Glenn Close stars in “Damages” (9 p.m., FX), a smart and challenging legal drama/thriller that leaves viewers with as many questions as answers. It all but demands that you tune in again next week to find out just what happened.

For starters, “Damages” appears to be told in a season-long flashback. We first see an attractive woman leaving her apartment in only a robe. She’s covered in blood. She’s mute, frightened and soon arrested.

We quickly discover that she’s Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), a brilliant law student poised to sign on with a hotshot firm. Or at least she was six months ago. But she gives up that chance to interview with Patty Hewes (Close), the most infamous and ambitious litigator in New York, if not the universe.

Close has a ball in her role as the brilliant and manipulative Hewes. Of course, there’s not much room for vulnerability. But this was the woman who played Cruella de Vil. If you’re not a fan of Close’s work, then you might consider “Damages” a show more admirable than enjoyable. But if you’re not a fan of Close, you won’t be watching “Damages.”

When Parsons has to cancel her interview to attend her sister’s wedding, Hewes goes out of her way to crash the wedding and interview her in the ladies’ room. Is this a gesture of faith or the act of a control freak who can’t respect personal boundaries?

After Parsons gets the job, Hewes arranges for the young woman to go to a posh department store where all of her clothes are already picked out. There’s more than a little of “The Devil Wears Prada” in “Damages.” Except in this case, the stakes can be murder.

Ted Danson stars as Arthur Frobisher, the former CEO of an Enron-type firm accused of cashing out and gutting his employees’ pension fund. Hewes wants to take him down in the worst way.

Again, “Damages” is not a drama that can be taken in casually. The moment it gets a little too cliche (when it seems a friend of Parsons just so happens to be linked to the Frobisher case), we’re asked to examine things from a new angle.

It’s one of those rare TV dramas that leaves you thinking long after you’ve turned it off. Is this a show about a boss bonding with her protege? A murder mystery? Or both? Is Hewes acting as Parsons’ mentor? Or her tormentor? I’ll never tell. Not that I know. Not yet.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Emily can’t listen on “Gilmore Girls” (7 p.m., CW).

¢ Gregory covets his old handicapped parking space on “House” (8 p.m., Fox).

¢ A sheik’s plans for a desert city offer a mirror on the culture clash between East and West on “Wide Angle” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings).

¢ Mike works on the Mackinac Bridge on “Dirty Jobs” (8 p.m., Discovery).

¢ A sudden change in climate on “Eureka” (8 p.m. Sci Fi).

¢ Benson battles terrorists on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m., NBC).

¢ Scheduled on “Primetime” (9 p.m., ABC): family secrets.

¢ George and Billy bicker over Reggie’s place in the lineup on “The Bronx Is Burning” (9 p.m., ESPN).