Best Television of 2019: Jury Prize

When listing his Best Films of the Year, Roger Ebert had a habit of presenting a Jury Prize – the kind of awards film festivals present for movies that just weren’t great enough to be considered the best. I’ve often thought television could learn a thing or two from this. So, here are five series I watched that very easily could’ve been considered among the best of the year.

Pose (FX)

I made the foolish mistake of ignoring the first season of this daring series about the ballroom scene of New York in the late 1980s. But just twenty minutes into the second season of Ryan Murphy’s farewell show for FX, and I was hooked. I have absolutely nothing in common with any of the characters that inhabit the African-American gay/trans community, but I could pick up really quickly on how angry they were at a world that ignored a virus slaughtering them, and a world that didn’t even investigate when one of them was murdered. This is a remarkable series, almost completely free of the campiness that filled so many of even the best of Murphy’s work and none of the energy or brilliant talent. Billy Porter fully deserved the Emmy he got for his work earlier this year as Pray Tell, and I expect we’ll be seeing a lot more of him on award daises the next month. And the rest of the cast is just as riveting to watch. It says a lot about a show with this much darkness that it opens with the words ‘The category is LIVE!” and watching the rest of the cast work, I can see they’re determined to do just that.

This is Us (NBC)

Don’t get me wrong. I still think that this is one of the best series on the air, but I’m beginning to think the writers are becoming just a little too fond of watching the McCallister family suffer. Rebecca developing memory problems that will ultimately render her speechless, whatever history happens between Kate and her boyfriend, whatever happens that leads to Randall and Kevin not speaking in the future – it’s starting to become a bit much. But that doesn’t change the fact that its still willing to do some of the most brilliant TV on any format. ‘The Waiting Room’ episode in Season 3, and the Season 4 premiere were among the most incredible works the series has managed to do yet. And watching Uncle Nicky finally manage to triumph after years of struggling with his addictions and his PTSD was one of those moments that only This is Us is capable of. We cry and laugh for these families through all of their problems, and despite the flashforwards we see, I really hope that there’s room for some kind of happiness in between.

Better Things (FX)

One of the more unpleasant shocks of this year’s Emmys was the complete shutout of Pamela Adlon’s incredible, sorrowful comedy series. As Sam Fox turned 50 and had to face increasing amounts of disarray – her children continuing to ignore her best hopes, Phil continuing to treat her and her family as if they were something she’d rather forget, the problems she had with her father than were a consistent trauma, and just the struggles of getting older – Adlon was majestic when it came to showing simple dismay at, well, everything. Considering that she starred, wrote and directed every episode this season, I can’t for the life of me figure out why the Emmys shorted her. They found room for Natasha Lyonne and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Adlon’s as good. But then again, maybe that’s more of the suffering that she manage to internalize into some more exceptional comedy and tears. Sam managed a moment of triumph near the end. I think there’s room for more for Adlon.

City on a Hill (Showtime)

Showtime has done its fair share of genre busting television over the last decade, but in the past year, it has demonstrated that it is more than capable of taking a familiar trope and turning in gold. This cops and robbers drama set in 1992 Boston, one of the most gang-ridden and corrupt periods for the town followed the unlikely partnership of Decaurcy Ward (Aldis Hodge), an ambitious black prosecutor, and Jackie Rohr (Kevin Bacon doing some of his best work in any medium) an FBI agent so corrupt that he needs a big bust just to stay afloat a little longer. It doesn’t take long for Ward to realize just how dirty Jackie is, and it doesn’t take the viewer long to see how fully Jackie’s protected himself. Paying equal attention to the family mired in bank robberies and crime, we find just how messy this world and how soon it may be cleaned up, though people like Jackie will fight to their last, whiskey soaked breath. This series had one of the best casts of any show this year (Sarah Shahi, Kevin Chapman, Jill Hennessy) many of them doing their best work in a while. It’s hard to see how they can do a second season as good, but if they do, this could be Showtime’s The Wire. It’s good to see Tom Fontana back in form.

Jeopardy (SYNDICATION)

Were it just for presence of ‘Jeopardy’ James Holzhauer,  a Vegas gambler so skilled he nearly broke every conceivable record, this long time favorite would be on the list. But with the Jeopardy All-Star Challenge, bringing back some of the most memorable Jeopardy players of all time, some of the more brilliant champions in years – including Jason Zuffrenetti, who bridged the 35^th and 36^th with a nineteen game winning streak, and the quiet dignity and presence of Alex Trebek, whose health struggles this year have made him something close a hero for just doing what he has done so well for more than thirty-five seasons – something a competitor in the Tournament of Champion chose to acknowledge with the simple words: “We love you, Alex” in a moment that went viral – this classic game show reached heights that it hasn’t managed it years just for being the same. The contestants are the only reality show stars I will ever acknowledge, and no matter what happens in his future, it deserves to be remembered for more than in its unforgettable think music.

Funny and Surreal: My Top Ten for 2019

As the 2010s came to a close, a lot of series came to an end, while several new accomplishments filled our screens. I’ll be making larger assessments as to what some of the best series of the decade were in a later article, but suffice to say there have been many works of genius.

But with all the darkness and chaos happening all around us, I found myself yearning for comedy far more than I did for a drama. And a surprising number of series were more than willing to take a viewer in new directions – some of which were even more imaginative than the greatest of dramas. Perhaps comedy has reached a new level of Peak TV.

So here are my choices:

10. Evil (CBS)

Robert and Michelle King continue to reach new heights exploring the boundaries of network television. In Evil, they have created something even more imaginative than the X-Files -  a priest in training, a skeptical forensic psychologist, and a computer hacker. None of them are prepared to readily believe in the supernatural which is why it’s increasingly fascinating watching them deal with a world that crosses both. They’ve created the first genuinely terrifying series in a very long time, which is an accomplishment for a genre that TV has increasingly played for camp or laughs. And Michael Emerson’s work as a psychotherapist who may be the devil himself seems to finally be playing a role he has been working for his entire life. It’s a little early to consider whether this will be a great series, or just another failed mythology one, but I have faith in the Kings that I never had in Chris Carter. Enjoy the ride.

9. The Bold Type (Freeform)

Freeform has in the past year become one of the most remarkable sources for entertainment in an already crowded world of cable, showing that you can have series with equal representation, and still be entertaining. It was a question whether I was going to list grown-ish or Good Trouble, two spinoffs so extraordinary I really wish I’d seen the source material.  But ultimately I chose to go with a series that is as close to flawless as anything basic cable can throw at you. The story of three besties working at Scarlet, a fashion magazine that you really want to be around in real life, is fearless in nearly everything it deals with – sex, classism, race, queer relationships, and perhaps most importantly, friendship. This is the series Sex and the City and Girls tried to be, but in my mind, never came close to pulling it off with such flare or delight. (For the record, I’m a Jane.)  It is fearless, funny, and yes, bold. And I really hope it hangs along for a while.

