'Damages' struggles on U.K. TV

First episode takes 11% share

By STEVE CLARKE

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LONDON -- The jury is out on whether British auds will take to the high profile FX legal eagle skein "Damages,'' starring Glenn Close as a hard-bitten lawyer, which bowed in the U.K. Jan 6.

Unusually "Damages'' aired on the BBC's flagship web, BBC1, in what is believed to be the first time a U.S. show has appeared on the network since "The X Files.''

But in the face of tough opposition from home-grown World War II drama "Foyle's War,'' shown on rival net ITV1, the first ep of "Damages'' only managed a 10.7% audience share -- 1.9 million viewers.

Blighty's critics, however, generally liked the show, which also features Ted Danson, although The Times' Andrew Billen was less than fulsome in his praise.

He wrote: "You'd be disappointed if you'd paid for a ticket to see it at the cinema -- and that's bad, since the best American television is now better than the best Hollywood. It is, however, horribly watchable and undemanding viewing.''