You've come a long way, baby.

I review a lot of pilots on this blog, but after that, generally only a handful of shows get regular mentions. This doesn't mean that other shows aren't as awesome, it usually means they just aren't as controversial (I've been going toe-to-toe with you Shuckers out there for weeks) or as "holy hell, what just happened?" (Dollhouse, I'm looking in your direction). Well, there have been a slate of new shows this season that received tepid to fairly warm pilot reviews but have since turned into absolute, must-see, might need to cancel conflicting shows off my DVR, top tier, A-list loves of my life. Namely, The Good Wife, The Vampire Diaries, and White Collar.

Let me count the ways...

...oh, and there are definitely SPOILERS below for those who aren't caught up on these shows, so tread lightly and read at your own risk...

THE GOOD WIFE

I quite enjoyed the pilot for The Good Wife, but never dreamed it would be anything but a second tier moderate pleasure. I'm beyond thrilled to report that it should really be renamed The Insanely Entertaining, Thoroughly Awesome Wife. Seriously, each episode is better than the last and the tension between Alicia and her philandering, lying, corrupt man-whore of a husband is getting more tacitly tense by the day. As far as I'm concerned, she should just divorce his sorry ass and be done with it, but the show does a really nice job making it clear that sometimes it's just not that simple. Julianna Marguiles (and no, I'm not going to check the spelling on that) simply sparkles and is able to anchor the show in a way I never would have thought possible. Not only is she spectacular on the show (her performance is powerful and nuanced and subtle and passionate all at once--very impressive), but everyone else on the show is superb as well. I wasn't sure how Kalinda would really fit into things at first, but she has turned into quite the little badass. The fact that she isn't catty and genuinely likes Alicia is such a nice change of pace. As much as I enjoy the stereotype that women are perpetual gossiping bitches, it's nice to have a brush with reality once in a while. I'm hearing the stellar newest addition to show, Alan Cumming, will be a series regular next season, so that'll be awesome. And Chris Noth does a great job as Alicia's waste of space husband Peter and I'm really enjoying the tension between them at home. Peter never really knows where he stands (the audience can't really tell either) and Alicia's distant coolness toward him is riveting.

But, as I think anyone who watches the show can agree, the most delectable aspect of the show (especially after the most recent episode titled "Heart") is the interplay between Alicia and her boss Will. Holy hell things have gotten good! The show very easily could have devolved into a soapy teenish drama, but it's all refreshingly adult and mature about relationships. The unrequited sexual tension between the pair has always been a big draw for me, but recently it's gotten edge-of-your-seat squee-worthy. Little things like one smiling at the other's accomplishments or telling each other what a great lawyer the other is (code for "I simply adore you") took a back seat in the last episode when Will kissed Alicia and she quite enthusiastically kissed him back. I wasn't sure how they would work as an actual pairing (sometimes the potential chemistry smolders and the actual chemistry flops), but their chemistry together is palpable and that kiss was pretty breath-taking (for the characters and viewers alike). That the kiss came during an emotionally draining legal case felt very organic for these characters and didn't make it feel forced or cheesy at all. Even if you saw it coming, the actual fall-out was one hell of a nail-biter. Alicia breaks away from the kiss with a frustrated "dammit!", takes off only to make it to her car and decide that she totally does want to sleep with Will (and who can blame her? I love Josh Charles) and more importantly, is willing to throw caution to the wind and go back up to his office... which he's no longer in. They have bad timing, always have. But yeah, if that weren't gah-worthy enough, an unsatisfied Alicia goes home and sleeps with her husband! Holy shit! This show is so great. It doesn't do what is expected and doesn't always give the audience what it wants, but always delivers in spades. I particularly liked the scene later when Will finds out she came back for him and then goes to talk to her. For all her posturing about it being wrong for the two of them to hook up, it was more than noticeable that none of her reasons revolved around Peter. In spite of sleeping with the slimey bastard, things all still quite rotten in the state of Florrick and Alicia literally shuts the door on Peter and the prospect of sharing the same bed with him at the end of the episode. Wow. Awesome.

And if that weren't enough, all the sexual underpinnings of the show are going on during a very complicated, well-plotted, and emotional court case. The show manages to fill a whole hell of a lot into just 44 minutes and somehow it never feels rushed or slapped together. I've never been a big fan of procedural A-plots, but The Good Wife does a hell of a job. The cases are always interesting and engaging, but most importantly, realistic. It's never the over the top, blustering, "You can't handle the truth!" ridiculousness of most legal shows and movies, but it's still totally enthralling. I can actually believe that these people are lawyers and that the cases they take could be real and the court proceedings could actually happen that way. It makes it easier to believe that these are people who happen to be lawyers rather than a show about lawyers who are sometimes people (a pitfall of most procedurals where the A-plot takes up 95% of every episode--no, thanks).

The Good Wife has turned into one of my favorite shows on television and I'd recommend it to just about anyone. Even if you don't think this would be up your alley, it very well might be. I'm continually amazed at the number of message board comments that start off with, "This may sound strange coming from a 21 year old guy, but I love this show!" As well you should, random dude. As well you should.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

Here we have a show that received a rather less than stellar review from me after the pilot, but which has turned into one of the best shows on the air. After the pilot, I was pretty underwhelmed with most aspects of the show (with the VERY notable exception of Ian Somerhalder's Damon). It took a few episodes to really get good, but after that? Oh my god, this show has become one of the most cliffhangery, well-paced (they dole out the goodies at just the right intervals), and exciting shows around.

