Tate Donovan

That's just the first half of this year of The O.C. , and we haven't even gotten to the adults yet. Both Sandy and Kirsten found themselves tempted away by more-than-willing suitors, and wicked Julie (Melinda Clarke), Marissa's mom, cheated on new husband Caleb (Alan Dale) with ex-husband Jimmy (Tate Donovan). An extremely tangled web was woven, one from which the show almost didn't recover: the Lindsay storyline started out strong but went nowhere, Sandy's ex-girlfriend (Kim Delaney) was a bit of a bore, and the same-sex relationship between Marissa and Alex never really gelled. All seemed like sure-fire character additions, but it was the later peripheral characters, including Billy Campbell as a magazine editor smitten with Kirsten and the menacing yet sexy Logan Marshall-Green as Ryan's ex-con brother, who injected The O.C. with energy, and helped steer the show back on course. Brody, who became the show's de facto poster boy, got to show off his comedic talents with the wonderful Bilson (who rode the Zach-Seth-Summer romantic triangle most smoothly), and the heretofore sullen McKenzie got to lighten up quite a bit, until the show's violent yet effective season finale.

Forsaking a good amount of its comedy for drama, The O.C. got a little too seriously soapy, but its characters were so compelling you couldn't stop watching--even waiflike Marissa grew some edges. Clarke's scheming Julie was a constant pleasure to watch, and Rowan turned Kirsten's late-season downturn into a steely yet heartfelt portrayal. Despite the bumps, The O.C. remained one of the most exciting shows to look forward to week after week, a soap with smarts thanks to its fresh dialogue, gifted cast, and careening plot arcs. --Mark Englehart
Great Second Season, 2009-09-01
After the tear jerking finale to season one, season two wastes no time at getting started with even more angst and trouble for the characters. This season the grown ups get more of the storylines with affairs, business worries, alchoholism, divorce, attemtped murder and death.

Not wanting to be out done, the kids get love triangles, a love child, drug dealing to name but a few.

This season also introduces the Bait Shop, a bar that holds band nights which allows the show to bring in up and coming bands to try to widen the audience.

The series finale is even better than the first.

This time in Damages, Glenn Close’s Patty Hewes remains as ruthless as always, and this time, the programme makers have put her up against a case as tough as any she’s faced. For this time, she’s working for the American government, charged with trying to get back billions of dollars. It’s a tough job, and it’s going to take the best in the business to even attempt it. Which is where Hewes comes in.

Once again, Glenn Close is quite brilliant here, anchoring the show with a terrific central turn. Rose Byrne returns too, and again provides a strong foil for Close. And in this third season, Campbell Scott plays Joe Tobin, although he struggles to make too much of an impact. Furthermore, there’s an unwillingness to let go of a character from earlier series, which doesn’t help Damages here.

But it’s still a rollicking-good television series. Damages remains one of the most compelling legal thrillers that television has produced in recent times, and the likelihood is that this third season is the last. However, the good news is that it’s going out in fine form… --Jon Foster

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 protégé. 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
Great serie!, 2009-11-12
It is for sure my favourite serie of the last few years, together with Madman. It keeps the attention high in every episode and its structure is thought to maintain a continue suspance, without any break. Glenn Close is giving prove of being a superbe actress. I like her character despite her ambiguity and wickedness. In my opinion in the second serie it becomes even more complex and complete.
I like very much the idea of advancing and postponing some periods of the story, in order to create always new expectations in the viewer.
To give a personal opinion I am glad that some actors/actresses (like Glenn Close) accept TV serie roles instead of boring and stereotyped movie characters, which sometimes are less worth than the TV series' one. This comment is obviously valid only for some Country productions, like US and UK, maybe sometimes France.