DVD Review: Ray Donovan (Season Seven)

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Ray Donovan is a series that features a lot of people getting unexpectedly killed through various means by a cavalcade of characters. After the end of the seventh season it was a surprise to the stars and viewers when Showtime canceled the series. This was not advertised as a final season by the channel. The plan was for season 8 to be the big wrap up. The show had around the same number of viewers as other Showtime series on the air right now. Star Liev Schreiber ( X-Men Origins: Wolverine) did announce after the shocking news that the producers were trying to find a new home so the story of the fixer in need of fixing. Ray Donovan: Season Seven leaves us with more questions that need some sort of answer.

Ray is still in New York City trying to get a lot of stuff right in his life. He’s still working as the guy who does the dirty work for those in need and have money. But he’s trying to come to terms with his father. While Ray’s work with the therapist (M*A*S*H*‘s Alan Alda) is reminiscent of Tony Soprano, Ray isn’t completely shy about being in therapy. After delivering a message to a guy who is stalking a client, he returns to the aching creep and talks about how he should get some mental help him move forward. He wants to be more than a skillful efficient goon. There are other problem cases that he’s not going to go soft on. The mayor needs Ray to really bring down the house on a target that part of a family that the Donovans have had issues with over the decades. But before too much can happen Ray’s father (Jon Voight) involved in a massive accident when his prison bus hits a gas tanker on the highway. Could this be the end of Mickey? And why did he have to die before Ray was going to stick a crime on his old man that involved heads found in bowling ball bags? Terry Donovan (Atomic Blonde‘s Eddie Marsan) continues to deal with his worsening Parkinson’s. He is willing to go to a few extremes to get relief. There’s plenty of other family issues that keep cropping up and distracting Ray. But he’s not a man who allows himself to be completely confused. He can’t lose control because there’s too many people coming after him. It’s another intense season for the family over 10 episodes.

What stinks is that it’s easy to see how season 8 was going to be about the final showdown between the Donovans and the Sullivans. The bad blood can’t get any hotter in the finale. The was going to be episodes of extreme ugliness. While there’s still no word if a streaming service or another cable channel has acted, Ray Donovan‘s 8th Season needs to get on the air so we can see how Ray’s journey hits a conclusion. This is too good of a penultimate season to have it be the end of Ray and the Donovans. Ray Donovan: Season Seven shows that this was the roughest show on TV.

The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The transfer brings out the blood and bruises brought out by the Donovans. The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 so you can adjust to how many speakers you have with the HDTV. The either mix works fine. The episodes are subtitled.

Dash Directs 705 (3:14) has Dash Mihok step behind the camera instead of playing Bunchy Donovan.

Deconstructing Ray (3:36) has Live talk about the character this season. This is not good to watch before the episodes since it might ruin a few big moments.

CBS DVD presents Ray Donovan: Season Seven. Starring: Liev Schreiber, Eddie Marsan, Dash Mihok, Katherine Moennig, Kerris Dorsey and Jon Voight. Boxset Contents: 10 episodes on 4 DVDs. Released: May 5, 2020.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.