Damages review

Few things (in the realm of television) make me happier than a new show on FX. So, of course, finally having time to sit down and review a show, I picked last night's premiere of Damages (yes I know I owe you an On the Lot wrap and a Saving Grace review, but I think I picked wisely). This isn't an action story. It's not comedy. It's a straight-faced, mentor-student drama on the surface. It's slow and brooding and expects the viewer to be ready for a long haul. It's dark. Really dark.

At the center is the mysteriously bloody girl who exits the elevator in the opening scene. Turns out she's a lawyer, seeking work with Glenn Close's hard-nosed hump-busting high-stakes litigator Patti Hughes straight out of law school. Hughes is working on a case against Ted Danson's Frobisher, who's been accused of duping his employees into buying tons of stock in his company then dumping all of his shares. Frobisher's getting close to getting the employees to take a settlement. Hughes NOT happy.

Danson's really good in this non-comedic villain role; and of course Close is, despite a few cliches, the shining star. But she's got to have some support or the show would really be lost. The rest of the supporting cast falls in step.

As it gets through some base getting-to-know-the-characters stuff, the show has some serious potential. It's pretty to look at and it's not really about what you think it's about. I think that darkness is going to grow and set the show off from both its single-character driven brethren and its serial-storyline brethren as well.

Hughes comes off as House in that she's a revered and respected member of her profession who's willing to do anything to get the job done. But in its opening throes, this show is much more serious. I get the feeling by the end of the season you'll feel more like you've just watched something like 24 than House.

Worth your time. Give the pilot episode a shot.