Damages (season 3)

Damages Season 3
Region 1 DVD artwork
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	13
Broadcast
Original channel	FX
Original run	January 20, 2010 (2010-01-20) – April 19, 2010 (2010-04-19)
Home video release
DVD release
Region 1	July 12, 2011 (2011-07-12)
Region 2	October 18, 2010 (2010-10-18)
Region 4	October 27, 2010 (2010-10-27)
Season chronology
← Previous — Next → Season 4

The third season of the FX legal drama series Damages premiered on January 20, 2010 and concluded on April 19, 2010. It consisted of thirteen episodes, bringing the series total to 39. Damages was created by brothers Todd and Glenn Kessler along with Daniel Zelman, each of whom served as executive producers and contributed four scripts for the season, including the premiere and the finale.

The season picks up one year after the events of season two. Louis Tobin, patriarch of the famously wealthy Tobin Family, has just confessed to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in Wall Street history and the U.S. Government has assigned Patty Hewes and Tom Shayes to find the Tobins' hidden money and uncover any evidence that other Tobin family members (namely Louis's eldest child Joe and long-trust attorney Leonard Winstone) had prior knowledge of the fraud. Ellen Parsons has taken a job at the District Attorney's office but as the story unfolds, she finds herself being pulled further and further back into Patty's orbit. Tom, meanwhile, learns that he unwittingly invested with Louis Tobin and has lost all of his money. He struggles to keep his personal issues from interfering with the case and with keeping his secret from Patty.

Though the season earned mostly positive reviews from television critics, it continued to struggle in the ratings and soon after the season finale, FX announced it would not be picking Damages up for any future seasons. However, the series was eventually rescued by DirecTV, which began airing a fourth season on July 13, 2011.

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Glenn Close as Patricia "Patty" Hewes
• Rose Byrne as Ellen Parsons
• Tate Donovan as Thomas Shayes
• Campbell Scott as Joe Tobin
• Martin Short as Leonard Winstone

Recurring

• Lily Tomlin as Marilyn Tobin
• Len Cariou as Louis Tobin
• Ted Danson as Arthur Frobisher
• Dominic Chianese as Stuart Zedeck
• Keith Carradine as Julian Decker

Guest cast

• Michael Nouri as Phil Grey
• Matt Davis as Josh Reston
• Timothy Olyphant as Wes Krulik
• Željko Ivanek as Ray Fiske
• Craig Bierko as Terry Brooke
• Mädchen Amick as Danielle Marchetti
• Vanessa Ray as Tessa Marchetti
• Ben Shenkman as Curtis Gates
• Tara Summers as Alex Benjamin
• Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Nick Salenger
• Bill Raymond as Albert Wiggins
• Michael Pemberton as Malcolm

