TV Junkie: 'Damages' Round Two

Cable networks continue to fire on all cylinders this last week. A new episode of Mad Men on AMC has revealed that everyone is flawed and that they're all potentially unredeemable. Last night's angel-stalked Holly Hunter (Saving Grace, TNT) has her thinking about cleaning up her act but despite being a tough girl, she's weak and human and falls back into old habits.

Tonight we get to see just a glimpse of the Machiavellian machinations of Glenn Close's spectacularly frigid and evil Patty Hewes on Damages (FX, 10pm). Ted Danson is also delightfully depraved as multimillionaire Arthur Frobisher. Since the story is told in extended flashback, we see some of the ultimate conseqences of Hewes' plans (death, murder, etc.) and each episode is an unravelling march from past to present time. The beautiful and intelligent Ellen Parsons is well played by Rose Byrne but she is merely a pawn and each minute of the show is a slow-motion car accident for her character.

It's the best thing on TV tonight - what else would you watch at 10, 48 Hours Mystery?