Witz Pickz: Damages (the show)

Damages: Since television is gasping for programming and thus far the best they've managed to do is add the fiftieth incarnation of a "Man sees things that aren't there" (Huff, Ali McBeal, Raines, etc., etc.) in Eli Stone, I've turned to watching more DVD's of shows I wasn't ever gonna watch unless something like this happened. After watching Dirt and telling you about that last week, I thankfully turned to Damages, another FX show.

FX is doing something right, because this show is incredibly well done. Written, shot, directed, and told like a film, this crime-legal-thriller stars Glenn Close as a character you could see being both fatally attracted (in that she's charismatic when she needs to be) and you could see stealing your dalmatians (in that she's evil and I can't think of a single person who wouldn't steal dalmatians if given the chance). At her side is former OC Hateable (I think I'm gonna make a lunch time snack called Hateables-- they'll be just like Lunchables, but with an honest moral compass that I believe people will appreciate) Tate Donovan (Jimmy, Mischa Barton's Dad), who plays a great role as Glenn Close's number two. The other main lead is Rose Byrne who does a great job riding the line between intelligent and naive. Ted Danson rounds out the big namers playing the defendant in the big case, and it's interesting to see how he's progressed and how Curb Your Enthusiasm probably influenced his ability to get this role. One last fun note on those involved in the project is that two episodes were DIRECTED by Mario Van Peebles. The same Mario Van Peebles who was in "Solo" and "Highlander 2: The Sorcerer." And get this-- he's 50 years old. We live in a world where Mario Van Peebles is 50 and is directing high quality dramatic television. There's always hope.

Unlike most crime-thrillers, this sucker focuses only on one case. It delves to deeply into the case, the set of characters, and the relationships and manipulations of those characters IN RELATION to the case, that each episode is interesting and nothing feels extraneous. It's the "In Relation to the case" part that makes the show great. Unlike shows like Heroes or Lost where there is a long extended suspenseful story, Damages has no excess. No romantic plots for no reason. No side issues solely for episodic story arc. EVERYTHING ties back into the main plot and almost always does so in an interesting, revealing, or shocking way. There's never a reason to say, "I'm so sick of this plot-- it's so stupid" because it's all or nothing and I, for one, vote all.

None of this would amount to anything, however, if the story wasn't told so well. The story is told from two time perspectives. One in the present, where you know an end result, although you don't quite understand it or how it happened, and one starting six months earlier when Ellen (Byrne) is hired by Patty (Close) at her law firm. Each episode, you learn slightly more from the present and slightly more about the past. They tie in perfectly together to give answers, but keep you guessing as the plot thickens and twists. It literally feels like you're watching one long movie. The brilliant part about it is that it is setup in such a way that there can be a tremendous payoff at the end, but without ending the case and causing the show to be over. I'm not at that point yet, but I can see it in the distance and am excited to see what they do. It's a lot like Dexter in that respect (although I don't see how they can go past season two of Damages).

It's only 3 DVD's and you can also watch them on those tv links I talked about before. The DVD's are even tailored to eliminate the annoying, "previously on" part that we all can't stand when watching DVD's. When I first watched the first few seasons of 24 on DVD, I couldn't believe how long I had to wait to recap everything that I had just seen. Annoying. If you sent in your absentee ballot for today, I suggest taking an hour to "go vote" anyway, and instead watch the first episode on your computer. Classic caper.

Kick Him In the Van Peebles,
Witz