Episodes

See also: List of Damages episodes

№	#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (million)
27	1	"Your Secrets Are Safe"	Todd A. Kessler	Todd A. Kessler & Glenn Kessler & Daniel Zelman	January 25, 2010 (2010-01-25)	1.43[1]
Patty Hewes has been appointed by the U.S. government to recover billions of dollars lost to the largest investment fraud in Wall Street history. The new case pits Patty against the powerful Tobin family, which includes Joe Tobin (Campbell Scott), Marilyn Tobin (Lily Tomlin), and the family's trusted attorney Leonard Winstone (Martin Short). Meanwhile, Ellen Parsons adjusts to the challenges of her new job, and life, away from Patty Hewes by trying to get a drug dealer to give the name of his supplier to the D.A.'s office. Patty promotes Tom Shayes to named partner, and Tom speculates on whether Ellen might want to return to the firm. In the future timeline, Patty's car is rammed off the road by an unknown assailant and the other car turns out to be registered to Tom Shayes. Detective Huntley tracks the car to a homeless person who carries a bloodstained handbag that Patty gave to Ellen as a gift six months earlier. In a nearby dumpster the police find the dead body of Tom Shayes.
28	2	"The Dog Is Happier Without Her"	Matthew Penn	Aaron Zelman	February 1, 2010 (2010-02-01)	1.02[2]
Patty and Tom investigate the Tobins further, and stumble upon a mysterious woman with the initials D.M.M. In trying to find her, Tom asks Ellen for a personal favor. Meanwhile, Joe Tobin decides to start using his father's secret funds to help his family and Patty turns to her ex-husband Phil when her beloved dog stops eating. Tom receives devastating news that threatens to tear his family apart when he learns that his investments were tied up with Tobin's fraud and that he has lost everything. In the future timeline, Detective Huntley interrogates the homeless man, who informs them that Ellen is the one they should be looking for. Ellen is informed of Tom's murder and immediately goes to Tom's wife to ask if anyone else knew about her (Ellen) and Tom were doing. The initial medical report on Tom's death comes in and it is revealed that although Tom had wounds on his body, the cause of death was drowning.
29	3	"Flight's at 11:08"	Tony Goldwyn	Mark Fish	February 8, 2010 (2010-02-08)	1.08[3]
Patty and Tom try everything they can, even asking a favor from the D.A, to prevent Danielle Marchetti from fleeing the country. Joe Tobin and Leonard Winstone consult a doctor after Danielle's accident, who agrees that she can fly if necessary. After it is revealed that Joe and Danielle were once involved, Danielle starts exhibiting symptoms of a subdural hematoma and the doctor warns Joe against putting her on a plane. Tom informs his in-laws, who had money tied up with Tobin, that their money is gone. Ellen tries to support her sister when her husband leaves her, and accidentally discovers that her sister is using drugs. Patty manages to intercept Joe and Danielle, who is unconscious in the back of Joe's car, on the way to the airport.
30	4	"Don't Throw That at the Chicken"	Matthew Penn	Jeremy Doner	February 15, 2010 (2010-02-15)	0.87[4]
Patty convinces Curtis Gates to postpone Louis Tobin's sentencing for a day so that she can personally interview him about the fraud. Ellen tries to confront Carrie about her drug habit, but gets a cold reception and is later pulled back into Patty's life. Joe Tobin starts down the alcohol path again, but manages to pull himself right. Patty's son, Michael, lies to Patty about having gotten a job and breaking up with his girlfriend Jill, even going so far as to not tell Patty about Jill's pregnancy. Rather than face a life sentence, Louis commits suicide by poisoning his tea, leaving behind an envelope addressed to Patty Hewes, which Joe takes. In the future timeline, Patty is informed of Tom's murder and confesses that the last time she spoke to him he was very upset about something, but he did not tell her what. After Detective Huntley releases her, Patty races home and makes a hysterical phone call, screaming that she told the person on the other end not to go through with it and to stop.
31	5	"It's Not My Birthday"	Daniel Zelman	Adam Stein	February 22, 2010 (2010-02-22)	0.81[5]
As Patty's birthday draws near, she goes head-to-head with Curtis Gates over access to Danielle Marchetti, who is released from hospital. Ellen becomes more involved with the Tobin case, and winds up having a romantic interlude with Josh Reston, an investigative journalist she met while working on the UNR case. Marilyn Tobin meets with Patty, and confides in her that Danielle and Louis had a child together and that her other daughter, Carol, is not coping with her father's death. Patty gets Danielle to plead the Fifth Amendment at her deposition. Afterward, Carol Tobin pays Danielle a visit and that night Tom finds Danielle dead in her apartment. Carol is shown throwing an empty bottle into the river. In the future timeline, Tom is attacked by unknown assailants and a man is shown putting his body in the dumpster.
