Sons of Anarchy (2008)

Watchseries; I almost didn't give this show a chance because Hollywood rarely offers up fully developed biker characters, much less decent or realistic plots about outlaw biker clubs. If there's a Harley and black leathers in the shot -- bad guys killing and doing bad things -- their work is done. Not so with Sons Of Anarchy.

While you will find all of the above elements, they're woven into a much richer fabric that brings each and every character to life in 16 million colors and full resolution, rising above the stereo-typical black-and-white portrayals of VGA-rendered knuckle-dragging villains.

And the casting! Katy Segal is phenomenal as Gemma, the widow of club founder and wife of present club runner, Clay Morrow, played by Ron Pearlman. Gemma's son, Jax, played by Charlie Hunnam, butts heads with his step-father's vision for the club.

But what really sets this biker drama apart is the context. The bikers are all natives of Charming, childhood friends in a small town. They've kept the town free of corporate tentacles and development, partly so they can run their legal and illegal businesses free of interference (gun-running and porn), and partly because the town itself might as well be a club member. The characters have deep roots to the townspeople who fear but also trust them to a degree, at least in the sense that it's sometimes better to deal with the devil you know and sometimes it's even handy to know the devil. The Sons have 'profitable arrangements' with certain local law enforcement officials, including the Chief of Police played magnificently by Dayton Callie, better known as Deadwood's Charlie Utter.

Conflict arises from neighboring clubs, gangs and criminal organizations trying to horn in on the action, and to an Aryan businessman and politician, played by Alan Arkin, who wants to set up shop in Charming and take out the Sons of Anarchy so he can take their place at the top of the criminal heap.

As if this wasn't fodder enough, Ally Walker joined the cast in season two as ball-breaking FBI agent June Stahl, going after the Sons and IRA gun runners who are selling to the Sons. Her quest, made painfully personal, by a meeting-gone-wrong with an imprisoned club member.

The action is gritty, the anti-heroes are plentiful, the characters are full-bodied and the writing is Class-A. Let Sons of Anarchy become your newest guilt-free pleasure and you'll find yourself heading into it full throttle.

I almost didn't give this show a chance because Hollywood rarely offers up fully developed biker characters, much less decent or realistic plots about outlaw biker clubs. If there's a Harley and black leathers in the shot -- bad guys killing and doing bad things -- their work is done. Not so with Sons Of Anarchy.

While you will find all of the above elements, they're woven into a much richer fabric that brings each and every character to life in 16 million colors and full resolution, rising above the stereo-typical black-and-white portrayals of VGA-rendered knuckle-dragging villains.

And the casting! Katy Segal is phenomenal as Gemma, the widow of club founder and wife of present club runner, Clay Morrow, played by Ron Pearlman. Gemma's son, Jax, played by Charlie Hunnam, butts heads with his step-father's vision for the club.

But what really sets this biker drama apart is the context. The bikers are all natives of Charming, childhood friends in a small town. They've kept the town free of corporate tentacles and development, partly so they can run their legal and illegal businesses free of interference (gun-running and porn), and partly because the town itself might as well be a club member. The characters have deep roots to the townspeople who fear but also trust them to a degree, at least in the sense that it's sometimes better to deal with the devil you know and sometimes it's even handy to know the devil. The Sons have 'profitable arrangements' with certain local law enforcement officials, including the Chief of Police played magnificently by Dayton Callie, better known as Deadwood's Charlie Utter.

Conflict arises from neighboring clubs, gangs and criminal organizations trying to horn in on the action, and to an Aryan businessman and politician, played by Alan Arkin, who wants to set up shop in Charming and take out the Sons of Anarchy so he can take their place at the top of the criminal heap.

As if this wasn't fodder enough, Ally Walker joined the cast in season two as ball-breaking FBI agent June Stahl, going after the Sons and IRA gun runners who are selling to the Sons. Her quest, made painfully personal, by a meeting-gone-wrong with an imprisoned club member.

The action is gritty, the anti-heroes are plentiful, the characters are full-bodied and the writing is Class-A. Let Sons of Anarchy become your newest guilt-free pleasure and you'll find yourself heading into it full throttle.

Sons of Anarchy watchseries. After I finished the last episode I immediately started rewatching the first one ( I was so sad because it ended). Then my friend started watching the show, I was gelous I already saw it and I knew what pleasures this one has to offer.

Everything is just so good: the cast, the story, the soundtrack, the violence, the symbols, litteraly everything. I'm listening to one of the songs as I'm writing this. Totally worth watching.

And for those of you who already saw it : SHOULD THE DIRECTORS MEET MR.MAYHEM FOR ENDING IT?

I originally began watching the show to see how realistic it would be. Living in that culture for many years, I know most people have no idea of the 'lifestyle'.

I was pretty surprised as I have only found a few issues that were, in my opinion, not realistic. I would give it a 85-90% for accuracy.

Much like other specific shows/plots, I really didn't expect this show to be very good, but I was pleasantly surprised and want to thank FX for doing some homework.

The cast is extremely well picked and fits their personalities.

I also highly suggest this series. Is it for everyone, of course not; but for those who want to see the 'other side' of life, it is not only fairly accurate but also very entertaining.......

I know that people say this all the time about a ton of different shows but Sons of Anarchy is absolutely, without a doubt, one of the best shows ever created and is easily one of my 2 or 3 favorite shows of all-time! I just got done watching the entire series for a second time through and it was just as good the second time around as it was the first! Every season is just as amazing as the others, which everyone knows is really rare for a tv show but which this one pulls off. I really can't say enough about this amazing show that hasn't already been said, all you have to do is read through the reviews to see how loved this show really is! Do yourself a favor and just go watch it!

This show is easy watching when you want to unwind after a long day. It's entertaining with plenty of action and intertwining story lines but it has some major issues...

Awful acting, over the top stereotypes and ridiculous storylines. The gang somehow manage to get mixed up with every possible bad guy in the whole USA and Ireland along with several different divisions of police force and yet they always come out unscathed. There must be a hundred shootouts / explosions throughout the entire series yet our hero jax never gets more than a scratch on his pretty face.

You'll probably enjoy the show if you don't take it very seriously. Just accept the ridiculousness of it all and cheer on the bad guys with hearts of gold.

I decided to watch "Sons of Anarchy" initially because I am a fan of Charlie Hunnam (a seriously under used and under rated actor,) Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal. What I didn't expect was the best ensemble I've seen in a TV show in years. Every cast member is spot on and the three I mentioned are positively brilliant. In the first five minutes, I completely forgot that Charlie Hunnam is British because his American accent is excellent. This show is heavy on violence and rough language, but it all fits in with the story...as do the occasional sex scenes. Everything about it is excellent: the acting, scripts, sets, cinematography and direction. I'm thrilled that this excellent show will have a second season. If you haven't seen it, all episodes except the finale (to come) are available on line. I hope many more people will watch this terrific show.