By BYJACKNEWORTH CHANNELSURFING
Welcome to the first of these columns reviewing upcoming TV programming. I confess I’m not a huge fan of TV. But for good or ill, (mostly ill) TV is obviously a huge force in shaping our culture. It’s a frightening thought, but Americans watch four hours and 35 minutes of TV every day!
I used to be passionate about movies until they became about super heroes, Harry Potter or animated animals. (It’s difficult to be passionate about a talking donkey.) With the cost of the average movie at $100 million the beneficiary may be television. Reality TV aside, some critics are saying television is in a golden age because of talent moving over from film. Award-winning directors like David Mamet and Barry Levinson, and actors Martin Sheen, Mary Steenburgen and Joe Mantegna, are but a few.
These days most of the best program-ming is on cable, which seems better able to take artistic chances. (The kicking sounds you hear are all the networks who passed on “The Sopranos.") “The Wire,” “Six Feet Under," “Rescue Me,” “The Shield,” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” all are cable original series. Another cable original series, airing this month on FX, is “Damages,” a legal thriller starring Glenn Close and Ted Danson. Judging from the pilot, the cast top notch, the writing sharp, the production value good, and there are enough twists and turns to keep you away from the remote.
Set in Manhattan, “Damages” deals with the world of high-stakes litigation. It opens on beautiful twenty-something Ellen Parson, (Rose Bryne) who leaves a New York apartment building at 7 a.m. bloodied, disoriented and half-naked under a coat. She races down the sidewalk and into the street, nearly getting hit by a cab. A zombie, she winds up behind police interrogation glass. The bewildered cops have only a single ID which identifies her as a lawyer. The legend on screen reads... “6 MONTHS EARLIER."
We cut to Ellen, fresh out of law school, about to sign paperwork at a prestigious law firm headed by Hollis Nye (Phillip Bosco.) Despite Ellen’s lucrative compensation package (five years guaranteed) she suddenly changes her mind. It seems she may have an interview with America’s most respected (and reviled) mega-dollar litigator, Patty Hewes (Glenn Close). I didn’t buy it, and for that matter, neither did Hollis Nye, who criticizes Ellen for not having told them before this. Good point.
Patty Hewes is representing a class action suit against former Enron-type CEO Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson) who allegedly bilked his employees out of billions. Frobisher has offered $100 million, but Hewes is on a vendetta. Ellen goes to the interview but meets with Tate Donavon (Tom Shayes.) The real interview is Saturday but Ellen says her sister is getting married that day! “Do you want this job or not?" an irritated Donovan asks.
Choosing family over career, Ellen goes to the wedding with her fiance, first-year surgical intern, David Connor (Noah Bean). When she goes to the bathroom she’s startled because behind the door, drink in hand, is Patty Hewes. (Who takes their drink into the bathroom? And how long was she planning to wait in there?) Uninvited, Hewes showed up at the wedding because no one had ever turned her down before. Flattered, Ellen asks if she couldn’t please interview again but Patty says it would be, “a waste of both of our time.” Smiling, Patty adds, “Besides, I just hired you." I know Ellen’s character arc is obviously wide-eyed innocent, soon to be corrupted by ruthless, manipulative Patty Hewes. But frankly, to this point I hadn’t any reason why Patty was pursuing Ellen in the first place. Actually, that turns out to be one of many twists.
My minor criticisms aside, “Damages” is fast paced and eminently watchable (not boring.) Co-creators Todd and Glenn Kesler with “Sopranos” and “Robbery Homicide Division” experience, along with Daniel Zelman, may in fact have a hit on their hands. Judging from the glossy press kit and billboards all over town, FX is spending the money. (They’ve ordered the first 13 shows.) Close is superb, as in an exchange on the courthouse steps when opposing counsel says, “If you were a man I’d kick the living crap out of you." Close replies, “If you were a man, I’d be worried.” Ouch.
Danson is charming, always a plus for your evil bad guy. Actually, the entire cast is excellent. The question is, as with all episodic dramas, do I believe in the writing and care enough about the characters to come back every week? Close was interviewed on the subject and said she’d have to see what the writers give her. I’m in the same boat.
The pilot for “Damages” airs on FX July 24, at 10 p.m.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 19, 2007. Read the original PDF.