32	6	"Don't Forget to Thank Mr. Zedeck"	Timothy Busfield	Aaron Zelman & Mark Fish	March 1, 2010 (2010-03-01)	0.97[6]
Stuart Zedeck and Joe continue to play games with each other over Louis Tobin's hidden money. Under pressure from the judge to make progress with the case, Patty turns to an unlikely source: a man whom she put in jail for fraud. His information leads Patty and Tom to an off shore financial scheme in Antigua. Ellen and Curtis question Louis' doctor about his apparent heart attack, and he confesses that he aided in Louis' suicide but had nothing to do with the death of Danielle Marchetti. Tom's financial problems weigh heavily on him, and he attacks the man who suggested he invest. Tom figures out that the Tobin's must have been using Danielle Marchetti's daughter to smuggle money out of Antigua. In the future timeline, Ellen meets Tom in the apartment he is hiding out in and she gives him a sports bag full of money. Ellen asks if Patty knows, but Tom assures her that he will take care of Patty. Detectives Huntley and Trammell search Tom's car and find the money in the trunk.
33	7	"You Haven't Replaced Me"	Glenn Kessler	Todd A. Kessler	March 8, 2010 (2010-03-08)	0.92[7]
Tom is sent to Antigua to find the Tobin's hidden money, but finds that he already has enemies on the island. Ellen has Josh Reston write an article about Alex Benjamin in order to cast doubt in Patty's mind as to whether she can be trusted. Leonard learns that his mother has died and winds up being blackmailed by his own father, Albert Wiggins, who knows a dark secret about Leonard. Ellen comes to Patty after she learns that Carol Tobin visited Danielle Marchetti on the night of her death and the two agree to work together on the case. Patty joins Tom in Antigua and they meet with a contact who can help them gain access to the Tobin's bank accounts, the same man who was having Tom followed. In the future timeline, Detective Huntley questions Ellen about her handbag. A partial fingerprint, belonging to a Lester Wiggins is found on the bag.
34	8	"I Look Like Frankenstein"	Chris Terrio	Daniel Zelman	March 15, 2010 (2010-03-15)	0.97[8]
Carol Tobin has disappeared and Ellen works closely with Tom in order to track her down. Tom takes Ellen to the homeless man, Barry, and he agrees to keep an eye out for Carol, who has been making charges to her credit card in the area. Arthur Frobisher returns to the fold to promote his new wind power initiative and tries to get a young actor named Terry Brooke involved with a movie about Frobisher's life. Patty discovers that Jill and Michael are still together and that Jill is expecting. Patty offers Jill money to leave Michael, but the offer is refused. Leonard tracks down Carol, who has been staying with Joe the whole time and he learns that Joe and Carol conspired together to kill Danielle Marchetti. It is revealed that Leonard was the one who threw away Louis Tobin's phone and boots on Thanksgiving night, as was witnessed by Barry. In the future timeline, Detective Huntley tries to get Ellen's help in putting together the pieces of Patty's car accident, Tom's murder and her stolen handbag. When asked if she and Tom were in a romantic relationship together, Ellen confesses that she and Tom were starting a law firm together. Tom meets with Leonard at the apartment, and Leonard gives him the duffel bag full of money.
35	9	"Drive It Through Hardcore"	Tate Donovan	Glenn Kessler	March 22, 2010 (2010-03-22)	0.93[9]
Patty and Tom try to get closer to Carol Tobin, while Ellen has to deal with something more personal when her sister is arrested on drug charges. Leonard worries about Carol, who seems to be coming unhinged under the stress of being hidden away. Frobisher has Terry and his producing partner meet Patty, worried about simply portraying her as a villain in his upcoming biopic. But when Patty stone-walls the trio, Frobisher abandons his inclination to give her a fair portrayal and proceeds to make the film with Patty as the villain. Patty and Tom intercept one of Carol's therapy sessions and she agrees to start feeding them information. They discover that Tessa Marchetti did spend Thanksgiving with her mother and wonder why she might be lying to them. Ellen goes to Patty with the problem with her sister and Patty brings Julian Decker (Keith Carradine) back to redecorate her apartment. In the future timeline, Tom resigns from the firm. He then makes a call to an unknown person on a pay phone and then an unknown person is seen falling off a bridge.
36	10	"Tell Me I'm Not Racist"	David Tuttman	Todd A. Kessler	March 29, 2010 (2010-03-29)	0.65[10]
