I have watched a LOT of TV and movies in my life, but the Ray series is

Oh, I have to say that I loved Mickies character, not in who he was but how well Jon Voight made us hate the guy, laugh at him and somehow, feel sorry for him too. He is always scheming, always manipulating, always being the consumate con, and doing it so well you completely FORGET that its a tv show, not real life.

To me, thats a sign of a great show.

And of course, Ray's character is impeccable and played so well that I find myself admiring him and very often, dissapointed in him when his character flaws are so huge the word chasm wouldn't apply. But when you boil it all down, its ALL due to how he was abused. Same with Bunch, same with Terry. Mickie doesn't reveal much about his childhood but when he does, its an unhealthy situation as well.

All those things added up make for an incredible series that I find myself looking forward to sitting down and watching the next episode!

I also wanted to mention that I thought that Bunchie's character was the one that was THE most human, realistic, and down to earth. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and as a fellow alcoholic (with 35 yrs of sobriety) I can certainly relate to that trait! It was his past that hurt him and to this very minute he is still reliving the pain on a daily basis. Every decision, every choice he makes today or tomorrow is affected by what happened to him as a child. And he shows us that so skillfully.

I choose a series or film I like by how well the actors make me think about the person they are portraying, or secondly, how much they make me hate them.

The person that I hated in the series was that old shrew that leant Mickie money and who talked in "short bursts" and pursed her lips when thinking or before telling you what she has decided will happen to you, regardless of your concerns, thoughts or feelings.

Ray was a powerful character on screen, but Bunchie made me sad for him, he made me worry about his next move. Will the female wrestler hurt him, steal his money, will he drive the getaway car ok, will Mickie use him again, and on and on.

I agree Californication began fantastically and then dropped off a cliff but that is so true with many series - and I thought Ray D started this declines with S5 - an homage to Abby - not sure if we will invest in S6 - does it get better - the ratings suggest otherwise. I guess the original writers move on once the show is up an running.