Damages - In the Web of Power The Complete Third Season - DVD

Movie: That television can offer entertainment on a very high level, beyond shallow daily soaps or trashy reality TV, series like "Lost", "Mad Men", "West Wing" or "24" have proven again and again in recent years. So it's no wonder that many (former) movie stars are no longer too shy to star in TV series. Martin Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Donald Sutherland, Sam Neill or Alec Baldwin, they have all realized that good TV series often offer better opportunities to develop interesting characters and to play out all the strengths of their acting skills than is the case in most major cinema productions. Glenn Close has also experienced her second (successful) spring on TV. After a celebrated guest appearance in the great series "The Shield" she got her own series with "Damages", whose main character, the tough lawyer Patty Hewes, is one of the most interesting characters in recent TV history, especially thanks to Glenn Close's intense performance. After the series beid he television broadcast rather disappointing ratings, fans can now enjoy the third season at least on DVD.

In the third season, Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) has switched sides and is now working for the prosecutor's office - and thus against Patty Hewes (Glenn Close). She, along with Tom Shayes (Tate Donovan), has landed a new, prestigious case: the wealthy and influential Tobin family is believed to be responsible for causing many investors to lose their money - including Tom. After the suicide of Louis Tobin, the man responsible for the financial mess, his wife (Lily Tomlin), their son Joe (Campbell Scott) and shady family lawyer Leonard Winstone (Martin Short) are caught in the crossfire of Patty's investigation. As the case comes to a head and a murder is committed, Patty isn't the only one who realizes that the scope of the whole thing is far greater than first thought. And so Ellen has to call on Patty's help again to put a stop to the Tobins. But what sacrifices will be necessary in the end to win the case, no one suspects until then...

The third season of "Damages" remains stylistically faithful to the structure of the first two seasons. So, once again, the viewer learns what the events of this season are threatening to lead up to through brief previews interspersed throughout the episodes. The biggest surprise is that right in the first episode it is revealed that one of the main characters will not survive this case. Gradually, the episodes then feel their way towards this event, which is also expanded upon by further brief glimpses.

With the main plotline seeming to stem directly from the machinations surrounding the financial crisis, viewers admittedly don't have to be satisfied. Over the course of the 13 episodes, fans also learn a very dark secret from Patty's past, there's a reunion with Arthur Frobisher, again played magnificently by Ted Danson, and even the murder of Ellen's fiancé from season 1 is revisited and brought to its long overdue conclusion.

What "Damages"again surprises us with here is that actors are repeatedly cast against their type. As in the first seasons of the from the comedy series "Cheers" and "Becker" known Danson as a villain could inspire, may also in season 3 the actually on comic roles subscribed Lily Tomlin ("Solo for 2") and Martin Short ("Drei Amigos") with very dark characters prove their versatility. Short in particular is on top form here, almost outplaying even Glenn Close.

In total, season 3 is not quite as intense as the first year, and some scenes, especially the somewhat confused dream sequences from Patty's past, only work to a certain extent, but the bottom line is "Damages" even in its weakest moments still great and intelligent television entertainment and especially the last four episodes tighten the tension screw once again so that there should be no doubt about the high quality of the show. The ending works as both a season and series finale. Should it go on with Patty, Ellen and Co. but still, you can already look forward to it!

Picture + Sound: The DVDs offer both in terms of image, as well as the sound of good TV quality. While the picture is pleasantly sharp in large parts and can also convince in terms of coloration, there are only in the darker sequences some weaknesses in terms of detail sharpness and contrast. The sound is dominated by dialogue, but especially in the English language version, some well-used ambient sounds also bring a bit of dynamics to the otherwise front-heavy action. Good!

Extras: On each disc, in addition to introductions to each episode, there are also some short cut scenes to the individual episodes, although real highlights are hard to spot here. Discs 2 and 3 also each have an audio commentary to offer, in which the creators are also supported by actors Martin Short (Disc 2) and Rose Byrne and Tate Donovan (Disc 3).

In addition, there is a nearly 6-minute preview of season 3 on Disc 2, on Disc 3 a short featurette about the work of the directors, amusing spoiled scenes, as well as a review of the season. Important to note: with all of these extras, a lot is revealed about the various twists within the season. Therefore, they should definitely be watched only after all episodes have been watched.

Conclusion: The third season of "Damages" continues to be television on quite a high level, even if the class of the first season is again not really reached. Exciting twists and turns, a great cast and a rousing production once again testify to the high quality that has highlighted this television series from the beginning. The technical quality of the episodes, spread over three DVDs, is of a good TV standard, and the extras are brief but well worth watching.

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp