TVSquad

(S03E03) "Tonight's been educational." - Patty

Educational it was, both for Patty Hewes and viewers alike, as last night's 'Damages' proved that it can tell one helluva narrative without any of those pesky "six months from now" flashes. 'Flight's at 11:08' isn't the first episode to put the back and forth, past/present/future jumps on the back-burner, but it is the earliest it's happened in a season. Normally, those narrative devices don't fade away until the climactic moment later in the season when everything collides. What we got instead was a bit of different angle for 'Damages' as last night's episode was driven by the characters and not the over-arching plot.

(S03E02) "Yeah, sure. That's Tommy. He's a good egg. I helped him, he helped me." - The Homeless Man

The questions kept flying tonight on 'Damages' as details from last week's stunning revelation continued to unfold -- in six months time, Tom Shayes is a dead man and now we have a better idea as to why. The only problem with that? There are still eleven episodes left, and assuming this season plays out like the first two, we're gonna have to wait until the last possible second for answers. Fortunately for us, there's plenty of other plots playing out as well.

(S03E01) "Do you think this could have been done to you on purpose?" - Det. Vic Huntley

Patty Hewes for the people? No way. In tonight's season three premiere of Damages, Patty (Glenn Close) may have been appointed by the government to recover billions of stolen assets from scheming financier Louis Tobin (Len Cariou), but let's be honest here -- this is Patty Hewes.

When her name is on the line, you better believe that's all that matters. She's set on finding all that money, but it's to make her look good and has nothing to do with the welfare of Tobin's thousands of victims. With a stellar record as of late (Frobisher and UNR), losing this battle would be a huge blow to Patty's public image. So, knowing all that, what do you think about Det. Huntley's question now? Could someone have tried to kill Patty on purpose?

When Damages burst on to the TV scene in the summer of 2007, it turned everything upside down. Creators Glenn and Todd A. Kessler and Daniel Zelman took a tired television genre and re-invented it so well that it became hard to pigeonhole Damages in the very category that spawned it. It was so much more than a legal thriller and the drama's tense plotting and unique time shifting storytelling technique made the show worthy of scholarly debate -- blink and you'll miss something important.

Now entering its third season, Damages is prepped to turn the legal world on its head again when FX's superb thriller returns this Monday night, January 25, at 10 p.m. ET. Based on the first two episodes, Glenn Close and the rest of the top-notch cast make the same case that they did the previous two seasons -- this is must see, can't miss television.

More of our best of the decade coverage, which started on Tuesday. You can read the other posts at the link above. Here, we talk about the best dramatic actresses of the decade.

Television has always been good to the ladies. Actresses have flourished in dramatic series, and in the past decade, we've seen some amazing performances. There have been lawyers, cops, a U.S. president, nurses, doctors, judges, mothers, daughters and even a real housewife from New Jersey whose husband was in the waste disposal business.

Many of these women have already been honored with Emmys and Golden Globes... and now they get the recognition of TV Squad.

Here, then, without further vamping, the best dramatic actresses of the past ten years:

The winners of 2009 Satellite Awards were announced on Sunday in Los Angeles, and when you look at the winners on the television side, you have to like the choices. Most of these shows and actors have been on our year-end "best" lists, and if I were to guess, I think you'll see many of these names on the Prime time Emmy nomination roster.

The first thing that jumped out to me was Glee. The Fox musical dramedy was a winner in five different categories, including actors Jane Lynch, Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison and Kristin Chenoweth -- for her guest role -- recognized. And the show was named Best TV Series, Comedy or Musical.

Hot on the heels of FOX, its parent company's midseason schedule announcement, FX today released their upcoming schedule after the ball drops for 2010.

For the most part, the basic cable network's upcoming slate of originals is what everyone expected, save for one fairly big surprise.

Full details and premiere dates after the jump.

Another year, another Thanksgiving, and another Fall TV season with plenty of reasons to be thankful. Here's what's winning me over this holiday season...

FX's Sons of Anarchy -- Talk about a complete 180°. This show went from near the bottom of my list last season to one of the most superb dramas on TV right now. Midway through last year's up and down freshman season, I argued that that show had more to offer at a second glance, but for the most part, Kurt Sutter and his team were still finding their footing. Well, they found their footing and then some this year. Season two has been expertly plotted and executed this season and this past week's penultimate episode put the pieces in motion for a season finale that no TV fan should plan on missing.

