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T2 WHATS UP! October 28 - November 3, 2018 BY KENNETH ANDEEL TV Media S ometimes a change of scenery is necessary to move forward and mend. Other times, however, if you bring enough pain with you, a change of scenery will not suffice. When season 6 of "Ray Donovan" commences on Sunday, Oct. 28, on Showtime, the charac- ters in the series and the fans watching it will together begin to explore the question of how deeply new surroundings can help to surmount the trauma initiated at the conclusion of the show's fifth season. With five years in the books, "Ray Donovan" has had itself figured out for some time, de- vising and then settling into a recognizable narrative rhythm. The show's mixture of family drama and seedy crimi- nal intrigue follows Ray Dono- van (Liev Schreiber, "The Manchurian Candidate," 2004), a Boston native em- ployed in Los Angeles as a "fixer" for a law firm. Ray's job requires solving his clients' emergencies in creative, fre- quently illegal ways. When it comes to executing solutions, there isn't much that Ray deems unacceptable, and his tactics range from blackmail and threats to the actual insti- gation of mayhem and murder. The character occupies the sort of unstable and uncom- fortable territory that was trailblazed in recent years by such seminal television anti- heroes as Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini, "The So- pranos") or Walter White (Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"). The audience watches these characters struggle with their shaky moral codes, striv- ing for self-improvement but consistently resorting to the performance of terrible deeds whenever challenged. Five seasons worth of "Ray Donovan" have exposed Ray's contradictory nature: he's fluctuated between devoted family man and neglectful par- ent/inveterate adulterer; and alternated between clever, vir- tuous strategy and a retreat to brute violence. Complicated (and sometimes just plain bad) protagonists have be- come the norm in ambitious adult dramas, and "Ray Dono- van" enthusiasts have grown accustomed to balancing ad- miration with condemnation when it comes to Schreiber's titular antihero. Ray's family life has always been a central part of the se- ries. The first major conflict of the show involved the release of Ray's reprobate father, Mickey (Jon Voight, "National Treasure," 2004), from prison and the uncertainty about how Mickey would reintegrate into the lives of his three sons — Ray, Terry (Eddie Marsan, "Miami Vice," 2006) and Bunchy (Dash Mihok, "The Thin Red Line," 1998) — and about how willing Mickey was to manipulate, abuse and be- tray them (the answer turned out to be "very"). Ray's wife, Abby (Paula Malcomson, "Deadwood"), has been another pillar of the show, and her imperfect but devoted relationship with Ray, as well as her own struggles with personal demons, have offered a lot of drama. In the season 4 premiere, Abby was diagnosed with cancer, and to Liev Schreiber stars in "Ray Donovan" Down and out continued on page T10 TV FEATURE B/Health Initiatives Research 2 x 5 Have you or a loved one been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease? Agitation and insomnia are just two common symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease. If you are interested in learning more about current research and the management of symptoms, please give us a call at 479-575-9600. Call Health Initiatives Research 479-575-9600 to talk to our staff about current trials and more learning opportunities. ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE OR MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT? NOW ENROLLING IN CLINICAL TRIALS! Help us discover new treatment options! You might be able to help with clinical research studies looking at potential treatments for mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment.