Damages - Season 1 [DVD] [2008]

This is easily the best new TV series so far in 2008. A legal thriller, this show brings back memories of Murder One although it's darker and more twisted. We start with the current time, showing a terrified and broken young lawyer being interrogated for murder. We then go back in time to find out how she arrived at this position, centering on a high profile legal case she was working on. Each episode shows more of how the case evolved and what happened on that fateful day. As the series progresses you are not sure who you should be routing for, how the characters are connected, or what actually happened that night. Full of twists and even some scary moments, I can't rate this series highly enough. In addition it is brilliantly acted especially by Glenn Close (which is somewhat expected) but also by Ted Danson - if you've only seen him in Cheers or Curb Your Enthusiasm, you'll be genuinely surprised by his performance. A brilliant show. I just hope it ends well and that there is another series!

I was split between giving this three and four stars, because it starts off so well... and then tended to go downhill.

Firstly, the pilot. Wow. This was so tightly written. From that first minute it had me enthralled as to what was going on. Starting at the end, with a murder, then going back six months to see how it unfolds is genius.

Glenn Close in particular was enthralling as Patty Hewes, and Close embodied her with a quiet malevolence with the occasional glimmer of a softer side. But probably the star of the show, for me, is Zeljko Ivanek as Ray Fiske -- purely because he's one of the few characters that feels complicated, likeable and feels like he undergoes any form of emotional journey throughout the first season.

But after about episode 3, the pace starts to stall. Filler stories come in of family antics etc. One character faces leaving the law firm, and it adds nothing to the overall narrative. Now any show ever created tends to have arc plots and episode plots, so I feel bad criticising the show for this. But it was hard to stomach after the extremely focused storytelling of the first three episodes, and the attempts felt half-hearted.

The show then kind of stumbles towards the end, and does pick up some pace again in the last few episodes. And while there are some good plot twists towards the end, the main overall arc feels unsatisfactory. The revelations that have been dangled for the season weren't revelations at all, and some plot devices (such as a stalker story) just make the viewer feel cheated because they were obvious filler.

I think as a six episode season this could have been stunning. As it is, it has its highs and lows. It reminded me most of 24, and I think fans of that show will probably like this. At the price it is, I'd still highly recommend watching it. You could certainly do a lot worse for 13 episodes of TV.

I watched all thirteen episodes of this drama within four days. The perfomances of the main actors, Glenn Close (as the hard as nails Lawyer), Rose Byrne (the new recruit to her firm) and Ted Danson (the wealthy chief exective they are chasing with a damages claim) are all excellent. The suspense level is maintained throughout, helped by using a flashback style in reverse to tell the story. The bulk of the viewing is done showing the months leading up to the catastrophic finale. This is interspersed with later events leaving you following both the build up and the 'last chapter' at the same time until they meet near the end.
The story line follows a legal battle lead by Glenn Close's character Patty Hewes representing over 5000 former employees cheated out of their savings and pensions by former boss Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson). With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake both sides will do anything it takes to gain or protect the fortune. The twists and turns continually make you unsure of who's the 'goodie' and whose the 'baddie', whose telling the truth, lying etc.
Watching on DVD allows you the obvious advantage of watching this drama at your own pace, essential as you won't be wanting to wait a week between episodes.