critics complimenting the ensemble performances, as well as Cole and actress Christine Baranski
. According to Nielsen Media Research
, the episode was seen by 13.3 million viewers , a 13 percent drop from the previous episode. It was the 15th most watched television program the week it first aired.
) returns home to an emotional reunion with his children, Zach (Graham Phillips
) and Grace (Makenzie Vega
), while his wife Alicia (Julianna Margulies
) looks on. Peter had been imprisoned for several months after being convicted of charges of corruption. He is allowed to return home under house arrest while his appeal is considered. Peter must wear an ankle monitor
and cannot leave the apartment or communicate with the outside world. Alicia is uncomfortable about Peter's return because of his infidelity, which was exposed at the time of his conviction.
Zach shows Peter incriminating photos he had been hiding from Alicia, which are doctored to show Peter being unfaithful. Zach intercepted the photos when they were anonymously delivered to the Florrick residence. Zach also shows Peter a photo he secretly took of a man bugging the Florrick apartment entranceway. Peter hires hardened and blunt political operative Eli Gold (Alan Cumming
) to assist in the appeal. Gold recognizes the man as a federal investigator and informs Peter he is under investigation by the FBI
. Peter reveals to Alicia that Zach hid the photos from her to spare her feelings.
Because of Peter's imprisonment Alicia, a lawyer herself, is working as a junior associate at a law firm. Alicia serves as second chair for senior partner Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski
) in a murder trial. Their client, Brad Broussard (Tom Degnan), is charged with shooting Miles Wagner. Wagner was an unpopular mutual fund manager who defrauded Broussard and many other out of their life savings by assisting in Bernard Madoff
's investment scandal
. Broussard was found covered in blood next to Wagner's body, but insists on his innocence. Diane consults ballistics expert Kurt McVeigh (Gary Cole
), a mustachioed country man with a strict principle that he will not work if the client is guilty. Kurt testifies that Wagner was shot inside a car despite being found on the floor. Wagner's partner, Martin Knox (Kevin O'Rourke), had a strong financial motive to kill Wagner. Knox's wife, Rachel (Geraldine Hughes), strongly dislikes her husband and is willing to implicate him, but is bound by spousal privilege laws. Alicia discovers a conspiracy tactic that will allow Rachel to testify, and Broussard is vindicated and set free. The firm's investigator Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi) visits FBI agent Lana Davenport (Jill Flint
) inquiring about the investigation into Peter. Davenport asks Kalinda to feed her information about Peter, but Kalinda declines.
"Bang" was written by Courtney Kemp Agboh and directed by Rod Holcomb
. The writers based the episode on the Ponzi scheme
orchestrated by Bernard Madoff, who was sentenced to prison in 2009 after pleading guilty to defrauding thousands of clients out of billions of dollars with an investor fraud scheme. The anger expressed by onlookers at the Miles Wagner trial in The Good Wife reflected the passionate emotions the real-life Madoff scandal envoked. "Bang" featured guest appearances by actors Alan Cumming and Gary Cole. Some commentators suggested Cummings' character, Eli Gold, was based on White House Chief of Staff
Rahm Emanuel
. Both are political operatives from Chicago
noted for bullying tactics and their use of foul language.
If The Good Wife had not been successful and the first season was not renewed beyond its first 13 episodes, creators Robert and Michelle King planned to end their final episode with a scene in which Peter returns home and greets his emotionally conflicted wife; because the season was continued, it ultimately became the opening scene of "Bang". Robert King said he considered using it as a final scene because, "You would never have wanted to end it where it would be such a conclusion that everyone’s satisfied, because that’s not Alicia’s life. Alicia’s life is filled with questions." Chris Noth said now that Peter is back home, much of the rest of the season will focus on whether Alicia can forgive his past infidelity, adding, "I don't know if they'll be able to recover or not. That's part of the ongoing drama."
