Damages

Given how much TV I watch I'm surprised how little I talk about it here, especially since there has been a lot of shows that continue to be excellent: the Office, Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock; plus, the ones I've really gotten into this year: Chuck, Summer Heights High, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Breaking Bad and... Damages.

I definitely don't watch that much serious TV, in part, I think, because there aren't many shows that do it well. But also, because its tough to sustain the necessary interest and intensity over a regular 40 min x 22 episode season. That's why I gave up on 24 earlier this year, they really had me hooked, but I just got tired of the twists and turns (it kind of felt like I had been on the spinning tea cups for 8 hours worth of TV... twist after twist after twist).

With Damages, like many of the great cable shows that have come out in the last few years (namely, The Wire, Dexter, and Breaking Bad), have managed to avoid the filler, and have produced shows that are tight and read like a novel. In my books (pun intended), that's a good thing. Sure, maybe part of my affinity for Damages is my love for Ted Danson (from his appearances on Curb) or that they've brought in a bunch of characters from the Wire for season 2. But, its also that its a well crafted show that has really mastered the flash forward, we'll show you the end, but you know that we haven't given you the whole story. There are 24-esque number of twists and turns each season, but they're far more manageable in the 13 ep. season.

The synopsis: The show is part 24, part John Grisham novel, part Veronica Mars (in the way it does that flashback/forward) and its probably my favourite show on TV right now (unless you count the Office).