Damages: Im Netz der Macht

I'm not really into your average ''Law and Order'' kind of shows, so I was a bit skeptic beforehand. But I was proved otherwise by a thoroughly gripping and scary introduction scene. We see a young lady running from a building, covered in blood. She accidentally stumbles upon two nearby policemen. It lured me into one of the most exciting new shows of last year.

The concept is pretty simple: someone is murdered and it has something to do with a young lawyer working for a respected law-firm. We see flashbacks of how the FBI is trying to crack the case, giving us the opportunity to see the story that led to the horrific climax of the murder. What the hell has happened? How does a promising young lawyer end up in killing someone? Or didn't she? And what is the role of bitchy uber-advocate Patty Hewes and the businessman Frobisher? Every episode gives you a few clues on the mystery, while still keeping you in the dark of what did happen. It reminds me a bit of Lost, though Damages is more down-to-earth and believable.

Glenn Close is playing the strong advocate with an excellent reputation with the verve she had in previous roles. Her protégé is Rose Byrne as a young, naive girl that falls in the hands of a devilish woman without scrupulous. For me the biggest surprise is actually Ted Danson, who plays a very realistic businessmen on the decline due to several law suits on his person. He's the kind of likable bad-guy that we seem to see more and more these days.

The biggest pro for this show is that they keep all the characters human by giving them a soft side. Nobody is either extremely good or bad, they just are humans making stupid choices and having to pay the price for it. Even the at the surface indestructible Patty Hewes is not able to defend herself against her tyrannic son.

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 worked perfectly as the pathetic Mr. Frobisher and was great to see Tate Donovan working in something interesting again instead of wasting his time in TV shows like The O.C. And the same can be said about the other guest appearances thru the seasons.

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. 1st 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 anymore, trying to discover together with the characters what really happened, but became a passive one being deceived all the time, losing what made 1st season so special. 3rd season was the same thing, maybe the worst one. A bunch of great actors and actresses underused within a weak plot development full of red herrings and horrible conclusions, failing a lot when trying to exceed the 1st season tricky interesting qualities. Both 2nd and 3rd seasons finale were something kinda strange, giving absurd explanations for things that could be far better if explained in a simpler way. Maybe that's why 4th season was far better and a back to form. The formula using flashbacks and flash-forwards was the same, but a simpler main plot was presented and developed without unnecessary obstacles during 10 episodes. Characters in a exact number performed brilliantly by an amazing cast. Hope 5th season (and last one) to keep the tone achieved during 4th season, and maybe a great court fight to give it a great ending.

So, even thinking that 2nd and 3rd seasons 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.

What a pleasure to be drawn into a series by such intelligent writing and outstanding acting. I couldn't wait until the next episodes. I talked to several friends each week to prolong the pleasure. In a world fun of shamefully silly and dumb programming, my hat is off to FX.I hope this show returns. The ending left it wide open for answers. I can't wait until it comes back. Glenn Close was perfectly cast as the villain; the character you love to hate. I was surprised at the wonderful acting by so many actors I had not seen and the ensemble of the cast was perfect.Why can't there be more shows with the depth and suspense? Is there any way to let fans know if this series will continue?

I expected it to be great, but not this perfect. It takes 'riveting' to a whole new level. The show manages to have so much going on but always kept me involved and wondering what these people were hiding, how they are connected, what twist was coming my way and most importantly, how the events we were seeing happen in the present were going to lead to the ominous and frightening glimpses we get to see of the not so distant future. There's a lot happening and a lot of mystery around every corner, but it never feels like it's wandering too far into an unknown direction or getting too far ahead of the viewer. It's clear that every scene has a purpose and the writers now exactly where they're going and how they're getting there. So whenever something happens that's a little bit over the viewer's head at that moment, you know that it's going to be explained all the way soon. Everything that happens comes together in the final picture. And the journey to that final picture is one of the most compelling I've ever taken. Each of the thirteen episodes brings a remarkable amount of believable character development that looking back to the first episode after finishing the finale, it seems like I began by watching completely different people. There is so much information, so much mystery, so many twists and turns that are so comfortably displayed with such raw intensity throughout. My eyes were glued to the screen the entire time, and every episode just had me aching for the next one. Genius stuff.

The acting more than deserved all of the immense praise that it received. Glenn Close gives a shatteringly intense performance that is frighteningly commanding. Rose Byrne is perfect as the one character who makes a huge change throughout the first season. She plays this transition from the gullible, naive new attorney to a hardened, revenge-driven women as if she were born to do it. I've loved her as an actress since I first laid eyes on her, but she still managed to impress me in a way I couldn't have imagined. She's never had a role this dark, this adult...gone through so many different levels of maturity and emotion without hesitating for a second. She holds her own against Close, and that is no easy task. We see her go from being a tool in Patty Hewes (Close's character) end game to being an almost mirror image of Hewes herself. Zeljko Ivanek is the cast member who surprised me the most, though. I've seen him in shows before (24, Oz) but he was never given the room to really display his immense talent like he was given in this one. He has a quiet intelligence to him that always drew my attention towards him on screen, and his character probably faces the most tragic journey throughout the first season. And he makes the southern drawl his character has seem as if it's been his voice since the day he came out of the womb. He deserved that Emmy and then some. Ted Danson, Noah Bean and Tate Donovan round out the main cast of this perfectly acted thriller.

Suspense from the first minute of the pilot to the last minute of episode 13. Don't trust anybody and nothing is what it seems. Very tricky story about law, murder and money and an excellent casting. It's not like other TV shows, one story per episode, its more like a mini series in thirteen parts, don't miss a single one.

Excellent acting by Glenn Close, Rose Byrne and Tate Donovan. I wonder if there will be a season 2 because I don't know how they can keep up with this one. But still there are some questions to be answered.

So if you missed Damages watch out for the rerun, it's worth every minute. And I'd like to mention that when I'm watching TV I don't try to find holes in the plot or to look out for goofs so it could be that I've got carried away a little bit.