Two shows and a book

Missed posting last week because Monday somehow became Saturday within 24 hours (at least, it felt that way ;)). Anyway, I’ve been busy on the writing front, but all work and no play makes Jeaniene a dull girl, so at night, I unwind by watching tv or reading. As you can guess from my oh-so-subtle blog title, this post is going to talk about two shows and a book.
First up is Ray Donovan, a new series on Showtime. The season just ended and I’m so glad that Showtime has renewed it for a second season. What initially drew me to the show was the lead actor, Liev Schreiber. He’s been good in every movie role I’ve seen him in, so I’d give anything starring him a look. Schreiber plays, you guessed it, Ray Donovan, a Hollywood “fixer” who gets the rich and powerful out of trouble for a price. In actuality, it’s not the premise that’s hooked me on this show, although it wouldn’t surprise me if the things portrayed happened in real-life Hollywood. It’s the family dynamic. Ray can fix almost any problem in his complex work life, but his family life is kind of a mess. One of the scenes that made me laugh out loud is when, moments after intimidating his tough next-door-neighbor, Ray runs to his car to avoid his wife, who’s giving him a very vocal piece of her mind. This juxtaposition of the often-sensitive man Ray is with his family versus his other side as a dangerous “fixer” was fascinating to me. However, don’t misunderstand – Ray is not the best husband or father. In fact, if his character wasn’t so richly layered, what he does early on would’ve put him in the “Leave him, girlfriend!” column for me. Despite his many flaws, you still get a sense that Ray truly loves his wife and children, yet can’t get out of his own way with them. This is exacerbated when his father, Mickey, played by John Voight, gets released from prison and plows back into Ray’s life, which is the last place Ray wants him.
You don’t find out until the end of the season why Ray hates his father with such uncompromising venom, but let me tell you, it’s a good reason. As much as he tries, though, Ray can’t get him out of his life. His brothers are trying to forgive Mickey, and his wife and children fall for his repentant charm, but Mickey has an agenda of his own that Ray is right to be wary of. I thiink all of the acting is excellent and the side characters are also richly-layered. If you like character-driven shows with an edge, you may want to check out Ray Donovan.

Next up couldn’t be more different in tone: Losing It, by Cora Carmack. From the back cover:

Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, Bliss Edwards decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible – a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if that weren’t embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She’d left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book. As the blurb describes, Bliss has decided to do away with her virginity, but then chickens out pre-coitis. “Stop! Cats! Stop!” may be my new favorite line (if you’ve read the book, you know what I mean ;)). The book is about far more than whether or not Bliss will lose her virginity, though. It’s actually a very heartwarming love story, and did I mention the hero is British? You all know how I love those British accents *wink*. Be careful, though: Losing It gave me “One More Chapter” disease, because despite being tired when I picked it up, I kept reading until I was done. Very romantic, and very funny.

And finally, the Showtime show Dexter recently aired its series-finale episode. Before I say anything else, let me warn you that I will discuss SPOILERS from the series finale. Got it? Not just the season finale, but the SERIES finale, which means I will say HOW THE SERIES ENDED and WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT END.
Does everyone understand that there will be massive, series-ending spoilers discussed below?

Like, who died, who didn’t, and exactly how the series ended?

Are we absolutely, positively sure everyone understands that they will be spoiled if they keep reading?

There’s nothing book-related after my thoughts on the end of Dexter, so again, stop reading now if you don’t want to be spoiled on the SERIES ENDING of Dexter. If you want to comment on the other book/show, scroll down to the Comment section until all you see above is “End of series Finale Spoiler warning.”

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(I swear, if anyone tells me that I inadvertently spoiled them because I didn’t give adequate warning, I may have to cut a bitch…)

***Last series Finale Spoiler warning***

Okay, I’ve been a reluctant fan of Dexter since season one, because while Real Life Jeaniene thinks killing is wrong, Fiction Loving Jeaniene was A-OK with Dexter’s particular brand of vigilantism. It’s no accident that Tyler’s dog in my books is named Dexter, if you want an example of how much I liked the show. Some seasons were better than others, sure, and I absolutely hated the plotline of Deb briefly thinking she was in love with her adopted brother (just ewwwww!) but overall, I give the series a thumbs up…except for the last five minutes of it.

For 8.9 seasons, show watchers have been deliberately conditioned to believe that while what Dexter does is wrong, he’s making the world a better place for doing it. In case viewers missed that somehow over the first 6 seasons, Debra comes to that realization herself when she discovers Dexter’s alternate life as a serial killer of murderers. So to me – and your mileage may vary – for the last five minutes to slap a moral message of “Crime doesn’t pay” over Dexter’s life  by showing him sad and alone at the end because of being what he’s been since Episode One, was a cop-out. Dexter is a killer. If you couldn’t deal with that, Episode One would’ve been enough to make you watch something else, imo. To take viewers along an eight-year run of rooting for Dexter as he wrestles with the Code’s limitations and the people in his life, who start out as personal camouflage, then become all-too-important to him, only to leave him bleakly staring off into space while his lover and son believe that he’s dead…UGH!! If you wanted a “Crime doesn’t pay” motto, then show the hero turning from a decent person into a mostly-despicable one, like in Breaking Bad (haven’t seen it, but that’s what I’ve heard). Don’t take the same hero, turn him into a better person because he can finally feel like he’s always wanted to, and then dump him in Podunk, Wherever all alone so we can imagine him as forever morose. That sucks. I didn’t need a happily-ever-after for Dexter, by the way. I would’ve been okay with Dexter going out in a blaze of self-sacrificing glory by boating into the storm to really die. Or by him leaving Hanna and Harrison for their own good, but then continuing on as a serial killer under Harry’s code. Dexter could’ve been alone at the end, setting up a kill room for his next evil-doing victim, and I would’ve been fine. This, however, made me feel cheated, and as you can tell, I didn’t like it one bit.

I also didn’t like Deb dying at the end. Aside from that really sucking for her, I couldn’t help but think “Poor Joey.”  Every woman he’s cared about has left him one way or the other. For Deb to die after finally telling Joey that she loved him…well, again, let me sum it up with UGH.  At least they didn’t kill Angel. That would’ve really burned my already-crispy toast over the ending.

So, in summary: Dexter’s first two seasons, 5.0 rating for me. Seasons three through seven, 4.0. Season eight up until the last five minutes, 3.5. Those last five minutes…1.0 rating.

If you agree/disagree and want to comment, please be respectful of other viewers by not listing plot/character spoilers without a warning first. You don’t have to go overboard like I did with the warnings, but please put one. Thank you.

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