Saturday, October 24, 2009

Sons of Anarchy Season 2 Continues to be a Ratings Winner


Sons of Anarchy Season 2 just refuse to take its hand off the throttle.

FX's biker drama Sons of Anarchy has been averaging around 4 million viewers all season, but Tuesday's episode — which pulled in 3.7 million viewers to handily win the night among cable channels — was competitive with the major networks in the adults 18-49 demographic. More significantly, Sons' 2.2 rating outperformed both The Jay Leno Show (1.8) and ABC's The Forgotten (2.0) in the demo.

SOA creator and executive producer Kurt Sutter related that networks have opened themselves up to being beaten by cable by producing the same shows over and over.

"I have a director friend... who says the job of a network executive is to turn everything to sh--," Sutter wrote. "They hire you to stop them from doing that. Unfortunately, the sh---turners are winning. Nowadays it's all about formula.... You hope that no one notices that it's the same old crap repackaged. But folks always do. In recovery, the "definition of insanity" is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Primetime is an active asylum." I am glad the view do not see SOA as part of that insanity.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Chibbs is not dead!


Another great episode and the plot only thickens. What is going to happen next? Tonight
Chibbs is not dead! He has some bleeding because he landed on his head, but coming out of it. Naturally Clay demands retaliation now. Bobby attempts to be the voice of reason, but of course can’t argue with getting payback for Chibbs. Even Jax knows it has to happen, but he is trying to beat Clay to it and let Hale bring in Zobell for questioning.

Hale is feeding Jax tips on where Zobell may be. When Clay and the crew ride off to Zobell’s house (Unser gave them the address) Jax goes to meet Hale. Opie is sent to follow him and questions Jax about what he is doing. Jax tells him he is just working on the same goal as Clay. Opie offers to escort him back to the club and Jax loses him so that he can go to meet Hale. He meets Hale at Weston’s (the guy that raped Gemma) house. Jax goes in and gets shot at. Of course the club is just outside and run to the house. Hale tries to control them but fails. Jax realizes its Weston’s kid shooting at him, but Clay and Tig go around the back of the house and shoot up the bedroom with the kids in it. Jax seperates again from the club.

Hale tracks Gemma down at the hospital and tells her that Unser told her what happened and he needs some clue so that he can catch Zobell. Gemma tells him about Polly. He tracks her down and she tells him there is going to a big recruiting meeting at the Christian Center. Hale and Jax decide the sheriffs will go take down the meeting. Unfortunately, Clay and the crew took Weston’s computer and figure out that the meeting is happening too. Jax meets up with the crew at the Christian Center and tells them that it won’t just be a few people because its a recruiting meeting. Clay doesn’t care and says they are going in. Jax tells them that if they do this they will all go to jail and once again Clay doesn’t care. They bust into the meeting, but it turns out it is not Aryan recruits but a families having dinner. Weston shoots a gun behind the stand to make it look like SAMCRO came in shooting. Jax sees a camera in the corner and knows they have been set up. He stops Clay from shooting anyone and Bobby tells them to get out. When they run outside the sherrif’s have arrived and take them all into custody, because of course they are the only people with guns.

Opie managed to not get arrested because he ran out to chase Zobell. He rides down the street and wrecks his bike into the back of a car. He gets up and goes back to the center in time to see the crew get arrested. Opie is still struggling and the blowing up of Chibbs seems to set him off more. His mom came to Jax and asked him to speak to Opie. He tried but of course Opie says he doesn’t have a problem. He also tells Jax that Clay is in charge and he needs to accept that before someone gets hurt. So another veiled threat against Jax tonight.

After the van blew up that of course attracted police attention. This made the Irish gun suppliers nervous and they came by the club to see what was going on. SAMCRO assured them that the Feds would not be involved because it was going to look like it never happened. However, when Juice goes to start cleaning the scene the investigators arrive and stop him. He and Unser then try to destroy the evidence kit by pouring piss on it, but of course that fails too, so now SAMCRO is going to have to deal with the Feds again.

Everyone is going to go to jail no doubt. Zobell is not going to be any help. The Irish have there own adgenda. But in the in SAMCRO will live...at least I hope so.

