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Damages - Season 1 [2007]


RRP: £34.99
Our Price: £10.00 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Glenn Close continues the exodus of terrific movie actors and actresses who are finding the more fulfilling and meaty roles on the smaller screen. And with Damages, she’s struck gold in an engrossing legal thriller.

Close plays Patty Hewes, an experienced and high profile litigator. She’s then joined by the eager, and considerably more wet-behind-the-ears Ellen Parsons (played by Rose Byrne), who fits into the role of her protégé. Damages then sees the pair fighting a bitter and prolonged case against Ted Danson’s high-profile and very rich businessman.

Where Damages differs from many in the genre is that its first season effectively covers one single case (albeit with many, many strands), much as Murder One did all those years ago. And this makes for an increasingly layered and intriguing drama, with a healthy number of twists to keep you on your toes.

The entire first season is presented in this Damages set, and very gripping it is too. Superbly acted by its cast of high and lower profile actors, it brings with it a real compulsion to find out what happened next. It’s where the DVD set comes in handy, as there’s no longer a week between episodes to get to the next part of the story!

Damages may not have been the highest profile export from the States of late, but it is one of the very best. And this set is an ideal opportunity to find out what all the fuss is about… --Jon Foster

Editorial
Synopsis

Damages, the hot new legal thriller airing on BBC is set in New York's world of high stakes litigation. It follows the lives of Patty Hewes, the nation's most revered and most reviled litigator, and her bright, ambitious protégée Ellen Parsons as they become embroiled in a class action lawsuit targeting Arthur Frobisher, one of the country's wealthiest CEOs. As Patty battles Frobisher and his attorney, Ellen learns what it takes to win at all costs, and that lives, not just fortunes, are at stake.
Editorial
Synopsis

Set in the high-stakes legal world, DAMAGES explores the relationship between high-powered litigator Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) and her naive young underling Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). Swept up by Patty's camp, Ellen barely has time to catch her breath before being faced with a lawsuit that will challenge her preconceived notions of justice, fairness, and morality. Ellen will have to start learning fast if she wants to keep up with her fierce mentor, whose no-mercy approach to the law makes her one of the most feared and admired figures in the city. Loyalties will be tested and true colours revealed as a class-action lawsuit involving one of American's richest CEOs (Ted Danson) forces everyone involved to stand up for what they believe in. The show's first series is presented here in full.

Great start but then drops off towards the end...
Review date: 2008-08-25 Rating: 6 out of 10

The central premise of this series is rather weak (ie that a young lawyer is employed by a highly successful law firm just because she knows someone central to a big case) but, as with the first series of 24, the first half of this series is a thrill ride. The makers have used a clever plot device whereby most of the action takes place in retrospect but every now and then the action switches to the present day (filmed in a dark and grainy style) leaving you hungry to see how the characters end up as they do. But, as with the first series of 24, as the series progresses the twists and turns become more and more rediculous and harder and harder to accept until by the very end you really don't care what happens as long as it happens quickly.

The writers of the original series of 24 apparently had only written the first few episodes of the series prior to the first episode being screened which is why it fell apart so badly later in the series. Damages has a similar feel and I wonder if the same thing happened here. Instead of keeping the story simple and writing good character led drama with a focussed storyline, the writers have chosen to throw realism out of the window and keep the viewer on the edge of their seat. Unfortunately they went too far and left the viewer caring little for any of the empty characters on screen.

If you like 24 then I heartily recomend this. If you don't then I recommend The Wire Series 2.

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Reviews


Hilariously like Rainbow
Review date: 2008-07-12 Rating: 4 out of 10

I bought this on the strength of the great reviews. At first I was dissapointed, but by the third episode we were all roaring with laughter at the low IQs the writers had given the characters. If you watch it and imaginge the characters are from Rainbow (UK childrens TV) you'll see what I mean! Full marks to the actors for trying but I thought the script felt wooden.

Very very addictive
Review date: 2008-06-12 Rating: 10 out of 10

Very complex plot - Think it would have been diffcult to enjoy if I had had to wait a week between each episode. Fantastic acting and so many very dark charactors.

The use of broken time lines and fractured story telling is amazing - you think you know the end at the begining but you don't and no matter how many jumps back and foreward in time the director takes you on you are constantly supprised at how the threads come together.

Buy it - Open a bottle of wine and get through as many episodes in one go as you can - this is the perfect "Lost weekend" box set

More twists than a twisty thing
Review date: 2008-06-03 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is a legal drama with superb acting, unpredictable plots, no padding, fantastic theme music. The lead role was just made to measure for Glenn Close and the whole thing keeps you guessing right to the end. No doubt there will be a second series, I just hope this superb standard is maintained. The best thing since the Sopranos and the current price on amazon is such a steal it should be illegal. Don't dither - buy it now.

Well I didn't think it was so great
Review date: 2008-05-22 Rating: 4 out of 10

What a shame I saw this series after watching Series 1 of The Wire. I found it to be a bit shallow, there was not one character that I liked very much and I think it was all a bit from the Desperate Housewives school of tv series.

Now I know I am going against the general trend of these reviews by saying that I didn't think it to be very good, but to see on the cover the words ' The Sopranos with a law degree' was to do a great disservice to the Sopranos, surely one of the best series every produced. If you are someone who enjoyed The Wire and The Sopranos, I don't think Damages will do it for you.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Glenn Close
Tate Donovan
Rose Byrne
Ted Danson
Zeljko Ivanek

Creators:
Glenn Close (Primary Contributor)
Rose Byrne (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
EAN: 5035822673212
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 3
Format: Colour, Dolby, PAL, Subtitled,
Release date: 2008-04-14
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 559 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2007
Language: English (Original Language)

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