8. Russian Doll (Netflix)

I came a little late to this series, mainly because I couldn’t see how the format -  a woman turning thirty six  keeps dying and reappearing back at her own birthday party – could possibly work as a series. But slowly, it began to show layers that a lot of dramas – certainly not ones on this service – manage to pull off. As it slowly became clear that Nadia wasn’t the only one who this was happening to, and that with each successive death the world began to decay – it actually began to deal with more intriguing parallels and alternate universes as well as questions about the meaning of existence that other series don’t even try. I’m still not a hundred percent sure it can work as a series for more than one season, but lead actress/showrunner Natasha Lyonne has clearly demonstrated that she has a capacity for genius that the medium of television has been letting her reveal in a way few other talents have. In any case, I’d be more than willing to live through it again. And again.

7. Fosse/Verdon (FX)

There were a lot of great limited series over 2019, and I’d love to give spots to the resurgent True Detective and the remarkable Chernobyl. But since I don’t want HBO to entirely dominate this list, I’m going to focus on one of the smaller and more remarkable accomplishments. Watching Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams inhabit two of the greatest geniuses who ever worked on Broadway, who created some of the greatest shows in the history, who couldn’t live with each other, but couldn’t work without each other, was one of the most outstanding pieces of television all year. And the work of the limited series – which featured a weekend in the summer which showed just how poisonous Bob and Gwen could be to each other, and an episode where Bob, in the style of Lenny related his pain and sexual abuse through the guise of a stand up routine – were some of the most imaginative works that I saw on TV all year. It may not have painted as broad a canvas as some of the limited series this year, but it sure as hell drew a remarkable portrait,

6.  Big Little Lies (HBO)

There were many – myself among them – who didn’t thought that David E. Kelley’s adaptation should have stayed a limited series. But the second season helped add to what was is quickly becoming something of a master class in acting. As the Monterey Five dealt with the fallout from last season, we saw everybody deal in different ways. Madeline had to deal with the deterioration of marriage. Renata had to deal with that, as well the complete collapse of her entire life. Jane had the first real relationship of her life, and tried to deal with the fact that Ziggy had a larger family. Bonnie, whose guilt was the greatest of the group, had to deal with the problems of her mother’s life. And Celeste had to deal with the most horrid repercussions – including the fact that she still loved her husband. All of this led to extraordinary performance before you add in the master class that Meryl Streep put in as Celeste’s mother-in-law, who proved to be just as destructive as her son was. When the first season ended on a perfect note, I couldn’t see how they could do another. When the second one ended on just as perfectly, I hoped and prayed that their would be a third. I hope this incredible cast can find their way back to Monterey.

5.  Barry (HBO)

I came late to this series as well, considering that Bill Hader was never a favorite comedian of mine. But the second season of this series about a contract killer who’s trying to become an actor was one of the most mesmerizing dramedies I’ve seen in years. We saw Barry try to leave his killing behind, but continuously was sucked back in by Noho Hank and Fuchs, who kept calling him and in a burst of violence showed he couldn’t leave it behind. We saw his girlfriend face the truth of her abusive relationship – only at the climax of the season to realize that the lie was more comforting for a public face. We saw Gene deal with the death of his girlfriend, not knowing until the last seconds that his favorite student was the one behind it. And all of this without discussing ‘ronny/lily’, the miniature kung fu movie that was one of the greatest accomplishments not only of this season, but of the entire decade.  This is one of the most dazzling inventions I’ve seen in awhile, and Bill Hader more than deserves the two Emmys he’s gotten. He – and the series – have more in the future.

4. The Good Place (NBC)

We’re still four episodes from knowing for certain whether or not this incredible comedy-fantasy will be known as one of the greatest of all time – unlike most comedies, how it ends is crucial. But it remains one of the most remarkable pieces of work that broadcast television – hell, any television has ever tried. It deals with some of the deepest ethical questions in history, and makes some of the greatest twists that any series can possibly do. The third season finale, where Chidi had his mind wiped in order to save humanity, was one of the most moving things I’ve ever seen. Taking a look at just how bad the Bad Place was, revealed just how far Michael has come since the series began. And the mid-season finale in which we finally learned Chidi’s backstory was remarkable as we finally saw how Chidi lived his life and his afterlife(s) – and may have finally found the reason for life – was both hysterical and deeply moving. I’m not sure whether I care so much about whether Eleanor, Michael and company save humanity as whether Eleanor and Chidi end up together. But this series has more than proven its merit in showing their of equal value. Here’s hoping the Emmys see that as well.

3. Mr. Robot (USA)

This series has more than proven that it is the best of the decade. As it entered its final episodes, Sam Esmail seemed determined to up the already incredible game of the writing, directing and acting of this remarkable dystopia. We had an episode with no dialogue at all, an episode where Elliot, Tyrell Wellick and Mr. Robot did their own version of ‘The Pine Barrens’ – only darker. We had a literal five act play in which Elliot faced two demons – one of which led to the weirdest psychotherapy session in history. We saw Elliot and fsociety finally triumph over White Rose and everything they’d been fighting against. And in the last episode, Elliot finally realized that for all the struggles of the series, his greatest enemy had been himself. It’s significant that Esmail and company made the last two bits equally important. This was one of the great accomplishments in the medium’s history that justifiably made a superstar out of Rami Malek. I can’t wait to see what he and Esmail do next.

2. Fleabag (Amazon)

How do you like that? I actually agree with the Emmys choice for once. Phoebe Waller-Bridge has completed one of the great masterpieces in all of comedy, taking her title character – who spent the first season trying to be unlovable – and creating one that in the second season you found yourself rooting for, even though she’d barely change. The second season premiere was one of the most exceptional pieces of TV all season (trust me, the Red Wedding was less painful emotionally), and then went into one of the most unlikely romances in television history. (Hot Priest rules!) In the end Waller-Bridge managed to have her character have everybody have a happy ending but herself – unless, of course, you count the three Emmys she won this year, and the no doubt dozens of trophies she’s going to win for the rest of it. She’s says that Fleabag is finished. Maybe it is. But I can’t wait to see what Waller-Bridge comes up with next.

1.      Jane the Virgin (CW)

It was a battle to see which CW female led master class would end up winning the title ‘Greatest Series of the Decade’. And while Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was by far the most original, this series was by far the most satisfying. From his opening episode, which played off one of the greatest twists in TV history (and led to a five-minute scene that should’ve at least gotten Gina Rodriguez an Emmy nod) to the tribulations of every character but especially Rafael and Jane – to the utter rarest of things in all of television a perfect happy ending, Jane the Virgin never stepped wrong in its entire final season. It even had the good sense to wrap up all the sturm und drang in the penultimate episode so the finale could be one of pure joy – which led to laughter and tears and the final revelation that the incredible narrator of this series had been none other than Mateo the whole time. This was an achievement that we have rarely seen on television anywhere, much less a network that is considered a fringe even among broadcast TV.  If Jane and Crazy were the price we had to pay for so many messy comic book adaptations, then I will consider it a bargain. I just hope that one day the stars align and something as magical comes up. I know! That would be straight out of a telenovela!