Patty's clients are unsatisfied with her progress and ask her to be thrown off the Tobin case. Judge Reilly gives them one week to make significant progress. Ellen's colleague at the D.A.'s office, Nick, learns that Ellen has been working with Patty on the case, and rats her out to Curtis Gates. Ellen is haunted by dreams of a mysterious woman, and after finding a photograph of the woman among some old photos, she decides to pay her a visit. Leonard's father arrives in town and continues his streak of blackmail. Tessa Marchetti learns from Tom that her mother's death may be linked to the Tobin's and agrees to help Patty in the case, but is arrested by Gates before she can be questioned.
37	11	"All That Crap About Your Family"	Matthew Penn	Daniel Zelman	April 5, 2010 (2010-04-05)	0.75[11]
With Tessa Marchetti in Gates' custody, Patty is forced to make a deal with him, turning over evidence that Carol Tobin was involved with Danielle Marchetti's death. After Patty disowns Ellen, Tom comes clean to her about putting the case in jeopardy by approaching Tessa with information about her mother's death. Ellen seeks answers about her childhood, and discovers that the woman from her dreams was a babysitter that she lived with for sixth months when her mother was feeling overwhelmed. Ellen was almost adopted by this woman, but her mother changed her mind at the last minute. Patty and Tom send Tessa Marchetti back to Antigua to retrieve a copy of the forms she signed that allowed her to take the Tobin family's money out of the country. She is assassinated on the orders of Joe and Marilyn Tobin.
38	12	"You Were His Little Monkey"	Timothy Busfield	Glenn Kessler	April 12, 2010 (2010-04-12)	0.76[12]
For the sake of the case, Tom resigns from the firm after his financial troubles are uncovered by Judge Reilly. He is later seen purchasing the car that rams Patty off the road. Albert Wiggins is arrested and Leonard bails him out. Josh Reston receives a tip from an informant on the police force and, turning the information over to Ellen, both she and Patty uncover the fact that the real Leonard Winstone died in a car accident decades before and that Leonard is in fact Lester Wiggins, Albert's son. Ellen leaks the information to Joe Tobin, who confronts Leonard and disowns him. Tom's wife kicks him out and in his desperation, he turns to Leonard, who offers to restore Tom's finances and reputation in return for immunity from prosecution. Meanwhile, Jill accepts Patty's offer to walk out of Michael's life for the price of five hundred thousand dollars, but instead she uses it to buy Michael a car. Patty learns from Terry Brooke that Frobisher may have paid to have David Connor killed, and she and Ellen take the information to Curtis Gates. Later, Ellen reveals to Patty that Tom set up his own resignation so that he could make a deal with Leonard and that they now have their chance at bringing the Tobin family down.
39	13	"The Next One's Gonna Go In Your Throat"	Todd A. Kessler	Todd A. Kessler & Glenn Kessler & Daniel Zelman	April 19, 2010 (2010-04-19)	0.91[13]
Patty, Ellen, and Tom decided to make a deal with Leonard Winstone so they can win the Tobin case. But Patty tries to call the deal off when she gets cold feet and decides to accept losing the case. Tom, however, lies to Ellen and says that Patty let him go through with it. The deal goes awry when one of Zedeck's men finds Tom and stabs him three times when he wouldn't give up Winstone's location. Winstone ultimately shows up, is attacked by Zedeck's man and assumed dead. Tom turns on Zedeck's man, bludgeoning him to death. Tom then manages to make his way home, where a drunk Joe Tobin is waiting for him. Joe fell off the wagon when Marilyn told him that his father was protecting him when he committed the fraud over a mistake Joe had made. He drowns Tom in a toilet and throws his body in a dumpster. Marilyn, after being disowned by Joe for her lies, jumps off a bridge into the East River where she dies. Patty also has to deal with Jill, who didn't leave Michael despite the deal they had made. She has Jill arrested for statutory rape using the chromosomal reports that Michael had given her. It is revealed that Michael, who was infuriated with his mother, was the one who rammed into her with Tom's car. Joe is arrested and Patty gets him to confess to Tom's murder. Wes also returns and tells Ellen about Rick Messer. Ellen says she has moved on, but Wes, feeling that she deserves justice, goes after Frobisher and turns him in for David's murder, having to turn himself in during the process. The episode ends at the lake house, where Ellen asks Patty if everything she has done in her career was worth it, to which she gets no reply. Here, we also learn that the reason behind Patty's recurring dreams of a horse is that she petted one the day she decided to force the miscarriage of the mystery, still-born child named Julia, so that she could go off to New York and become an attorney.

