The TV Addict 

In a press conference Monday promoting the FX legal thriller DAMAGES, actor Tate Donovan [Jimmy Cooper] blamed the quick decline of THE OC on the ego’s of his young co-stars. “The kids became incredibly difficult to work with,” said Donovan, adding that, “the actors were unhappy, and they all wanted movie careers and did not want to be on television, all four of them. They were, like, ‘This show is killing my career.”

There’s nothing this TV Addict detests more than ungrateful actors. Killing their career? How about MAKING them? Who on earth were Benjamin Mackenzie, Misha Barton, Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson prior to THE OC? Since you asked, they were anonymous actors who happened to catch one really big break. A break they apparently took completely for granted. Thank-God THE OC ended so these kids can kick start their movie careers! By the way, can somone please be sure to let this TV Addict know when these kids get a movie ‘career.’

Thanks to TVTATTLE for the Tip!

It’s not often the TV Addict goes out on a limb like this, but we’re just going to say it. As of right now DAMAGES is the best show on television and if you’re not watching, you’re missing out.

Not a good enough endorsement for you — how’s this? Up here in the Great White North [Canada] we don’t even get the F/X network, yet we’re so hooked on DAMAGES that we’ve been buying every episode weekly on iTunes (sidebar: NBC take note).

Glenn Close is an absolute revelation [Emmy voters look no further], Ted Danson’s revitalized his career [Could Arthur Frobisher be any less sympathetic after last week’s episode?] and Rose Byrne, WOW — can you believe she isn’t even American? [She’s from Australia, yet has a flawless accent].

Like the first season’s of LOST or ALIAS, every episode ends with a jaw-dropping twist. And just when you think you’ve got things figured out, the writer’s peel back another layer of the onion. Ray Fiske is good! Patty’s bad! Peter Facinelli’s finally in a series that isn’t immediately cancelled!

Truly, we have no idea what’s going to happen next. The only thing we’re sure of is that Arthur Frobisher is not the season’s ultimate bad guy. We’ve watched enough episodes of 24, PRISON BREAK and KIDNAPPED to know that someone far more sinister and evil is pulling Frobisher’s strings and if you think you know who that is, please do this TV Addict a favour and post away in the comments below.

It’s been a great summer of interviews! And last week I was lucky enough to take part in a conference call with Tate Donovan — one of the stars of DAMAGES, FX’s latest addictive drama. Here is how the call went down.

Has starring in a high-profile series with the super popular Glenn Close rubbed off on you? Has it affected your life and/or career in unexpected ways?
Tate Donovan: Working with Glenn Close is a fantastic experience. But you have to bring your ‘A’ game when you work with her. She’s really prepared. It’s actually really a joy because she asks the director and the producers the best questions. Every time, she’s sort of like, “Well, hold on a second. Why is this?” She was asking about the plot, because it’s very confusing to everybody, exactly what’s going on in the case, since we’re not really lawyers. She’s very inspiring in terms of just the questions she asks, and you’re always going, “Geez, I wish I had asked that question,” like “Why does Frobisher do da, da, da, da, da?” Yes, she’s wonderful, a total inspiration.

The writing and the characters are so nuanced in Damages. There is no clear-cut bad or good, just all sorts of shades of gray and in between. Your character, Tom, is for the most part, an on-the-level guy, but are you hopeful that the character will veer into the dark side more or stay more above the fray and above all the machinations that Patty has up her sleeve?
What’s kind of exciting about Tom is that he, like all of us, are just trying to do the best we can. I think he lacks that killer instinct that Patty has in spades. She’s a genius. She knows exactly how to go in for the kill. Tom, I think is more interested in being liked. Patty doesn’t care, she just wants to win. It’s funny; a lot of people are like, “You are the worst kind of evil, because he’s a nice guy and he’s evil.” I don’t particularly see him as evil. I see him as just a guy who is trying to survive in a pretty cut-throat environment.

Tom is kind of Patty’s right hand man. And we saw him basically stay with her, even though she wouldn’t fight for him. I was just wondering, is the character simply happier in her shadow or does he kind of see them as making an unbeatable team when they’re together?
When we shot the pilot, I said, “Tom is sort of like Patty’s wife.” The producers were like, “Yes, you’re absolutely right, totally.” That’s kind of how I play it. There’s a certain power in being behind the person who has the power. D you know what I mean, the obvious power? I think Tom sort of shines more brightly when he’s not in that first chair.

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Why you ask? Well I’ll tell you. First off, Canada doesn’t get the F/X Network. As a result, I have no idea what happened on last night’s episode of DAMAGES. Thankfully the show is available on iTunes, so I’ll be able to catch up. But even so, watching the show on my iMac simply isn’t the same as watching it on my beautiful 37″ Sharp Aquos.

Which bring me to ‘why I’m bitter’ reason #2. I have TV envy. My brother just picked up a gorgeous 42″ Panasonic Viera TV for a mere $1599. Less than a year ago I paid $1999 for my measly 37″ TV. Damn you technology, why can’t you ever stay the same!

And finally, reason #3 ‘why I’m bitter’. I recently discovered that Showcase, the Canadian network that owns the rights to WEEDS will not be airing the third season alongside our friends to the south. Turns out fellow Canadians will have to wait until Fall ‘07 to enjoy the third season antics of Mary-Louise Parker and Co. As of this moment, Showcase has yet to respond to the TV Addict’s request to be interviewed. But rest assured, if they ever decide to answer my questions with regards to why yet again Cananadian TV viewers are an afterthought, I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Wish you could watch DAMAGES, but live in Canada (ie. that country above America, or as Homer Simpson calls it ‘America Junior’)? Well tonight’s your chance. MyNetworkTV (Rogers Cable Channel 167) is re-airing the first two episodes tonight, starting at 8PM. Mark your calendars folks, August 1, 2007 — the first day MyNetworkTV actually aired something worth watching.

