Ray Donovan - Season 1 [Blu-ray] [Region Free]

Ray Donovan, L.A. fixer to the stars. No problem too big or mess too messy (and that’s just his home life). His complex and often brutal profession life makes his work / life balance difficult enough to manage without the unexpected release of his father, Micky, from prison after serving twenty years for murder. If Ray’s life was difficult before, he’s now dragged into an increasingly chaotic series of fire fighting operations just trying to keep up with the direct and indirect aftermath of Micky’s actions. That more-or-less sums up the central premise of this unusual and difficult to pigeon-hole TV show. His family life and relationship with his father and brothers may seem a bit family soapy or crime / mob Sopranos’ish but it’s not entirely. The LA glamour & money components could lend the show a glitzy action element but it doesn’t. The involvement of the FBI could make it police procedural, but it’s not. A buddy show it most definitely is not. It is a curious and surprisingly successful blend of genres. The main cast is superb; all the way from Leiv Shrieber title role, Jon Voight the delinquent father, Paula Malcomson (Trixie from the excellent Deadwood) the long suffering wife, Ray’s brothers Terry (another British actor making good in the USA) & Bunchy through to Elliot Gould and James Woods. Even the kids are good & that certainly makes a change. The production is equally splendid and the writing similarly so, as the plot twists, turns and lurches its way from one catastrophe to another (although I must confess that we got a bit confused at one point – we probably missed a crucial bit of dialogue). There is always a firm narrative thread to keep the plot moving along so you’re never stuck with that ‘Oh no, here we go again…’ feeling; it all hangs together very neatly. This is not comfortable, reassuring drama; the lives of the totally dysfunction extended Donovan family is the absolute antitheses of the cosy Regans in Blue Bloods. It would be great to see a CSI style cross-over episode; it would be hilarious. There’s harsh language, violence, gore, more violence and some mumbling (but it’s not too bad). The characters are all so well drawn, damaged and flawed as they are, that it’s hard to like any of them but you still can’t help but emphasise. Ray Donovan is a surprising and remarkable bit of TV drama; gritty, plausible (well, mostly) and thoroughly engrossing. Season two is on our wish list ready for June 2015. Excellent stuff.

A mix of The Sopranos and Brotherhood with a soupcon of Entourage this eminently watchable Showtime series is soldily made but gets bogged down too much with the family dynamics of the Donovans (shades of the similarly named/themed "Black Donnelly`s"). The programme-makers imagine we`ll find the internecine ructions of the family as interesting as the Hollywood backdrop that Ray operates so violently within. They`re wrong and as a result we spend far too much time in Ray`s brother`s boxing gym and sorting out the hopelessly broken life of his other brother Bunchy. Jon Voight redeems much of this family [melo]drama with an outstanding career-best performance as RD`s father, fresh out of jail and causing mayhem from the first ep. Good series overall but not brilliant - Here`s hoping they get the balance right in season 2.

Original, clever, complex, wide ranging. Together with top notch production values and brilliant acting. The plot is well paced and there is never a dull moment. You have to stay alert as the many strands develop quite fast, may shock and change unexpectedly or be deeper than they appear. The characters' solutions are often unexpected but in retrospect perfectly practical (often violently) and, if not at all reasonable, clearly logical. It is perhaps in the dichotomy between violent and unreasonable yet logical that it finds its originality. It does it over and over and very cleverly engineered ot to over do it and avoids the offence it might easily cause. Not much out there that's this clever or purely entertaining: Recommended

This is a brilliant crime series that really draws you in and becomes very addictive to watch, it has a great cast, Jon Voights very funny in it, he plays Rays Father and storyline which just gets better and better with every episode, its about a professional fixer who sorts other people money problems out whether it be to do work or drug deals but as he gets busy sorting everyone elses problems out, it the problems with his own family that prove hardest to fix!!

I purchased this based on the 5 star reviews. Yes - I suppose it's OK. Am I waiting to get Series Two. No!. It is hard to put a finger on what is wrong with it. Too much explicit sex? Well I purchased Boardwalk Empire Series One at the same time, again based on a friend's recommendation, and the explicit sex is just as bad or worse so perhaps this is now the trend. The thing is, and I am not a prude, it just adds nothing to the plot perhaps even slowing it down. Also I find I cannot connect with the characters and I am certainly no boxing fan - which doesn't help. Have been spoilt by Breaking Bad, Dexter and The Wire. These did not have to depend on sexual content just great story telling.

I was looking around for something to watch, as I have no interest in 99.9% of the programmes available on freeview, cable etc. I bought this box set based on the other reviews. I must admit, for the first 2 or 3 episodes I struggled to see what the whole point of the programme is - the storyline wasn't very clear. And the bad language is really bad - not that it really bothers me, but it is quite extreme from the outset and takes a bit of getting used to. After a few episodes our easr got accustomed to the frequency of the f word and other expletives to the point that we use to joke 'shall we f-in watch Ray f-in Donovan' We persevered though and thoroughly enjoyed the whole series. Jon Voight's character is one of the most obnoxious I have ever come across - I really didn't like him although that is obviously the desired reaction from the audience. There is a lot of sometimes gratuitous violence so don't watch this if you are easily offended. If you want something a bit different, tune your ears out to all the swearing and you'll find a very watchable and entertaining series. Looking forward to series 2.

Story line strong.Some characters irritating.

Haven't watched the DVD yet but watched the show on TV. Fantastic show with lots of twists and turns, Live Schrieber is fantastic as the lead character and John Voight (who plays his father) is also fantastic in this, it is so different from anything else on TV just now and everyone should give it a go, once you get past the 1st episode you will be hooked