If cable is the place where the best shows get made, Damages is the proof. It’s third season started with a bang and continues to surprise its viewers with tightly written, clever stories acted by some of the best talent out there.
Glenn Close stars as Patty Hewes, a high-powered trial lawyer who takes on big corporations for massive damages. For the first couple seasons you couldn’t tell if she was a villain or a hero. Patty’s a legal shark and a world class poker player without the cards. Her manipulations and schemes are Machiavellian to the extreme, which is why Patty is at the top of her game.
In season one she hires Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), a young attorney out to make a name for herself by working with a top law firm. Her relationship with Patty is reminiscent at first of the John Grisham classic The Firm. What seems like a plum job soon becomes dangerous and you can’t tell if Patty’s out to murder her or it’s one of the defendants they’re trying to bring down.
Patty’s loyal lieutenant is Tom Shayes (Tate Donovan). Shayes gets things done for Patty but even he finds tackling the biggest game in town can put your life at risk.
Here’s the intro to season 3:
Patty Hewes is back in action, tackling the most challenging case of her illustrious career. Following up Patty’s decisive victory over corrupt CEO Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson) in Season 1 and her decimation of Ultima National Resources in Season 2, Patty Hewes has recently been appointed by the U.S. government to recover billions of dollars in stolen assets from the largest investment fraud in U.S. history, a fraud perpetrated by the esteemed financier Louis Tobin.
Inspired by recent events in the world’s economic collapse, Season 3 showcases Damages signature legal-thriller storytelling as Patty Hewes takes on the Tobin family – a secretive clan determined to protect its interests at all costs
Patty is determined to bring Tobin to justice and find the money, but he commits suicide and now the question is, does his son know his father’s secrets. Campbell Scott plays Joe Tobin, who starts out hating his dad and wants to clear his own name by helping Patty. But his dad leaves him a packet of information that makes him change his tune. Martin Short plays the family attorney who may have criminal secrets of his own. Lily Tomlin plays the Tobin widow.
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When I saw two comedy actors were going to be in this season I wondered how they would do in such a serious show. I can tell you they’re doing great. Martin Short plays a very devious, shady character without a trace of his usual exuberance. He’s very low key and on the money. Tomlin is very believable and we’re left wondering what secrets she’s hiding herself.
One of the key aspects to this show is that it’s like a Russian Matryoshka doll with one secret nested inside another. You uncover a secret only to find another, and another inside. You wonder what will be in the center of it all. Each one is surprising. And the closer you get to the center of it all, the more intense the tension.
Damages also uses New York better than any other show I can think of. In fact, it takes Law and Order to school and shows them how it’s done.
The acting on Damages is stellar. It’s also a great show for women as it lacks the rote, typical female storylines and has smart, clever characters.
I missed the first season when it debuted and friends kept telling me how good it was, so about half way through season 2 I rented the first season and was so hooked I searched online for all the season 2 episodes I missed so I could get caught up. I burned through One and 1/2 seasons episodes in a week. It’s that addicting.
Damages airs Monday nights on FX. It’s well worth your time.