Production

After Damages had finished airing its first season in October of 2007, FX renewed the series for an addition two seasons of thirteen episodes. Production on both seasons was delayed due to the Writer's Guild Strike.^[14] This resulted in season two not premiering until the beginning of 2009 and season three was consequently delayed until January, 2010.

As with the previous two seasons, season three of Damages was executive produced by series creators Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman. Mark A. Baker and Aaron Zelman served as co-executive producers with Mark Fish serving as co-producer.^[15] Aaron Zelman and Mark Fish each wrote one episode and co-write the sixth episode together. Jeremy Doner and Adam Stein also wrote one episode each. The season's main directors were Matthew Penn (three episodes), Todd A. Kessler (two episodes) and Timothy Busfield (two episodes). Co-creators Daniel Zelman and Glenn Kessler each made their directorial debuts with episode five and episode seven respectively, as did series director of photography David Tuttman with episode ten.^[16] The remaining three episodes were directed by Tony Goldwyn, Chris Terrio and series star Tate Donovan.

Reception

Critical reviews

Television critics received the third season of Damages with mostly high praise and the season has scored an 81/100 Metascore on entertainment site Metacritic. This qualifies as "universal acclaim."^[17]

Ratings

Despite positive critical reviews, Damages continued to struggle in the ratings. The premiere episode garnered 1.43 million viewers and a 0.3 ratings share with adults 18-49.^[1] This is down from the 1.72 million households that viewed the second season premiere.^[18] Season three reached a ratings low point upon airing its tenth episode, "Tell Me I'm Not Racist," which attracted only 650,000 viewers and a 0.2 ratings share with adults 18-49.^[10] Though the ratings went into a slight incline for the remainder of the season, the finale was watched by only 910,000 housholds compared to the 1.05 million viewers who tuned in for the second season finale.^[19]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Seidman, Robert (January 26, 2010). "Damages Season 3 Premiere Averages 1.43 million viewers". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/01/26/damages-season-3-premiere-averages-1-43-million-viewers/40283. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
2. ^ Seidman, Robert (February 3, 2010). "Pawn Stars Shines; Ratings Woes Continue for Damages, Men of a Certain Age". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/02/03/pawn-stars-shines-ratings-woes-continue-for-damages-men-of-a-certain-age/40970. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
3. ^ Seidman, Robert (February 9, 2010). "Damages Viewership Up 5% But Still Anemic". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/02/09/damages-viewership-up-5-but-still-anemic/41588. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
4. ^ Seidman, Robert (February 17, 2010). "Damages Crushed by The Kardashians". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/02/17/damages-crushed-by-the-kardashians/42296. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
5. ^ Seidman, Robert (February 23, 2010). "Damages, WWE RAW, Operation Repo, Greek, Secret Life, Make it or Break It ratings". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/02/23/damages-wwe-raw-operation-repo-greek-secret-life-make-it-or-break-it-ratings/42860. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
6. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 2, 2010). "Monday Cable Finals: Damages Rises, But Not By Much". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/03/02/monday-cable-finals-damages-rises-but-not-by-much/43677. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
7. ^ Gorman, Bill (March 9, 2010). "Monday Cable Finals: Secret Life Beats Gossip Girl; Damages Down Slightly". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/03/09/monday-cable-finals-secret-life-beats-gossip-girl-damages-down-slightly/44482. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
8. ^ Gorman, Bill (March 16, 2010). "Monday Cable Finals: Secret Life Beats The CW Monday Among Young Women; Damages Up Slightly". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/03/16/monday-cable-finals-secret-life-beats-the-cw-monday-among-young-women-damages-up-slightly/45248. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
9. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 23, 2010). ""Damages" Still Under A Million + Other Monday Cable Finals". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/03/23/damages-still-under-a-million-other-monday-cable-finals/45905. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Seidman, Robert (March 31, 2010). ""Damages" Underperforms "Nurse Jackie;" "Pawn Stars" a Cable Beast". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/03/31/damages-underperforms-nurse-jackie-pawn-stars-a-cable-beast/46856. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
11. ^ Seidman, Robert (April 6, 2010). "Monday Cable: Pawning & Picking Good for History; "Damages" & "Nurse Jackie" Damaged". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/04/06/monday-cable-pawning-damages-em-nurse-jackie-damaged/47625. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
12. ^ Gorman, Bill (April 13, 2010). "Monday Cable Ratings: Damages Flat, While Pawn Stars, American Pickers, WWE Raw Shine". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/04/13/monday-cable-ratings-damages-flat-while-pawn-stars-american-pickers-wwe-raw-shine/48386. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
13. ^ Gorman, Bill (April 20, 2010). "Cable Ratings Monday: Damages Season Finale Manages Just A 0.2 18-49 Rating". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/04/20/cable-ratings-monday-damages-season-finale-manages-just-a-0-2-18-49-rating/49262. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
14. ^ Goldman, Eric (November 12, 2007). "Damages Renewed by FX". IGN. http://au.tv.ign.com/articles/834/834571p1.html. Retrieved July 16, 2011. 
15. ^ "Damages: Cast & Details". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/damages/cast/288002#aCredits. Retrieved July 16, 2011. 
16. ^ Directing Damages Featurette (Damages: The Complete Third Season DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 
17. ^ "Damages: Season 3". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/tv/damages/season-3. Retrieved July 16, 2011. 
18. ^ Seidman, Robert (January 13, 2009). "Monk, WE RAW, Secret Life and iCarly lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2009/01/13/monk-wwe-raw-secret-life-and-icarly-lead-weekly-cable-viewing/10720/. Retrieved July 16, 2011. 
19. ^ Seidman, Robert (April 7, 2009). "Damages season finale draws few, WWE RAW, NCIS lead cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2009/04/07/damages-season-finale-draws-few-wwe-raw-ncis-lead-cable-viewing/16141/. Retrieved July 16, 2011. 

External links

• Official website
• Damages at the Internet Movie Database
• Damages at TV.com