Ray Donovan

So I was bored last week and needed a show to watch. I decided to skim through Showtime and decided on giving Ray Donovan a try. Well here I am four days later and I'm on episode 10 of season 6. Wowzer does this show blow me away. I love the grittiness, the laughs, the emotional value and the edge of your seat action that I get from this show. I read alot of the reviews on here and kept hearing about how season 5 was a disappointment. Well I couldn't agree less. Every season has been amazing. I'm actually dreading that I'm coming up to the end. Happy to read that they have already started production of season 7. This show is a win in my book. Highly recommend. And it doesn't hurt that I am a Boston girl, born and raised. Love shows that make me feel at home.

Incredibly unique show, the writing is phenomenal and the acting is a great compliment to it...The show has a style and vibe that I really can't compare to anything and it's dark humor is top notch...Almost every scene is entertaining because the characters are so great and I really enjoy how portions of the background story are unveiled week by week...If there's one negative I can imagine someone saying about the show is that it's a bit of a slow starter...I don't even think this show has hit third gear yet and I'm already hooked...Just hope they don't smother all the greatness out of it like they did to Dexter..but that's another review

This is a solid drama - with the lead character helping upper crusty (mostly) Hollywood types safeguard their positions in society. In addition to the basic premise, the lives (and issues) of the Donovan family are explored.

Ray Donovan drives a good portion of this drama - but as a strong silent type - it is the lives of his family, associates and clients that keep the viewers fully engaged. Jon Voight delivers a remarkable performance as the troublesome father - and I think it is his role that helps elevate this series past a 6-7 rating. He really spices things up.

The lives of his brothers (Bunchy, Terry and Daryll) - while not compelling in themselves; add a real-life substance to the series - helping make this a serious drama.

I think the series suffers when we delve into Ray's immediate family - his wife (Abby) and his children (Bridget and Conor). You might have a different take on their roles but I personally found them uninteresting and often irritating.

Abby doesn't seem to have a real role - she's not quite a mother, not a knowing/wise wife - but instead comes across as a needy teenager. Her scenes are passable and still somewhat watchable because of Paula Malcomson's impressive acting ability.

Conor, the son, completely forgettable. His life doesn't engage nor does it irritate - it's simply meh - filler material.

Bridget, on the other hand, plays the typical (Hollywood) epically annoying teenage girl. You will want to fast forward anytime she appears at 100x speed but... you'll miss out on characters like Marvin and Cookie. So you have to put up with her (it won't be easy). Since the rest of the series is so strong, Bridget is unable to single-handedly destroy the series (which Hollywood-written teenage girls often do).

I am reviewing this after watching 3 seasons. I'm tempted to rate this a 6 because I dislike the epically irritating Bridget character so much. But there is so much more going on, so many other great characters, so many outstanding performances (from strong emotions to nuances) that this series is easily an 8 - despite the annoying teenager.

May update review later (since I plan on watching all 7 years). It's been bingeable good!

Take a shot if a character says:

• What?
• Sure
• It doesn't matter
• Get in the car

If you really want to raise the stakes, take a half shot every time a character says:

• F. you
• Go F. yourself

You may want to have medical professionals standing by for the last two.

This show started off great. It got boring during the middle seasons, but season 6 was very good. I have mixed emotions about season 7. They provided a lot of interesting back story for a few characters, but they left a lot of loose threads at the end.

The whole series showed way too much of Ray's daughter. She got somewhat interesting in Season 6, but then I, once again, lost interest in her during season 7.

I'm glad Ray's son wasn't shown much during the last few seasons. He was an annoying character from the beginning.

Overall, it's a good show if you can stick with the boring bits.

I had to review this show after seeing the current reviews posted. At the moment there are 4 written reviews and all but one are HIGHLY critical and undeserved in my opinion.

The casting is brilliant. Acting is right on. Writing is great. Direction is fantastic. Cinematography is top notch. Am I watching a different show?

I could go on with praises of all the elements of Ray Donovan, but it would just be repetitive and monotonous, and I would run out of synonyms.

I truly think Showtime has it's next hit to fill in the gap left by Dexter next season.

I don't want to go into arcs, plot, etc. and spoil anything. I just wanted to make sure there was another positive review posted, so even more people give Ray Donovan a chance. Believe me, if you have liked Showtime's other amazing Originals, you'll love it as much as I do.