Ray Donovan ( TV Show) review

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Star – Leiv Schreiber My Rating **** Genre – Crime box set Run Time – 12x 50 Minutes. Certificate – 19r Country – U.S.A Emmys – 1 primetime Awards – 4 Wins & 42 Nominations = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = As you know I have been trawling the Top 100 lists online to find some top TV series I have missed out on, be it boxset, cable, DVD, normal TV or streaming... The two I have stuck with of late are Ray Donavan and The Expanse. I tried The Fringe for my go to Sci-Fi show but turned out to be just another X Files style reboot and we all know there will never be another X Files. The Expanse is now my go to space fix with season one in the bag and plenty more to go, and Ray Donovan my favored crime show. So the basic set up is Ray Donovan (played brilliantly by Leiv Schreiber) is a present day Hollywood fixer, the guy you call if there is a dead body in a movie stars bed, a drug or sex problem or just about anything that needs discreetly dealing with to avoid the careers of the rich and famous being damaged or ending prematurely. Ray will do whatever it takes, and in demand. ===The Plot === Boston Irish boys Ray, his brothers Terry (Eddie Marston) and Bunchy (Dash Mihokas), have moved away from the East Cost to Los Angeles to escape the demons of Catholic Church abuse as kids, all damaged in their own way, especially Bunchy, now an immature thirtysomething who drinks, does drugs but little else. The lads run a boxing gym where their younger brother-in-law Daryll (Pooch Hall) is a real prospect. Things are about to take a turn for the worse when Mickey Donovan (Jon Voight), their dad, is released from a twenty-year stretch in jail, and soon showing up in LA to see his grandkids, Connor (Devon Bagby) and Lena (Katherine Moennie) , the children of Bridget (Kerris Dorsey), Ray’s loyal but torn wife. But Alpha Male Ray wants him nowhere near the family as there’s bad blood between the two, soon employing his right-hand man Avi (Steven Bauer) to get Mickey back in jail ASAP. When that doesn’t work he is prepared to go further to get rid of him. Rays line of work makes friends, and enemies, more of the later, having to grease every palm in town to protect his clients. Movie producer Ezra Goodman (Elliot Gould) has him on a retainer, for reasons why Mickey ended up in jail, a crime Mickey claims he is innocent of but in the clutches of the FBI as an informant the only way he feels he can clear his name. Ray’s a lot on his plate with his day job as well as pops as he spends his hours bailing out movie stars from all manner of misdemeanors, trying to keep his and family away from the reality of the job, his embattled wife trying to keep tabs on any infidelities and make sure he is there for the kids. +++The Cast+++ Leiv Schreiber as Ray Donovan Eddie Marsan as Terry Donovan Dash Mihokas Bunchy Donovan Pooch Hall as Daryll Kerris Dorsey as Bridget Donovan Jon Voight as Mickey Donovan Katherine Moennie as Lena Devon Bagby as Connor Donavan Steven Bauer as Avi Elliot Gould as Ezra Goodman ===Results=== The Sopranos’ meets Entourage is the best way to describe this and if you miss your mob TV box set then this maybe for you. It’s one of those rare shows where you don’t need to watch four and five episodes before you get it as you are hooked in pretty much from scene one of episode one, addictive and macho TV. Schreiber is mesmerizing as the brooding macho man, women falling at his feet as he cracks skulls but softly nurtures his kids, his wife not knowing if she should throw a net over him or kiss him. There are some great cameos by big names here, James Woods and Rosanna Arquette to name but two in season one. But you can’t take your eyes of Ray, a conflicted character fighting his demons, the best reason to watch this. Although women always say they just want to meet a nice guy who will care for them deep down but they want a Ray, a sexy cold alpha male who doesn’t give a dam. Girls will love this show as much as boys. ===RATINGS=== Imdb.com 8.3 /10.0 (83,234 votes) Rottentomatos.com –72% critic’s approval Metacritic.com – 76 % critic’s approval ===Trailer=== https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2249007/