Another telly-watching binge by a goggle-eyed John Byrne that this time involved a lot of mayhem, murder and some angry young men in Manchester. It's been an 'M' of a week.
Reviewed: Ray Donovan (Tuesdays, Sky Atlantic); Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (Sundays, RTÉ2); Anarchy in Manchester (Fridays, Sky Arts 1); Love/Hate (Sundays, RTÉ One)
The new and returning shows just keep on coming, but we'll start the ball rolling with a show that's just ended its second season: Ray Donovan (Tuesdays, Sky Atlantic). This finale drew the show's biggest viewing figure on US cable channel Showtime, and it certainly delivered. It was exhausting.
After getting himself arrested in the previous episode (following his attempt at beating up his father, Mickey) Ray exits the police station. He duly discovers that Cookie got hold of the video that shows his daughter, Bridget is the sole witness to Cookie's murderous shooting of her boyfriend Marvin and his driver.
Ray ultimately decides that the matter needs to be resolved with extreme prejudice, but that was just the standout moment in an episode that packed an awful lot into an hour.
Jon Voight deserves special praise for his portrayal of the often pathetic Mickey Donovan, the ageing crook who thinks he still has whatever he thought he had (if you know what I mean). It was somehow fitting that after the botched robbery he planned landed Ray's brother Terry in the clink the haul should be so meagre. It summed up Mickey's, well, Mickey Mouse existence.
Mickey then tried to squeeze money from Alan, which proved unsuccessful, and headed to the race track to confront his parole officer, Ronald Pierce. Suddenly, Mickey's luck changed as a tip from Pierce led to a $1 million win. Mickey even got Terry out on bail.
Ray's other brother, Bunchy, meanwhile sought redemption, first by attending his support group before then heading to his former girlfriend, who still can't find it in her heart to trust him after he admitted he was haunted by his childhood, when he was molested by a priest. Happiness just doesn't seem to be an option for Bunchy.
Back in Ray's world, snoopy journalist Kate is considered too dangerous to remain alive and is murdered by Ray's right-hand man Avi. Avi was encouraged by Ezra, who was in turn prompted by crooked FBI boss Cochran. Her killing prompts Ray to act, first releasing the compromising video he has of Cochran, then phoning the cops to tell them that there's a body under the hospital wing Ezra had built in his wife's memory, before heading to Cookie's for a final, bloody showdown.
After killing Cookie, Ray gets a call from Ashley: her stalker is dead and Steve, her aggressive boyfriend, is implicated. Ray locks Steve in the boot of his car and Ashley calls the cops. Job done.
After a day of death and destruction, Ray finally returns home as Abby and the kids are watching news of Cookie’s demise on TV. Ray just sits there, staring into space. Words really are useless, sometimes. That was some episode, and a great end to the second season. It's going to be tough following that.
One show just starting its second season is Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (Sunday, RTÉ Two). After an iffy start, its first run gathered pace and really found its feet. Now Coulson and co are back. And if this season two opener is any indication, it's going to be a rollercoaster ride.
As well as a bit of back story about the Hideous HYDRA and their formative years in Nazi Germany, the scene's set for the near future as the bad guys got their hands back on a powerful artefact that had been buried by the US since they took it from HYDRA back inthe last days of WWII.
SHIELD has been forced underground owing to the revelations that HYDRA had infiltrated the agency, leaving Coulson and his team searching for technology and equipment for use in their efforts to protect the world and rebuild their operation.
Lucy Lawless – or Xena: Warrior Princess if you prefer – joins the gang as agent Isabelle Hardy, but unfortunately her character doesn't see out the episode. Great start to the season, though, with loads of action, a decent storyline and a rapid pace. HYDRA hasn't gone away, it's good to see Reed Diamond in too, as bad guy Daniel Whitehall. This show's second run is going to kick ass, and should keep Marvel fans happy. I know this one is . . .
Anarchy in Manchester (Fridays, Sky Arts 1) is yet another bit of reminiscing about 1970s' punk rock. At this stage it's a wonder there's anything left to regurgitate but this six-parter is quite novel as the focus is on Manchester, more specifically the ground-breaking So It Goes TV show created and presented by the late Tony Wilson, the guy behind Factory Records and The Hacienda.
While I'd seen the clip of Sex Pistols performing Anarchy in the UK on the show at least a zillion times (it's still great), there were plenty of other moments that looked like they were getting a rare airing: a telling interview with Pistols' manipulative boss, Malcolm McLaren, a fresh-faced John Cooper Clarke (who also voices over the show), and The Jam, fronted by what looked like a 12-year-old Paul Weller.
The package is quite raw and evocative, which is as it should be, but really it's all about Wilson, a man who could spin a yarn as easily as provide a withering put-down. I loved his description of Malcolm McLaren as 'a cross between Brian Epstein, Rasputin and Bugs Bunny'.
Finally, a little more anarchy a lot closer to home, and a few words about the phenomenally successful Love/Hate (Sundays, RTÉ One), which began its fifth season with yet another gangland murder, this time Liz, who famously did the deed and done Darren way back about 100 hits ago.
Sometimes it's uncomfortable to watch this show because this isn't London, New York or LA. It's here in our capital city, they're our accents, they're Irish characters doing all sorts of unspeakable things, just like some people are doing for real on our streets and in our neighbourhoods. That aspect of the show is quite depressing, because it's not just a work of pure fiction. It's informed by what's happening right here, right now.
But as well as being sometimes hard to take (I hear there's an upcoming scene filmed in my former local – that's going to be a strange experience, as I met a few Nidge-like lads in there over the years), Love/Hate is also hard to beat as a compelling drama. And that's why we watch it in droves.
John Byrne