Hewes & Associates is getting bigger.

FX announced yesterday that season three of Damages, which returns to FX in January and begins filming today in New York, has added four big names to the cast. Martin Short and Campbell Scott have both signed on as regulars and Lily Tomlin and Keith Carradine are joining as guest stars.

This news has me really excited. Last season, after William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, John Doman, and Darrell Hammond all signed on, I said it was arguably one of the finest casts ever assembled for a TV drama. With these new names added to the roster, this season is shaping up to be just as good, if not better. The only thing missing from this news? Confirmation that Ted Danson will return for at least a few eps to reprise his role as Arthur Frobisher - hopefully, he'll be back as well.

Ted Danson is one of those actors who just keeps chugging along through the years. He could have easily disappeared after Cheers, but he's been working steadily in both movies and TV.

Becker sort of flew under the radar, but aired from 1998 to 2004. There was the short-lived Help Me Help You in 2006. Danson even voiced a part on King of the Hill (Tom Hammond in "The Accidental Tourist" episode).

But it's his stint as the sinister Arthur Frobisher in Damages that's brought him into the forefront again. It also helped to catapult him into his next gig -- a lead role in HBO's comedy pilot Bored to Death.

It's coming. The table is set, the players are on the field, the sails are raised, and the pretty maids are all in a row. Of course, I speak of the 2008-09 television schedule. In just a few short weeks viewers will be able to dine on a number of favorite and new dishes that are being served by the networks as well as the increasing number of cable channels who are delving into original programming.

While other fall seasons have come and gone with nary a whimper, this season may be different. Due to the prolonged Writers Strike many shows ended their seasons quite early. Programs like Life, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes haven't aired original episodes since the end of 2007. Heck, there hasn't been a new episode of The Shield since June of last year! So, the beginning of the 2008-09 season will be a second chance for some of these shows, particularly the ones that premiered last season, to show their worth to fans and the networks.

I've been feeling pretty frustrated lately that there isn't much on TV. Burn Notice and Psych are don't-miss shows in my house, and The Middleman is watchable, but beyond that, I am not too excited about summer shows.

What gets me excited? Damages does, that's for sure. The first season of Damages was completely amazing, and I think I bemoan the fact, nearly daily, that no new episodes will air until 2009.

If you missed Damages the first time, or if you just want to relive the awesomeness that was season one, FX announced that they will be airing a Damages marathon starting Saturday, August 9 at 7:00 a.m.

The FX panels on Tuesday were pretty uneventful, aside from the news from network president John Landgraf. There was supposed to be a panel for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but that was mysteriously dropped from the schedule. I'm guessing that the boys figured they'd get too hammered at the FOX party the night before to handle questions from the reporters. Indeed, I witnessed Rob McElhenny and Glenn Howerton try to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl at the Santa Monica pier right after they pounded a couple of beers. Maybe canceling the panel was a smart idea.

Anyway, the three shows that paneled were Damages, Sons of Anarchy, and The Shield. More on what transpired after the jump.

FOX's second day on TCA was given over to FX, and network president John Landgraf had some news:

• They are ordering an additional 19 episodes of Nip/Tuck. The show will be end its run in early 2011 with an even 100 episodes. Show-runner Ryan Murphy wil stay through the end of the run.
• Michael J. Fox will appear on a four episode arc of Rescue Me next season. He'll play Janet Gavin's new boyfriend, who is confined to a wheelchair.
• Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden will be a regular on second season of Damages.
• The network has ordered 39 more episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This is in addition to 13 currently being produced for the upcoming season.
• They are ordering 13 episode of new comedy series Testees, created by Kenny Hotz (South Park - Kenny vs Spenny). Its about two friends in their early 30's who earn living as medical guinea pigs.

I don't know how Mario Van Peebles finds the time for all the work he's been doing lately. Somehow he fits it all in. And now he's circling back.

Mario Van Peebles will return to FX's Damages for six episodes, reprising his role as Agent Harrison. He was briefly seen as the FBI agent who approaches Ellen about going after Patty Hewes (Glenn Close). Indications are that Ellen will work with the Feds in some way, because Patty has definitely crossed the lines of legality -- and morality -- multiple times. Agent Harrison only cares about the former.

At the same time, Van Peebles is also assigned to direct FX's motorcycle drama Sons of Anarchy. That new series, with Ron Perlman, premieres in September.