‘Damages’: Any coincidence that ‘devil’ has the word ‘evil’ in it?

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It’s obvious why crime shows have become a mainstay on television: Blood! Guts! Maniacs! Good! Evil! Redemption! But civil litigation isn’t as sexy -– how much tension can you create over someone whipping out a pen and signing papers?

As it turns out, quite a bit. Most people will be gabbing over Glenn Close’s stellar performance as a brilliant and cruel attorney on Tuesday night’s premiere of FX’s fantastic new series “Damages” –- but the show isn’t just a one-trick pony. Close plays Patty Hewes, a woman straight out of John Grisham’s “The Firm” with more than a touch of Al Pacino’s Beelzebub in “The Devil’s Advocate.” Hewes’ breezy forms of psychological manipulation are fun to watch –- she buys her just-hired associates a whole new wardrobe to get them to fit in, then promptly mandates that the dry-cleaning can be done only by her preferred provider –- but it’s the undercurrent of physical menace that really sells the show.

We open on a brunet woman who would usually be described as comely –- except that she’s just wearing a pair of underpants and a long coat that’s soaked in blood. She’s frantic and running down the streets of Manhattan, where at first she’s barely noticed (insert your own New York joke here) until she almost causes a traffic accident and is brought in by the cops.

The mysterious woman is Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), and soon the action flashes back six months to when she was just out of law school and interviewing for jobs. Hewes expressed interest, but after a grilling by her consigliere, Tom (Tate Donovan), Ellen realized she would have to miss her sister’s wedding in order to interview with the big lady herself. She took a pass.

Hewes, however, didn’t take “eh, I’m the maid of honor, sorry” for an answer. She showed up at the wedding, slugged back some drinks with Ellen in the bathroom, and hired her on the spot. Hewes saw Ellen as promising and a perfect candidate to help her on a gigantic case to bring down billionaire tyrant Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson –- who, since he’s gone gray, must obviously play evil), who is accused of stock shenanigans that destroyed the retirement funds of his employees.

Aw, how nice. Hewes took Ellen under her wing. But Hewes frowned upon her employees having a private life, and Ellen had just gotten engaged. And Ellen’s future sister-in-law had a restaurant bankrolled by Frobisher. And that same sister-in-law was the caterer at an event in Florida during the critical weekend when Frobisher told his stockbroker to sell his assets, thereby screwing over his workers. Nice evidence, if you can get it.

So maybe it wasn’t just Ellen’s fresh-faced appeal that drew Hewes to her in the first place. Ellen, with the most noble of intentions, is just a pawn in Hewes’ game -– and don’t forget that the Queen can move all over the chessboard as long as she’s not obstructed.

There is a touch of cliché in some parts of “Damages” –- oh, like you didn’t know the dog and the fiancée were dead meat (sorry, gross) from the first time they appeared on screen. But it’s going to take a lot more than the occasional slip into the obvious to detract from Close’s craven character and the web she wove in the first episode.

If you missed the initial showing, “Damages” is going to be on heavy repeat on FX for the next week. It’s re-airing almost every day. The next show is Wednesday night at 11:06 p.m., and then Thursday at 7 p.m.

-- Ann Donahue