Better Late Than Never: Unbelievable Review

Even in the era of binge watching, there are some TV shows that no matter how brilliantly put together, one just can’t imagine watching them in one swoop. Several of the prime examples have come this year. HBO’s Chernobyl and Netflix’s When They See Us were two of the most extraordinary works of television in a while. But the subject matter was so bleak, so depressing and so unsettling that it was nearly impossible for me to watch them all in one swoop. When They See Us in particular took me five weeks to watch all four episodes; despite the great level of the performances and the writing and direction, it was just so bleak and unrelenting that you needed a shower when it was over.

A couple of months ago, Unbelievable dropped on Netflix. Despite the enormous acclaim and the fact that it has two of my favorite actresses in the leads, I couldn’t bring myself to watch it initially. Part of it was the buildup of other series, but mostly it was the unflinching darkness of the subject that left me cold. I had a feeling that it would be one of those experience you admired rather than enjoyed. After the Golden Globes and Critics Choice awards gave it several nominations, I knew the time had come. And having seen the first two episodes, I know it’s going to be another one of those fascinating series. The subject matter is unbearable, and yet you can not look away.

The first episode deals with the report of a rape by a victim who the series has only identified as ‘Marie’ played by Kaitlyn Dever, in what will automatically be a performance to be at forefront of the Emmy race. Marie is a child who’s come from a series of bad foster homes and a horrible family situation. When she reports that she has been raped, the entire process takes on a dark aspect. Marie can’t tell her story straight to the police officers investigating. She tells four different versions to three different people. When one of her fosters (Elizabeth Marvel) reports it to the police, the inconsistencies start immediately. Then her attitude keeps getting stranger. She wants to go back to her apartment. She argues with a store clerk about getting something that she knows is in stock. Her foster hears and thinks she might be exaggerated. When the police call her back in, she retracts her original statement – and then, retracts the retraction. By the time, it’s all over the police are utterly fed up with her, angry that she’s wasted their time. The retraction causes ripples throughout her life, and causes restrictions on how she lives her life and how her former fosters view her. And despite all that, she still seems inscrutable. While its clear the police procedure was brutal to her – she had to tell her story four times before she was allowed to rest – one can sympathize with how the police viewed her. Dever goes out of her way to make her character unsympathetic initially, which is a very hard act to pull given the situation.

The second episode takes place is Golden, Colorado three years later. Detective Karen Duvall (Merritt Weyer, continuing her hot streak on big and small screen) is called into investigate a sexual assault. Her approach is  totally different from Marie’s. She is instantly sympathetic to the victim, always tries to put her at ease, is given complete autonomy by the police, and never shows the slightest doubt in the victim. The crime is nearly as unspeakable as the first one, with the victim’s clear statement as to how polite he seemed and how sure she is this wasn’t his first one. She keeps moving steadily, and returns home to talk to her fellow detective husband and father of her children. Only after everything that has happened does she vent about how hideous the perpetrator is, and how brave the victim is for what she is doing. Her husband then mentions a similar case that brings in the other detective – Grace Rasmussen (Toni Collette)

A couple of obvious comparisons came to me in the first two episodes. First, in the simple approach of how things are done just how much procedural porn the work of Dick Wolf is in comparison, particularly in Law and Order: SVU and Chicago PD.  One can’t imagine Olivia Benson existing in the world here, even though so many of their stories are ‘ripped from the headlines’. The more likely comparison is American Crime, which was  as well acted, written and directed, but not quite as hard to watch as this series is. Lisa Chodenko, a brilliant independent film director who, like so many, has migrated to television is quietly and understated in her approach. The performances are exquisitely crafted, and like that previous series, the best are female. But I have a feeling that this will be another series that more tune to do out of obligation then desire to watch. It’s exceptional, but I seriously doubt that anyone will want to binge watch it.

Perhaps the only laughs that will come will when you see this is a production of a company called ‘Escapist Fare’. This is a series drawn from a real-life event, executive produced by This American Life and Katie Couric. It is anything but escapist. But it needs to be seen.

My score: 4.5 stars.

Goodbye, Friend: Mr. Robot's Series Finale Recap

Earlier this year, I made my argument that Mr. Robot deserves to be ranked in the halls of some of the greatest TV series ever made. And in the final season, Sam Esmail went to great lengths to prove that they were not going to end this series by going through the motions. Some of the greatest episodes they ever did – not just for the series, but for the entire decade – have been done this last season, as if to challenge even the high standards they’ve already established. There was ‘method not allowed’, an episode which was done almost entirely without spoken dialogue, there was ‘Proxy Authentication Required’ a literal five act drama, which started as a hostage situation between Eliot and Vera, the thug who caused so much trouble for Eliot in Season 1, involved a confrontation with Mr. Robot, and in what was the most bizarre therapy session in history had Eliot and his therapist Kirsten discuss a problem he’d been denying all his life – that his father had spent his childhood sexually molesting him. While all this was going on Eliot and Darlene managed their final confrontation with White Rose, managed to bring her down, all the while going through a body count so high, even the writers of Game of Thrones would be impressed.

But none of this would mean anything unless the final episode managed to work. In this decade alone we’ve seen the final episode cause an entire series to sink or swim. It worked like gangbusters for Breaking Bad and The Americans, it caused mass confusion when it came to Mad Men, and it absolutely sunk Game of Thrones, even though the Emmys refused to acknowledge it. And I’ll admit, I had my doubts going into the first part of the finale.

For almost the entire series, White Rose has been obsessed with the construction of ‘her machine’, something that has only been discussed in the vaguest of terms – that it would create a ‘better world’. When Eliot had his final meeting with White Rose, she seemed utterly determined to destroy this world to bring about her vision, forcing in her final act, to make Eliot bring about her dream. In the last fifteen minutes of ‘Exit’, it seemed to work as Eliot was brought to what seemed to be an alternate universe where everything was perfect. He and his father loved each other. He was the head of AllSafe which had just landed the ‘FCorp’ account headed by Tyrell Wellick. And he was finally about to marry Angela, the love of his life. The constant viewer must have had vision of the ‘flashsideways’ that to do this day has divided the world was to whether or not in ruined everything that was good about Lost. I certainly felt that way. Until the episode ended with Eliot in the same room with… Eliot.

Slowly, I began to regain confidence. It wasn’t easy through much of the first part of the series finale, where ‘our’ Eliot walked through Washington Township, his childhood home, and saw that his parents were still alive. That his mother, who had been considered a cruel woman though we never saw her other than flashbacks, was a warm and loving woman. He went to Angela’s apartment, and saw her parents – including Philip Price, now openly Angela’s father – treating him with warmth. But all through the episode, Eliot couldn’t realistically believe it, sure something was wrong. Eventually, he performed his final hack – on himself – and found out this Eliot imagined himself a vigilante hacker. Then when the two confronted each other, one of the tremors that had been shaking this world occurred, and Eliot used it as an occasion to murder the one of this world. I began to regain confidence that Esmail knew what he was doing.

It still was shaky – Eliot was determined to marry Angela, even though Mr. Robot kept trying to tell him he couldn’t do it. And I was still a little antsy when Eliot’s murder was discovered by Dom DiPerro – as a cop in this world. Even when Eliot arrived at his wedding, and Mr. Robot tried to tell him the machine hadn’t work, and that he’d kept him in a loop, I wasn’t entirely confident that Esmail was going to tie this together. I had forgotten that so much of this series had never entirely been about a dystopian vision of future – it was about Eliot Alderson.

