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| Damages - Season 1 [2007] | ![Damages - Season 1 [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51fO3uzxW%2BL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Mario Van Peebles
Actors: Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Ted Danson, Zeljko Ivanek, Tate Donovan
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £34.99
Buy New: £7.79
You Save: £27.20 (78%)
Buy New/Used from £7.79
Avg. Customer Rating:  (19 reviews)
Sales Rank: 405
Format: Colour, Dolby, Pal, Subtitled
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Media: DVD
Running Time: 559 minutes
Number Of Items: 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.8
EAN: 5035822673212
ASIN: B0012MLCPW
Release Date: April 14, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
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 protege. 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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 I loved it November 24, 2008
This is a great series, from first frame to final credits.
I admit that I was completely taken into the glossy, glamorous, ultimately shallow world of the US legal system as depicted here - and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment.
While I fully accept the comment that the show sometimes felt like an ongoing marketing campaign, on a perverse level, I actually felt that element added to its enjoyment. Moreover, neither the show nor the actors involved, ever appeared to take any of it too seriously.
As for the Rainbow comparisons, I actually thought Rose Byrne was pretty good as the clever but extremely naive, rather pompous young lawyer, who makes the mistake of believing in her abilities just a little too much. And Glen Close makes a hugely enjoyable 'villain'.
To any potential viewer, don't over-analyse, just sit back and enjoy!
I've given it 5 stars because it was so entertaining, and on watching the series a second time, I loved it even more. Good television is a rare commodity in this reality/celebrity TV obsessed age, and I salute any series steers away from this sorry state of affairs.
 Could have been great November 22, 2008
The series starts off great. It kicks off with the protagonist wandering the streets covered in blood, then flashes back to events 6 months earlier and gradually comes up to date to fill us in on the story - an intriguing framing premise that only starts to wear out its welcome by episode 4 or so. The characters are fascinating - especially the very human monsters brilliantly played by Glenn Close and Ted Danson. So what went wrong? As we near the end of the season, it's revealed that the most improbable characters are embroiled in an ever-widening conspiracy. Plot hoops and cliffhangers take over from the earlier subtle characterization. There's the sense that, like with Prison Break, the writers are starting to steer the story with a view to getting a second season. If it had been just the one season, this could have been a masterpiece. At the point you realize it's just going to go on and on till it runs out of steam, you may question whether you really want to commit your time to watching another 13 episodes that will just contrive ways to spin the story out. The writers should have taken a lesson from The Shield, where there is always forward momentum that carries you on insatiably to another season, but that forward momentum comes honestly from the characters' interactions - it's not a question of moving the characters to suit the plot and (worse) to provide "salesman" storytelling tricks such as shock reveals and portentous dialogue.
Damages Season 1 November 14, 2008
One of the best drama's i've seen for a while, I have currently been hooked on "THE WIRE" which is probably the best show ever made. Damages starts slowly and the character "Ellen" played by Rose Byrne seems an unlikely heroin. But as time passes she becomes all you want from a hero in a series. Glen Close definitly steels the show with a outstanding on screen display, you can't decide wheather you love or hate her.
I can't wait for Season 2 which is currently being filmed. Ted "cheers" Danson also plays a blinder as a Big Bussiness Fat Cat who although shows us how far he will go to cement his legacy he still has a concience.
If you watch it you will love it,If you choose not to watch it you will miss out on what Modern T.V shows can bring us. FANTASTIC VIEWING!!!!
Get some Damages November 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Anything I write here will never be able to do justice to this show. Damages is the best television series out there today. End of. Now I'll admit I wasn't expecting anything like what I got. I thought maybe it would be similar to the brilliant `Murder One,' possibly a watered down version of `The Practice,' or one of the many other lawyer dramas on American tv. I was wrong, and I was surprised, and now I'm addicted to Damages.
Damages takes the law drama and turns it into the kind of mystery thriller that would put any recent generic cousin to shame. Glenn Close plays Paddy Hewes, the toughest, most uncompromising, and dangerous attorney in New York state. She's heading up a huge lawsuit against Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson) a billionaire businessman who bailed out on five thousand employees now left penniless. Hewes has just recruited Ellen (Rose Byrne) to her hotshot prosecuting team, but her motives remain suspect and the dirty tactics are used on both sides of the courtroom to win at all costs. Such a synopsis barely scratches the surface to what can best be described as `The Sopranos' relocated to a law firm and given law degrees instead of guns. The storytelling here is masterful. The creators employ a flashback narrative to build the suspense of what is to come - a murder, a suspect and a conspiracy that runs deeper than you first imagine.
Glenn Close is phenomenal, relishing every second she gets to play the ruthless, cunning Paddy Hewes. She has been reborn on the small screen allowing people to remember how great she really is. Relative newcomer Rose Byrne more than holds her own against the legendary titan, and invests Ellen with a naivety that gradually develops into hardnosed professionalism as the series continues. Her combination of sex appeal and intelligence makes her one to watch in the next few years - I expect big things from her to come. Meanwhile on the opposition; Ted Danson turns in the most unexpectedly fierce, frightening, devious and desperate character of his whole career. He is a revelation. Who knew he could play such a great, multi-faceted villain, and be so believable in the part? This is the guy who was once one third of Three Men and a Baby. His council comes in the form of slippery defence attorney Ray Fiske, played marvellously by Zeljko Ivanek who recently won an Emmy for his excellent performance. The acting is as good as small screen acting gets. The cast is faultless, right down to the smaller roles. Ivanek in particular takes an initially unsympathetic character and finds a humanity that makes him all the more tragic.
Damages is a whirlwind mystery drama/thriller that is about the manoeuvring on both sides of the defence and the prosecution. No one is clean. No one is completely innocent. Everybody lies and deceives. Paddy tells her new recruit that the most important lesson to be learned in this business is "Trust no one." It should have been the tagline for the show. The twists are so well engineered you would think it was written as a novel before it was a TV series. The episodes seem like chapters that slowly unravel the long, winding plot with all the gusto of a Class A movie production - the show looks a million bucks and is accompanied by an epic, operatic score that plays the tension, works the drama, finds the tragedy and underscores the passion perfectly.
There are few shows I say are near perfect - 'The Wire' is one, `The Shield' another, but Damages takes the mantle as the most riveting new series to arrive on British screens in a long, long while. It avoids the cliches, surpasses expectations, overturns preconceptions and sustains a complex, intelligent plot that is peopled by interesting, diverse and multi-layered characters all played by a winning ensemble. The direction is stylish, the music and editing accomplished and everything reaches that right pitch between satisfying entertainment and thought provoking drama. And for a show all about the law there ain't a courtroom in sight. This is about what goes on outside the walls of justice, and shows us how power can be used to manipulate, cheat, deceive and destroy at any cost. Get addicted today and go get some Damages on DVD.
 Great show but nog classic October 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although i agree with of the 5 star reviews (gripping story, superbly acted, nice pace,...) i'll stick with a 4 out of 5 for one main reason: at certain points in the series it annoyed that i could see through the concept and feel that it was it built according to a "formula". This could be in little details like choice of shots of the director, the presentation of plot changes,...
Just like blockbuster formats, Damages sometimes feels just a little too much like it was created with just too much marketing in mind.
It is because of this that i have to rate it below shows that could overcome this issue and just feel just more 'real', like -for me- The Sopranos, Shield,...
Show is great though, just not a new Sopranos
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