I like TV shows. It seems that most of the time I am always late to the party. It took me a year to watch 24 for the first time, 4 years to watch CSI and so on and so forth. The same thing can be said for Damages. I didn’t watch the first airing of it on FX. I honestly prefer to watch TV shows either on disc or via my on demand or DVR so I don’t have to deal with commercials. So, when I popped in Damages last night, I didn’t expect that I would be finished already. Yes, all thirteen 45 minutes episodes done. It was that addictive.

Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) is a very high profile power attorney. Think Johnny Cochran, only bigger. She is always in the spotlight due to the type of cases she takes on. She is a balls to the wall, take no crap from anyone attorney. She is up against Ray Fiske (Zeljko Ivanek), another good attorney who represents billionaire Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson). Frobisher, having already won a Federal case, is now set to face a civil lawsuit from his 5000 employees. Frobisher allegedly stole all of his employee’s pensions and life savings for himself. It is documented that he sold all of his stock 1 week before the SEC reported that his company’s finance’s were, for lack of a better term, in peril. Hewes is determined to make Frobrisher pay a heavy price, no matter what it takes. However, Frobrisher is not going down without a fight.

Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) is a first year lawyer fresh out of law school. She has her pick of firms to choose from and after being offered a large amount of money at one firm, she turns it down as she is given chance to work for Hewes and Associates.

She is fore warned that going to work for Patty Hewes would probably turn out to be a huge mistake for her career.

So, is it?

Just watch and see.

Damages is set between two time frames and switches between them quiet often. Each time frame is easy to differentiate. The past shows a clearer image, while the present shows the image more overdone and blown up and is sometimes bothersome.

Other notable supporting characters that have a significant role in Damages is two O.C. alums, Tate Donovan as Tom Shayes, Patty Hewes’ right hand and Michael Nouri as Phil Grey, Patty Hewes’ husband. Also, Noah Bean as David Connor, the boyfriend and fiancé to Ellen Parsons has quiet a significant role in the show. I was more than pleasantly surprised by the entire cast.

There are 13 episodes for Damages, each running around 39-45 minutes or so. Honestly, if I were to describe each episode, I would obviously ruin the storyline and the watching experience. It would be like describing 24 and ruining any kind of surprise. So, I will just give you the episode guide. The Blu-ray does include an insert with episode descriptions.

Disc 1:

Episode 1: Pilot: Get Me Lawyer

Episode 2: Jesus, Mary & Joe Cocker

Episode 3: And My Paralyzing Fear of Death

Episode 4: Tastes like a Ho-Ho

Disc 2:

Episode 5: A Regular Earl Anthony

Episode 6: She Spat at Me

Episode 7: We are not Animals

Episode 8: Blame the Victim

Episode 9: Do You Regret What We Did?

Disc 3:

Episode 10: Sort of like Family

Episode 11: I Hate these People

Episode 12: There’s No “We” Anymore

Episode 13: Because I Know Patty

Video

Damages comes to us presented in a 1080P High Definition / 1.78: 1 transfer. Overall, the transfer is hit and miss. As stated earlier, the image changes throughout the show from present to past. For the past scenes (which is for most of the show) there is significant grain presented throughout and at times is really over blown. I truly believe it was intentional because grain appears even where it normally wouldn’t be seen. That being said, depending on your sitting distance, you may or may not notice it a whole lot. Skin tones are fine. I didn’t notice any softness to the image either.

As for the present scenes, the picture is pretty blown up and bleeding can be seen throughout. The colors are really blooming here and skin tones look awful. Again, this was definitely the intention of the directors.

Audio

The English TrueHD 5.1 sound is pretty standard. Surrounds don’t come into play much and the bass comes and goes. However, when the surrounds are used, it is crystal clear. Given that this is a dialogue focused TV show, center channel handles most of the work. Pretty decent for a TV show but noting earth shattering.

Special Features

The special features can be accessed either from the extras menu or when you watch a particular episode that has an extra included.

• Cast and crew commentaries
• Willful Acts: The Making of Damages
• Trust No One: Insight from the creators
• Understanding class action (interactive guide)
• Deleted Scenes

Final Thoughts

Damages really is a truly excellent show. Aside from a few moments during the 3^rd and 4th episodes, Damages fails to slow down. At times I felt like I was in a Quentin Tarantino movie due to the jumping around of timeframes but I like that. Glenn Close and Ted Danson are truly fantastic in their roles here. Danson, most known for his role as “Sam” on Cheers gives a truly impressive performance as Frobisher. This is a completely different type of role for him and he works it perfectly. Close is also very impressive as Patty Hewes. Her character is heartless, mean and manipulative. Without a doubt, I would recommend this to anyone. I can’t wait for Season 2.