lawyer character in the 1972 Mafia film The Godfather
, which is itself based on a Mario Puzo
novel of the same name
. In turn, Gold disparagingly refers to Poole as a "Shiksa Bambi", a reference to the title character of the 1942 Disney animated film Bambi
, about a naive deer
unaccustomed to the realities and horrors of the real world. Kurt McVeigh's country mannerisms and dress prompt Diane to refer to him as the Marlboro Man
, a cowboy-like figure used in tobacco advertisements for Marlboro cigarettes. Upon learning about his morals, Diane said he was like something out of a novel by Herman Melville
, the 19th century novelist who wrote Moby-Dick
and Billy Budd
. She also jokingly asks whether Kurt is related to Timothy McVeigh
, the man convicted of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
, by saying: "Oh my goodness what an unfortunate name. Hopefully no relation." Diane, a liberal, is taken aback by the conservative Kurt's enthusiasm for Sarah Palin
, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee. As a joke, Kurt sends her a copy of Palin's 2009 memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life
. She in turn sends him the parody book Going Rouge: A Candid Look Inside The Mind Of Political Conservative Sarah Palin, which is filled with empty pages.
in the United States on March 2, 2010, marking the first episode of The Good Wife in three weeks after a break due to the 2010 Winter Olympics
. At the same time, it was simulcast on the Global Television Network
in Canada. The episode aired on NET 5
in the Netherlands
on April 2, 2010. The day following its American broadcast, "Bang" was made available for download at the digitial media store iTunes
.
. It marked a 13 percent drop in viewership from the previous original episode. Commentators suggested The Good Wife suffered slightly in the ratings due to the NBC
debut of Parenthood
, which premiered in the same timeslot to 8.1 million viewers in the 18 to 49 age group. "Bang" was the 15th most watched television program the week it first aired. It received a 2.7 rating/8 share among viewers between 18 and 49.
The episode received generally positive reviews. Jeremy Gerard of Bloomberg L.P.
said the episode continues to maintain "with considerable grace" a strong balance between legal and domestic drama. Gerard also praised the performances of Cumming, Margulies and Panjabi. Mandi Bierly particularly praised the sexual tension between Alicia and Will, calling their moment together "one of the sexiest scenes between two non-touching people wearing suits ever". USA Today
television critic Robert Bianco said the Broussard murder plot was "unusually weak", but praised the performances of Cumming, Cole and Baranski, who she said was turning Diane from a two-dimensional mean boss into an "appealingly complicated, generally admirable character". Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel
called it "another outstanding episode" and particularly praised the scenes between Baranski and Cole. The Cincinnati Enquirer
described it as a "pivotal episode" due to Peter's return home from jail, and listed it as a "must see" show.
Los Angeles Times
writer Meredith Blake praised the episode, particularly the chemistry between Diane and Gary, which she called the "most amusing plotline" of the episode. Blake also complimented Alan Cummings' performance and the sexual tension between Will and Alicia. Philadelphia Daily News
television critic Ellen Gray said the homecoming between Peter and Alicia was satisfying, as was the chemistry between Alicia and Will. Gray praised the performances of Cumming and particularly Noth, who he said "manages to command attention whenever he's onscreen". NewsBusters, a blog by the Media Research Center
that responds to perceived liberal biases in television and news programs, cited Diane's gift of a Palin parody book to Kurt as a biased political attack. David Horowitz
, a conservative writer and policy advocate, said the episode was fairly balanced and actually portrayed the liberal Diane in a far less flattering light than the conservative Kurt. Horowitz wrote of Baker's criticism, "Every once in a while, they are straining so hard to find the fly droppings in the pepper, that that’s all they see."
The Good Wife (season 1)
The first season of The Good Wife first began to air on September 22, 2009 and finished on May 25, 2010. It consisted of 23 episodes.-Main:*Julianna Margulies – Alicia Florrick*Matt Czuchry – Cary Agos*Archie Panjabi – Kalinda Sharma...
of the American legal drama television series The Good Wife. It originally aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in the United States on March 2, 2010. In the episode, ex States Attorney Peter Florrick (Chris Noth
Chris Noth
Christopher David "Chris" Noth is an American actor. He is known for long-running television roles as Det. Mike Logan on the police procedural and legal drama television series, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and as Big on Sex and the City. For the latter role, he has been...
) is released from prison to his home. He is confined by house arrest and starts working on restarting his legal career. His wife Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
) has conflicted emotions about his return and distracts herself with a legal case, in which she defends a man of killing a mutual fund manager who assisted in Bernard Madoff
Bernard Madoff
Bernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff is a former American businessman, stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier. He is the former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, and the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered to be the largest financial fraud in U.S...
