Sons of Anarchy - Season 1 (2008)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2008
	Creator: Kurt Sutter
	Actors: Charlie Hunnam (Children of Men, Pacific Rim), Katey Sagal (Married with Children TV-series), Ron Perlman (Blade 2, Hellboy 1-2), Mark Boone Junior (Memento), Kim Coates (Black Hawk Down), Tommy Flanagan (Gladiator), Mitch Pileggi (The X-files TV-series)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: March-April 2013, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: The day-to-day life of the motorcycle club and gang of outlaws known as the Sons of Anarchy in the small town of Charming, California.
Review: This series was recommended by a tattoed friend of mine. In it you find the usual receipe to make a good series: good guys, bad guys, some love stories, and also drugs, police corruption... The unusal setting is this gang of bikers, which we learn are much more than that. Indeed for me the interesting point in this TV-series is to learn about the values of the Sons of Anarchy, what do they fight for or against, in which spirit were they created. We get some pieces of answer throught this first season, as the main character Jax (Hunnman) reads through a book written by his father, one of the founders of the gang. In particular in the episode 4 (Patch Over), Jax isolates himself to think back about what attaches him to the Sons. His feelings will evolve until the end of the season. Also from the beginning we understand that the Sons are a family and that they care for each other (I think this defines a gang), and that they protect their town from agressive capitalism (there are no franchises like Starbucks in it). The thing about this series is that there are no really bad guys: bikers are killers and outlaws, and police is corrupted. Even some of the uncorrupted ones have flaws. It is difficult to find whom to identify yourself with, but you always feel bad when any (good or bad) characters takes the wrong decision and has to face the consequences. Some words about the characters: Jax (Hunnman) plays the good-looking central characters, but sometimes he looks too soft to be part of the gang. It took me some episodes to get used to not laughing at the voice of Gemma (Sagal) that I am so used to hear in Married with Children and Futurama, but then she fits very well with this kind of manipulating godmother to the Sons. Ron Perlman (playing Clay) found the right role of leader for his strong face and character. A special mention to Mitch Pileggi, the Skinner from The X-files, that I found plays very naturally the leader of a nazi gang. The second half of the season also welcomes Ally Walker that plays the same role of FBI agent as in the Profiler TV-series, but less conflicted and more bitchy. The events get pretty intense towards the end of the season as it ends with the great song John the Revelator that I also heard in Blues Brothers 2000. I don't know how they could keep it up for five more seasons. I will wait a little before watching the second season. It is indeed quite time-consuming, but the series has great qualities and I liked it.
Rating: 7 /10