Perhaps you’ve heard the buzz about Damages, but haven’t had time to tune in. You’re in luck – FX is airing a marathon of the entire season on Saturday, October 20 at 8am (ET). So make room on your DVR and get ready to be equally intrigued, scared and impressed. The finale airs on October 23.

The first season of Damages is a murder mystery at heart, a roller coaster ride through the life of high-stakes litigation attorney Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) as she battles corrupt corporate CEO Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson). The show is extremely well written and the cast is stellar. The series does not feature many moments of levity; I find myself astonished far more than amused, and THAT is a sure sign of a great show.

Here are the top 5 reasons why Damages is the best new series on television.

Ted Danson
This is not Sam. This is not Becker. This is Frobisher, and he is an unbelievably compelling gray fox.

Glenn Close
She is mesmerizing, spectacular and deliciously devious.

Zeljko Ivanek
You know the face but not the name (Ed Danvers on Homicide, Governor Devlin on Oz, Andre Drazen on season one of 24, Juliet’s ex-husband who got hit by a bus on Lost). Slimy or sympathetic as Frobisher’s lawyer? You decide.

The HBO influence & experience
Executive producer Todd A. Kessler wrote and produced several episodes of The Sopranos. Allen Coulter (Rome, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under) directed the pilot episode. Other Damages directors have included John David Coles (Sex and The City) and Jean de Segonzac (Oz). All of their contributions to the overall vision of this show have been obvious and appreciated.

The look, feel & sound
Fantastic opening titles and theme song (the aptly titled “When I Am Through With You” by The VLA). I love the way this entire series is filmed and edited, and that New York City itself is a character.

So what are you waiting for? There is plenty of room on this bandwagon. And because we’re still awaiting word of a sophomore season, the more the merrier.

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In order (because I know no other way), here are the shows I look forward to watching every week now:

1. Damages
2. The Office
3. Brothers & Sisters
4. Dexter
   
5. Friday Night Lights
6. Pushing Daisies
7. 30 Rock
8. Heroes
9. Dirty Sexy Money
10. Weeds
11. Bones
12. House
13. Grey’s Anatomy
14. Ugly Betty
15. Private Practice
16. Mad Men
    
17. Bionic Woman
    
18. Chuck
19. Curb Your Enthusiasm
20. Life
21. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
    

In my book, ABC wins for best new series. I loved the pilot episode of Pushing Daisies and I’m also really enjoying Dirty Sexy Money.

Granted, I haven’t watched Journeyman, Reaper, Samantha Who or Viva Laughlin yet, and Men in Trees doesn’t return until this Friday. My viewing card is obviously quite full, but I will make time to watch this set of shows online. And next month I have to fit Project Runway in as well.

Random Aside
There are now 2 Sarah Walkers in my (television) life: Yvonne Strzechowski from Chuck, and Rachel Griffiths from Brothers and Sisters…and they’re both Australian. The ladies from Down Under are doing quite well on American television – Rose Byrne from Damages is also an Aussie.

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It was a good weekend for sports in my household.

• Angels
• USC
• Cal Bears #2 on AP & USA Today polls
  

On my wish list now…

• Yankees
• Red Sox
• Indians to the World Series

That’s about it. Back to the pop culture shortly.

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Before I get started, file this under: BAD IDEA. Will Smith is going to direct a remake of The Karate Kid. But wait, it gets worse. His son Jaden will fill Ralph Macchio’s shoes and Jackie Chan will play Mr. Miyagi. Um…how about NO. I like Smith but I wasn’t as impressed with The Pursuit of Happyness as most, and this just seems like a poor choice. That being said, it will probably gross $100 million.

And now, on to the real post.

Let’s be honest, not many Academy Award-caliber films have been released this year thus far. That is about to change. And I love watching movie trailers, both in theaters and online at home. So I decided to create the TOPs, my first attempt at Trailer Oscar Predictions.

I’ve only seen a few films on this list (they are noted with an asterisk); the rest are truly just based on my opinion about what I catch glimpse of in those two minute previews. I take casting, script, and direction into consideration in that short period of time.

I do admit to cheating when it comes to one film: the trailer for Charlie Wilson’s War has not been released yet, but based on the cast and production photos alone, I’m taking a leap of faith. I am also including one black horse candidate/wishful thinking choice (Keri Russell).

