Did anyone else catch this on FX last night? It’s a crime/drama show about a biker gang in Northern California. It’s a bit rough, but hopefully it keeps going because it looks like it could get interesting. I liked it enough to be able to sit through an hour of looking at Ron Perlman’s caveman face. FX is the basic cable HBO, so I intend to keep watching at least to see what they’ll do with it.
So looks like it was just me. The only reason I knew to try and catch it was from an ad run on ESPN radio yesterday morning.
It really is an interesting premise, a hard bit bad guy story that does not involve cops or mafioso, but still in that Wire/Shield/Sopranos vibe. From the looks of it, the Sons of Anarchy are gun-runners who supply all sorts of weapons to San Francisco based drug dealers. The antagonists seem to be a Hispanic biker gang called the Mayans out of Oakland and a white supremisist prison gang called the Nords.
Katy Sagal of Married with Children and Futurama fame seems to be set to play a big role as the wife/girlfriend of the Sons leader and the mother of the second in command. I’d forgotten what a good actress she can be. Oh, and speaking of the Sopranos, Drea DeMatteo plays the main guy’s meth addicted ex wife.
There is a bit of suspension of disbelief going on, but perhaps that’s because of my familiarity with 1%'er culture. Also, the gang seems to be really small, but maybe that will get fixed once the series starts rolling on.
I’ll definately be watching the next episode to see how it gets going.
The adverts that they blitzed us with starting in June had some pretty hokey dialog. As the weeks progressed they did a better job, but the early ones left a bad impression.
Cheif to biker driving down street: I would not be inclined to look the other way Jax, just a friendly head’s up.
Jax (biker): It’s a free country cheif, we’re all protected by the constitution. Feel free to look any way you want.
This is witty repartee? It has some good people in it, but I gave it a pass.
I watched it and while it was good, it didn’t capture me right off the bat like the Shield. I’m willing to give it a few more episodes to see where it goes.
My husband called her a “female Vic Mackey” last night. Between sweet talking/tonguing Perlman to get her way or giving the addicted mother of her grandson drugs hidden in a Bible, I can totally see the resemblance.
I watched it, and thought it was okay. I see some potetnial, and will give it a chance.
I meant to watch it, but missed the premier. I’ll see if I can find a way to see it. Do they have the FX stuff on hulu?
I went and looked on hulu, it’s just behind the scenes stuff so far…I’ll have to look elsewhere [sly grin].
My approach as well.
Didn’t watch it because the glimpses i got of the commercials made it look silly.
But if Ron Perlman’s in it, i might have to give it a go.
i dvr’d it. will probably watch this weekend.
I’ll watch anything that Ron Perlman is in. Ditto for Mitch Pileggi.
My husband and I disagreed about Sons of Anarchy. I liked it a lot, and I’ll be tuning in for more; hubby wasn’t very pleased, and I’m betting that he’ll probably skip future episodes. I think his main objection was that the show glorifies criminal behavior. Yet he enjoyed The Sopranos, Dexter, The Riches, and Breaking Bad. Go figure.
Katey Sagal was a bit of a shock. I was expecting Peg Bundy, and I got Ma Barker. :eek:
Usually, though not immediately. Always Sunny is on there.
Speaking of Hulu, I saw an ad for SoA during Arrested Development a couple days ago and recognized Charlie Hunnam from Undeclared and thought I might check it out. I’m not really hooked, but I’ll check out the next few eps.
I thought it was pretty good. Katey Segal and Ron Perlman were the best things in it, though Mark Boone Junior was pretty good. I’ve actually been friends with a few real-life Gemma Morrow’s when growing up, and you Do. Not. Fuck. With. Them. If anything, Katey underplayed the role.
It didn’t captivate me, but then again, I’m not a huge fan of TV series. I’ll know whether I’m a fan by the end of the month.
I enjoyed the pilot, and will be checking out the subsequent episodes.
I agree with the OP’s suspension of disbelief comment (I bartended at a couple of biker bars back in my salad days), but hey, it’s television. Still it - initially- looks better than a lot of the other offerings oozing out of the screen and staining my carpet.
I’m watching the pilot now, and I’m enjoying it. I’ll probably watch a few more episodes before I make my judgement. I did laugh a little when they beat up Asian Elvis. (Oh Sweet Jesus!)
I did too. I just didn’t want to put my sick sense of humor on public display. But since you outed yourself in that regard, if anyone calls me on it, I’m going to act like a 3-year-old, point at you, and whine, “He did it first!”
Everybody already knows I’m twisted. 
Wasn’t nearly as good as I thought it was going to be but I’ll keep watch’n.
So, is that Head biker guy that other guy’s REAL dad and he just doesn’t know it yet?
Did anybody else get that feeling?
I just watched it on hulu. Thought it was pretty decent. Katey Sagal was excellently scary, if nothing else.
I think the main flaw they had was in introducing and resolving things a bit too often and fast. They just packed too much into that one episode.
I’m going to keep watching though just for Perlman and Sagal.
Saw it. It’s Hamlet, the miniseries, with Katy Sagal as Gertrude who is behind all the evil. Oh, and she wasn’t giving the recovering mother drugs, she gave her poison after pushing her to commit suicide.
Agreed, but many hour long pilots suffer from that same issue. They’re trying to show all the sides of the people and the conflicts in one “sampler” episode. That’s why I think that this one bears keeping an eye on. It would be a better show if they left you hanging from week to week like the other hour long crime dramas tend to do.