And then, it was resolved in a way that was true to everything we’d learned about him. We knew that Eliot was dealing with DID since Season 1 - the revelation that Mr. Robot was an alternate personality of his was one of the first big reveals of this series. But now, we got a picture of just how extensive this disorder was.  We knew that there was a child personality that had emerged to deal with the molestation he suffered. And that his mother had been an alternate personality as well. But the final revelation came that the man we’d spent the entire series watching was not the real Eliot. Rather, he was an alternate personality who had been developed to bring about the world that the real one could never accept.

I imagine a lot of viewers were having doubts as to whether all of this was a delusion of Eliot’s  - another possibility that could’ve destroyed the series as effectively as the alternate universe. Esmail avoided this trap as well, by not having Darlene be a part of the alternate world at all. When Eliot regained consciousness in a hospital, Darlene was there, telling Eliot that everything he – and the viewer - had been through was real, and she had lived through it all. When Eliot confessed that he was an alternate personality himself, Darlene admitted she had always known. She realized when Eliot hadn’t recognized her as his sister that something was wrong, but had gone along with so much of the charade, partly to bond with Eliot and partly out of guilt for not being able to help him when he was a child.

And in the final minutes, we realized who the ‘friend’ was who the vigilante had been talking to – the Eliot he had spent the entire series trapping in his own mind. The final monologue was a bit cheesy, but it made up for the fact that we were seeing something far more important – Eliot was accepting his condition and allowing his real self to emerge into the world.  Perhaps our only complaint was that we never got a clear picture of the ‘real’ Eliot Alderson, but in a way, that was right.  Mr. Robot had always been the story of the Eliot we knew, not the real one. And his final sacrifice made his act of saving the world somehow less important than what he was doing now.

Mr. Robot truly nailed the ending, like Jane The Virgin did earlier this year and The Americans did the year before that. It managed to nail a truly dystopian vision, and yet somehow in the last few episodes, become a story of hope and reclamation. Maybe as horrible as things can be – and the world that Mr. Robot created could make series like The Handmaid’s Tale seem positively chipper -  there is hope in the action of human beings. It can be as large as working together to bring down the ‘top one percent of the top one percent’ or as small as giving up your inner darkness so that someone whose been through so much pain can find whatever happiness he can in a broken world. Mr. Robot made clear that both of these decisions hold equal value, and that is something that is well worth learning.

And regardless what you think of the ending – and at the moment, it has a rating up there with the last episode of The Americans, so it clearly landed better – the triumphs of Mr. Robot, the way that it shifted with form, visuals and combined them with brilliant character development and writing demonstrate just how utterly banal the world of shows like Game of Thrones was when it came to deal with good and evil. The Emmys will have one more chance to make it right to a show that, with a few exceptions, it basically shafted, though already there are a group of formidable contenders, and 2020 has not even begun yet. Suffice to say, Mr. Robot was a great show. Please tell me you saw it too.

My score: 5 stars/

There Will Always Be An England: The Crown Season 3

The 1960s were a decade devoted to change, and while that change would seem to embrace the world, the British monarchy seems even more stuck in the past. Things are gloomy nonetheless.

For Elizabeth II, the passing of the years have become more affecting to her. In the premiere of Season 3 of The Crown, Elizabeth pays a visit to Winston Churchill (a fitting farewell to John Lithgow) before he passes, and deals with the upcoming state funeral by feeling out an unnerving rumor: is it possible the newly elected Prime Minister Harold Wilson (Jason Watkins) could be a Communist sleeper agent? The theory floats throughout the palace, until something far more unsettling comes about: there is a Communist in Buckingham Palace, and it happens to be the  Queens art curator. This is horror for the Queen to undergo, and even more unsettling is the fact that he must remain on staff rather than reveal a horrible embarrassment to her majesty government. The man remains unrepentant, even refusing to let Prince Philip force him into resigning.

As new obstacles arise, Britain faces economic ruin and requires a bail from the new President Lyndon Johnson, who ego refuses to allow him to accept a visit from the Queen. Saving the economy lands on the shoulders of Princess Margaret, whose tortured life in the shadow of her sister continues to play out. Her marriage to Tony continues to be more cantankerous to the point where Elizabeth urges her on her state visit to ‘be kind to each other.’ The Queen can’t help but be envious as to how much her sister is loved in America, and when she is called to a state dinner with the President, her brashness and vulgarity end up managing to safe the nation. Something which makes neither sister happy: Elizabeth because she can’t deal with how she is not loved the same way, and Margaret for her having to live in the shadow of a job she can clearly handle the trappings of better than her sister.

The Crown is still one of the most remarkable accomplishments on Netflix, and perhaps remains more remarkable even though it’s done something few, if any, series would dare do: completely change the actors and actresses playing the leads to reflect the passage of time. One could see Claire Foy, Matt Smith et all, wearing the appropriate makeup to look older, and one could understand the benefits of keeping them on for the duration. (The Emmys, for one, have been very kind to the cast in particular.) But Peter Morgan and his crew soldier on with a new group of actors who step into very big shoes and fill them more than admirably.

Olivia Colman, one of the great actresses of our time before she won her Oscar for The Favorite earlier this year, is more than up to the task of playing someone who must forever be subdued, and who has now grown comfortable enough in her office so that he can make jokes about, but still yearns for the life she could have had. Tobias Menzies is exquisite as Philip, who seems more accepting of his role as he has grown older, and who now seems closer as a partner than he could’ve been before.

But if there is a brighter star on this horizon, it is Helena Bonham Carter as Margaret. If Vanessa Kirby played the young Margaret as someone who was also chafing as the constraints of the monarchy on her life, Carter plays her as someone who is now old enough and cynical enough to know longer give a damn about what the family thinks of her. She seems more than willing to play to the camera, and act as someone who is explosive, yet always with a sense of pain. When she meets with LBJ, she manages to win him over by comparing his role as Vice President to her role as ‘shadow queen’. This is a woman who lost the love of her life because of her sister. Unfortunately, things will only get worse for her from here on, and Carter relishes every bit of it.

The Crown remains impressive, even as we know so much of history will demean it. The empire will decay and crumble, Elizabeth will become a mother again, and her children, which had only small roles in the first two seasons, will become front and center as the show progresses. Peter Morgan has clearly found his life’s work in detailing the life of Elizabeth II, and even if she never watches The Crown, it does the monarchy justice.

Note: This series is rated TV:MA, and once again I raise the question: Why? This may involve an actual Game of Thrones, but there’s no violence and precious little nudity. Considering everything Netflix puts on the air, it seems ridiculous to give this series the same rating as Black Mirror when its biggest crime is having the characters use language that would barely raise a hair on FX or AMC. Teenagers may not be as drawn to this series as they would be Stranger Things, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to watch it without their parents worrying.

My score: 4.75 stars.

My Reactions To This Years Critics Choice Nominees: Part 3

I don’t normally comment on the Best TV Movie category, but I will just say I’m glad to see the Critics Choice went where the Golden Globes wouldn’t, and nominated Deadwood: The Movie and El Camino. I’m also grateful that they acknowledged Native Son.

