Not a lot of shows have this much depth. You really have to watch and pay attention, because there are a lot of nuances and possibilities it seems to the majority of the scenes. I have watched all four seasons and it's one of the best. I don't get why it isn't nominated more often. It is about as real as a show can get I think, at least how it's acted.
Great post!..wow, you really nailed it; you are among the minority who really gets this show. I also feel this is the best show on the TV right now. I loved "Banshee", the two shows had similar themes in common. I think this show is by far superior when it comes to writing, characters and acting is superb, to get a cast like this together that are all great and in tune with their characters its very hard to pull off. I don't know why so many people compare this show to Sopranos?..this show has ten times the depth Sopranos ever could have, Sopranos went in circles after 2nd or 3rd season and it became about mostly mobsters and killing, I could not care for any of the characters. Ray is not a whiner like Tony Sopranos, Ray knows who he is and accepts himself for the most part and he is not Mobster, that's the part I don't understand ?.
In just four seasons this show has made leaps and characters like Bunchy who were paralyzed from a childhood drama to now getting married and having a child. Ray also also finally faced his past and childhood, even though his connection with church was temporary but his connection with Abbey is now so much stronger than the first season. Ray and Mickey's relationship went from hate and grudge to love and care as family, the scene when Mick was in prison on the phone with Ray was brilliant. When I watch this show, especially this 4th seasons I suddenly think of the works of the director "Michael Mann", films like "Thief", "Heat" and "Miami Vice". There is a lot of heart and depth to Mann's work as it is in this show and how is constructed is very similar when it comes to presentation. The scenes stay with you, you want to watch them again and its all comes down to these great performances. There was a scene with Abby and Ray in a coffee shop where Abby tells Ray about her cancer and it was one of the best scenes I have seen in tv series, it really reminded of a scene in "Thief" in the dinner and how the camera just slowly got closer to just a two shot James Cann and Tuesday Weld.
I hope this show stays at least two more seasons, as most of the shows I use to like (Hell On Wheels, Banshee) all ended.
Hands down, for real gritty true to life stuff. Way underrated. The best of the best right here. From Mickey to Terry to Ray, the acting and writing is phenomenal.
I couldn't said it any better !
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jamesrice-87865
8 years ago
I think when you look at the total scope of the show. How it started...this outlaw dysfunctional family with a lot of demons trying to get by despite their bad reputation. The Donovans are looked down upon and scorned, not well liked in Boston where they are from and the effects of a lot of things have manifested in many ways. Bunchie has major issues that he works out throughout the entire four seasons, but the family arcs. They come around via love, but a real kind of love. Mickey comes off like a total loser at first, a highly entertaining loser but a doofus none the less, but the more we learn about Mickey, the more we see a bull. We see a leader with absolutely no scruples except when it comes to his family. Ray is the shining light for the family and he looks out for them all despite his crazy life, but it is this love and respect for all of the family that is moving. When that kid stole Abbeys purse and Terry tracked him down. He saw how fast the kid punched and growing up on the streets as well he understood the situation rather then pressing charges. He ends up inviting the kid in, and we realize he goes to the mission to eat and Terry takes him in. It's a damn endearing plot line. The kid Damian gets a job and he too becomes one of the family. I get the Sopranos comparison, but there is way, way more depth here. Ray Donovan is much more mature and true to life than anything in the Sopranos and I watched the Sopranos like everyone else back in the early 2000's and loved it. But Ray Donovan takes the schematic and production and writing and acting for a TV show to a whole new level. It is a masterful show, no other way to describe it.
Seeing Ray realize how much Mickey truly loves the family, like you said on the phone when Mickey was in prison brought the whole thing around. That was how it started off in season one episode one. The Donovans are damaged, like many of us, but like many of us they are truly real and loving towards each other.
The last season really got to me. When Ray comes back after all the BS was over and how the whole family came together to fight the Russians, when he walks up to Fite Club and everyone is together dancing and smiling...that was a great ending to the season and possibly to the entire show. They have been through it all and are together, and happy...and that's all Ray and everyone else ever wanted. And it finally happened at the end of season 4.
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