Ray Donovan (SHOWTIME)

This premiered last sunday. It stars Liev Shrieber, Jon Voight, and Elliot Gould.
Watched the first episode "The Bag or the Bat" and I'm rather intrigued with where they go with this. The opening episode was very jammed packed with a large variety of potential storylines without feeling compressed or confusing. The characters and actors are quite good, the directing is solid and everything moves along at a good pace.

I'm liking this show so far. Ep.1 was kinda flawed but it's getting better each episode. The show reminds me alot of The Sopranos.

was wondering if anyone else was watching this one.
i agree, there are flaws, but there seems to be potential and it is hard NOT to reference Sopranos much like it was for Godfather when seeing a mafia movie.

With the "fixing problems" for the rich and glamorized of hollywood it definitely seems to go into a different vein of vanity-ridden ruthlessness and it seems the most "moral" character is liev's "Fixer"

I agree. I do see alot of potential in this one. I'm really liking Jon Voigt in this role. He is simultaneously hilarious,yet despicable as well. Liev is doing pretty good in this role as well. Main complaint is some of the characters like his wife,son and daughter who I feel are cliches.Maybe they'll break out of that once the show progresses. So far i'm liking it.

i agree, voight definitely knows how to make you chuckle while hating him at the same time.
And while Liev's family does seem very one dimensional, perhaps their chance to shine is later on down the road since the opening had so many intros on so many levels, ya know? Much like liev's woman assistant who watches vidoes. I got a feeling there is some very dramatic sh*t going on beneath the surface that will be brought to a slow boil later on.

Yeah i feel the same. This show could really develop alot. I'm liking that there is a bigger focus on his kids because alot of shows kids are just in the background. Like in Homeland the main character's son is as useless as a pile of manure. I think the actors are damn good and I feel there's plenty of revelations to come. I wonder why Ray hates Mickey soo much. I think it goes farther than just Mick being an absent dad. I think Mick might've molested Ray's sister or something along those lines. Hey if you like this show you should check out Game of Thrones,Breaking Bad or The Wire. All really good dark dramas.

I'm sure its a lot more than not being around and yeah, there does seem to be some hinting about the possibility of his sis getting molested by mickey. Curious to see that path and I'm enjoying seeing elliot gould and where he ties in to it all as well

i've been wanting to find breaking bad series so i can sit down and watch it, same with game of thrones since i came in WAAAY too late for either of them.
How is homeland? Been curious about that one?

Homeland is fairly good although the 2nd season is a drop-off in quality. I recommend you check it out.It has great acting, is very suspenseful and has very solid writing as well.
Boardwalk Empire is another really good show. HBO gangster drama set during the prohibition era Atlantic City.

Love BOARDWALK EMPIRE!

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"Yes, citizen, there is no cause for alarm -- you may return to your harpsichord."

that has been the census regarding homeland, thanks

haven't heard about boardwalk though. Gangster drama during prohibition, that DOES sound like something i would thoroughly enjoy and sadly, me without HBO. But i truly do appreciate the heads up about it. Will definitely need to put that on the need to watch list.

Perhaps your library will rent you the dvd?

lol that will be my first attempt, this monday when i drop off some dvds i had rented, wish me luck

Watched the two episodes of this that have been on Sky so far, pretty good so far, I'm interested in seeing more. Like you guys have mentioned Jon Voight's character is scary but funny at the same time, some really creepy and uneasy scenes with him so far.

About the other shows you've mentioned: LPQ is spot on about Boardwalk Empire, it's a brilliant show that oozes quality and has maintained it in all three seasons so far, probably the best current TV show. I like Homeland, although like you say the second season was worse than the first, it became too over the top and contrived, although you had to suspend your disbelief in the first season, some of the second ventured into ridiculous, the ending too.

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thanks for your input, daniel, about the other shows.

Any of you guys still watching the show? It's picking up momentum and the acting is fine as always but the story does feel a tad bit unfocused. Oh well, i'm sure by the end of the season everything will wrap up nicely. Here's the promo for the next episode:

Well I have only seen four episodes now although I might try and catch up to US time soon, it's pretty good, although the jury is still out for me. Obviously only four episodes means there's plenty of times for stories to develop. Voight's character has got even stranger, really really creepy guy and really brings an uncomfortable feeling to every scene he's in, it'll be interesting to see how his story with Agent Miller develops, I suspect him wanting Ray will become the main storyline for the series.

^ yeah Jon Voight is incredibly entertaining I must say. Liev Schreiber is cool too. I'm still a bit mixed on the show, I like it and look forward watching it each week but I feel it could be even better though. My TV rotation right now is this show and Breaking Bad.

Saw someone post Jon Voights character from Ray Donovan in the Films Biggest Bastards thread and decided to check it out. Liev Schrieber (prob mispelt) is gonna make a mint going forward playing these tough guys. He has the demeanor, size, and voice to always look like the most dangerous man in any room. Just finished the first episode and it looks strong.

Also liked seeing Paula Malcomson playing the wife. I loved her as Trixie on Deadwood. Anytime I see a regular from Deadwood in something I take notice. That show was so awesome the tremors from its coolness is felt years after.

Jon Voight is absolutely killing-it in his role on this show. He has some of the best lines Ive heard in a long time. His character Mickey Donovan is like Sean Connerys in Family Values, but way more vulgar lol!

One thing Ive noticed is the show doesnt have a theme song. Ya gotsta' have a theme song! Ya gotsta!