"Damages" (2007) TV series 2007-????

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Creators:

Glenn Kessler
Todd A. Kessler
Daniel Zelman

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Win at all costs.

Plot:

Bright and sharp law school graduate Ellen Parsons becomes the protégée of the successful and hard-hitting high stakes litigator Patricia Hewes. But nothing is what it seems.

Plot Keywords:

Law | Female Lead | Trial | Murder | Female Lawyer

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 26 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15	12:02 AM	FX	I Hate These People	#1.11
Sun. Nov. 22	12:00 AM	FX	There's No We Anymore

Cast

Glenn Close	...	Patty Hewes (26 episodes, 2007-2009)
Rose Byrne	...	Ellen Parsons (26 episodes, 2007-2009)
Tate Donovan	...	Tom Shayes (26 episodes, 2007-2009)
Anastasia Griffith	...	Katie Connor (22 episodes, 2007-2009)
Ted Danson	...	Arthur Frobisher (19 episodes, 2007-2009)
Michael Nouri	...	Phil Grey (17 episodes, 2007-2009)
Zachary Booth	...	Michael Hewes (16 episodes, 2007-2009)
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Ray Fiske (15 episodes, 2007-2009)
Noah Bean	...	David Connor (14 episodes, 2007-2009)
Glenn Kessler	...	Agent L.J. Werner / ... (14 episodes, 2007-2009)
David Costabile	...	Detective Rick Messer / ... (14 episodes, 2007-2009)
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Claire Maddox (13 episodes, 2009)
Timothy Olyphant	...	Wes Krulik (13 episodes, 2009)
William Hurt	...	Daniel Purcell (13 episodes, 2009)
Tom Aldredge	...	Uncle Pete / ... (11 episodes, 2007-2009)
Philip Bosco	...	Hollis Nye (11 episodes, 2007-2009)
Mario Van Peebles	...	Agent Randall Harrison / ... (11 episodes, 2007-2009)

Also Known As:

Glenn Close TV Project (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-MA | Australia:M | Singapore:M18 (season 1) | South Korea:18 | Hungary:16 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

FX Productions

Trivia:

Uncle Pete refers to every day above ground being a "Pyyrhic victory". Ancient Greek king Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated the Romans at Heralcea in 280 b.c., but at the cost of a great number of his own troops. Afterward, he is said to have remarked, "Another such victory would be the end of me", hence the expression ascribed to any victory or benefit gained at great personal expense.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Office: Dream Team (#5.20)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

When I Am Through With You

I'm addicted to Damages!

No doubt that this show is one of the best ones I've seen in years, not for the story itself since it's not so probable to happen in real life for dirtier the legal world can be, but yes for the way that it's told and mainly for the performances. Glenn Close, what can we tell about her? For sure she's ALWAYS mesmerizing and particularly in this show she's frightening terrific. I also agree to think that it's a waste of talent see an actress like her having to work in a TV show, but at the same time a thank god for being able to watch a show like this one casting an actress like her. Rose Byrne is great and a lot convincing, I already knew her for some previous works and she's really talented. Ted Danson works perfectly as the pathetic Mr. Frobisher and it's being great to see Tate Donovan working in something interesting again instead of wasting his time in TV shows like The O.C.

During the 5th episode of 1st season, Patty Hewes says to Ellen Parsons to trust no one. The show is ALL about this sentence because everything here is a secret, no one is reliable and nothing is what it seems. All the elements for a good crime/thriller show are there. Some clichés exist but they are important for the entertaining. The first season was a smash delivering all the greatest things that a TV show like this one should have and its finale was something that really did the audience expect the 2nd season enthusiastically. After more than an year of waiting, 2nd season finally had its premiere and it was awesome the new and undefined plot that was presented, but as new episodes were coming things were more confusing than being just an interesting puzzle to a point that audience was not being an active part trying to discover what really happened together with the characters, but just a passive one being deceived all the time, losing what made 1st season so special. So, I think that 2nd season failed a lot trying to exceed the 1st season tricky interesting qualities and its finale was something kinda strange, giving absurd explanations for things that could be far better if explained in a simpler way according to what episodes were guiding the audience during entire season. So, I hope things get different for 3rd season.

So, even thinking that 2nd season failed a lot in a bunch of aspects, I still give the show 9 stars most for its first season and, of course, the performances that, I repeat, are more than just performances, are outstanding performances.