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FX’s DAMAGES Tonight Gets Repurposed On MyNetworkTV!!
I am – Hercules!!
The print edition of TV Guide says tonight MyNetworkTV offers a two-hour George Michael concert. It’s a lie.
My TiVo says what’s really on is the first two hours of “Damages,” which originally aired on cable’s FX over the last two Tuesdays.
Broadcast networks occasionally repurposing newish cable fare is nothing new, but “Damages” is at the moment vying with “John From Cincinnati” as my favorite new show of this summer, so I thought I’d alert readers to this semi-secret opportunity to catch the show from the beginning.
Some reviews for those who missed them:
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.…
“Damages”: 8 p.m. Wednesday. MyNet.
“American Inventor” 9 p.m. Wednesday. ABC.
“Last Comic Standing”: 9 p.m. Wednesday. NBC.
“The Nine”: 10 p.m. Wednesday. ABC.
“The Real World Sydney”: 10 p.m. Wednesday. MTV.
“Rescue Me”: 10 p.m. Wednesday. FX.
Blade Runner: Ultimate!!
Avatar 2.x * Babylon 5: The Lost Tales * Bones 2.x * Dexter 1.x * Dirt 1.x * Entourage 3.x Vol. 2 * Fantastic Four Vol. 2 * The Film Crew: Killers From Space * Friday Night Lights 1.x * Heroes 1.x * Heroes 1.x [HD-DVD] * Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law 3.x * Hawaii Five-0 2.x * House 3.x * How I Met Your Mother 2.x * It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 1.x/2.x * Jericho 1.x * Josie & The Pussycats: The Complete Series * Land of the Giants: The Complete Series * Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1 * Lost 3.x * The L-Word 4.x * Medium 3.x * Metalocalypse 1.x * The Muppet Show 2.x * The Office 3.x * Popeye 1933-1938 * Prison Break 2.x * Robot Chicken 2.x * Rome 2.x * Samurai Jack 4.x * The Sarah Silverman Program 1.x * The Secret of Isis * The Simpsons 10.x * Smallville 6.x * Smallville 6.x (Blu-ray) * Smallville 6.x (HD-DVD) * Space 1999: The Complete Series * South Park 10.x * Spawn: 10th Anniversary Gift Set * Stargate SG-1 10.x * Star Trek: Captain's Log * Studio 60: The Complete Series * Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show * Superman: Doomsday * Supernatural 2.x * Tales From The Crypt 6.x * 30 Rock 1.x * Thunderbirds: The Complete Series * The Tick Vs. 2.x * Two And A Half Men 1.x * Veronica Mars 3.x * Weeds 2.x * Weeds 2.x (Blu-Ray)
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first
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Once the initial excitement has worn off, you just feel like a complete cunt
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and Harry Blows father geek
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What parking lot would that take place in..? I'd rather see a George Michael Bluth concert..
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Ever!
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Esp. the best that's ever been on FX.
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Isn't "Always Sunny in Philly" on FX? If, so there's no way this show can do better than second best on FX (Rose Byrne hotness notwithstanding). Speaking of that, are they ever going to air new IASIP episodes??
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Not that that necessarily means anything. But it would just be funny if your two favorite shows (Cincinnati and Damages) were both critically bashed.
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2 episodes so far and it's awesome. The constant advertising nearly killed my intention of watching the show when it premiered last week but I did and it was worth it.
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while currently airing on another network. Let me qualify this by talking about first run shows, not shows that are syndication.
I would assume that HBO/Showtime would not do this because it would undercut into their profits or ratings. I don't think that MyNetworkTV is in enough homes to make a dent though. -
it doesn't hold a candle to The Shield. New Sunny in Philly episodes start in September.
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After two episodes, I'd say Damages is very good. The performances are good, and I like how the layers of the onion are being peeled off. I just hope that they don't go too far down the path where every word a character says must be discarded and every action is part of a Machiavellian plot. The ample gift giving (apartment, puppy) last night was a bit too obvious to be ignored, or taken as genuine gestures.
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or whatever his name is gets an extra star, he was in the first X Files episode I saw in season one, and hooked me on the show.
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And in the last 3 episodes Bruce Greenwood has just...disappeared. Wait to get rid of the best actor on the show. I really liked the first 3 episodes or so....but that's when I thought it was actually going somewhere. And please, the dialog isn't THAT great...I mean it can't save a show without ANY structure or direction whatsoever. This is experimental tv, and I applaud the effort to be different....but only when it WORKS. [/end personal opinion]
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It has potential, and I hope it fulfills.
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The best show on scifi and you ignore it.
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Missed it, and don't care.
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Kyle XY and Greek turn up on ABC now and again. Galactica has run on NBC. NBC plans to repurpose Law & Order CI every week after original episodes air first on USA.
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surprising!
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Everyone I know that watched that show gave it up. Milch doesn't even know what its about. Enjoy it while it lasts Herc, as I predicted with your Andy Barker PI, this show is also destined for the chopping block.
