Fun Fact: William Shakespeare loved motorcycles.
By fact, we of course mean lie – but it’s still fun. But it’s also the best explanation for the creation of Sons of Anarchy, a seamless blend of Hamlet and biker gangs. Shakespeare’s stories have been recreated and re-imagined so many times that the average piece of television or film crosses paths with a Shakespearian influence at least once or twice in its duration. With that said, an entire series twisting one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies into a story about family conflict within a motorcycle club is a thing of genius.
Even if you know nothing of motorcycle clubs (i.e. Hell’s Angels, etc.), within moments Sons of Anarchy educates you on the twisted and incestuous nature of their politics and take on family life. Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) became the head of the Sons of Anarchy when John Teller, the father of Jackson ‘Jax’ Teller’s (Charlie Hunnam), passed away. Now Clay heads the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original (SAMCRO) under the guise of the Teller-Morrow auto shop. On a typical day SAMCRO purchases stolen auto parts, beats back meth dealers and fights their main rivals ‘the Mayans’, a rival MC. Sons of Anarchy defines its own borders first by the city limits of Charming, the location of the original Sons of Anarchy club, and then by the territories of affiliated and rival motorcycle gangs. The politics of SAMCRO don’t just cease at the clubhouse door, the club’s influence flows into the lives of its members and the surrounding community, where they’re both loved and feared for their contributions and domineering viewpoints, respectively.
While typically a loyal soldier of the SOA, Jax has begun to stir pensively under the black-and-white viewpoints of Clay. The new perspective comes from the premature arrival of his son, the discovery of his dead father’s unpublished manuscript and a sense of ethics that just doesn’t seem to be popular in his crowd. Keeping Jackson committed to the SOA cause, his mother Gemma (Katey Sagal) pulls the strings of the club and community from behind the scenes. There’s not a man or woman in Charming who hasn’t felt her silent touch, and her position within the club gains new strength when she marries Clay. Again, it’s all somewhat incestuous in that Shakespearian way.
The structures of SOA life begin to crumble as Jackson falls further away from the club’s credo and dark family secrets begin to ooze up from the past. Territory disputes, club mergers, protection jobs and sabotage push the club’s public presence to a breaking point and make it all too easy for Agent Scott Kohn (Jay Karnes, Dutchboy of The Shield) to investigate all their activities. Some impending conflicts rear their heads early on while others rise up unexpectedly, but no matter what the circumstance the show is never dull.
Performances from the older veteran actors are top-notch. Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal put on a show worthy of award nomination and supporting clubber Robert ‘Bobby’ Munson (Mark Boone Junior) solidifies the show’s reputation for superb performances. Charlie Hunnam has promise, but the first season doesn’t really show-off his chops in comparison to other actors in the show. Maggie Siff plays an ex-love interest to Jackson who might be something more – but either way she’s one of the more compelling younger thespians in the mix.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Only some of the episodes have audio commentaries, but they’re not really what will draw you into the extras section of the disc. There are a variety of “making of” featurettes (one of considerable length) and others covering cool and contextually important facets of the show. One such featurette takes a look at the tattoos of the gang and their women (many of whom are branded with the troupe’s iconic crow) while another takes a cursory glance at the Harley Davidson Dynas used in the production.
Sons of Anarchy is a great reinvention of Shakespeare and it’s really interesting to watch it all unfold – even knowing how it all has to end. Few plots can keep an audience entrenched when they know how it has to end (Valkyrie, anyone?). With the show so deeply rooted in the Shapespearian lore, what’s really interesting is to see the show’s tie-in to the channel-making drama that came before it: The Shield. Now, having an ex-Shield star as one of the supporting characters is a nice touch – but it’s not the best; one of the rival gangs has been cleverly titled the One-Niners – one of the main gangs faced by Vic Mackey and his crew.
"Sons of Anarchy: Season One" is on sale August 18, 2009 and is rated NR. Drama, Television. Directed by Guy Ferland, Stephen T Kay, Bill Gierhart, Gwyneth Horder Payton. Written by Kurt Sutter, Dave Erickson, Jack LoGiudice. Starring Katey Sagal, Kim Coates, Ron Perlman, Mark Boone Junior, Charlie Hunnam, Maggie Siff, Jay Karnes.