's investment scandal
Madoff investment scandal
The Madoff investment scandal broke in December 2008 when former NASDAQ chairman Bernard Madoff admitted that the wealth management arm of his business was an elaborate Ponzi scheme....
.
The episode was written by co-producer and staff writer Courtney Kemp Agboh and directed by Rod Holcomb
Rod Holcomb
Rod Holcomb is an American television director and producer. He has directed episodes of television series such as Quincy, M.E., The Six Million Dollar Man, Battlestar Galactica, Fantasy Island, The A-Team , ER, The District, The Lyon's Den, Lost, Invasion, Moonlight, Shark, The Pentagon Papers,...
. "Bang" included guest appearances by actors Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
and Gary Cole
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
. Cole plays a forensics expert with a country persona and a strong set of ethics, while Cumming plays a cutthroat political operative several commentators said closely resembled White House Chief of Staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...
. The opening scene of "Bang", in which Peter returns home to his family, was planned to be the final scene of the series if the first season was unsuccessful and additional episodes were not ordered.
"Bang" received generally positive reviews, with several critics complimenting the ensemble performances, as well as Cole and actress Christine Baranski
Christine Baranski
Christine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
. According to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, the episode was seen by 13.3 million viewers , a 13 percent drop from the previous episode. It was the 15th most watched television program the week it first aired.
Plot
Ex-State's Attorney Peter Florrick (Chris NothChris Noth
Christopher David "Chris" Noth is an American actor. He is known for long-running television roles as Det. Mike Logan on the police procedural and legal drama television series, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and as Big on Sex and the City. For the latter role, he has been...
) returns home to an emotional reunion with his children, Zach (Graham Phillips
Graham Phillips (actor)
Graham David Phillips is an American actor and singer.-Personal life:Phillips was born in Laguna Beach, California. During his K-9 school years he attended St...
) and Grace (Makenzie Vega
Makenzie Vega
-Personal life:Vega was born in Los Angeles, California to a Colombian father and an American mother. She is the younger sister of actress Alexa Vega. Vega currently lives in New York with her mother Gina Rue , and three siblings...
), while his wife Alicia (Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
) looks on. Peter had been imprisoned for several months after being convicted of charges of corruption. He is allowed to return home under house arrest while his appeal is considered. Peter must wear an ankle monitor
Ankle monitor
An ankle monitor is a device that individuals under house arrest are often required to wear. At timed intervals, the ankle monitor sends a radio frequency signal containing location and other information to a receiver. If an offender moves outside of an allowed range, the police will be notified...
and cannot leave the apartment or communicate with the outside world. Alicia is uncomfortable about Peter's return because of his infidelity, which was exposed at the time of his conviction.
Zach shows Peter incriminating photos he had been hiding from Alicia, which are doctored to show Peter being unfaithful. Zach intercepted the photos when they were anonymously delivered to the Florrick residence. Zach also shows Peter a photo he secretly took of a man bugging the Florrick apartment entranceway. Peter hires hardened and blunt political operative Eli Gold (Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
) to assist in the appeal. Gold recognizes the man as a federal investigator and informs Peter he is under investigation by the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
. Peter reveals to Alicia that Zach hid the photos from her to spare her feelings.
Because of Peter's imprisonment Alicia, a lawyer herself, is working as a junior associate at a law firm. Alicia serves as second chair for senior partner Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski
Christine Baranski
Christine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
) in a murder trial. Their client, Brad Broussard (Tom Degnan), is charged with shooting Miles Wagner. Wagner was an unpopular mutual fund manager who defrauded Broussard and many other out of their life savings by assisting in Bernard Madoff
Bernard Madoff
Bernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff is a former American businessman, stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier. He is the former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, and the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered to be the largest financial fraud in U.S...
's investment scandal
Madoff investment scandal
The Madoff investment scandal broke in December 2008 when former NASDAQ chairman Bernard Madoff admitted that the wealth management arm of his business was an elaborate Ponzi scheme....
