Damages: The Complete First Season
Product Type: DVD
Product Price: $29.95
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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Description
Hot new legal thriller on FX! Set in New York's world of high stakes litigation, Damages follows the lives of Patty Hewes, the nation's most revered and most reviled litigator, and her bright, ambitious protégée Ellen Parsons as they become embroiled in a class action lawsuit targeting Arthur Frobisher, one of the country's wealthiest CEOs. As Patty battles Frobisher and his attorney, Ellen learns what it takes to win at all costs, and that lives, not just fortunes, are at stake.
Smart, sleek, and more than a little wicked, the Golden Globe-winning series Damages proves that legal programs don't have to follow a well-worn formula in order to prove completely addictive. In fact, the show (from Todd and Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman, whose credits include The Sopranos) steers clear from nearly all courtroom drama clichés over the course of its 13 episodes, and hews closer to classic film noir with the slowly-spun web of deceit that is woven around fresh-scrubbed lawyer Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). After joining the legal firm headed by uber-powerful litigator Patty Hewes (Glenn Close, who won a Golden Globe for her performance), Parsons lands a career-making case--a class-action lawsuit against millionaire Arthur Frobisher (Golden Globe nominee Ted Danson)--but discovers that digging deeply into the case not only reveals layers of corruption, cover-up, and potential scandal, but places her own life in jeopardy as well. Smart, mature writing and note-perfect performances, most notably by Danson as the perverse and complex Frobisher, but also by Tate Donovan, Zeliko Ivanek, Peter Facinelli, Philip Bosco and Peter Reigert, make Damages a genuine pleasure for law and mystery show fans, but also those craving a challenging series that delivers water cooler chat material in every episode. The three-disc set includes all 13 episodes as well as deleted scenes; among the featured extras are two choice commentaries, one with Close, the Kesslers and Zelman, and the other with Ivanek and the creators, both of which are chock-full of production and technical insights. A 30-minute making-of featurette, discussions about the characters by the creators, and a guide to class-action lawsuits rounds out the fine supplemental features. --Paul Gaita
Reviews
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-06-14
Summary: "A 13-hour High-Tension Thriller Ride.."
..done with style and grace. Wow, this started off as interesting but was full-blown riveting by mid-season. The characters develop with the story and it's amazing how well-acted and nicely written the first season is. Ellen (Rose Byrne) started off ok for me but became fascinating as the story thickened. As tension boils over her character seems only to grow more and more subdued in expression, if not with a touch of melancholy, yet with power underlying an understated performance. G. Close is excellent, as usual, having mastered the art of Queen b*tch, and Danson puts in a fantastic performance - wow, it's been so long since I've seen him in action. His character is simultaneously sympathetic and corrupt - a likable bad guy, though for all his corruption he still doesn't generate the contempt that Patty Hughes does (Close). He hasn't shined like this since Cheers, and it's great to see him step back into such a convincing and full-bodied role even this late in his career. Danson's charm still works to great effect here. His lawyer Ray Fiske, is multi-faceted and excellent, as are nearly all the other supporting actors in the series. What's not to like?! Didn't I catch somewhere that Soprano writers or producers were at work here? Wouldn't be surprising. This first season is of similar caliber.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-03-20
Summary: "Creepy and convincing"
The strangest thing about Glenn Close's character. Patty Hewes, in Damages is this. If you have been close enough to observe uber-successful, powerful people at the top of their fields, you have probably met someone like her, at least once. You know the type. When any two people who both know Patty are together, they are talking about Patty, trying to figure out what is going on in that head. This isn't just a dramatic device. With this kind of person its a fact of life.
Nationally known litigator, Patty Hewes, makes her money on class action law suits. She's is the kind of charismatic leader who strokes employees one minute and barely recognises them the next--the kind who does her level best to instill, as least a little insecurity, into each and every one of her people. This kind of boss is a recipe for an ulcer. Young staff members never know when to sit or stand in her office because on a bad day sitting is a bad idea, and on a good day she acts like you're being silly. One day she's telling an employee that he or she has contributed nothing to a major effort--only to invite that same person over for a family dinner so they can "get to know each other." Patty keeps people off balance and if an employee is smart she won't believe the compliments because she might feel thrown off her game when the insults come, and they will come.
Patty Hewes is seen through the eyes of associate lawyer Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). Ellen is a recent law school grad with a life outside of business. Ellen's boyfriend provides solid, sensible advice, when Ellen is sucked into the creepy web of this law firm.
Patty is only part of what makes this first season of Damages so good. The plot twists and turns. The cast creates a wonderful ensemble, so good that you are happy to see any one of them on screen.
Close's performance is amazing and I recommend this series to everyone I know who loves a creepy but good corporate story.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-03-19
Summary: "Damages 1"
A well thought out legal mystery story with a dynamite star in Glenn Close. Her supporting cast is excellent being filled with very good actors/actresses. These people are well developed characters and are people that you care about or root against. The plot is compelling and is carried forward at just the right pace and the finish is satisfying.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-02-25
Summary: "Drama? You got it!"
So - you want good drama right? Tight script. Thinking person's story line. Great direction. Brilliant acting. You got it in this Season One of 'Damages'. Just outstanding.
If you want simple narrative, straight forward 'baddies' vs 'goodies', shoot 'em up, unintelligible mumble, bad language etc etc. This is NOT for you.
On the other hand, should you want intelligent structure; interweaving storyline; themes grounded in reality and above all, something to look forward to when you come home to watch each episode, this is your series!
Great acting by leads and the whole ensemble, realistic and stylish sets with high production values, very tight scripting and production, and edge of your seat drama - just a real winner. I hope the rest of the series lives up to Series One. In any case, this series stands well enough alone as a sentinel, quality, serialisation drama.
My advice? Just don't miss it.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-02-15
Summary: "A perfect season of television"
What a pleasant surprise this show was. From the opening scene to closing moments, this is one non-stop roller coaster ride that easily constitutes one of the best seasons of any television show I have ever seen. The writing, acting, direction are all pitch-perfect, and the show is compelling, twisted, and addictive.
"Damages" tells the story of two women: heavy-hitting NYC attorney Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) and Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), a young woman fresh out of law school who takes on a job at Patty's firm. Something is strange about Patty and her firm, however, and from a disturbing scene of violence in the opening minutes of the show, we know that Ellen's story will not end well. The show tracks two timelines throughout the season: one in the present, and one of the future, in which some tragic event has happened. The season has a sense of futile tension as the two timelines come closer to intersecting and we await the characters' fates. And, fortunately, there is no anticlimax here: the flash-forwards build up to a spectacular climax, and the twists keep coming until the brilliant final moments of the finale, where all the cards are finally laid out. (Or are they?)
This show packs punch after punch and loads twist after twist into each episode. It is somewhat wrong to consider "Damages" as a legal drama--this is NOT another lawyer show; it barely even enters the courtroom. This is a dark show about dark and twisted characters, all of whom are played to perfection, and the dark, twisted world in which they live. In many ways it is a coming-of-age story for Ellen, a naive, idealistic graduate who over the course of the show realizes the dark realities of the world, realities embodied in full by Patty.
If these two powerful women weren't reason enough to watch (though they are), the supporting cast is equally phenomenal. In particular, Ted Danson, Tate Donovan, and Zjelko Ivanek all turn in extraordinary performances. "Damages" is a show not to be missed, though you'd be doing yourself a disservice to read any more about it and risk spoiling the secrets it holds. Fortunately, season two is equally entertaining, and season three (currently airing) has been fantastic so far. Absolutely worth the watch.