Now, on to the Limited Series.

BEST LIMITED SERIES

Have no problem with Fosse/Verdon, Chernobyl, or When They See Us. The latter is the biggest sin the Globes committed, and the Critics had sufficient room for Unbelievable as well, which clearly deserves it. Years and Years is looking like it might get acknowledged, so I’m willing to grant some latitude.

I’ve made my arguments against Catch-22, and having seen both I have to say I really think The Loudest Voice  was inferior to True Detective. Maybe that’s just my opinion.

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

No problem with Rockwell, Jared Harris, and at least they acknowledged Jharrel Jermon, and had room for Mahersela Ali here. I can understand the argument for Russell Crowe, even if I disagree with it.

Christopher Abbott just seems to be being dragged along with the Catch-22 bandwagon. And I can appreciate Noah Wyle being nominated for Red Line, but couldn’t they have found room for Ian McShane or Aaron Paul? The latter is particularly surprising, considering how much the Broadcast Critics loved Breaking Bad and all its spinoffs.

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

Michelle Williams more than deserves to be here. So does Joey King. Kaitlyn Dever and Merritt Weyer have earned their spots for Unbelievable. After that, it gets tricky.

Anne Hathaway is probably the most likely nominee for Modern Love, though it is tricky to know if the series will be included. It’s a little early. As for the title singers for Patsy and Loretta, well, Lifetime movies rarely ever qualify for awards. Or maybe I’m just bitter that none of the women from Deadwood were nominated.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

Stellan Skasgard keeps rolling along for Chernobyl. John Leguizamo and Asante Blackk more than earned their spots for When They See Us.  I’m glad to see Jesse Plemmons nominated for his work in El Camino, though admittedly its strange given all the other Breaking Bad characters who showed up in that film. Dev Patel is a bit questionable for Modern Love, but I’m glad to see him nominated at all..

I’m still not sold on whether Russell Tovey should’ve been Years and Years representative, and I’m a little perturbed to see the Broadcast Critics, of all groups, being swayed by the power of George Clooney. Still, collectively it’s not bad..

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

Patricia Arquette more than deserves to be here for The Act. Marcia Stephanie Blake and Niecy Nash have earned their spots as well, as has Emily Watson for Chernobyl. I’m glad to see the critics remembered Margaret Qualley for Fosse/Verdon and I think Emma Thompson had a glorious time in Years and Years. I’m not yet sure of Toni Colette’s presence, but overall I’m satisfied with this category. Would I have liked to see Carmen Ejojo here? Yes, but we can’t have everything.

One last addendum. I don’t normally comment on late night comedy, but I’m very pleased to see Seth Meyers and Desus & Mero recognized along with John Oliver and Samantha Bee. The Critics are recognizes real late night talent.

See you in January with my predictions.

My Reactions To Critics Choice Nominations: Part 2

BEST COMEDY

Little less happy.

Barry, Fleabag and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel all more than deserve to be here. Schitt’s Creek has more than earned its place the past year. Mom remains fabulous.

Pen13 and One Day at a Time are a little more problematic. Are they critically acclaimed series? Yes. But I have a hard time believing that they’re funnier or more imaginative than The Good Place (which received three other nominations) and Russian Doll which was completely shut out. This may be one of the rare occasions where I think they should’ve listened more to the Emmys than they usually do.

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Ted Danson and Bill Hader have more than earned their place here. Eugene Levy is more than due. I guess I may have to give more credit to Paul Rudd and Ramy Youssef considering the Critics Choice nominated them as well as the Globes. Walton Goggins seems to genuinely be a Critics darling, but I’m glad to see he got recognized.

I guess we now know that somebody’s watching IFC and Sherman’s Showcase. Still, maybe they could’ve nominated Michael Douglas again.

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Rachel Brosnahan have more than earned their spots, as have Catherine O’Hara. I’m always glad to see them recognize Alison Brie for Glow, though they could’ve nominated the other killer ‘B’ (Kristen Bell) Kirsten Dunst has earned her spot. I’m not surprised to see Julia Louis-Dreyfus here, though I’m glad they held off for Veep.

Is Christina Applegate really better than Natasha Lyonne? Or Pamela Adlon or Alison Janney? I guess this really is subjective.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Andrew Scott, keep it up. Henry Winkler and Anthony Carrigan have more than earned their place here. I’m glad to see William Jackson Harper recognized again, and I’m always glad to see Andre Braugher being selected.

Daniel Levy isn’t a bad choice (MTV actually recognized him last year, so it’s not like he doesn’t have widespread appeal. I’m fine with Nico Santos in principle, but couldn’t they have found room for Marc Maron? Or Alan Arkin?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Alex Borstein keeps appealing to me. I’m always glad to see Betty Gilpin for GLOW. D’Arcy Carden continued to make me smile as Janet on The Good Place. And I appreciate the selectiveness of the critics for recognizing Sian Clifford for Fleabag (though there was nothing stopping them from recognizing Olivia Colman too). Rita Moreno remains a natural treasure.

I don’t really have a problem with Annie Murphy’s nomination for Schitt’s Creek or Molly Shannon for The Other Two. I just wish they could’ve found room for Marin Hinkle or maybe Gillian Anderson for Sex Education? But this same grouping is why I enjoy the Critic’s Choice in the first place.

My Favorite Awards Show: Reactions To Critics Choice Nominations Part 1

Ah, the Broadcast Critics Awards, television’s best kept secret. No one seems to pay sufficient to an awards show that’s only really been around for a decade, but in its brief history, the Critics Choice awards have been among the most marvelous and eclectic awards show when it comes to television. Ten years after its debut, the Emmys are still trying to catch up with a show that has recognized Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Masters of Sex, Orphan Black, and most exceptionally The Americans. This is perhaps my favorite television awards show of the year.

The nominations will probably be satisfying to more people than the Golden Globes for recognizing not only the obscure cable and streaming series, but the Broadcast networks in most awards shows just won’t any more. And they’re better off for what they include far more than what they omit, as you’ll see going in.

Here are my reactions, starting with the Dramas

BEST DRAMA

Emmy judges, maybe consider going to eight nominees next year. Then again.

The Crown, Pose, and This is Us more than deserve to be here. I’m pleased to note that somebody this year recognized Watchmen one of the most dazzling pieces of work all year. Succession is more than worthy of its recognition, and The Good Fight’s triumphs here just go to show how lazy Emmy voters can be not even looking that hard.

Game of Thrones is a questionable choice, but given the Emmys love for it, it’s hard to see it being ignored. David Makes Man. I’m pretty sure even Oprah would’ve pushed for Queen Sugar. Really? Couldn’t Stranger Things or Billions or Big Little Lies have filled out the list? Hmm. Maybe seven is enough.

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Billy Porter, Tobias Menzies and Sterling K. Brown more than deserve to be here. I’m overjoyed to see Paul Giamatti get recognized for Billions and even happier to see Mike Colter get acknowledged for playing one of the leads in Evil. Freddie Highmore is questionable, but the Critics Choice have always had a soft spot for him. Jeremy Strong is by far as good as Brian Cox in Succession and proved he earned his nod in the season finale.

