'SONS OF ANARCHY' - NOTES 7-9-11

SONS OF ANARCHY: Season 1

8/21/09

For NETFLIX:

I have only watched the first disk. The acting and parts of the story are good. But I cannot get over the feeling that I am watching some bulls**.

It doesn't feel real or believable. Maybe it's a little too pat. I like some of the characters: The main character, the young blond guy in his 20s who tries to tone down the violence but is violent himself. The chubby curly headed guy and the Brit. The big cheese.

The wife of the big cheese seems not real, for some reason. It's not her acting but the writing -- her dialogue and her actions. Overall, some of the scenes are great -- the ax scene in the 7-11, for one. But the idea that this motorcycle gang runs guns for years in this little California central valley town doesn't quite float. Somebody would call the state police or the feds.

Or maybe it's because the purpose seems to be to excite the audience rather than to give insight into these people and this world. The show seems derivative. It's like watching Tony Soprano on two wheels, a lame idea.

I don't like the name of the club: The Sons of Anarchy. Too abstract. How about Sons of Satan? Anarchy is such an intellectual concept. However, the more I watch it, the more interesting it gets. Still, it seems a little thin. Its no “Deadwood” or “The Wire.” But I will keep watching.

I said that and then I didn’t watch it.

9/18/2010

I tried to watch an episode last night on CATV, and I found it boring. Who cares about these people? The episode was structured around long-term situations rather than a short-term problem. And it all depends on violence, which I don’t find appealing. The guy who runs the show probably thinks it is fascinating that these thugs have families and family problems. But I don’t like it that it’s like “The Sopranos” on Harleys. I kept thinking, “So what? So what? So what?” I lasted about 20 minutes. The actors are good, though, I must say.

Saturday, July 02, 2011

I've rented some of these episodes and watched some on TV. The stories just don't work for me. I can't get over the feeling that I am watching BS. The characters don't ring true, and the stories don't reveal anything about the people, or about human nature, or about life in general. I've ridden motorcycles, and I've been in jail, and I don't see any of that here. It all seems totally fake to me.

7/9/2011 The purpose seems not dramatic but just to keep the audience jacked up. Two different things.

I get the feeling that the show's creator is just doing this for the money, which doesn't make for good drama.

It's too bad, because the whole biker gang thing has a lot of potential.

-- Roger