CBS Home Entertainment augments its massive October 4, 2022 (reviewed) Blocktober steelbook, Blu-ray, and DVD complete series releases of neo-modern classics with an October 25, 2022 DVD CS release of "Ray Donovan" (2013-20). This 29-disc set of this 82-episode MUST-SEE Showtime offering includes an actual seven seasons and a (reviewed) movie.
This obvious clone of "The Sopranos" arguably surpasses the original in that the "made" men and their families are more realistically portrayed than in the original to which "Donovan" pays the highest form of flattery. This begins with "actor" Liev Schreiber seemingly being born to play the titular "fixer" compared to "TV star" James Gandolfini having an excellent take on the psyche of a mob boss.
The perfectly executed "Donovan" pilot strikes the ideal balance between exposition and getting the action started. This "no dull moment" standard is maintained throughout this series that always surpasses the "one more" test.
Our story begins with one of the rich-and-infamous Hollywood and environs clients of the agency for which Ray works waking up next to the corpse of his latest one-night stand. Meanwhile back at the ranch, Bawstan native Ray is waking up with high-school sweetheart wife Abby (a.k.a. Carmela) in their home with mid-teens daughter Bridget (a.k.a. Willow) and tween son Connor (a.k.a. AJ).
This just being another day at the office results in Ray calling in his team to create a new reality that solves the problems of both the playah and the other client whose personal life clashes with his highly lucrative persona. One memorable scene shows the heavy price of fame.
The bigger picture here is the glimpse into how "fixers" directly and indirectly manipulate the general populace. A relatable example is the many times that others try to gaslight us into not believing something that we know is untrue. A dramatic personal childhood instance is my aunt trying to convince me that I did not overhear her telling my mother that my aunt and my uncle successfully covering up the murder of a worker by the manager at an developing-nation factory that that couple owned. I suppose that I also did not witness my aunt get furious at my mother after I mentioned the incident.
The series (and movie) game fully is afoot on estranged father Mickey (Jon Voight) coming west for a family reunion after killing a priest almost immediately on being granted a parole after serving 20 years for a murder that he insists that he did not commit. The mutual animosity between Mickey and Ray that prompts no-holds-barred efforts to cause the downfall of the other introduces an awesome Shakespearean element to the series.
The "and the rest" include the highly damaged full siblings of Ray and his previously unknown half brother, who is the result of the jungle fever of Mickey. One of the best S1 scenes has dopey innocent Conor unable to comprehend how Uncle Daryll (Pooch Hall) can be black.
The aforementioned movie terrifically brings us back to the youth of Donovan on the mean streets of Bawstan. These adventures show us how the members of our stereotypical working-class Irish Catholic family get to be the people whom they are two decades later. It is believed that Boston-born comedian Denis Leary is who describes this as members of such families having the hands of each other either in their pockets or around their throats.
S1 further introduces the deliciously dark twin themes that run throughout "Donovan." The first element is the critical need for celebrities and other power-brokers to keep up appearances requires taking the desperate measure of hiring Team Donovan to put right what once went wrong when indulging in their sins blows up in their face.
The other side of this coin is that doing so giving Ray leverage that he is not afraid to use when facing his own desperate need. This can range from wanting to ensure that his kids get accepted at an elite school to showing that he will not hesitate to administer a beatdown to preserve the image of a client.
All of this S1 trauma-and-drama ends in a manner that Team "Donovan" maintains throughout the run of the series. Everything builds to a climax that serves equally well as season or a series finale. In the case of the first season, this often involves killing someone who remains an obstacle. The S1 epilogue goes further by putting a dark twist on the classic final scene of "The Sopranos."
The epic two hours of special features include the typical insightful wit-and-wisdom of the cast-and-crew. This includes an especially notable "Deconstructing" presentation.
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