So here are my early October predictions in the major categories for the 2008 Academy Awards:

BEST ACTOR

• Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
  

• John Cusack (Grace is Gone)

• Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood)

• Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd)

• Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises) *
  

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Ed Harris (Gone Baby Gone)

• Alan Rickman (Sweeney Todd)

• Mark Ruffalo (Reservation Road)

• Denzel Washington (American Gangster)

• Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton)

BEST ACTRESS

• Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)

• Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart)

• Keira Knightley (Atonement)

• Laura Linney (The Savages)

• Keri Russell (Waitress) *

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There)

• Vanessa Redgrave (Atonement)

• Meryl Streep (Lions for Lambs)

• Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

• Rachel Weisz (My Blueberry Nights)

BEST DIRECTOR

• Ethan & Joel Coen (No Country for Old Men)

• Marc Forster (The Kite Runner)

• Mike Nichols (Charlie Wilson’s War)

• Sean Penn (Into the Wild)

• Ridley Scott (American Gangster)

BEST PICTURE

• American Gangster

• Atonement

• Charlie Wilson’s War

• Into the Wild

• The Kite Runner

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Charlie Wilson’s War (Aaron Sorkin)
  

• Gone Baby Gone (Ben Affleck)

• Into the Wild (Sean Penn)

• The Kite Runner (David Benioff)

• No Country for Old Men (Ethan & Joel Coen)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• American Gangster (Steven Zaillian & Mark Jacobson) [not sure this qualifies as Original; based on article, not novel]

• Eastern Promises (Steven Knight) *
  

• Knocked Up (Judd Apatow) *

• Lions for Lambs (Matthew Michael Carnahan)

• Once (John Carney) * [not sure this film will qualify for '07 Oscar consideration; it played at film festivals in '06]

Anyone else care to make a few guesses or strongly disagree with anything based on trailers you’ve seen?

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Warning: this is going to be a dull blog entry. I had a hectic day and am feeling quite uninspired. But I am working on some fun posts for later this week, so stand by.

I am now operating on Windows Vista. Well, that and caffeine.

Some might say I have entered the dark side. To which I respond…whatever, it came with my brand new laptop. I use my personal computer for the following tasks: blogging, reading, and watching DVDs. Apparently, four years of doing those three things almost daily led to the demise of my previous laptop. I am loyal, however, and have moved on to yet another Dell.

For years, Mac people have been trying to convert me. Frankly, I don’t feel I need a Mac if writing is my primary function. Yes, they’re prettier and seemingly easier to use, but I’m not sold. Clearly. For what it’s worth, Vista seems to mimic many of the Mac’s visual qualities and Microsoft appears to be inching closer toward the enemy. Perhaps they’re feeling the pressure from those Mac v. PC commercials. You know, the ones featuring Justin Long, who is now dating Drew Barrymore. Anyway…

Since ‘my’ team finished the baseball season in the bottom of the division, I have to root for someone else. Because I love the game and am familiar with just about every single player on every team.

Here are the teams I have always hated strongly disliked, in order:

1. The (Los Angeles is 25 miles away) Angels of Anaheim
   
2. The Boston Red Sox
3. The New York Yankees
4. The Los Angeles Dodgers

Of course, the first three are in the playoffs, which narrows down my choices to:

1. The Arizona Diamondbacks
   
2. The Chicago Cubs
   
3. The Cleveland Indians
4. The Colorado Rockies
5. The Philadelphia Phillies
   

I am an American League girl at heart, and for sentimental reasons, I like to look at which team’s post-season roster contains the most ex-Oakland A’s. I’m also a sucker for an underdog and overcoming a curse. All of which have nothing to do with my final pick.

I do love Eric Byrnes, but is that enough to make me a D-back fan for a few weeks? No.

It’s hard not to believe that the road to the World Series is all but paved for the Rockies, who have gone on an impressive run to win the Wild Card. But I don’t think they have the energy or experience to get them there. Although it would be nice for Todd Helton.

I have casually followed Philadelphia and love to watch Jimmy Rollins play. But other than that, I don’t have a compelling reason to choose them as my team. Apologies to my friend Derek at Cinematically-Correct. I’m sure he’ll leave me a lengthy comment trying to convince me otherwise.

The Cubbies are this year’s ’04 Red Sox. They’re on a mission and if Zambrano and/or Pinella don’t implode, this might be their year. And they do have Jason Kendall now (not that his bat will contribute). Out of all four NL teams, I will jump on the Cub bandwagon.

But my overall choice is the Cleveland Indians. So I envision (or hope for) a Cubs-Indians World Series. And should that occur, my prediction is Cleveland in 6.

So bring it, people. Throw some baseball grief in my direction, and let me know what jersey you’ll be sporting during October ball.

And by the way, whoever chose Dane Cook as a baseball enthusiast/spokesperson should be fired.

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