Sons of Anarchy: FX’s Awesomely-Deadly New Series

Jax is the Man!

Take the motorcycle classic Easy Rider, mix it with HBO’s hit series, The Sopranos, add a dash of dark humor, and you’ve got FX Network’s hit new series, Sons of Anarchy. Ever since Tony Soprano and friends signed off the air in June 2007, I’ve been waiting for something worthwhile to become addicted to, and it’s finally here!  After, the very first episode I was hooked, and rightfully so….

The show follows the fortunes and hardships of the rebel motorcycle club, the Sons of Anarchy, or SAMCRO, a military-like abbreviation, standing for Sons of Anarchy Motorcyle Club Redwood Original.  The series takes place in the fictional, small Northern California town of Charming.  Within the city limits, the club literally gets away with murder, and not to mention a long list of other crimes including gun running, hooker-humping, property blowing-upping, and even taking the law into their own hands to keep Charming, “Charming”.

The club is ‘godfathered’ by Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman), one of the original founders of the MC, a Vietnam Vet, and a regular hard-ass.  Clay’s right-hand man is Jackson “Jax” Teller, played by briliant, newbie-actor Charlie Hunnam.  Jax’s father was also one of the founders of the club, and since his death, Jax has taken his place as one of the leaders of the gang.  Jax is definitely the hero of the series, he has a good heart, and is always looking for a non-violent way to solve things, but don’t take this too seriously….  as he is known to keep a loaded Glock tucked in his waist.  Jax’s mom, Gemma (Katey Sagal), is the queen of the organization, and in fact is now married to Clay, making him Jax’s stepfather.  The gang consists of a lot of other interesting personalities, including “Chibs” Telford (Tommy Flanagan), a Scottish-born hooligan, known for his expertise in hurting people, Bobby Munson (Mark Boone Jr.), a big-fella, who loves to blow-shit up, and Kip “Half-Sack” Epps (Johnny Lewis), who loves to brag about how he lost one of his nuts in Iraq.  He’ll even show you it if you ask.

If you like gory-thrills, this show is for you.  In the first five episodes I’ve seen a pregnant woman, Jax’s ex-wife Wendy, almost OD, a man get an axe lodged in his skull; in a convenience store no less, and a rapist receive the SAMCRO interpretation of the law… I’ll give you a hint, it rhymes with castration (there has been TWO so far!  Not to mention “Half-Sack”).

Needless to say, Sons of Anarchy is a show where the border between the ‘good-guys’ and the bad is less than faint.  After all, those guns the MC runs usually end up on the streets of L.A., tragically killing inner-city kids as they walk to school.  But on the other hand, SAMCRO can be quite noble too; keeping drugs out of Charming, and chasing away big-corporations to keep the locals in business.

You can catch the drama Wednesdays 10PM ET on FX.  You can also watch episodes On-Demand through Comcast, under the TV Entertainment (FX) section or watch episodes with limited commercial interuptions online at www.hulu.com.  I dare you to watch the pilot and not get hooked…. Double-Dog Dare you!  Bellow is the trailer for the pilot episode.  You can also visit the Sons of Anarchy Homepage, to watch more trailers.

Oh… and P.S. rumor on the streets is HBO has its own biker show in the mix.