Damages Watch: Ding Dongs and Adam's Apples*

I liked the first couple of episodes of Damages. Glenn Close is really great, and Ted Danson does a great job as the Billionaire with a Problem. But last night's episode was terrible. There were several scenes that came right in a row -- Tom being blackmailed to join another firm to secure his daughter a place in a private music school? OK, this character is now not to be taken seriously. And the awkward pickup of Dr. Hunky by a patient's granddaughter? The good doctor has been made Susceptible to Temptation by the outrageous demands of Ellen's career! The scaredy-cat witness turns the tables on Ray Fiske? Right.

As you say, it's very plot-driven, which is fine as long as the writers don't throw believability completely out the window.

Greg looks a little like Eric Bana. Yes, I will make stupid comments to keep this post alive. Here's some more!
-The seduction of Dr. Conner was like eating gravel.
-Tom Shays sounds like Tom Shales.
-So Ellen was basically hired so that they could appear weak.
-Please let the end-of-episode music montage die.
-The song was so contrary to the original "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" that it might be the best cover ever.

> Please let the end-of-episode music montage die.

Thank you!

> The song was so contrary to the original "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" that it might be the best cover ever.

Cyndi Lauper by way of Coldplay. Please let the ironic mash-up die too.

@Alex,

"So Ellen was basically hired so that they could appear weak."

Actually, now that you mention it, I'm not sure I quite get Patty's wheels-within-wheels scheme here.

Ellen was hired to get to Katie. Katie was sabotaged to get Frobisher's settlement offer off the table. The sabotage plan arises because Patty knows the real key to her case is Gregory. But... the settlement offer only came *after* Ellen was hired, and if Gregory is the key to the case, why not cut out the middleman and avoid humiliating Katie?

There must be reasons that I've missed, or that we are yet to see, but from where I'm sitting, it seems mainly like this was contrived so that Patty could yet again out-snake herself.

I think Patti knew that Ellen's sister-in-law had a major credibility problem before she hired Ellen. She hires her, scoops up Katie, knows from years of experience that Frobisher will make a paltry settlement offer, and uses Katie as a diversion/Trojan Horse to hide the real punch that's coming. It could be Greg or something else. Either way, Frobisher's camp now have their guard down.

I totally missed the she-male subplot. Is that what they have on Greg or is the young Calypso the dude?

Luke Richards, the broker's assistant, picked up the she-male. He/she was in the ATM security photo that established Richards' whereabouts.

I in no way meant for "she-male" to be offensive to the transgendered population. I'll stop posting now.

would someone please tell me how to find out what in the heck is happening in "Damages"? what a sorry mess of undeveloped scenes! The 8th episode is the first one I saw, and this much is clear: either the viewer had to watch every episode beginning with # 1 or there is no way to unscramble and decode the mess.

I think you are right...Damages is NOT a show one can come in on the middle...those pesky timelines! Six months earlier...One month later...six weeks earlier...then later...I sat watching tonight's episode wondering how much I missed while watching the first few episodes and wondering when the network will do a marathon so I can watch it all from the beginning and pick up the nuances...Also I wonder if this is really a miniseries disguised as a series...what could a Season 2 possibly be?

Oh well...the previews for next week's show mean that I will watch Damages yet again...and THAT'S what the network and sponsors care about isn't it?