Damages

Tonight at 10pm, FX will air the first season finale of what is easily the best show from the last three months. When Damages, the Glenn Close legal thriller, first premiered, I sang its praises because the pilot was near perfect, brilliantly setting up the labyrinthine plots that played out over the first season. Though the subsequent episodes lagged a bit, around mid-season the show hit its stride, delivering powerful performances and top-notch storytelling.

Despite mediocre ratings, the critical respect has been more than enough to let FX know that a second season is worth it. While jumping in at the last minute may be impossible for new viewers, when it comes on DVD, the complex narrative will likely become easier to follow as you spend a weekend (or perhaps a single day), watching the travails of Patty Hewes (Close).

Damages revolves around Hewes' firm trying to take down CEO Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson), a man who stole the money of his employees much like the CEOs did at Enron. The whole case turns on a single weekend on Florida, which included a mystery man named Gregory Malina and his one-night stand, Katie Connor, who just happens to be the future sister-in-law of Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), the newest acquisition to the staff of Hewes and Associates.

This is not just a coincidence, and it's difficult to discuss much of the plot of season 1 without ruining some truly delightful surprises. The joy of the show is that alliances shift, character change, and you're never quite sure who's who. On top of the legal thriller, the entire season is told in flashbacks, because in the first episode we learn that David Connor is dead, and his fiancée Ellen is arrested for the crime.

The flashbacks begin six months prior, and despite acting with Glenn Close, Byrne shows unbelievable talent as we see how a meek, naïve lawyer can become a hardened woman who seems largely unfazed in a jail cell.  This is just one of the many excellent performances on the show, though special attention should be paid to Danson as the self-centered CEO and the brilliant character actor Zeljko Ivanek as his lawyer.  Both men bring added dimensions to their characters, and for Danson, mostly known for his work on Cheers, it is a career high.

Tonight's finale promises to deliver plenty of answers. Who killed David? What will happen with Frobisher's case? Who is working for who, and who is bad and who is good? If you haven't seen Damages, do yourself a favor and seek it how. Download it from iTunes, or just wait for the DVD. If you want to become entangled in a complex mystery without having to wait three or four seasons for some sort of closure or resolution, Damages is for you.


-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of FX)