Yes folks, today is Thursday. Yesterday, as you might be aware, was Wednesday. That day is also know as “hump day” in the parlance of our times.
I’m not sure what this has to do with anything, but I just thought I would point it out. It may be relevant to some of you so that’s just one of the many services I try to provide to my favorite readers. Yes, I’m talking to you.
So, what’s been happening? Well, I’ve been watching a lot of a show called Sons of Anarchy for the past week or so. I had initially started watching it when it premiered a few years ago but as is sometimes the case, things distracted me and I wandered off to be transfixed by some other shiny thing. But now I’m back.
Fortunately, Netflix has my back on this one and has the first three seasons available to watch. I’ve gone through all of them and then resorted to Apple and iTunes for season four, which I’m currently in the middle of.
In case you’re not familiar with the show, it deals with a group of Harley Davidson enthusiasts and mechanics who, mostly through no fault of their own, have misadventures. You see, they’re a club, not a gang and they just want to be left alone to pursue their dream of living outside the mainstream.
Sadly, the law sees it differently and tries to impose the collective will of the self-righteous on our band of likable rouges and anti-heroes. Fortunately, the law turns out to be rather inept and for various reasons is prevented from taking any real punitive action and our favorite club is pretty much free to pursue its version of the American Dream.
The show was created and is principally written by Kurt Sutter. He cut his teeth writing and producing another gritty, anti-hero heavy show called The Shield, one of the best cop shows ever to grace the small screen.
With Sons of Anarchy Sutter is able to take things to a high level and spin his Hamlet-inspired tale in his own, unique fashion. In short, the show is very enjoyable and you quickly come to root for the “bad guys” regardless of any nefarious shit they might do.
That’s one of the cornerstones of good writing and good drama. You are able to take these, by some standards, despicable people and not only make them likable but cause the audience to root for them and hope they succeed.
The Shield had this same quality. Even though Vic Mackey and the strike team were, for lack of a better word, bad you really hoped they would “get away with it” in the end. Sutter obviously learned a lot from The Shield creator Shawn Ryan and he was able to take that knowledge, expand on it, shape it and create a show to be proud of.
This post has somehow turned into a mini-review of Sons of Anarchy, but that wasn’t really my intention. What I really wanted to accomplish here is to make sure that when I find great writing, I let people know about it.
Is Sons of Anarchy a perfect show? No. Does it occasionally veer off into melodrama and borderline soap opera territory? Sure, but rarely.
However, for the most part, it’s a well-written, skillfully produced TV series featuring an excellent cast that includes Charlie Hunnam, Maggie Siff, Ron Perlman, Kim Coates, Mark Boone Junior, Ryan Hurst and Katey Sagal and a cool, counter-culture lifestyle based on freedom to do what you want, when you want.
Any really, who doesn’t think about living that life sometimes? I know I do.
Although, maybe with a bit fewer stabbings, shootings, murders and explosions.