Wednesday, January 7, 2009

10 Thoughts on the New Damages Season.

I just watched the season opener of Damages and these are my immediate thoughts.

1. This show is so emotionally violent. The characters are just pieces of people and those pieces are rotten. It is like watching the slow destruction of psyches. It is delicious.

2. William Hurt is GREAT. His delivery is so subtle and restrained. His character(Daniel Purcell) is into something deeply disturbing and his past with Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) is probably just as disturbing.

3. Patty Hewes is the best at using information for manipulation. The way she sets up the daughter of one of her friends is awesome. She uses information from her son to do the deed.

4. Patty Hewes seems to be on the verge of a breakdown, but at the end of the episode, she tries to cover her ass with another lie. I like the flashback with Ray Fiske Ċ½eljko Ivanek. I love her growing drinking habit.

5. Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) is simmering with hate and the initial indication is that it will drive her over the edge. The intro appears to set that up for the season.

6. Love Timothy Olyphant as a squirrelly group therapy participant with an interest in Ellen. Man, he was GREAT in Deadwood and I wish that show was still going on.

7. Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson) is brilliant as the beaten down rotten cad. His hospital scenes are great. He survived the shooting, but got a liver transplant. When he thinks his ex-wife is coming to see him, he goes right back to being an asshole. He wants to stage the hospital room for more sympathy.

8. The camera work is so great. The shots of this show give it so much texture, you feel it. When the orderly leads "Mrs Frobisher" to see Arthur, the surprise is real.

9. The foreshadowing is great, subtle and so smart. It is what I love about Mad Men. You see what happens when you get great writing?

10. I like the fact FX and AMC repeat shows right after the original airing. I also dig the sponsorship type advertising. It lets the show flow naturally. Plus the immediate repeat lets helps me think about the show and digest it.

Bonus: This case the Feds are using to set up Patty seems dubious. I think the slow nature of the FBI is grating on Ellen, burning her up like an ulcer.

I will try to do my Top 10 immediate thoughts on Damages every week and on 24.

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