Kit Harington? Well, the Globes nominated him too, so it’s not a shock. Still, it would’ve been nice to see Kevin Bacon here.

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

No one from The Morning Show. Off to a good start already.

Nicole Kidman and Olivia Colman will be fighting it out. Jodie Comer deserves to be here no question. Christine Baranski just keep showing why she’s one of the great actresses in history. Regina King, ditto, and her work in Watchmen proves that she really is a superhero. MJ Rodriguez seemed to be getting overlooked for her superb work on Pose I’m glad she was acknowledged. Sarah Snook proves she as ruthless as all the other Roys in Succession.

Zendaya for Euphoria? I know she had a following, but wasn’t there room for Resse Witherspoon? Oh well. At least, no one from Game of Thrones is here.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Justin Hartley and Asante Blackk have both him superb in This is Us this year, and I’m glad to see them nominated. Delroy Lindo is exceptional on This is Us. Clearly the Critics Choice identify Asia Kate Dillon as an actor; I just recognize him as genius. And considering all the showier performances, I’m pleased to see Tim Blake Nelson recognized for his subdued work as Looking Glass in Watchmen.

Peter Dinklage has been appearing in this category for so long, it would’ve been more of a shock if he HADN’T been nominated. And I’m a little irked that Billy Crudup was up for The Morning Show – I’d much rather have seen David Harbour or Michael Emerson for Evil.  Still, this is a solid category.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Meryl Streep is here. Naturally. Laura Dern will not not be ignored by the Critics. Helena Bonham Carter is exceptional. Audra McDonald has more than earned a seat at the table. And talk about righting a wrong – Susan Kelechi Watson, inexplicably ignored by the Emmys this year deservedly recognized for This is Us. Equally pleasing: Jean Smart acknowledged for her superb work as the aged Laurie Blake on Watchmen. Gwendoline Christie. Well, I knew there was going to be a Thrones nominee. Would I have rather seen Millie Bobby Brown? Of course. But still. Pretty goo

Reactions To Golden Globes Nominations Part 2

BEST TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

Oh, there’s going to be outrage in certain places tonight. When They See Us may not have been the easiest thing to watch this year, but if it wasn’t one of the Best Limited Series, I don’t know what was.

And it’s not just that the Golden Globes ignored it. It’s what they ignored it for. No one will raise an eyebrow about Chernobyl or Fosse/Verdon being nominated, and even fewer will complain about Unbelievable, another Netflix series where the reviews border on the extraordinary. But I imagine a lot of people will be irked to see The Loudest Voice here. The story may be important, but compared to so many of the other series, it was really by the numbers. If they wanted to honor the take down of Roger Ailes, they could’ve given more nominations to Bombshell.

And Catch-22 is a weak choice, considering the Emmys completely shut it out. More than that, consider what else got ignored. True Detective. Deadwood The Movie. El Camino. All established properties the Globes have recognized before. Why pay tribute to a series that was politely considered a mess? That’s an oddity not even the title can explain.

BEST ACTOR TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

They’ll be even angrier with the nods for this category. Where the hell is Jharrel Jerome, who won the Emmy for this category? And some of the other choices aren’t nearly as good.

Sam Rockwell and Jared Harris more than deserve to be here, and a case can be made for Russell Crowe, though admittedly his transformation was more the work of the makeup department. But seriously: Christopher Abbott for Catch-22? And if his nomination is questionable, Sacha Baron Cohen’s nod leaves one wondering, what does the Hollywood Foreign Press see in this guy? Seriously? They put him up instead of Aaron Paul? Of Ian McShane? Of Mahershala Ali? Cohen’s nomination is one of the most bizarre inclusions the Globes have ever done, and that’s including his nomination for Who Is America last year.

BEST ACTRESS TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES

Ok, this is a little more reasonable. Michelle Williams and Joey King more than deserve to be here. I’m withholding the verdict on Merritt Wever and Kaitlyn Dever until I actually see Unbelievable, but I’m willing to be convinced. Helen Mirren’s work in Catherine The Great was exquisite, even if the series around her was sorely lacking. I could make an argument for Niecy Nash, but this is a better selection overall.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES,MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

The Hot Priest has been nominated. All’s right with the world.

Andrew Scott more than deserved getting nominated for Fleabag, and I really hope he wins. Alan Arkin and Henry Winkler more than deserve their nominations, and if I sullied them last year I apologize. Stellan Skarsgard was superb in Chernobyl, and I recant my diatribe against nominated Kieran Culkin for Succession. Would I have liked to see Tony Shalhoub here? Sure. But it’s a good group.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A SERIES, MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

Did anyone really doubt that Meryl Streep would be here? I’d say she’s got a clear shot, but the competition is surprisingly stiff. Helena Bonham Carter is exceptional as Margaret in The Crown and Patricia Arquette could go back to back for her work in The Act. Emily Watson more than deserves her nod for Chernobyl, and I’m always glad to see Toni Collette up for anything? I would’ve like to see Laura Dern here to, but it’s a good bunch.

Just kidding. Meryl’s going all the way.

See you in the New Year for my predictions.

It's That Time Of Year: My Reactions To This Year'S Golden Globe Nominations: Part 1

It’s always tricky to figure out how the Golden Globes will do when it comes to TV. Last year, I partially admonished them on their results, when in retroscpet they did a pretty solid job, both with nominations and awards.

This year, they’ve managed to do an even better job than they usual do. The only people who are going to be unsatisfied are networks which were completely shutout. I’m saddened, but not entirely surprised (though I’m a little appalled that The Good Place was entirely shutout in its final year). More and more of the best series on TV are coming to cable and streaming. (Though the Broadcast Critics, which I will cover later this week, did a better job acknowledging them). And I was actually okay with some of the ones they left out, though… well, you’ll see.

For now, let’s begin.

BEST TV DRAMA

Can I just say first and foremost how glad I am the Golden Globes saw logic and did NOT nominate Game of Thrones for Best Drama. For shame, Emmys. If the Hollywood Foreign Press can see just how underwhelming the last season was, you screwed up. But let’s go on to what was nominated.

Big Little Lies more than deserved to be recognized, and I’m well in agreement that Succession deserves to be considering in the running. The Crown has more than earned its spot, and Killing Eve deserves to be here.

But why The Morning Show? Everyone agreed it would be nominated – until it premiered and became one of the biggest lemons so far this year. I really think This is Us or Pose would’ve been a far better choice, considering they’re firing on all cylinders.

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA

I retract last years statement: Billy Porter more than deserved to be nominated last year, and deserves an encore. Rami Malek has been superb in the final season of Mr. Robot, and I’m glad the Globes remembered him. Brian Cox is one of the great actors of our time, and he more than earned to be nominated for Succession. Tobias Menzies deserved to be nominated, but isn’t Prince Philip a supporting role?

I’m a little annoyed that Kit Harington was nominated over other good candidates, like say, Sterling Brown or Paul Giamatti, but you can’t win them all.