Were you one of the thousands of unlucky HEREOS fans (yes, I’m talking to you Ducky and GMMR) who weren’t able to attend Saturday’s HEREOS panel at the San Diego Comic Con? NBC, easily the most digital saavy of the big five networks has just posted a replay of the panel online. Check it out by clicking here and prepare yourself for a serious HEROES lovefest. Evidently fanboys forgot how disappointing the season finale was.

Want a sneak peak of the third season premiere of WEEDS that doesn’t involved illegally downloading it? Become a Showtime VIP Insider. In a brilliant move to snag your personal info, simply click here, sign over your first born! and enjoy the fantastic third season premiere of Showtime’s funniest comedy.

Missed last week’s FX premiere of DAMAGES? Well thanks to iTunes, it’s not too late to catch up. Click here to download the pilot from iTunes and find out why theTVaddict.com has made DAMAGES a “can’t miss.”

Already hooked? How about some spoilers for tonight’s second episode. Okay ’spoilers’ is probably the wrong word, as I’m not about to ruin the fun. But having already seen the episode, I will say that Ellen’s fiance is not the only family member whose life is in danger and yet again Glenn Close manages to surprise. DAMAGES airs tonight on FX at 10PM.

By: Amrie Cunningham (My Take on TV)
If there’s one thing that you plan to do at 10PM on July 24th, please promise me that it involves watching the Pilot episode of FX’s captivating new drama Damages. Glenn Close is fascinating as hard nosed lawyer Patty Hewes. She will do anything to get her way. In the courtroom, in her daily life. It begs repeating that she will do anything to get her way. There are times when watching this force (she’s not just a character, she’s a force to be reckoned with) that you stop and think “she is such a sweet woman; she truly loves her husband and son, how can she be such a cutthroat litigator” but then she does something reprehensible and you’re left wondering “why didn’t I see that coming?” This is the kind of show that FX thrives on. Twisted, and daring, and dangerous; heartfelt, romantic, intense. It covers the gamut, and brings to mind the originality of The Shield, and Rescue Me and what makes them amazing shows to watch.

We open on various beautifully shot scenes of NYC. To the sound of an elevator as it goes down floor by floor, we’re finally graced with the harsh shots of Aussie import Rose Byrne’s flawless Ellen Parsons covered head to toe in someone else’s blood, wearing only a green jacket over her underwear. From there, the direction takes us seamlessly back and forth between present time and 6 months to show us how it all began. How this classic beauty went from an ambitious young first year to a cynical, hardnosed Patty Hewes clone in an incredibly short time. It’s heart wrenching, it’s gut turning, it’s flawless, and it’s hard. There are twists around every corner. Without giving too much away, Patty will shock you. Ellen and Tom, and Katie, and Arthur will shock you. The death and the turmoil will blow you away. The end will leave you gasping for breath, and will keep you thinking about the show for days. It’s exactly the kind of ending that an good TV show should have, one that keeps you thinking until the next (equally as intense) episode.

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In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, FX President John Landgraf proudly proclaimed that since his network can’t give a show a lead-in [like the broadcast networks] “it has to be appointment television for people to find it.”

Having recently finished the first episode of FX’s newest drama DAMAGES, this TV Addict has a message for Mr. Landgraf. Consider our appointment booked (for this Tuesday at 10PM on FX).

DAMAGES is unlike anything currently on television. In the grand tradition of THE SHIELD and NIP/TUCK, the show re-invents the legal world in which it’s set in. Gone are monotonous courtroom scenes, predictable verdicts and write-by-numbers villains. In FX’s latest legal thriller, nothing is what it seems, everybody’s working an angle and the line between good and bad is practically non-existent.

DAMAGES revolves around Ellen Parsons (Australian Rose Byrne), a brilliant young attorney who we’re first introduced to when she’s found wandering the streets of New York blood-soaked and confused. Why all the blood? What led to this horrible tragedy? Rest assured folks — this isn’t LOST. Within the hour questions start to get answered.

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Rarely does the TV Addict get this excited, but it’s been exactly twenty-four hours since I finished watching my pilot screener of DAMAGES and truth be told, I have yet to stop thinking about it (especially that final scene!).

While I plan on posting a full review later in the week, let me say this — the summer TV season officially starts this July 24 at 10PM courtesy of FX Networks. Like NIP/TUCK and THE SHIELD before it — DAMAGES re-invents the legal drama providing viewers with one of the most exciting and thrilling hours of television since May’s LOST finale. Do yourself a favor and tune in. This TV Addict guarantees you won’t be disappointed.

FX’s latest original drama series DAMAGES premieres on Tuesday July 24 at 10PM and theTVaddict.com is pleased to offer you a first look. DAMAGES stars the remarkable Glenn Close as Patty Hewes, the nation’s most revered and reviled high-stakes litigator. When Hewes handpicks Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) to be a first-year Associate at the high-profile law firm “Hewes & Associates”, life will never be the same for either of them. DAMAGES also stars Ted Danson, Tate Donovan and David Conner. Click below for more first look pics and check back next week for an early review.

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