What has taken me so long to watch Damages?

Posted by Dan September 26th, 2008 at 12:01pm In Damages

There’s a whole world out there beyond the networks — you know this. There are a hell of a lot of new original programs on cable, some of which are damn good. However, there are way too many to keep up with — especially the new brand of “woman of a certain age” dramas.

Then there’s FX’s Damages, which recently gleaned two surprise Emmys (by my standards) for Glenn Close and Zeljko Ivanek. If you ask me, they were well earned (even though Michael Emerson from Lost should get his due before the show ends).

Even though I’m not fully through season one (for all I know there’s some sort of awful deus ex machina — but I doubt it), I must insist you all watch it. The first season is out on DVD, so you can take a sick day, hunker down in your PJs, put on a cucumber mask and get ready to see some high-quality, superbly-paced legal thriller. This is no basic cable Grisham.

I’ll give you the basics to whet your appetite. The first episode features Ellen Parsons, a porcelain-faced, superstar rookie lawyer, in an elevator. She’s covered with blood.  Someone’s clearly been killed.

That’s when they start messing with you. Flashback to several months earlier — law firms court Ellen to be their bright young star. This includes Patty Hewes (although Hewes and Associates is enough of a big deal that they don’t really have to chase anyone to get who they want).

Hewes is in the middle of an intense legal battle representing the former employees of Arthur Frobisher, played by a white-haired Ted Danson. Frobisher is a multi-gazillionaire who made even more gazillions by dumping his company stock just before it tanked.

Suffice to say, all of these things are connected. The corporate crime, the ingenue covered in blood, the steely litigator. It’s too much to explain in one post and more satisfying to watch play out in the nutso pilot.

One of the most refreshing parts about Damages is the fact that the characters aren’t predictable. They’re types, but they’re not lazy caricatures. Glenn Close is a pit bull (please, don’t let that woman distract you when I use that term), but she’s not invincible or completely soulless (mostly soulless, maybe). Frobisher is a powerful corporate criminal, but he’s also a huge softie and a petulant child. Fisk, his attorney (played by Ivanek), is particularly conflicted as the man who does Frobisher’s dirty work — the guilt eats him from the inside out.

The best part about Damages, and the reason I keep watching it until I fall asleep at night, is that the tension is excellently delivered. The scenes shot in the present day, a grim series of scenes shot on grainy film, divulge just enough juicy morsels every episode to change your entire perception of what has happened so far in the series.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the performances, which are pretty excellent all around. Glenn Close is psychotically awesome as the shark-like Patty Hewes — she’s got this icy stare that doesn’t give a damn thing away. Even Ted Danson is pretty great as Frobisher — it’s a far cry from the loveable barkeep Sam Malone, which every associates him with.

So, yeah. Get Damages on DVD and make a weekend out of it.  Don’t consume in moderation — swallow it whole.