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First Review: Damages

Shhh. I don’t want to speak too soon, but the Nine Network may have finally bought something worthwhile. Let’s face it, it’s been a crap year for the network, with an empty war chest of American product, while Seven has rolled around like a pig in poke. When Nine has had something decent –Sopranos, Weeds, Six Feet Under– they shuffled it off to a dead zone timeslot. Don’t even get me started on the disgraceful handling of the salacious Nip / Tuck.

So it is with considerable optimism that I hold my breath at another cable drama, Damages, in which Glenn Close has committed to the small screen. And it’s not hard to see why. Here she plays NY lawyer, Patty Hewes, a back-stabbing, malevolent litigator, seeking class-action compensation for the aggrieved employees of a “pump and dump” stock sale by Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson). Watching Close manoeuver through tautly-directed dialogue scenes, it’s obvious she will have a field day with this series’ subtext. I’m guessing she hasn’t had this much fun since Dangerous Liaisons.

Contrasting her Machiavellian role is Ellen Parsons (Australia’s Rose Byrne) a law school grad in awe of the feared Hewes who wins her employ, but, it is suggested, at significant personal cost. The dynamic between Close and Byrne will be fundamental to the success of this series and it’s fantastic that we get to see two women lead us through male-dominated arenas.

What’s notable about Damages is also its structure. Sure, there are flashbacks but they are selectively used for exposition. The directorial tone set by Allen Coulter (Sopranos, Sex and the City) is consciously filmic. Feast your eyes upon the moody, perplexing opening sequence. Parsons is found staggering through the city with a blood-soaked business card with the words “I was warned.” Lick your lips, you could be watching David Fincher at work here.

The early buzz on Damages is that we will twist and turn through dark plot hurdles and character revelations. Created by Sopranos staff writers, the 13 part series promises to focus on a different case each season. The beauty of cable TV’s lean 13 eps is its expediency. No padding out here, the clock is ticking. The stakes are high. The ammunition loaded.

Expect to wind up a casualty.

Damages premieres 9:30pm Sunday September 16. A second episode airs Wed Sept 19 on Nine. Several ‘encores’ will also be aired across the course of the coming week.

11 Responses

  1. I thought the plot was actually quite good and suspensive. Can anyone tell me when the next episode ..not a cheap repeat for Channel 9 who does this when they hit the only winner of the year 🙂

  2. I watched this show with much anticiptation as I felt it would be just another load of American C—P.
    It was and it is no wonder that country is in such termoil and poverty the lawyers continue to suck every last penny from anyone and spit their venom all over the place.
    BORING BORING BORING get it off the air

  3. I don’t know if I will watch this “Damages” show. I bet you London to a brick it will only last about 3 eps & will be yanked off to join all the other shows “they” deem not worthy of showing.eg; ER, Weeds, Men in Trees etc etc etc

  4. Anonymous (!),

    It was widely reported at the time that Studio 60’s US ratings were disappointing *considering how much the show cost to make*. Cast salaries were astronomical. But the show pulled a reasonable audience and NBC was well aware that the delayed-viewing (i.e. PVR/Tivo) audience was substantial. They were also well aware that the viewer demographic the show attracted was valuable – i.e. higher disposable income attracting bigger-budget advertisers. That was why they paid for the full season of 22 episodes despite the ratings not looking stunning.

    The whole “Iraq arc” aired after the show had already been cancelled, by the way. I’m tired of hearing the “Sorkin this, Sorkin that” whinge that people seem to be unable to get over. The fact is that too many people tuned in hoping for and expecting West Wing II. It wasn’t, and it was never intended to be.

  5. Not so sure on the winner,
    After Episode 3 I got a bit bored, and I usually stick around till the end. In fact I have a pile of unwatched episodes.

    @neon kitten: Studio 60 did not get cut because of budget, it got cut because of the audience leaving it because they are sick of Sorkin not sticking to what he knows best and going off on crusades, that whole iraq arc was not intelligent funny it was preachy ala last season of West wing before he left

  6. Nine also has another very good show on the shelf – “Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip:, which ultimately got canned in the US after a single 22-episode season, but largely because it was simply too expensive to make for the (respectable but not blockbuster) audience share it attarcted. It’s not perfect, but it’s very, very good.

    “Damages” looks interesting; I wonder why such press attention, though, isn’t enjoyed by Fx’s best drama of all, The Shield, which featured Glenn Close for an entire season – something the Green Guide this week seems to have overlooked with their “ooh, Hollywood star goes to TV!!” front page headline 🙂

  7. Should I bother? Maybe Glenn Close will draw some interest, but I just feel this will be another series on Nine that will be axed or “rested” halfway through.

  8. Fantastic looking show, can’t wait to sample it, but Australia will not stick around! Have you noticed all the shows you’ve compared it to/mentioned are not success here? I absolutely loved Weeds, quirky drama at it’s best, and where is it? At the bottom of the dump.

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