. Broussard was found covered in blood next to Wagner's body, but insists on his innocence. Diane consults ballistics expert Kurt McVeigh (Gary Cole
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
), a mustachioed country man with a strict principle that he will not work if the client is guilty. Kurt testifies that Wagner was shot inside a car despite being found on the floor. Wagner's partner, Martin Knox (Kevin O'Rourke), had a strong financial motive to kill Wagner. Knox's wife, Rachel (Geraldine Hughes), strongly dislikes her husband and is willing to implicate him, but is bound by spousal privilege laws. Alicia discovers a conspiracy tactic that will allow Rachel to testify, and Broussard is vindicated and set free. The firm's investigator Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi) visits FBI agent Lana Davenport (Jill Flint
Jill Flint
Jill Flint is an American actress, best known for her role of Jill Casey in USA Network's series Royal Pains.-Career:Flint has appeared in several feature films, most recently in Cadillac Records with Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright and Beyonce Knowles, and The Women, alongside stars Meg Ryan, Annette...
) inquiring about the investigation into Peter. Davenport asks Kalinda to feed her information about Peter, but Kalinda declines.
Production
Rod Holcomb
Rod Holcomb is an American television director and producer. He has directed episodes of television series such as Quincy, M.E., The Six Million Dollar Man, Battlestar Galactica, Fantasy Island, The A-Team , ER, The District, The Lyon's Den, Lost, Invasion, Moonlight, Shark, The Pentagon Papers,...
. The writers based the episode on the Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
orchestrated by Bernard Madoff, who was sentenced to prison in 2009 after pleading guilty to defrauding thousands of clients out of billions of dollars with an investor fraud scheme. The anger expressed by onlookers at the Miles Wagner trial in The Good Wife reflected the passionate emotions the real-life Madoff scandal envoked. "Bang" featured guest appearances by actors Alan Cumming and Gary Cole. Some commentators suggested Cummings' character, Eli Gold, was based on White House Chief of Staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...
. Both are political operatives from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
noted for bullying tactics and their use of foul language.
If The Good Wife had not been successful and the first season was not renewed beyond its first 13 episodes, creators Robert and Michelle King planned to end their final episode with a scene in which Peter returns home and greets his emotionally conflicted wife; because the season was continued, it ultimately became the opening scene of "Bang". Robert King said he considered using it as a final scene because, "You would never have wanted to end it where it would be such a conclusion that everyone’s satisfied, because that’s not Alicia’s life. Alicia’s life is filled with questions." Chris Noth said now that Peter is back home, much of the rest of the season will focus on whether Alicia can forgive his past infidelity, adding, "I don't know if they'll be able to recover or not. That's part of the ongoing drama."
Cultural references
Poole refers to Eli Gold as a "wartime consigliere", a reference to the Tom HagenTom Hagen
Thomas "Tom" Feargal Hagen is a fictional character in the Godfather books and films. He was portrayed by Robert Duvall in the films. He is the informally adopted son of Don Vito Corleone and serves as the family lawyer and consigliere . Mild-mannered and soft-spoken, he often serves as a voice of...
lawyer character in the 1972 Mafia film The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
, which is itself based on a Mario Puzo
Mario Puzo
Mario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...
novel of the same name
The Godfather (novel)
The Godfather is a crime novel written by Italian American author Mario Puzo, originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. It details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family based in New York City and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia...
. In turn, Gold disparagingly refers to Poole as a "Shiksa Bambi", a reference to the title character of the 1942 Disney animated film Bambi
Bambi
Bambi is a 1942 American animated film directed by David Hand , produced by Walt Disney and based on the book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten...
, about a naive deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
unaccustomed to the realities and horrors of the real world. Kurt McVeigh's country mannerisms and dress prompt Diane to refer to him as the Marlboro Man
Marlboro Man
The Marlboro Man is a figure used in tobacco advertising campaign for Marlboro cigarettes. In the United States, where the campaign originated, it was used from 1954 to 1999. The Marlboro Man was first conceived by Leo Burnett in 1954. The image involves a rugged cowboy or cowboys, in nature with...
