With yet another report that Damages has seen its final days, it's probably time to accept its demise as a fact, FX official acknowledgment or not. It's really a shame -- there are few legal shows as thrilling and unique as Damages has been (yes, even taking Season 2 into consideration), but for some reason it never found an audience. Maybe the ads made it look boring, maybe people thought it would be too highbrow and complicated for them to enjoy, maybe people are just freaked out by Glenn Close. We'll never know the reason why people didn't want to watch this fantastic, Emmy-winning show, but we do know that we'll miss it something fierce next season. Here are the main reasons why.
Glenn Close's Freak-Outs
That woman knows how to have a breakdown, doesn't she? I'll miss the way she handily destroyed her enemies, like the time she just eviscerated Michael's pregnant fiancée for trying to steal her money, and I'll miss her awesomely over-the-top reactions to tragedies, like Ray Fiske's suicide and Tom's death (I still have nightmares about "I told you to stooooop!!!"). Actresses come younger, but they don't come better at glaring and hyperventilating.
The Shocking Murders
It started with Patty Hewes sending an assassin after a dog named Saffron and ended with Joe Tobin drowning Tom Shayes in a toilet, with about a dozen more in between. Throughout the show's entire run it has blown us away with astonishing twists and surprise, horrific killings that actually made sense, plot and character-wise, and didn't just serve to shock. The only other scripted show that has half as much fun with gore as Damages did is Sons of Anarchy, but that show is about biker gangs -- it's supposed to be bloody. How often do you get to watch lawyers go medieval on people? It's criminally rare.
The Flashbacks
There's not a whole lot going on in the way of well-crafted, season-long mysteries on TV right now, and Damages' way of expertly introducing reveals little by little by way of grainy, blood-stained, often booze-soaked flashbacks will leave a nail-biting void on the television landscape.
The Character Twists
It was a show where you didn't know where anybody's allegiances really lied, what their real motives were and who they'd end up being in the end. Yes, some of them didn't quite work -- we all saw Daniel Purcell as his wife's murderer from a mile away -- but the ones that did were chilling. Marilyn Tobin manipulating her son into murdering her granddaughter just to keep her money safe would have been absurd on a lesser show, and Ray Fiske's suicide over being exposed as not only an insider trader but, probably more importantly, a closeted homosexual was one of the most shocking TV moments ever.
Tom Shayes
Arguably the emotional glue of the show, Tom Shayes was a man torn between his ambition and moral weakness, and the small parts of him that were actually capable of better. And when everything was taken away from him he was too embarrassed to go to Patty for help, and it was his pride that ultimately got him killed. He was the show's most tragic figure, and Tate Donovan always managed to play him in a sympathetic way. There aren't too many whipping boys on TV you actually like, but Tom Shayes was one of them.
There's One Less Great Female Lead on Television Now
Patty Hewes was a terrifying, cagey, unpredictable character with tremendous power, and Glenn Close played her so perfectly Glenn Closey I couldn't imagine anyone else ever having the part. TV as a whole is undoubtedly worse for the absence of Patty Hewes.
The only thing I won't miss is Rose Byrne. I know she has her fans, and I'm happy for her -- I'm sure she's a lovely person -- but that girl was in way over her head for the entire run of the series. Hope she gets a less challenging gig next time around.
Your Damageseulogies? Vehement denial over its impending official cancellation? Rose Byrne indignation? Let me have it below!
See which past TV shows need to come back from the dead.
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I rank Damages as one of the top shows I've seen in years and I tried my damndest to spread the word.
Damages is/was definitely one of the best shows on tv. Superb acting and writing. I do like Rose Byrne, Ellen could seem a bit 'wooden', but I like to think that's more the character than the actress.
Damages was amazing in Season 1, but Season 2 was so so bad, I didn't even finish it. And that was the killer for me. When a show goes SO much downhill, SO fast, you don't come back for Season 3.
This was an amazing show. I can't believe that it has not been renewed! It was thrilling and kept you on the edge each show. The actors were great! I am so disappointed!
So sad.....this show pulled me in from the first episode. What made it great is also what killed it in my opinion. If you did not jump on the damages train when it left the station you were left lost, confused, and questioning all the flashbacks. You almost had to watch it from the first episode to totally "get it". But, it made for some fantastic tv in a world where that is rare.
Props also to Ted Danson for an amazing character, my favorite of them all. I hope that the rumors aren't true & we get one more season at least- this show is amazing.
You know it's been picked up for one more season by Direct TV right?
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b191087_damages_saved_directv_brings_it_back.html
Also, I think Damages has been like a brilliant acting class for Rose Byrne, her scenes with Glenn this year were great, I love the weird vibe they have going on.
What a disappointment. With so much boring TV, I always looked forward to Damages for relief and enjoyment. Maybe they could cancel a reality show instead.
If it does come back, even if only on a web channel I will watch it - too much invested in the story arc!
(however, not getting Direct TV just to watch it...)
i think it was the ads! it made it look like any other show but when i watched an episode it was tottalllly different. i was hoping they'd keep it on.
I loved the show. Glenn Close is superb. I had no idea show was not coming back. I kept checking when it would be on. I don't get it. There are so many bad TV shows. Some of the good ones never get a chance. Disappointing for sure.
The first season was riveting. Sigh. The others have really lagged. But a television world without Patty Hewes is not a world worth living in.
Wow finaly someone is standing up to the online marketing gurus lol check this guy out.. he will flip ur worl dupsidedown http://tinyurl. com/3yrh3qo
Love this show. starts on jan 5th on directv. best show on tv. maybe it could replace some of the god awful shows on fox!!!
I loved this show- especially in HD. Everything came in so clear and it was awesome. Ted Danson and Glenn Close and last but by far the least Rose Byrne were all amazing! I have to say like many others though, the first season was by far the best. I work at DISH and know most of the series on the premium channels- it was nice to find a quality show on basic channels any more!
ZACH BOOTH
I was totally hooked on this show -- until they messed with the scheduling -- don't remember if it was the end of the 1st season -- or the beginning of the 2nd -- and I missed a 3 episodes. Couldn't find them on-line. With a show like this you've got to see each episode or you don't know what's going on. That was it for me.
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