Damages

The law-firm arena is one of TV's oldest and most familiar genres, but Damages enlivens it by defying expectations.

It's Close who makes "Damages" a series to contend with.

It demands commitment and a willingness to pay attention to the smallest bits of information, but it's also riveting. Once you decide to go take this case, you won't want to turn back.

It's a mesmerizing tale of legal maneuvering with the distinctive FX moral ambiguity and splendid performances by Close, Rose Byrne ("28 Weeks Later") as her protege and TV veteran Ted Danson as her latest courtroom adversary.

Damages is an enjoyably complex thriller.

Who's a villain and who's a hero here? Can you tell the pawns from the players? All excellent questions as we become absorbed in FX's latest thrill ride.

Despite its fantastic nature, the story is an onion with a thousand layers, each one a satisfying mystery of its own.

It's the lack of moral clarity that makes Damages so spellbinding. Every character wears multiple masks; every action is cloaked in ambiguity and, often, outright duplicity.

A legal thriller with the depth and structure of an engrossing novel.

An impressively constructed thriller and an intriguing, timely exploration of what people at the apex of society will do to hold on to their power.

Richness of detail permeates this modern tube-noir. The more damage done, the more juicy fun for us to savor.

Close's performance illuminates rather than outshines with its high wattage.

A challenging and satisfying legal thriller.

Nearly everything is done right, most conspicuously in the casting of Glenn Close as Patty Hewes.

As taut and twisted a mystery as anything you'll find on television this summer.

Interactions are rendered in smart, layered compositions, with elements that crowd and obscure, colors that distract and focus your attention. Such plot intricacies might appear contrived, but twisting even in the first episode suggests otherwise.

Close’s burnished enigma characterization works beautifully because Damages, which will spend its 13-episode season detailing the six months that led to the opening shots of a blood-covered Ellen escaping a murder scene, is more a well-oiled genre exercise than the stuff of rigorous personality study.

Problem is that Episode 1 is so out there and over-wrought that you might not make the trip back for Episode 2. That would be a mistake. Week two is when it gets riveting.

The plot is difficult to follow - shot sequences, at least in the first two episodes, often pair sex and death (an FX trademark, practically; it’s the network that looks our animal selves in the eye), whether or not their pairing helps the story--but you’re strung along deftly enough so that you do want to know how it’s all going to play out.

The producers have assembled a solid cast and deftly employ flashbacks to ratchet up suspense.

This New York legal drama doesn't have the living, breathing dimensionality and character depth of FX's finest, including "Rescue Me" and "The Shield," on which Close guest starred in 2005. But it's a tense fun ride like the better John Grisham movies.

Damages offers two superb performances by old pros Glenn Close and Ted Danson.... One thing it doesn't have: a compelling main character. It's a doughnut show: lots of sweet, satisfying goodness around the edges, nothing in the middle.

The direction is capable. And there are moments of shining in the script, though there aren't yet enough fine scenes.

Patty's suppose to be a manipulative liar, but that's too much to believe. Like pretty much everything about this show. [03 Aug 2007, p.61]

Even as we're prompted to be horrified by Hewes, her unrepentant nastiness, when paired with her immense power, leaves us very little to hope for here.