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...that NOBODY is talking about. Rupert's little red-headed step child network? It's pathetic! You watch ET tonight...they are going over all the new shows you will see this Fall...they only talk about NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and The CW...they never even mention MNTV at all. No one does. And the only reason a fine show like Damages is being "reporposed" on this sub-netlet is because MNTV sales execs are selling their advertising like it's a FOX network...and nobody is tuning in for their crapfest programming! So, they end up over-promising their viewership. Now, to make the advertisers happy, they stunt program a decent show to make up for the nowhere ratings and overnight metering that their "regular" programming gets. Rupert's plan, when The WB and UPN folded in on themselves to form The CW...was to STILL have a 6 network universe...Guess what Rupey?...There's only 5...and only 4 are profitable...and The CW is just barely hangin in there. The only benefit of reairing Damages on MNTV is to give some antenna/rabbit ear broadcast viewers a shot at watching a pretty decent show for once.
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Where will i get my George Michael fix now? guess it's off to the rest stop.
The first episode of Damages, was almost on par with the shield, the second was about the level of a good Nip/Tuck episode. So, I'd have to say in order of quality, it's:
The Shield
Rescue Me
Damages
It's always Sunny
Nip/Tuck
Buffy Reruns
Late night infomercials
DIRT -
Tigger, PLEASE!
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THE SHIELD really tanked this last season, especially particularly in the abysmally written exit of Forest Whitaker -- the show is really treading water now, the Shane/Vic rivalry is poorly realized and badly strung-out. The whole thing has lost its forward momentum and desperately needs to come to an end. RESCUE ME, on the other hand, is firing on all cylinders and plumbing some of the darkest levels of the human soul. It's leagues above THE SHIELD at the moment.
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http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33436
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to match Rescue Me.
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what their show is ABOUT. So, it's already got the leg up on JFC. heh.
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...except maybe put Resue Me below the Buffy reruns
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I guess I wasn't the only one that knew MyNetworkTV existed!
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It has more heart, humor, fun, and continuity than Galactica ever could. The showrunners know where they are going and make every little thing count. No damn ret con every other episode to write their way out of a corner. No dropped storylines because they finally realize they suck. No idiotic spectral Dylan songs to let you know you are a Cylon.
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Dirt was more honest than either Entourage or Larry David's show.
Despite the fact we see stars in legal trouble or rehab EVERY single day none of the Hwood FANTASY shows reflect that.
But DIRT does.
I know all you DIRT haters sit home and beat off to Travolta in drag pics while DROOLING over the latest piece of shit teeny bopper flashfest. -
It's all semantics. If yoy listen to what John says and translate it makes sense.
This weeks episode John was telling everyone that he forgot his fathers plan. Making him essentially no better than anyone else.
John also drops snippets of revelation. Sure you recognize them AFTER the fact. But you can see where they are going after he says them.
Finally the show is about fucked up people. We all know fucked up people. I knew a guy who gut shot another man who was dating his exgf. With a sawed off no less. While he was in jail his son started fucking the exgf and they had kids.
My brother knew a guy who was fired from a funeral home for fucking dead women.
These people are just more "real" because they are emotionally frayed. -
So is Eureka!
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...are equally good at doing what they are trying to do. It is like comparing Steak and Lobster--I like BOTH! I am glad to have the option, and one that is so different from the other.There should be room here for both TalkBacks, I would think.
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Aug 01, 2007 8:45:31 PM CDT
SantiagoAtez, John said what happened in first episode.
by evilwizardglick
John said Hectors village would build a shrine to Mitch.
Mitch ran away when the shit hit the fan.
He is an emotional child.
What an utter horror the Yost marriage must have been.
Besides Mitch needed to find a guru to direct his levitation training. -
It did, so fucking bad.
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At least JFC isn't pulling throw awy plots and characters out writers ass to make up for lack of direction.
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Time for some ice water and a sit down in front of the fan with those wacky firemen.
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I don't care which one of you does it, but give us a joint Damages/Rescue Me Talkback each week. I just started watching Rescue Me...I'm just past the opening credits, and...wow. This is the third of fourth incredibly powerful opening scene just this season. The writing on the show this season is absolutely incredible. Leary's Emmy nomination could not be more timely. There is no praise that could be heaped on this show right now that would not be justified.
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Weren't we supposed to get new episodes this summer?
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Couldn't make it through even the first hour of this over the top melodrama. There was no one to care for or empathise with and I hate shows about corruption. Give me Denny Crane over this Glenn Close ice queen any day.
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Is anybody watching MAD MEN? I've seen the first two episodes and they're pretty strong writing-wise. However, the show makes me want to drink like a fish and smoke like a goddamn forest fire.
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And still no emergence of any sort of plot. It seems to be a show about production design and writers relishing racist and sexist dialog.I'll give the third episode a shot tonight. But, if something doesn't happen fast, I'll be bowing out.
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I agree. Although, it looks like they may (finally) be setting up some conflict with that young prick exec coming back from his honeymoon. But they need to tip their hat as to where this is going soon. I need more of a reason to watch than that curvy redhead...
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for Its Always Sunny? Coming mid-Sept. "I'm a PC...post coital..now get me a bucket to wash my balls...." Can't wait.
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I concur about Mad Men. It's obviously well done, but until they move it along, it's just an exercise that's not terribly interesting unless you have a fetish for smoking.
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