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« Damages
Episode Recap: Pilot (and What a Pilot It Was!)
FX's Damages, which premiered on Tuesday, is simply too good a show not to have a "watercooler" blog, so I am stepping up to the plate and authoring one. In exchange, you will give me some leeway if each week's recap doesn't get posted until, say, 8 am the morning after. (Recapping 10 o'clockers is tough for a tired father of 4-year-old twins!)
As I said in the title, what a pilot episode, right?
This is not a courtroom drama.
This is not a legal drama.
This is not a procedural.
What this is — and Michael Nouri (who plays Glenn Close's hubby) first spun it this way when I saw him at a function last month — is a psychological thriller. And a darn good one.
I've already screened Episode 2, so I must be careful here not to cover too much ground. But I love the setup, how up-and-coming legal eagle Ellen is seen fleeing the grisly scene of god-knows-what, and then we proceed to flash forward and back and forward and back, piecing together — throughout the entire first season, mind you — precisely what happened to whom, why and at whose sinister hand.
Could Patty Hewes have been better cast? Glenn Close totally rocks this role. A top-tier litigator who merely wants to give Ellen her rightful place on the legal ladder? Ha. What a twist that Ellen's hiring is all part of a plan to get at Katie, the one person who can decimate Frobisher's alibi.
Or can she? More on that next week, I assure you.
Let's talk about Frobisher. Ted Danson? Awesome in the role, all sleek hair, square jaw and imposing stature. You may think him the devil right now (though perhaps not quite so much after realizing who snuffed the pup), but don't jump to conclusions. Damages promises to keep us guessing, and next week's episode sheds new light on events we think we have been made privy to, but really have not.
A few of the reviews I have read have taken issue with Rose Byrne as Ellen, but I think she is fine, sort of a younger, softer Robin Tunney. The look on her face when Patty crashed the wedding?! I suspected that Patty was there to offer the job, but it was nice that they kept us wondering till the last moment of that scene.
The supporting cast is excellent as well, though I admit it's weird to hear 24's Zeljko Ivanek doing a Southern drawl as Frobisher's menacing mouthpiece. I never had an opinion on Tate Donovan in the past — I think I was always mad at him for "taking Jennifer Aniston from me" — but he's a good fit as Patty's right-hand man, seriously taking one for the team in the name of winning this massive case. I'm also a fan of veteran actor Philip Bosco, who had me suspicious of his agenda as the law firm biggie who first courted (but lost) Ellen. Loved that he had her sign that "I was warned" confession.
Great, great show, up there on my current list with Mad Men, The Closer and TNT's upcoming The Company. Looking forward to more!
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Jul 25, 2007 11:15 AM
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Thanks for stepping up Matt - I kept looking for the watercooler and was shocked that there wasn't one ...
I will definitely allow you some slack on the posting time 
To quote Locke - I think I'm going to have to watch that again!
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Jul 25, 2007 11:27 AM
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i freaked out when she threw the dog collar in the water! great ending. after reading the reviews (especially nyt), i was so confused the whole time b/c she didn't seem so evil and was kind of likeable... and then...
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Jul 25, 2007 11:34 AM
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Thanks Matt! After watching last nights episode I was aching for a spot to discuss this crazy show!
I'm not really sure where I stand on this show but I do know one thing - I love it! Ted Danson is fantastic as the annoyingingly rich bad guy, and Glenn Close is awesome.
Who are the bad guys? Who can be trusted? How far will Patty Hewes go to win this case? Who knows - but I cannot wait to find out!
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Jul 25, 2007 11:34 AM
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Matt, you are my main man.
What an amazing show. I've also read the reviewers who were reluctant about Rose Byrne, but I think she's perfectly cast. Obviously, we'll either see her grow into lawyer adulthood here, or find that she was there already, and hoodwinked us all.
The supporting cast is superb, but Glenn Close is simply masterful. I hate her, though. You mess with a pup, I never forgive you.
So, I'm eagerly looking forward to despising her on a weekly basis, while secretly admiring her wickedness. She's the perfect antithesis of my other hero, Brenda Leigh Johnson.
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Jul 25, 2007 11:41 AM
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Hi Matt:
Thanks for blogging this show. I thought that Glenn Close was awesome! She must have ice water in her veins. I think something personal must've happened between Hewes and Frobisher. It seems way too personal that all of that anger that she has is all about the employees having their retirement funds stolen because of Frobisher's greed.
The jury's still out about Rose Byrne's as Ellen. She seems rather meek to me to be this ambitious attorney that two major law firms were fighting over, although we know that Hewes had ulterior motives for hiring her.
I'm enjoying the series so far and look forward to next week's show.
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Jul 25, 2007 11:50 AM
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"Katie" is being played by Jamie Bamber's sister. Good actors in that family totally cabable of removing their British accents.
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Jul 25, 2007 11:58 AM
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Awesome show. Evil Glenn. Can't wait for next week.
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Jul 25, 2007 12:01 PM
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Dang, I missed this. Now I really want to watch it, Matt. Thanks for the great review! Do you think this will be widely accepted or be more like Rescue Me, where it finds a smaller but fiercly loyal audience?
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Jul 25, 2007 12:03 PM
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Now that's what you call a pilot. Glenn Close and Ted Danson are amazing in their roles as meticulously evil people, whose agendas keep the viewers guessing. I like Rose Byrne as Ellen. She comes in innocent, but the wheels are always turning in that brain of hers. I can't wait to find out what happened in her apartment (too bad her fiancee won't make it to the next season). So far, excellent!
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Jul 25, 2007 12:33 PM
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"Katie" is being played by Jamie Bamber's sister.
Seriously? It has been driving me crazy where I have seen her (Anastasia Griffith) before, and you are telling me the answer is pretty much, "Nowhere"?
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Jul 25, 2007 1:00 PM
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What a killer show - and you are right-Glenn Close rocks as Hewes. She is perfect - so far I am totally impressed. I also was not sure about the actress playing Ellen, but she is doing a great job. You nailed it with your comparison to Tunney. I finally have another series to TIVO along with Rescue Me and The Closer.
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Jul 25, 2007 1:27 PM
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This show totally rocks! Love GC and
TD - not so much the Ellen character;
seems way too meek, although time will
tell. Still, the show is awesome!! What a thrilling and scary pilot!!!
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Jul 25, 2007 2:17 PM
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Awesome show! Kinda scary though, if this is high stakes law, I want no part of it other than as a spectator. Rose Byrne is ok. Not great though, but perhaps she will pull it off. I did like her last line of last night though, she showed some strength. Tate is doing a great job also. and Glenn and Ted......fantastic. Loved Nouri as her husband.
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Jul 25, 2007 2:47 PM
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Rose Byrne is an amazing actress. Give her a chance. Check her performance out in 'The Dead Girl.'
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Jul 25, 2007 2:49 PM
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