The Joy of Sets: Damages, Tudors and Kick-Ass Cable Lesbians!

• Jan 30, 2008 09:34 PM ET
• by The DVD Team

Three good things about the writers' strike:
1) No more Bionic Woman to disappoint us.
2) Pepito the Wonder Chihuahua gets more "me" time.
3) More chances to catch up on kick-ass cable shows on DVD!

And let me tell you, that last one is a biggie, considering that a few cable shows I had to skip out on because of too many TiVo conflicts have just hit the shelves. One of them being FX's stellar, chilling Damages, which features quite possibly the single greatest performance of the last season. Is Golden Globe winner Glenn Close's Manhattan litigator Patty Hewes ingenious or pure evil? I'm not sure yet, but she is delicious nonetheless and I am having a hoot finding out.

Centered around an Enron-type class-action suit against billionaire Arthur Frobisher - played with demonic menace by Ted Danson - the show should be about the case, since nobody does trial-angst better than Close (see Jagged Edge). But instead of courtrooms, we get boardrooms and some seriously twisted detours, courtesy of Patty's recently hired underling, Ellen. Fresh out of law school and totally hot in Rose Byrne's underplayed way, we first meet this newbie bloodied, battered and at what seems to be the tail-end of the worst first job ever. What it turns out to be is much sicker, or so I can tell (we've already had to shield 'Pito's eyes from one particular scene).

And, see, that's the beauty of shows like this on DVD. They unfold like a great novel and you get to watch each chapter on your own time. Unfortunately, there aren't that many shows like Damages, so I am trying to take my time with this set(buy it on Amazon). But it's so frakkin' addictive!

Another treat I can't deny myself is the fourth season of The L Word. Truth be told, I'd already seen most of the episodes when Showtime aired themlast year, but the glossy soap just sucks me in every time. And I'm not even a lesbian! For anyone who has written this one off as just a lipstick version of Queer as Folk, lemme just say this: Open your damn minds! Not only are you missing the fabulous evolution of Jennifer Beals from ex- Flashdancer in the pan to an actress of immense depth, you're also robbing yourself of the kind of empowerment other female-centric dramas wish they had. In fact, you take out the girl-on-girl business (or not), and you've got Sex and the City without the voiceovers and Vodka. Get it here!

And finally, my guilty pleasure of the week: The Tudors. OMG! Have you seen this thing? Holy hotness! When Showtime (fast becoming the HBO of hormones and hotties) ran this Jonathan Rhys Meyers-as-Henry VIII drama last spring, I was up to my Jordin Sparks in American Idol and the shocking fact that Lost was good again. So imagine the thrill of finding out that there was this Dynasty in crowns and corsets waiting to make me sooo happy? And being history-challenged to say the least, the young king's abuses, affairs and family ties are all new storylines to me! I have no idea where this thing is going, and like Damages, learning as I go along is a royal thrill.

Next week: Third Watch is finally coming out and I've got the goods from one of the original officers!

Until then, don't hog the remote. - Damian Holbrook