Damages: A Regular Earl Anthony

#1 wtf???? Why are all those people referred to as "the clients?" Becuase that's what they are. They are Patty's (and Tom's and Ellen's) clients. That's what people who hire lawyers are called. Doctor:patient; lawyer:client. You've never watched Law and Order or any other of the myriad of lawyer shows that have been on televison during your lifetime? Even if you are only 20, Law and Order has been on television for nearly your whole life.

Not to belabor the obvious to anyone with no apparent concept or basic understanding of the American legal system (which must really hinder your enjoyment of this program), but "the clients" are the Frobisher employees who lost their retirement accounts when the stock tanked (think the employees of Enron), while Frobisher, who supposedly knew the company was going down, sold his stock (all the while encouraging his employees to buy more). The group of 5 or 6 that we see are the steering committee who represent the 5000 workers who are part of the suit (who seem to each represent a differnt "department" in the company. It would be too unwieldy to deal with each of them individually. Even in the "cattle call" meetings with more than just the steering committee (like when the met to hire Tom) the employees attending are only a fraction of the plaintiffs.

The former employee who we see in scenes with Frobisher has the ability to influence the clients becuase he is on the steering committee for the litigation. Frobisher picked him because he's the pooest, and oldest (and also probably the least educated/savvy). The other members of the committee seem to be white collar. This guy seems blue collar. I seem to recall during one vote he said he represented "maintenance" Because of his situation he would be the member of the committee the most suceptible to bribery and the most likely to prefer a bird in the hand, especially when his share of the settlement would be "sweetened" with whatever bribe Frobisher has agreed to pay him (which he doesn't have to share with the others). This guy also seems to hero worship Frobisher a bit, which makes me wonder how much his heart is really in the suit. Maybe he's a plant and was in Frobisher's pocket from the beginning and Frobisher arranged for him to win a seat on the steering committee (through bribery or whatever) so that he could get an inside view of what was going on with the suit.

#7 as for the future of the show. My recollection is the same as yours that the Frobisher/Ellen storyline will be wrapped up by the end of this season. Next season, if there is one, Patty will be doing another case. I can't imagine Ellen would still be with her after what has seemingly gone on in the flash forwards (although who knows?). So maybe Tate Donovan will carry over too (if he's not the corpse that attacked Ellen in Patty's apartment).

Since the attack on Ellen occurred at Patty's apartment, was the person there to kill Ellen or Patty? Maybe Ellen was just at the wrong place at the wrong time....

I agree that the whole Tom business was filler. But, do finally get to see how David gets killed in the next episode. And who gets shot? I can't figure this show out. Why do we have to wait 2 weeks!

Have any of you guys consider the possibility that Frobisher might be innocent? That's why he wants the trial.
And yes, Katie was telling David "sordid secrets" about her sex life, not Ellen's.
They told us that all the secrets will be reveled and all the questions answered by the end of the season. What's left then for the second, third and so on seasons? Will they use a different cast of characters? I don't see how they can continue with the same story and same characters: Ellen's and Frobisher's story will done with by then.
Any thoughts?
And btw I'm addicted to this show, can hardly wait two weeks for the next episode.

Actually, I don't think Katie was telling David secrets about Ellen. She said he would have to hear "sordid secrets" about his sister's sex life.

There is only question to be asked after watching this episode: Patty Hewes drinks Bud Light out of a can?

I suspect the show has stuck to the initial plan. The ratings have not been very good -- which is a shame -- so there's no reason to think the producers are trying to stretch the story beyond the initial episode order (a la "Prison Break").

Futon Critic says 13 episodes, which is typical for FX, so there's quite a bit of story left to go.

I enjoy the show, but I wonder when it's all done whether it would re-cut better as a 6- or 7-hour miniseries. The stuff with Patty's son and Tom quitting and coming back seems superfluous now, but who knows whether those are plot points for things that haven't happened yet.

hubris people, hubris. like he said, he didn't get rich by playing it safe. he wants to clear his name - nothing else will suffice. he doesn't care what his wife says or what anyone else wants, he wants to leave unscathed. even if he knows hes guilty, it wouldn't be the first time that the committed a crime without punishment (he was already acquitted once).

my problem with the episode was the flashforwards. this episode did nothing to move those along and we still don't know who tried to kill her (im guessing Tom but im probably wrong). Its just becoming too mysterious for its own good, kind of like Lost but without great HD shots.

Actually, the thing that bugged me about his pulling the settlement was how adamant his wife was that he put this whole thing behind them and move on. If he settled, it would be over and his family could get on with their lives. He wants to keep dragging it out. She must be pissed.

My fear is that they'll drag this out. This show would have worked best if they'd upfront decided this was gonna run for 12 episodes and that was it. Planned the story from the start and just run with it, really honed it to perfection and created something great. Instead there are elements of filler and as you mentioned, you get the impression that they're almost making it up or changing it as they go.