TV Review: Sons of Anarchy: Season Seven

by Tony Dayoub

If the first few episodes of Sons of Anarchy's final season are any indication, then the series is going down in the same manner it started: as a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, with the eponymous motorcycle club's royal family and their dysfunctional dynamics at the heart of what ails its crown prince. Jax (Charlie Hunnam) is as dark and vengeful this season as he was bright and optimistic just before his wife Tara's shocking demise. SAMCRO is licking their wounds while preparing to once again make their ascendance in their town of Charming. And Jax's mother, Gemma (Katey Sagal), is alternately remorseful and gratified that sacrificing Tara allowed her to preserve the strength of her two fractured families: Jax and his young sons and the motorcycle club.

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September Blu-ray Capsule Reviews

by Tony Dayoub

My apologies for leaving this website barren for the past two weeks. After the heightened activity of the Blogathon — and before it picks up again here next week with my reviews of entries from this year's New York Film Festival — I frankly needed a break. I've still been receiving plenty of Blu-rays to review, though. Here are some capsule reviews of my favorite ones released this past month.

Blu-ray Review: Sons of Anarchy Season Two

by Tony Dayoub

On the commentary for "Balm," the eventful tenth episode of Sons of Anarchy's second season (which debuts on DVD and Blu-ray this week), director Paris Barclay avers:

I think this is why [Sons of Anarchy] is going to end up being a classic television show years from now... It's just like NYPD Blue did, and Hill Street Blues before (in the David Milch universe). You could be doing something else, cop work, detective work—in this case biker club—what have you. If the family works, the show goes on. And [this] family, in its dysfunctional way, works great.

The series, masterminded by creator and head writer Kurt Sutter (The Shield) recalls The Sopranos in the way it explores a criminal subculture, Northern California outlaw club SAMCRO, and its ties to its community (the ironically named Charming) and extended family. Though the club has its redeeming qualities, namely its protection of Charming from any corrupting criminal activities (including their own... well, it's their aim at least), as a viewer my allegiance to its characters is complicated by the fact that I often realize I'm cheering for its protagonists during the commission of some heinous crime. The show's dark second season is a portrait of a family imploding. And there is hardly a better ensemble cast to help pull it off.

TV Review: Sons of Anarchy - Richly Layered Biker Show Should Spawn a Cult Following

by Tony Dayoub



Sons of Anarchy follows SAMCRO, the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original Charter. Charlie Hunnam stars as Jax Teller, Vice-President of SAMCRO, and son of original founder, the late John Teller. His mother Gemma (Katey Sagal) married Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) one of the original members of the club, and now, its president. SAMCRO is a close-knit group with a deep love for family, but they primarily make their money from illegal gun-running. The law turns a blind eye to SAMCRO's activities because they keep their home base, the fictional town of Charming, free of drugs. This brings them in conflict with rival gangs such as the Latino "Mayans", and the white supremacist "Nords" led by Ernest Darby (Mitch Pileggi), who both want to bring meth to Charming. With ambitious new Deputy Hale (Tayler Sheridan) keeping an eye on them, the club has their hands full.