Damages – The Complete First Season (2007/Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B+     Extras: B-     Episodes: B

 

 

Though there have been too many legal drams on TV and even some with comedy to them like Boston Legal, Damages – The Complete First Season (made by Sony, shown on the FX Network) is one of the better ones as Glenn Close plays a lawyer determined to take down a greedy CEO (Ted Danson, continuing his new career peak) in a storyline inspired by scandals like Enron.  The good thing is that it never becomes a soap opera and manages to hit home enough to work.

 

With 13 hour-long shows, that is more like half of a season, but that is better than most dramas (especially most legal shows) we have seen in a while and Close is particularly good in her role continuing her reputation as one of the best actresses of her generation and even overall in the business.  The material is still smart and good, but it is the actors who put this show over and the only problem is, can they repeat this success in the upcoming season?  Be sure to see this while you can, especially on Blu-ray.

 

Though it does not start out looking good, the 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is pretty good looking, up there with Smallville when it is at its best and is produced with a good look one wishes more HD productions would have.  The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is not bad whether and though the show can is dialogue driven, it has its surround moments and is well recorded throughout.  Extras include an interactive guide to understanding class action law, deleted scenes, cast/crew commentary tracks on select shows, interviews with the creators and a making of featurette.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo