Damages

In approaching this, the first thing you have to come to terms with is there are NO good guys, none, zero, zip, nada. This is a legal fantasy show set in a moral universe far closer to Tony Soprano's than Perry Mason's. Hewes and Associates isn't a real law firm: it's a professional practitioner of extortion and blackmail. Patty Hewes never goes to court because she'll do absolutely anything to destroy her opponents long before they can get her into one. We're supposed to give her a pass because she's taking on big-time corporate criminals and other easy-to-hate plutocrats. And we do...but there's this lingering bad taste you can't quite shake off and that's the real genius of the thing.

Damages may be the most morally bankrupt show on TV; it's also incredibly well-acted and despite a non-linear storytelling approach that I generally find tiring, superbly written and directed. Just don't go looking for any role models in this pit of vipers.

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.

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.

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?

Glenn Close is superb as the fierce attorney Patty Hewes, a woman who takes on the big boys for big bucks. Over the five years of this series she takes on corrupt billionaires, the US Army, corporate America, computer hackers, Wall Street, and anyone who gets in the way of her ambitions.

Into this maelstrom comes a brilliant but naive young lawyer named Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). She's hired to help take on a nutty billionaire (Ted Danson) who has stolen his employees' retirement fund. She soon learns that in Patty's world there is no line between private and business lives, and she's soon sucked in. But it's a dangerous world full of treachery and murder and revenge.

Tate Donovan co-starred in the first three seasons as Tom Shayes, Patty's right-hand man and law partner. He's excellent. Others who play important roles over the course of this series include William Hurt, Judd Hirsch, Janet McTeer, John Goodman, Ryan Phillippe, Campbell Scott, Marcia Gay Harden, John Hannah, Martin Short, Lily Tomlin, Chris Messina, Dylan Baker, and Keith Carradine.

Only season 4 was a little disappointing with its endless war scenes from Afghanistan. Usually, the plots closely follow Close and Byrne as they maneuver to control the other. The series is full of surprises and superb acting.

One of the best dramas ever to grace a TV screen.