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Nicole Kidman totally deserves to be here for Big Little Lies. Ditto Olivia Colman for echoing so well the work of Claire Foy in The Crown. These two should be the front runners, but look out for Emmy winner Jodie Comer to be a contender for Killing Eve.

The Morning Show nominees have no business being here. Well, that’s not entirely true. Reese Witherspoon should’ve been nominated… for Big Little Lies. Now, I realize the world loves Jennifer Aniston, and her return to TV should’ve been an event, but no one who’s seen The Morning Show thinks she’s earned it. If she wins, the Globes will have severely lost points in my eyes.

BEST COMEDY SERIES

Barry deserves to be here even more than it did last year. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel will probably reign in this category for quite some time. And really, Fleabag deserves to be the heavy favorite.. And Kominsky Method. Well, it’s not at Atlanta’s level, but it’s fun. A lot of fun.

But The Politician? I realize it may have a high profile. But compared to The Good Place or Russian Doll, it isn’t even in the same universe. Hell, I’d even take the final season of Veep over it. This is nearly as bad as The Morning Show being nominated.

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY/MUSICAL

Bill Hader more than deserves to be here, and so does Michael Douglas. After that, things get sketchy.

Ramy Youseff is very good in his self-titled show.Ben Platt may have been the bets thing about The Politician, but that’s not saying a great deal. Paul Rudd is a good choice, but I don’t think Living with Yourself uses his full ability. But where the hell is Ted Danson? Or Anthony Anderson? Or God help me, Don Cheadle?

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY/MUSICAL

Phoebe Waller-Bridge more than deserves to be here, as do Rachel Brosnahan, Kirstin Dunst, and Natasha Lyonne. I’m a little on the fence when it comes to Christina Applegate, despite her Emmy nod. I still think Kristen Bell would’ve been a better choice. Then again, it’s not like she won’t be there that night. I’d have like to see Rachel Bloom or Gina Rodriguez here for one last bow, but unlike the Emmys, the Golden Globes was more than willing to acknowledge how superb they were.

See you tomorrow when I tackle the rest.

Damages Retrospective: The First Anti-Heroine Driven Series

There have already been countless articles and books written about the series that have been the 21^st Century the new Golden Age. From the rise of HBO to Netflix’s domination, from the astonishing comedies to some of the greatest dramas in history, it would seem that no corner of this era has been unexplored.

Yet whenever lists of the greatest series ever created are made, there has always been one series that has been, in my mind, ignobly omitted. And it’s never been clear to be why this series, that was at its peak, listed among Mad Men and Breaking Bad in so many award series has never gotten its recognition, or at the very least, a book written about it. The series is FX’s Damages, the legal thriller that was a critical branch between HBO’s domination and the rise of basic cable to meet that challenge.

And it’s hard to figure out why. It featured one of the greatest actresses of all time, Glenn Close in what was one of her greatest triumphs. It featured some truly formidable actors doing some of their greatest work. It was recognized, unlike series like The Wire and Battlestar Galactica, by the Emmys and other award shows. And there is a direct demarcation between its fate in later years and how other networks and streaming services would often pick up series that had failed in earlier incarnations. Yet for what ever reason, Damages never got the respect it deserved, either when it was on the air or, unlike other shows like Friday Night Lights,  in reruns or streaming. Even the most definitive books on the era – Alan Sepinwall’s The Revolution Was Televised and Brett Martin’s Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Cultural Revolution barely give it a passing mention.

So, as the decade draws to a close, as someone who was a huge fan of the series to the point he scoured EBay looking for DVDs of the later seasons, I thought that it might be fitting to pay tribute to a series that was one of the greatest shows of all time, why it was important, and the reasons so many people chose to ignore, while it was on the air and afterward.

Like so many series of the new Golden Age, Damages has its roots in The Sopranos .In 2000, Todd Kessler joined the staff of The Sopranos and quickly became the staff wunderkind, collaborating  with him on several brilliant scripts in Season 2 including the incredible ’Funhouse’, which it ended with the unforgettable death of Big Pussy. After being nominated for an Emmy for that episode, David Chase invited him into his office and told him that he was fired. Kessler went home to his brother Glenn, and wept, only to receive a call about writing a scene. Two days later, he came back into the office and went back to work, only to be officially fired a few weeks later.

A few years later, Kessler wrote the pilot for his own series, and shared show-running duties with his brother and Daniel Zelman. The plot centered on a terrible boss – brilliant but manipulative, van and imperial – and a young talented employee who finds herself being drawn into her web. Kessler said his work was based in no small part on his experiences on The Sopranos, and if Chase was even a fraction as horrible as Patty Hewes turned out to be, he must have been a true ogre.

In format, Damages was unlike any series that had aired on television before. The closest equivalent was Lost, which dealt with many of its characters lives in flashbacks and flashforwards. Damages, however, was slightly ahead on the latter, as Lost didn’t truly start on its playing with time until Season 4 by which time Damages had already debuted on FX.

Season 1, by far its most effective one, opens in a New York apartment building where a woman, pale and covered in blood finds herself walking in a daze out of the elevator and into the lobby. Before we can fully process, we flashback six months to learn the young woman is Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) and she is an attorney interviewing for a job with law firms. A statesman like lawyer (Philip Bosco) asks her about her last interview, and Ellen tells him it’s at Hewes and Associates. The lawyer smiles, and says that he wishes her a successful career: “If Patty wants you, she gets you.” We will learn very quickly that is the case. Even though we’ll also learn that Patty’s reasons for wanting Ellen have nothing to do with her as a lawyer.

The story of the first season splits between the flashforwards of Ellen and the case she is called into help with: a stock fraud involving industrialist Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson) and managed by the law firm represented by Ray Fiske (Zeljko Ivanek) There will also be subsequent flashes back to the many secrets both Frobisher and Fiske are hiding, including one so dark that it will cause Fiske to commit suicide in front of Patty when it is revealed.

Many of the themes that will become the center of Damages have to deal with the secrets we keep and the troubles within families, most of them having to do with Patty, Ellen, and Tom Shayes (Tate Donovan) Patty’s most loyal lieutenant. (In the Pilot, he fakes getting fired by Patty for pushing for a settlement; it’s later revealed that it’s an act to give Frobisher a sign that they are weaker then they are.) Patty demands unquestioned loyalty from her employees, and their devotion is absolute. At the same time, her family situation is utterly chaotic, particularly when it comes to her teenage son, Michael, who in the first season is kicked out of a boarding school for sending a bomb threat out; he will do the same to his own mother later on.

Ellen appears to be an innocent for much of the first season, but while she appears to be corrupted under Patty’s influence, later episodes – and indeed, later seasons – will reveal that, in her own way, she is just as cold-blooded as Patty is. She is willing to sell out her own sister so that the case she is following can proceed; it will later be revealed that her sister has a drug addiction. Her relationship with her fiancé (Noah Bean) is constantly interrupted by work; its unclear if any relationship would work out given her own devotion to her job. And while her parents seem innocent and supportive, it will later be revealed that she was adopted, and they’ve been keeping her mother’s identity secret from her. Her adopted father will later be revealed to be something of a petty tyrant himself – something that we will eventually learn; she also has in common with Patty.