Can't wait till next time.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Sons of Anarchy : Season 2 : Episode 5 "Smite"


Charming has its share of pissed off people, and by the end of "Smite," it doesn't look like anybody will be calming down soon. Gemma's still suffering the effects of her gang rape, and it's not helping that she keeps seeing the creeps who did the deed walking around town. This time it's the woman who tricked her into leaving her car--a young lady named Polly who happens to be Zobelle's daughter. Gemma catches Polly leaving a van in the hospital parking lot, and while she gives chase, she doesn't accomplish anything besides hitting Tara in the face hard enough to bloody Tara's nose. The problem is, Gemma hasn't been thinking clearly since the event, and while it's not her fault that the van Polly leaves behind goes largely unheeded till it blows up at the end of the episode, the fact that she's too distracted by her own vulnerability and fury to pay attention to what's going on means that Zobelle's plan is actually kind of working...More!


Sons of Anarchy Season 2 Episode 5 – Synopsis

In Sons of Anarchy Season 2 Episode 5 “Smite” we would see while Jax and Clay lock horns over how to get along with Zobelle, Tara finds herself fascinated in Gemma’s emotional struggle in the consequences of her attack. Further, SAMCRO will get help from an unlikely source. Isn’t that interesting? Of course, imaging the synopsis is so interesting how the actual show would be, so ensure you don’t forget on this.


On a side note:

FX's "Sons of Anarchy" kicked off its second season with record-setting numbers (2.3/6 in 18-49, 4.29m), nearly doubling its series preem and easily standing as Tuesday's top cable draw in male demos as well as total viewers.



Sons of Anarchy –Season 2 Episode 4 – Eureka – Review


TigIt’s time to kick back and enjoy the open road, and why not have a drink of Jax’s pour of choice, Jake Daniels Whiskey. SOA can’t get licensing from popular alcohol brands, but it can explore another seedy underbelly of the hillbilly life. This episode takes on the important issue of bounty hunters, and the complications they pose for good ol’ boys living on the edge of the law. This episode really spreads out, and the whole gang takes a road trip. It’s nice, after a season filled with cramped dark sets, to see some biker montages on the highway, in the middle of the California sun. The characters feel just a little bit more real, and maybe it’s because the light brings a good mood out of these actors.

Don’t make any mistake; there is still plenty of moral handwringing stemming from Gemma’s gang rape, which is the weakest plot thread so far. Tara finally catches some flack from her bitchy administrator at the hospital for constantly bringing bikers into the ER. Another first for this season is Jax actually hearing his baby boy cry, and, in a shocking turn of events, PICKS HIM UP AND COMFORTS HIM! If half the cast was killed off this episode, it would have been just as shocking. Tara was more than willing to do the grunt work, but Jax steps in, and doesn’t even blow a puff of smoke into the baby’s face! Tara has become his ‘old lady,’ biker parlance which may be a term of endearment, derision, or both. It’s nice to actually see Jax have some kind of consequence from bringing a child into the world.

The comedy to drama ratio is still weighing on the comedy side, with the Prospects discussion of a ‘nutical’ (prosthetic testical), and Tig’s bounty hunter capture for (innuendo) bestiality on an animal transport in Oregon. Last season, it was hinted that Tig was also inclined to necrophilia, and his crazy sexual antics will be a source of a great many jokes in the future, mark my words. The loose world of bounty hunting takes center stage, informative to felons to watch out for the secretary at the hospital, who will sell your info right out. There is also a clear indication of an old-country IRA conflict with the token Irish member of SAMCRO. The episode isn’t especially salty or original, but the fresh air and the open road make it strangely satisfying and cathartic.

It is clear, though, that Kurt Sutter is using his teleplay blueprint from The Shield (i.e., a horrible murder that the main players must keep secret, but which tears them apart). Jax and Clay are increasingly heading towards a conflict, and Clay even threatens Jax’s life. Bad idea, Clay. Who knows what Jax is thinking behind those 80s sunglasses. The white supremacists sit this episode out, and what a relief, they are turning out to be kind of bland. Unleash Henry Rollins for a couple of episodes, stir some tangential shit up. Surely the Niners and the Mayans can be pulled in for some wanton violence.

The real star here is Opie, who is really hitting his stride as a character. The tone is right, and the body language feels more coiled up danger than mopey single dad. Opie looks and sounds volatile, and could really be saved up to wreck shops later on this season.

At the end of the episode, Jax is standing at a hardcore biker party, drinking his Jake Daniels whiskey, watching bikes race by in both directions, and being reflective about his outlaw life. It’s not exactly philosophical, but everything is evolving to higher level of episodic televised existence, where violent events shake up lives on a semi-annual cliffhanger basis.