Once upon a time there was a kind of loyalty from a broadcaster to a series. Viewers new exactly where to look for the next series to air. Multi-channel TV killed that. Sure, there's no doubt that multi-channel TV offered more of everything to watch, but it also made broadcasters less loyal to shows they previously aired.

Take a look at the award-winning series Breaking Bad; the first two series aired on Five in the UK, and then, due to not so hot ratings, they dropped it like the proverbial potato. The third series was recently released on DVD here in the UK and is currently the only (legal) way of catching up with this superb drama.

Some could argue that, well, that's Five for you, what do you expect? But it's not just Five. After airing the first three seasons, a company known as the BBC decided not to pick up the last two series of, wait for it, the award-winning show Damages.

Not that the Beeb had a lot of faith in the show in the first place; the last time it aired it was put in the graveyard slot, where it was left to wither and die.

So once again whatever audience this show attracted are now left to their own devices if they want to see the series through to its conclusion.

Fans of the show should seek season 4 out on DVD however, as it manages to sustain everything the show has managed to achieve in all its previous seasons.

Damn, I think that's Roseanne Barr at the door. Nobody move.

The main draw of course is Glenn Close and her portrayal of Patty Hewes; Close once again brings a monster to life in her portrayal of the ruthless lawyer. Hewes is almost a panto villain in designer outfits; she will make you want to constantly boo her whenever she's on screen. She's a veritable black hole of a character TOO, sucking all the attention from any other character that may have the misfortune to be sharing the screen with her.

Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) returns as the main hero of the show; she still acts as if she's a Stepford Wife throughout, but serves her purpose well as the light yin, to the very dark yang of Hewes.

The case for this season is a personal one as far as Ellen is concerned; her old high school boyfriend Chris Sanchez (Chris Messina) was once a soldier in Afghanistan, but is now part of a private security firm hired by the US government. On his last assignment, three of his men were killed and he believes it was under dubious circumstances. Ellen believes the company he works for, High Star, is to blame and that Chris should let her bring them to justice.

High Star's boss Howard Erickson (John Goodman) however, has high up connections; not only is he in the process of renewing his contract with the government again, he also has the services of a savvy CIA agent Jerry Boorman (Dylan Baker), who has the ability to get pretty much anything done, one way or another.

With Ellen's current law firm unwilling to go up against High Star, there's only one person who can help her take on this case and win – Patty Hewes. But after everything that has happened between them, can Ellen and Patty really work together again?

One of the best elements of this show is that despite it being about two lawyers, it is far from your standard legal eagles tripe. In fact, court rooms and cases very rarely feature in the series. What the show focuses on is rich characters and heightened drama. Just like previous seasons, this one also includes some impressive guest stars.

Goodman, a bit like Ted Danson before him, shows an intriguing dark side that's welcome to see. Baker is also a welcome addition to the cast, playing a truly dark and devious character. It also has some great supporting roles for the likes of Judd Hirsch and Griffin Dunne; both of whom deserve more screen time than they actually get.

The plot overall appears darker in tone; this may have something to do with the fact that the show was dropped by its original network and being picked up by DirecTV for its final two seasons, allowing it to be slightly edgier.

This season maybe slightly shorter than normal – coming in as it does in at only ten episodes – but it doesn't stop it from being any less absorbing than usual.

And Close continues to prove that she's almost too good an actress to be wasting her time in TV by giving yet another exceptional performance as Hewes.

If you've enjoyed the first three seasons of Damages, then this season is a real must.