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FX's 'Damages' Isn't Done With The Plot Twists

By WALT BELCHER wbelcher

@tampatrib.com

Published: January 7, 2009

Every character on "Damages" is damaged. Every one of them has secrets which make for plot twists and surprises as the season unfolds.

If you are looking for heroes, search elsewhere. This dark FX mystery series doesn't even have a likeable character.

The fun in watching "Damages" is trying to figure out where the double-crossing schemes are headed while savoring Glenn Close's performance as cold-hearted, take-no-prisoners civil lawyer Patty Hewes.

She may very well be the scariest villain in prime-time.

Those who followed the first season might have started out rooting for rookie lawyer Ellen Parsons, played by doe-eyed, sweet-faced actress Rose Byrne.

The vulnerable Parsons was out of her league working for Hewes. She suffered much. Her boyfriend was murdered. She was accused of the crime. And Hewes tried to have her killed.

It's complicated. Rent, buy or borrow the first season on DVD. If you can't do that, it doesn't matter. It's not that hard to jump in at 10 tonight and join the ride.

Sympathy for Parsons evaporates quickly on the second season debut. Still working for Hewes but wanting revenge, she plans to bring her boss down by working undercover with an FBI agent (Mario Van Peeples). And she doesn't care who gets hurt in the process.

She also wants to get even with corrupt business magnate Arthur Frobisher, brilliantly played by Ted Danson.

Parsons holds him responsible for her fiance's murder. And there's an apparent psycho/stalker who is willing to help her (played by "Deadwood" co-star Timothy Olyphant).

Meanwhile, Frobisher, who amazingly survived a gunshot blast to the stomach, is having a crisis of conscience.

And Patty takes on a high-profile legal fight involving a crusading scientist (William Hurt). His wife is murdered after he threatens to go public with information that could damage a major chemical company.

With Marcia Gay Harden as the chemical company's attorney - with her own secrets - there's plenty to get you hooked on the second season.

HANSOME DUDE: Tampa medical software salesman Joel Rush scored a 95 in a "scientific" evaluation of male beauty, making him almost perfect - at least on the outside - so he survived the first round of ABC's reality competition "True Beauty" on the Monday night debut.

Rush, 27, a part-time model with a rock-solid body, was one of 10 beautiful people who shared a posh L.A. mansion while competing for the title of "most beautiful person."

Thinking that it's based only on looks, they didn't realize "inner beauty" (ethical behavior, kindness toward others and civility) counted, too.

Rush and Chippendales dancer Billy Jeffrey, 31, were deemed the best-looking of the group according to a scale of physical beauty devised by Beverly Hills celebrity plastic surgeon Francis Palmer (creator of Palmer's Beauty Principles).

Memorable quotes from Rush: "When I work out, I want to look good naked. When I put on my birthday suit, I want everybody to be impressed."

His only drama involved a personality clash with self-centered Tennessee model Chelsea Bush. Apparently, it was hate at first sight for them. Chelsea, 21, was almost cut for scoring 91 on the beauty scale and having a bad attitude.

However, an angry woman named Hadiyyah-lah Said (also a mere 91) had a worse attitude, refusing to accept that she isn't the most ravishing thing in the universe.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

"Barbara Walters Special,"

10 p.m., ABC

Patrick Swayze talks about his battle with pancreatic cancer and his new A&E undercover cop series, "The Beast."

"Great Performances,"

8 p.m., PBS

Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner star in the classic romance "Cyrano de Bergerac."