Slaughtered 'Sons Of Anarchy'

Townhall.com ^ | December 12, 2014 | Brent Bozell

[Gaffer]

I watched an episode or two many years ago. I found it to be contrived and unbelievable. To me it was a safe PC bet with respect to what group wouldn’t draw the ire of minorities (remember Clancy’s book “Sum of all Fears” PC modified Nazis replacing Muslims?).

There may be groups out there like this that wish they were like on TV, but not so violent, amoral or pervasive, IMO.

[Cincinatus]

Pretty violent and gruesome but interesting in many ways. More intellectually complex than a simple stomp-fest, but not Shakespeare by any means (even though he is often quoted -- the plot premise is basically "Hamlet"). Lots of biblical allusions too. This was the story of a corrupt biker gang who ran a small California town. Anyone tuning into it expecting a crochet circle is naive in the extreme.

As for quality, the first six seasons told a complex tale pretty well, with the big moral dilemma whether the main character should abandon "the life" or not. The final (7th) season (which just ended) was notably lesser in quality. It ended pretty much as it had to end.

[libstripper]

Yes, if you enjoy lots of sex and graphic violence, especially the violence. It makes the Hell’s Angels look like choir boys. Confession: I’ve watched the whole thing.

[BigCinBigD]

Loved the show! The violence noted in the article is not explained in the context of the show. Just another weak sissy whining.

[defconw]

The last season was definitely not the best season. Although there were moments. Abel becoming a bit psychotic. The whole Nero/Jax relationship.

I think after you lived through the Opie thing, nothing was really that shocking after that. Unless maybe Abel had killed Gemma. Which leaves me to wonder will there be a sequel, some day with Abel Teller?

I must say the season in Ireland did not do much for me and I can't seem to recall how it was that Borofsky ended up at the restaurant serving ice cream. :)

[CrazyIvan]

“I have never watched a single episode...”

Same here. All I know about it is that I see a lot of dippy white trash who couldn’t handle a moped wearing SOA “colors”.

[Wolfie]

It was a decent enough show. Lots of Easter Eggs, what with the homeless woman/angel, the bread and wine, etc.

Apparently, they are developing a prequel to SOA which will be about Jax’s father and the founding of the MC.

[defconw]

I like dramas that are well told and the violence in this particular drama was not gratuitous. I am a fan of action movies and the like. It was violent for sure, but within the context of the story I think it fit.

I found the sex scenes to be a bit much. I felt rather like a voyeur at times and I found myself a bit embarrassed. But that was part of the story as well. So I would say it was well done over all.

[ThunderSleeps]

Pretty violent and gruesome but interesting in many ways...

Thanks for the heads up. Violent and gruesome I can handle. I actually just started watching it last week on Netflix. A couple of different friends are fans of the show and I just finally got around to it.

I need something to watch while doing cardio (elliptical at the gym, they've got free wi-fi). In the past I've gone through Miami Vice, Burn Notice, Breaking Bad, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, etc. On the elliptical I'm not looking for Shakespear, just something to avoid boredom that I can pick up and put down 45 to 60 min at a time.

[defconw]

I wonder how that will go now that the truth about Jax's father is out? We will most likely watch it.

We watched the Shield, that my husband enjoyed more than me. I really liked the cop show, I think it was called Southland? The one that had that kid from the OC as a rookie cop and the sarge from Band of Brothers as the gay cop? That was raw as well. I always felt ripped off by that one.

SOA, I liked. I thought it was well done. The actors were really good.

[CPONav]

I loved the show. My wife and I watched the entire series and I hated to see it end.
Seasons three and four were somewhat slow at times, but overall, it is one of the best series that I have ever watched.
Yes, it was loaded with sex, violence, profanity and it was just plain RAW.

Another wonderful show that ends next season is “Justified”. I hate to see it go.
It’s TV, folks. It’s fantasy life. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.

[Night Hides Not]

I've been a fan of SOA from day one. I appreciate the way they tied up all the loose ends, unlike the Sopranos. It was gritty and dark, but the acting was great.

It earned it's rating...when it was on, my son was not allowed in my man cave.

[defconw]

Now I have not seen Justified and I might have to watch that one on Netflix. It must have been on when we were watching something else. Maybe they will do a marathon and I can catch up.

I will confess that I hate the Walking Dead. HATE it. But my husband watches it.

[Jakarta ex-pat]

In the end, as with most shows, it makes you wonder why you bothered at all. The only real contender to a show which doesn't seem to give a damn about characters from the get go is Game of Thrones. Just because it was based on a best selling novel certainty wasn't a perquisite.

Just ask Stephen King!

[defconw]

I thought the acting was great as well. Loved Katey Segal. OMG, that woman!

[SZonian]

Programs like this, that are wildly or even reasonably successful serve to incrementally “push” the boundaries of what is and is not acceptable on the television.

I’m sure the SOA replacement will have even more gratuitous violence, homo sex, trans sex etc...

It’s like a drug to some of these people in the tv business.

[gusty]

The difference between the the Sopranos and the SOA is that the Sopranos was well written and acted and SOA is not. I bailed out a couple of seasons ago over the lousy writing, production, and acting. The actor Charlie Hunnan, who played Jax, had a little difficulty hiding his Brit accent. When he was supposed to be excited, he sounded like he belonged on the panel for the Premier League on NBC. His stepfather, Clay, who was supposed to have grown up in Northern California, had the thickest NYC accent you could ever hear, fugadaboudit. The best was a motorcycle chase through traffic one season. Except the cars in the traffic jam had nobody in them, it looked liked they rode onto the set of the Walking Dead.

[Turbo Pig]

I found it to be contrived and unbelievable.

Bingo!!! Irish mobsters kidnapping a west coast MC president's kid is equivilent to Fonzie on skis.

[sheana]

I watched every single episode. A little boring at times since they couldn’t get past the definition of insanity.....doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. lol I thought the ending was perfect. Kurt Sutter knows how to do an ending.

[defconw]

I liked the ending. I had to read a review to find out what that was on the road. I still don't get the homeless girl and how the bread ended up at the crash. But that's OK.

I thought the family dynamics were very compelling. All the thugs killing each other not so much. But I was hooked early on the family aspect of it and how these guys managed to ruin so many people that they cared about.

Women stay with these kinds of men and I am always fascinated by it. Ever watch Prison Wives, there is another bunch that I just don't get it. But ...