Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) is a bright, ambitious freshman lawyer who, against the advice of her mentor (Philip Bosco), goes to work for Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), New York’s most revered and reviled litigator.  She soon find herself embroiled in an Enron-like class action lawsuit targeting Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson), one of the country’s wealthiest CEOs.

As the lawsuit progresses, Ellen soon learns that not only money, but also lives are at stake, and that there is nobody that she can trust.

CRITIQUE

The first season of this 13 episode series is so good that I almost wish that there wouldn’t be a second.  However, as luck would have it, the show has been picked up for both a second and a third season.

Why, you may ask, if I liked the show so much, would I want to see it cancelled?

Primarily because I don’t think that it can get any better, which means that the only direction for it to go is down.

Season One told a tight, compelling story, primarily in flashback, which had a beginning, middle and an end.  Yes, there were a few minor plot points left dangling that would, presumably, be dealt with in Season Two, but so what?  All of the major issues for this season had been resolved and, in fact, several key characters had been killed.

Based on the final scenes of Episode Thirteen, Season Two promises to go off in another direction entirely that, frankly, doesn’t look very interesting.  Only time will tell if I’m wrong.

Nevertheless, Season One of Damages is it itself an extremely well written mini-series, a legal thriller that should keep DVD viewers wanting to watch episode-after-episode without stopping.  Nobody is quite what he or she seems to be in this show.  You can’t always tell the good guys from the bad guys, which is why I’m not being plot specific here.  There are just too many surprising twists in every episode.

Glenn Close is one of our finest actresses, and she brilliantly makes her utterly ruthless, controlling attorney a person for whom it’s impossible to evoke much sympathy.  Indeed, I wonder if the creators of this series regret the way they ended their initial episode.  In the final scene, we learn that Close’s character is guilty of a heinous act for which we, as an audience, will never be forgiving.

Rose Byrne, Ted Danson and the rest of the cast could not have been better chosen.

THE VIDEO

The widescreen picture, mastered in Hi-Def, is broadcast sharp.  There are no noticeable flaws.  However, watch out for some problematic images: the flash forward scenes are intentionally very grainy and feature highly saturated colors.

THE AUDIO

The Dolby Digital Surround Sound is excellent.  Music and dialogue are clear and easy to understand.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentaries are available for 2 episodes with the show’s creators and actors: Pilot (with Glenn Close) and episode 11 (with Zeljko Ivanek). These can only be accessed in the episode selections menu.

Deleted Scenes are available for several episodes running approximately 8 minutes in total. None of these add anything significant to the overall story. They’re available in the episode selections menu only.

Willful Acts (23 minutes) and Trust No One (13 minutes) are “Making of”/”Behind the Scenes” featurettes that include interviews with the cast and the show’s creators.

Understanding Class Action is an interactive guide that features several attorneys discussing various class action lawsuits, such as those involving Agent Orange, Tobacco and the Exxon Valdez.

Rounding out the extras are several previews for Sony titles.

FINAL THOUGHT

Damages is first-rate storytelling that will keep viewers mesmerized.