, a cowboy-like figure used in tobacco advertisements for Marlboro cigarettes. Upon learning about his morals, Diane said he was like something out of a novel by Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
, the 19th century novelist who wrote Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
and Billy Budd
Billy Budd
Billy Budd is a short novel by Herman Melville.Billy Budd can also refer to:*Billy Budd , a 1962 film produced, directed, and co-written by Peter Ustinov, based on Melville's novel...
. She also jokingly asks whether Kurt is related to Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
, the man convicted of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
, by saying: "Oh my goodness what an unfortunate name. Hopefully no relation." Diane, a liberal, is taken aback by the conservative Kurt's enthusiasm for Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee. As a joke, Kurt sends her a copy of Palin's 2009 memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life
Going Rogue: An American Life
Going Rogue: An American Life is a personal and political memoir of Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican candidate for U.S. Vice President. The book became a New York Times #1 bestseller in its first week of release, and remained there for six weeks...
. She in turn sends him the parody book Going Rouge: A Candid Look Inside The Mind Of Political Conservative Sarah Palin, which is filled with empty pages.
Distribution
"Bang" first aired on CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in the United States on March 2, 2010, marking the first episode of The Good Wife in three weeks after a break due to the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
. At the same time, it was simulcast on the Global Television Network
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
in Canada. The episode aired on NET 5
NET 5
NET 5 is a commercial TV channel in the Netherlands owned by Sanoma and Talpa Holding . Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are SBS6 and Veronica.- History :...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
on April 2, 2010. The day following its American broadcast, "Bang" was made available for download at the digitial media store iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Bang" was seen by 13.3 million viewers among adults between ages 18 and 49, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. It marked a 13 percent drop in viewership from the previous original episode. Commentators suggested The Good Wife suffered slightly in the ratings due to the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
debut of Parenthood
Parenthood (2010 TV series)
Parenthood is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Katims and produced by Imagine Television and Universal Media Studios. The first season premiered on March 2, 2010 on NBC...
, which premiered in the same timeslot to 8.1 million viewers in the 18 to 49 age group. "Bang" was the 15th most watched television program the week it first aired. It received a 2.7 rating/8 share among viewers between 18 and 49.
The episode received generally positive reviews. Jeremy Gerard of Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
said the episode continues to maintain "with considerable grace" a strong balance between legal and domestic drama. Gerard also praised the performances of Cumming, Margulies and Panjabi. Mandi Bierly particularly praised the sexual tension between Alicia and Will, calling their moment together "one of the sexiest scenes between two non-touching people wearing suits ever". USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
television critic Robert Bianco said the Broussard murder plot was "unusually weak", but praised the performances of Cumming, Cole and Baranski, who she said was turning Diane from a two-dimensional mean boss into an "appealingly complicated, generally admirable character". Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
called it "another outstanding episode" and particularly praised the scenes between Baranski and Cole. The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati (Ohio) and Northern Kentucky. The...
described it as a "pivotal episode" due to Peter's return home from jail, and listed it as a "must see" show.
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
writer Meredith Blake praised the episode, particularly the chemistry between Diane and Gary, which she called the "most amusing plotline" of the episode. Blake also complimented Alan Cummings' performance and the sexual tension between Will and Alicia. Philadelphia Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News
The Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The newspaper is owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Daily News began publishing on March 31, 1925, under...
television critic Ellen Gray said the homecoming between Peter and Alicia was satisfying, as was the chemistry between Alicia and Will. Gray praised the performances of Cumming and particularly Noth, who he said "manages to command attention whenever he's onscreen". NewsBusters, a blog by the Media Research Center
Media Research Center
The Media Research Center is a content analysis organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, founded in 1987 by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III...
that responds to perceived liberal biases in television and news programs, cited Diane's gift of a Palin parody book to Kurt as a biased political attack. David Horowitz
David Horowitz
David Joel Horowitz is an American conservative writer and policy advocate. Horowitz was raised by parents who were both members of the American Communist Party. Between 1956 and 1975, Horowitz was an outspoken adherent of the New Left before rejecting Marxism completely...
, a conservative writer and policy advocate, said the episode was fairly balanced and actually portrayed the liberal Diane in a far less flattering light than the conservative Kurt. Horowitz wrote of Baker's criticism, "Every once in a while, they are straining so hard to find the fly droppings in the pepper, that that’s all they see."
External links
- "Bang" at CBS.comCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...