It has rather cruelly been on hiatus for several weeks now, but it's finally coming back tonight after leaving us on one of the most insane revelations ever! SPOILER ALERT. Holy shit, after half a season of watching Damon pining for Katherine and desperately trying to open that damn tomb, he actually gets inside and... [bated breath] ...there's no Katherine! I did NOT see that coming! How insanely awesome a twist is that?! Although the thought of someone not wanting to be with the insanely hot and delightfully devilish Damon seems unfathomable, it makes for one hell of a wrench in the works and says a hell of a lot about Katherine herself. Somehow, it seems fitting that someone that callus and manipulative would be adored by someone like Damon. Oh, and if that weren't enough? The tomb didn't close and there are scads of hungry vamps who are hankering for a drink! Eeeee! I cannot wait to see where things go from here. Well done, show. Well done. A lesser show would have saved up that reveal for the season finale or some shit, but not The Vampire Diaries. Every week seems to have an awesome reveal, an unexpected reversal, or a mind-blowing twist. I'm completely sucked in and can't wait for each episode.

Along with the easy-on-the-eyeishness and overall awesomeness of Damon, the rest of the show's cast has really grown on me. Even seemingly annoying second string players like Caroline and Matt have me invested. I'm not all that intrigued by Jeremy, I must admit, but he certainly serves a purpose on the show and his increased suspicions about the town's, uh, wild animal attacks... yeah... should lead to some crazy things ahead. Stefan will never hold a place in my heart the same way that Damon does, but he's pretty easy to look at as well and the writers have finally given him more personality and more edge. Nina Dobrev (who plays Elena) doesn't have the greatest range as an actress, but she's pulling off the role with surprising aplomb. I am hopeful she really grows as an actress over the coming seasons though, because where we're headed, we'll need one hell of a female lead at the helm.

I'm also incredibly interested to get more backstory on the brothers Salvatore. The show does a great job with flashbacks and knows exactly how much information to give to be satisfying, but keep you wanting more. The flashbacks with Damon and Katherine are always enthralling and manage to give the viewer some much lusted after insight into Damon's tortured soul. Awesomeness squared. The progression of his friendship (soon to be romance?) with Elena is so much informed by his past that the flashbacks do so much more than just fill in a few blanks. They really flesh out the characters, their motivations, and point to what insanity is to come. Speaking of insanity, this show is totally willing to get violent, get racy, and kill people off with impunity. Nice. Most shows would backpedal or wuss out, but The Vampire Diaries keeps you on your toes whether you like it or not. Poor Vicki... Awesome death. Keep it coming, badass show. Keep it coming.

WHITE COLLAR

White Collar started off as a fun little caper, then kind of lost its footing, then really found its voice and tone toward the end of the first season. There were a number of episodes early on where I got the feeling the writers just weren't sure what to do with their own concept and didn't do enough research to be able to make storylines even a little authentic. Toward the end of the season, the episodes got so much better and the dynamic between the characters and the conceit finally started to gel.

One of my primary quibbles with the show (both then and now) is Kate. The fact that the audience doesn't know a thing about her, and most damningly, doesn't really care, makes watching Neal pining for her and getting into all sorts of unfortunate situations on her behalf irksome at best and illogical at least. Why does he care about this girl? If he's so invested in getting her back, why is he hitting on all those other women? I kept wishing Kate would be fleshed out in a way that would make me care, would be revealed as a bad guy (which the show kind of did--that's when things started to get a lot better--you know, with the uncertainty about her motives), or would just casually disappear. I actually quite like the character of Alex and love that she and Neal have a romantic history--a history that Kate had a big role in ruining no less. It was annoying that things with Alex couldn't really progress because we were still stuck with this mostly faceless albatross of a storyline hanging over Neal's head...

...and then the plane blew up... Hallelujah! I dare you to find any fan of this show that wasn't pleased with the thought of Kate being written off the show. I can see where the writers were going with the character and what they were trying to do with the story, but it just didn't materialize as anyone would have hoped. They should have done a better job establishing Kate as an actual person. When you don't care about someone, you don't really care about her motivations, her actions, or her sudden death. Who knows if she's actually dead or not (by all appearances, she should be, but I can see where that might have been a devious ploy of some sort), but I really hope the writers find a way to make this character's death (or life) work for the storyline better. Seriously, I couldn't even find a picture of Kate to include with this post. That's how much screen time she had...

In spite of my lack of concern for Kate, the show really turned into a fun little romp that was easy to watch (so long as you didn't ask too many questions). Logic has never been on White Collar's to-do list, and that's fine, but it was nice to see the final episodes making a good faith stab at stories that revolved around actual reality. The episode with the bottle was wonderful in large part because it had been so heavily researched. The show should really do more of that. At the end of the day though, all they really need is Matt Bomer's gorgeousness on the screen and I'll forgive just about anything. It's the primary reason I kept up with the show through some of the less successful episodes...

All in all, I'm a little surprised by how much this show grew on me. The second half of the season got a lot more exciting and starting putting the episodes together in more polished ways. I'm hopeful that trend continues because this show somehow found its way to my top tier and I'd like to keep it there.