Much in the same way that the viewer was convinced to root for Dexter Morgan because he only hunted down other killers; the viewer was tempted to root for Patty because she used her ruthless, borderline illegal means to hunt down far worse people. In Season 2, much of her efforts would be centered on an energy tycoon and a government power broker who were working to manipulate the energy market. In Season 3, she would be tasked by the law to find the hidden money of Bernie Madoff type financer running a Ponzi scheme. In Season 4, Patty took on a Blackwater type mercenary company. And in the final season, she would fight to defend a woman who had been exposed by a Julian Assange type figure.

It was a drama unlike any before or since, a legal thriller that never set foot in a courtroom. Much of the series was about the conflicts Patty raced to bring forth the truth – at a tremendous cost to her allies, and ultimately herself. In Season 2, her marriage imploded, when she learned her husband was having an affair. The real reason she left him was because she learned he was investing in the company she was investigating. In Season 3 Tom, her most loyal soldier was ultimately killed in a confrontation with the younger son of the key figure in the Ponzi scheme. Her son Michael was her biggest source of conflict, leaving her after an affair with an older woman, trying to run her over when he learned she had his lover arrested for statutory rape, disappeared for more than three years leaving Patty to try and find him, and then in the final season, engaging in a bitter custody battle with him that finally dragged Ellen in as opposition. As Michael memorably put in near the end of the second season: “People either leave you or they die.” Sadly, he would become the final casualty of Patty’s rise to power.

If Patty had been the only figure on the series, it would’ve been more than worth watching – Glenn Close would win two consecutive Emmys for her work on the series. But Damages also had one of the most incredibly casts. Unlike most series at the time, which had one set of regular throughout the run, Damages with each successive storyline, would introduce a group of new players, each time featuring some truly magnificent actors doing their best work in years. Season 2 would feature William Hurt as Daniel Purcell, a former lover of Patty who wants to come forward as a whistleblower after his wife is apparently murdered by the company he works for. Marcia Gay Harden played Claire Maddox, the firm’s attorney with one of the most sexual garter belts I’ve ever seen.

In season 3, Campbell Scott would take on the role of Jim Tobin, the son of the financial planner, trying to come out on the side of good but ultimately giving in to his darker impulses. Lily Tomlin would play his mother, and Martin Short would do some of his greatest work ever as Leonard Winstone, the Tobin family attorney, who turned out to be playing a con of his own. In Season 4, John Goodman would take on the role of the head of the private company, and Dylan Baker, who would do some of his best work anywhere this decade, as a single-minded soldier trying to cover up a series of murders that were committed in Afghanistan. And Season 5 would feature Ryan Philippe as Jason McClaren, the head of a Wiki leaks-like organization accused of exposing one of its own whistleblowers.

For all the extraordinary work of the actors and writing, Damages was never an immensely popular success – peaking at less than a million viewers in Season 1. After the critical recognition, FX renewed it for two seasons. But when the third season ended with even less viewers, it seemed Damages run was over. Then DIRECTV, which had famous picked up Friday Night Lights from certain death three times, agreed to pick up the series for two final seasons. But whereas NBC had been willing to rerun the new episode months later, they stayed on DIRECTV. On one hand, this greatly hurt any chance a lot of viewers – me included had to see the series. On the other, this gave a series more creative freedom, finally allowing Patty, Ellen and everyone else to use the vulgarities and sex that – at that point – basic cable was still not permitted to use. The creative level did diminish quite a bit – I feel the fourth season in particular was weaker than the entire series – but it allowed viewers to have a sense of closure that, even in the Golden Age, still wasn’t happening yet.

Damages was a great series, one that along with Mad Men and Breaking Bad was representative of the shift of power from television to basic cable. So why is it not remembered or appreciated in the same way that the former two series are? In its heyday it was nearly as good – it won four Emmys and was nominated for seventeen more. And a lot of critics thought it was at the level of Peak TV – indeed, when Stephen King wrote his Top Ten List for EW, Damages would be on it three times. Mad Men never would. And it doesn’t seem to have the same life in streaming that the latter two series, particularly Breaking Bad does.

Part of it may have had to do with the fact that FX had already broken through the glass ceiling when it came to TV – The Shield, which was a far bigger and more consistent hit for the network than Damages – or for that matter Nip/Tuck or Rescue Me – would be. But none of those series were ever nominated for Best Drama. Damages was twice, and an argument could be easily made that it was far more deserving for it in Season 3 than True Blood ever was.

Another reason is that, unlike most dramas in the early rush of the Golden Age, Damages went against the formula of so many successful series. Aside from Close and Byrne, with each new storyline there were a new set of actors and characters to memorize. This would put it a lot closer to what we would now call a Limited Series than so many of the ground-breaking series.  And with having to follow one major storyline per season, that may not have lent itself as well to the binge-watching phenomena that Netflix would soon popularize, and that other series – most notably Breaking Bad  - would benefit from. The fact that it changed services halfway through – to one that no doubt its fans couldn’t easily find – probably didn’t help either.

Then there’s the reason that might have been the biggest problem, one that was never even mentioned when it was on the air. Patty Hewes was an antiheroine before the term became chic. And whereas fans by the millions had no problem watching Tony Soprano or Don Draper doing horrible things every week, they had a very bad habit of trolling Carmela and Betty even though they should’ve been the more sympathetic characters. And if viewers had problems with their spouses, imagine how hard it must’ve been to see not one, but two female leads engaging in disreputable and borderline monstrous behavior in order to achieve their ends.  This probably wasn’t exactly what female viewers were hoping for when they wanted parity: it was easier to watch Mary-Louise Parker on Weeds or Edie Falco on Nurse Jackie do even worse things because it was played for comedy. Indeed, while there were lighter moments on the series – most of them from Ted Danson, whose Arthur Frobisher stuck around two seasons after his arc was over, but never seemed in danger of overstaying his welcome – Damages required a lot of heavy lifting that would make it a hard watch even now.

After the series ended, I read an article in Entertainment Weekly deploring the fact that the anti-heroine still was not a big thing even on Peak TV. Damages was mentioned, but the writer said that Patty turned out to be the villain of the peace, and Ellen the hero. I’ve never seen it that way. Without going into details about the ending (not enough people watched the series when it was on the air; I’m not writing this article to spoil everything), I always thought the series ended on the right note. After years of being frenemies, both Patty and Ellen made a choice near the end to try and bring the other down. Ellen showed mercy at the end, Patty didn’t, and Ellen’s reaction was far different from Patty’s. Ellen chooses to free herself from the net of Patty, and while that may seem to be a heroic action, it still doesn’t necessarily make her a good person. Even the last five minutes are ambiguous as to that. We never know if Patty won, but Ellen didn’t lose. She just chose to stop fighting.

I still think Damages ranks as one of the greatest series of all times, and deserves to be mentioned in the Parthenon with Breaking Bad and The Wire and The Americans. Buy the DVDs. Watch it on Amazon season by season. Patty Hewes was an outlier in the Golden Age, and a rarity even in Peak TV. But she deserves to be remembered in the same breath as Walter White and Al Swearengen and Vic Mackey. She would’ve thought she was better than all of them. She was always good at lying to herself.