TV Series Review: Sons of Anarchy

So my internet’s been a little wacky lately, as in it refused to cooperate for a total of four days. This is why Friday’s post never happened and why Tuesday is suddenly Monday, in terms of post length and content. But enough of that.

Netflix is an interesting source of new addictions for me, though they may seem delayed to those who actually watch TV on a regular basis. My husband and I are really into TV shows and movies — though we aren’t the best at keeping up with watching a show regularly, which is why we tend to wait until the entire series is in one place for us to spurge on. We’ll give most shows a chance. At first it was Breaking Bad that we got addicted to (which will be an entirely different post), but for the past week we’ve been watching the show Sons of Anarchy.

Sons of Anarchy follows the (fictional) biker club Sons of Anarchy, Main Charter Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (SAMCRO, said as Sam Crow) and their escapades in gun trafficking as well as other very illegal, very troublesome activities.

 

First image:”Jax” Teller; Second image: Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) and Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal)

As with all TV shows, there are multiple main characters, but the story more or less revolves around the “prince”, SAMCRO’s vice president Jackson “Jax” Teller, played by Charlie Hunnam. Other main characters are Jacks’s mother, Gemma (Katey Sagal) Teller Morrow and Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman). I have to say that Ron Perlman is one of my favorite actors, mostly because he shows up in the strangest roles and pulls them off well, and he is great as the hardcore head honcho of the Sons. The funniest, and weirdest, character (to me) is Sergeant-At-Arms Alex “Tig” Trager (Kim Coates). The show itself has the greatest, if not slightly raunchy, humor. Very dry humor, which is right up my alley.

The series has four complete seasons and is scheduled for a fifth, apparently. I’m really enjoying where it’s going and am eager to watch more. I really recommend at least checking this show out. It is not a kid’s show, and I do not recommend it as a family affair at all, but it’s still a great show.

What do you think? Have you watched Sons of Anarchy? What were your impressions?

Memory Lane: Favorite TV Shows When I Was a Kid

The ThunderCats!

Recently Cartoon Network has come out with a remake of the ThunderCats TV show I grew up watching. I can’t tell you much about the plot anymore, as I was really little, but I have a huge fondness for the series. It’s brought about quite a bit of nostalgia, and my husband and I have walked down memory lane for the past two Fridays. It’s been fun. So, here were my favorite TV shows when I was a kid. Note the huge amount of anime, haha. These aren’t in any order.

1. Dexter’s Laboratory. The little boy genius and his frilly sister D.D. were so much fun. I remember I watched the intro every single time because it was so amusing. And watching Dexter’s super smart plans always get ruined by D.D.’s pink tutu reckless destruction was pure genius. I guess kids love slap-stick humor.
2. Gundam Wing. This is probably one of the most influential shows for me. It really sparked my love for anime, and the late 90s and the early 2000s were a great time for anime. The young heroes must pilot giant mech suits made of gundanium to save Earth and the colonies from political turmoil and warfare. It’s actually a very political story that involved a lot of deeper concepts (for a kid’s show).
   

   The Gundams from Gundam Wing

3. Dragonball and Dragonball Z. Lots of fighting and explosions, lots of yelling. What more could a kid say?
4. ThunderCats. I admit I always wanted Lion-O and Cheetara to get together. Haha. I guess I’m a romantic at heart. Mum-Ra was always a sinister bad guy to me when I was young, and he freaked me out a little, too. Watching the new series though, he makes me giggle more often than not.
5. Cowboy Bebop. This anime is still frequently watched by my husband and I. It’s really, really good. Spike Spiegel is the main character, a bounty hunter with a painful past with the syndicate. Along with Jet, Faye, Ein the coolest Corgy ever, and the hilarious girl that looks like a boy Edward, the sardonic humor and constant fun is just great. The intense, serious moments were equally as awesome, and this show still remains one of the most loved animes here in the US.

Told you I was an anime nerd. What about y’all? What were your favorite TV shows as a kid?

My Latest Obsession: Game of Thrones

Forget the epic pose, check out that chair!

No one loves castle politics more than I do. Well, okay, I’m sure someone else out there does, but being a fantasy nut this has just been an awesome series to watch.

Game of Thrones is based on a series of books by George R. R. Martin. So far I’ve read about 30% of the first book, A Game of Thrones. Ebook samples are the best. I’ve also watched the majority of the first season on HBO.

What do I like about this series so far?

1. The character diversity: From Ned Stark (shown in the picture to the left) and his cold, northern, “winter is coming” personality to Khal Drogo, the nomadic, Mongol-esque horselord across the sea, you couldn’t wish for a more eclectic cast.
2. Its rich setting: The world these people live in is interesting. Not incredibly unique, but at the same time woven together so perfectly that it’s almost believable. And the words or names aren’t too hard to pronounce, either. That made me happy.
3. The cliche aspects that somehow aren’t cliche anymore: I’m not kidding. A lot of what is going on is very cliche — until the plot slams all your ideas of typical into the dirt and laughs at you. While it does this in sad ways (certain characters aren’t having happy endings), somehow it’s worthwhile to experience such complexity and realism within a fantasy world.
4. 

   Is that not an awesome dragon?

   Fantasy animals:Can you say direwolves — wolves that are three times larger than normal ones — and dragons? Even zombie-like Others on the other side of their super wall of ice to the north. Pure win.

Unfortunately, the first season has already concluded and the second season won’t air until spring 2012. I cry for that, but it’s okay. I’ll survive if only to see what in the world happens with Daenerys and her dragon (in the image to the right).

Also, there’s a lot of candid sex as well as a bunch of random boob and penis shots. I personally find it funny, but this series is definitely not for young children. There’s also a decent amount of cursing, blood and gore, more nudity, and more nudity.

I would also try out the books. I mean, who doesn’t read the inspiration behind a series so epic?

Oh, so that’s just me? Okay, I see how it is.

What about y’all? What’s your current obsession, TV, books, games, or otherwise?