okay, so i’m not giving it up, i think i’ve got more attention span left in me than that, but this is fair warning to FX (etc.) that Damages is officially on notice.

i am still completely interested in the larger story arc, but a Katie Connor heavy episode caused me to roll my eyes and sigh repeatedly last night, wishing for more time with Glenn Close.  i truly hope that i am supposed to NOT like this character, because if i’m supposed to like her then she is both miscast and badly written.  i find it hard to believe that in an otherwise well cast, well written show this character somehow got lost in the shuffle, despite playing such a large role early on.  This same thing has happened on Heroes as well in that Nicki is a terrible character (along with a couple others) and she is way too important, but i’ll go so far as to say that despite my love love love of Heroes i can also admit it is an uneven show and i’m not surprised when they make mistakes – like creating a completely unlikable character – but at this point i have more faith in the Damages writers, so i’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt.  an upside, and a reason to keep tuning in despite last night’s frustrating episode, is that it appears Katie has hit the road, packing up her little car and taking off with a stomp of her little feet. 

[spoiler warning]

the girl hitting (oh so hard) on Ellen’s fiance David, is clearly a set up.  i mean unfortunately i know first hand how aggressive young girls that think they are super attractive can be (sadly many of us do), but she’s just making things too easy.  and having confirmation on Gregory, who we all suspected was a little rat anyway, in the same episode that this “vixeny other woman” character gets introduced is just too obvious.  the stuff with Patty’s right hand man, Tom has gotten some much needed and very interesting story time, i love the dimensions they are giving to some of these other characters, it is helping to keep everything nice and lush.  the bit with Ellen and David falling asleep in theater was great.  and the scene with Patty and Ellen in which Patty gave us some nice “trust no one” forshawdowing keeps us on our toes nicely as viewers, reminding us that not all is as it seems and that a lot can change, very quickly.  we need more Patty (i.e. more Glenn Close) as she is by far the best asset this show has going for it, other than the larger story arc, which is incredibly intriguing as they feed it to us piecemeal.

i’m hanging in there…so long as we don’t have to see any more of Katie for a long long time. 

i tried real hard to think of a fun title for this post, but it was just not coming.  my favorite was “damages schmamages” but that sounded like i didn’t like the show, which is untrue, so i had to go for boring old “damages”.

so this is a good show.  it is beautifully shot and has really invested some time (and money) in great actors.  Glenn Close is riviting and as my boyfriend says, “you can see her make very good choices”, which is true, she is magnetic to watch and has given her Patty Hewes a depth in only a few episodes that many characters never achieve.  Ted Danson has never been better.  Rose Byrne is not a favorite actress of mine, she always seems to have the same concerned/worried look on her face (in every SINGLE shot) but she holds her own here.  the plot/story is truly interesting and it winds and turns in a beautiful and well planned out way.  i definitely don’t have the answer to the mysteries that are coming our way, and every episode has surprised me at least once.  there are great creative writers and directors working on this project – people who have been involved with very good shows in the past (The Sopranos to name one) and it shows.  Tate Donovan and Zeljko Ivanek both turn in nice supporting performances as well, particularly Ivanek.

i have to admit a bit of bias as my boyfriend works on this show, however he’s worked on a lot of shows and movies in the past and i usually hate them all (except the upcoming We Own The Night, which has potential, and also has two guys from my top 10 list – Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg) but this show is just good. 

[episode #2 spoiler below] 

i am three episodes in and very intrigued.  i think they made a few casting mistakes though, the actress who plays Katie is annoying and whiny.  i am just not invested in her and can’t sympathize with her in the least (perhaps this was the creators goal? could be).  also, the fiance of main character Rose Byrne, David, is a bit of a miscast as well.  it’s not that i don’t like him, just that he doesn’t quite seem to fit the type they want him to be.  who knows though, maybe he’ll grow on me (i hope not too much, since it is obvious from episode two that he’s dead in 6 months/by the end of the season). 

anyway, if you haven’t checked it out you should – Tuesdays 10pm on FX.  plus, it seems to be playing in encore format about 24 hours a day, so it shouldn’t be hard to squeeze it in at some point.  also, while i’d recommend seeing it from the beginning and i expect that doing so will give you a better shot at piecing things together, i don’t think it’s a necessity. if you read up on the first couple episodes i don’t think it would be too difficult to catch up at this point.

here’s the trailer for We Own The Night as well:  http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809425430/video/3558370/