I am – Hercules!!


A legal thriller from writer-producers Todd & Glenn Kessler (“The Sopranos”) about a law-school grad who finds herself caught up in a new firm and a case that could get those closest to her killed, “Damages” might be the best series ever offered up by FX.

And as much as I love AMC’s “Mad Men,” “Damages” is also probably the best new show of the summer.

Probably. We’ve only seen the first two episodes, but they’re plenty propulsive, and full of the kind of confidence certain to carry many if not most through its first season’s 13 installments.

“Damages” will remind many of “Murder One,” because it’s enormously compelling and because it deals with a single case over the course of a season. It’s not a murder case, but many livelihoods are involved.

It stars Rose Byrne (“Attack of the Clones,” “28 Weeks Later”), Glenn Close (“The Shield”), Ted Danson (“Body Heat”), Tate Donovan (“The O.C.”) and Jamie Bamber’s magnetic blonde sister Anastasia Griffith, who appeared in the little-seen remake of “Alfie.” Like her brother, Griffith is a half-American Britisher but musters a flawless American accent.

She’s as good as her more famous co-stars, who here are very good indeed.

But what matters Herc’s opinion?

USA Today gives it three and a half stars (out of four) and says:

… From her opening appearance as Patty Hewes, New York's toughest, smartest, most famous attorney, Close makes it fabulously clear that the star and the material are perfectly aligned. Outmaneuvering an opponent and then parrying his insult with a far more devastating reply, Close needs only a few moments to convey her character and hook you into her. …

TV Guide says:

… Close, who spent a memorable season on The Shield, is in top form in Damages, a classic FX melodrama that frames its dark story in a sinister Hitchcockian mystery involving ambitious law-school grad Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), whom we first see emerging bloody from an elevator. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… Great dialogue, perfect delivery. Close is a big old-fashioned American movie star (thank heavens there are a few of them left), and in "Damages" she proves that genus is just as flexible as its British cousin. Like Helen Mirren and Judi Dench, her performance illuminates rather than outshines with its high wattage. …

The Washington Post says:

"Damages," making a sensational premiere tonight on the FX network, thoroughly justifies adding yet another high-powered law firm to the prime-time population. The firm is not only high-powered but it's also "high-stakes," we keep being told -- and so is the show. "Damages" is also emphatically, and almost torturously, high-tension, and the pilot script is one of the most artfully crafted since the debut back in the 20th century of "The Sopranos." ...

The Houston Chronicle says:

… FX has landed the next in a continuous line of can't-miss shows. Based on the first two episodes, Damages may be the best of a ballyhooed bunch that includes The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me and The Riches. …

The Seattle Post-Intellingencer says:

… could be the most meticulous and calculating show on television, constructed from perennially appealing television elements … The co-creators and writers, Todd and Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman, obviously have a talent for marrying challenging story to the high-level aesthetics of superior television, like artful cinematography and its enthralling plot. … "Damages" may be the best series in what's shaping up to be a bumper crop of high quality cable, and that's not a light statement. No piece is out of place here; the writing, the plotting, everything is in tune. …

The Portland Oregonian says:

… "Damages" promises to be long, complex and dark with bleak, absurd comedy.…

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says:

The idea of Glenn Close facing off against Ted Danson in a drama series - she as an aggressive litigator, he as the corrupt tycoon she's determined to bring down - sounded so intriguing that I couldn't wait to see "Damages." By the end of the second episode, the two hadn't even met. But this FX cable series is so suspenseful, twisted and sometimes downright terrifying that I barely noticed. …

The Orlando Sentinel says:

… the most striking thing is this vehicle's frame. Here's a legal thriller with the depth and structure of an engrossing novel. You probably wouldn't want to live in this dark, nasty world. But it's a fascinating place to visit …

Variety says:

… despite smart dialogue and foreshadowing of conflict, there are doubts as to whether this is just another fictionalized legal show where the behavior is so unethical everybody should be disbarred by episode three.…

10 p.m. Tuesday. FX.

49% Off Deathly Hallows!!