7 Days Until Sons of Anarchy

Let's pause for a minute and savor this last week.  One week from tonight, we'll all be huddled on the sofa watching a brand-spanking new episode of Sons of Anarchy.  Enjoy this moment. Savor it. On December 7th we'll all be heartbroken that our beloved Sons won't be back for another 36 weeks. No really.  That's how long it is.

I have a feeling that the Sons of Anarchy news is going to be coming fast and furious in the next week so I'm going to try and post links and news bits daily so I don't get buried by it all.

• Alan Sepinwall's interview with Kurt Sutter before Season 3 begins.  Interesting stuff on the writers painting themselves in the corner with Gemma at the end of S2 and the unexpected sexual tension between Gemma and Stahl. If you missed Sepinwall's article on the SOA panel at Comic-Con, you can catch up here.
• Cast interviews from MovieWeb in which Kim Coates says that Tig gets his mojo back this season.  I'm a little afraid to see what that looks like.  Farmers, hide your livestock.  
• Monsters and Critics has a new interview with Katey Sagal where she discusses Gemma and Tara's relationship, among many other things.  
• Go check out FX's SOA page.  They've updated it for Season 3 including some hot-tastic production stills in the photo galleries. I'm not sure about Opie's hair. It looks like he borrowed my flat iron. I can't believe I'm going to say this but if that's what his hair looks like, I hope he puts that hat back on.  
• Finally, here are some pics from the Sons of Anarchy premier screening last night (thanks to @ThatMuggleCass for the link). Try not to stab your computer screen when the picture of the actor who plays Cameron comes up.  
• ETA:  Some comments from the cast about the upcoming season from the press line at last night's premiere.  

The Questionnaire: Clay Morrow

Remember way back when I did the Sons of Anarchy characters meet the Inside the Actors Studio Questionnaire?  Yeah, it's been a while.  Anyways, you can catch up on Gemma, Tara, Tig, Bobby-Elvis, Chibs, Juice, Opie, Piney, Chucky, Happy, Unser, Hale, Stahl and the rest of the crew here.

Next up?  Clay Morrow, President of The Redwood Original Chapter of The Sons of Anarchy, and one of the First Nine.

What is your favorite word?

Leadership

What is your least favorite word?

It's a phrase. In retrospect...

What turns you on?

Gemma, of course. Not unlike every other man in Charming but I'm the guy that gets to get dirty with her in the photo booth at the carnival have her visit me for a little afternoon delight in the clubhouse. 

What turns you off?

Jax's petulant emo bullshit moods swings.  

What sound or noise do you love?

The crackling of tobacco in a cigar as I light it. 

What sound or noise do you hate?

The silence of dissension in the SAMCRO ranks is tied with the creaks of arthritic knuckles. 

What is your favorite curse word?

Shit. Bastard. Goddamnit. Take your pick.  

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

CEO of a Fortune 500 company

What profession would you not like to do?

Any job where I have to take orders from someone else. Especially if that someone doesn't know what the hell he's doing.  

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when arrive at the Pearly Gates?

On balance, you did what you thought was right. Come on in, John, Wally, Uncle Tom, Chico, Louis, and L'ill Killer Otto are waiting for you.  

This leaves Jax as the last character slated for the Questionnaire before the start of Season 3.  I may revisit the series with any new characters in the down time between Season 3 and Season 4.  And it seems like there are going to be plenty.

Sons of Anarchy - New Season Preview Videos

Our benevolent crank dealers over at FX released 2 new clips promoting Season 3 of Sons of Anarchy.  You should visit the official FX/Sons of Anarchy You Tube channel and check out the other videos including Theo Rossi being very cute -- so cute that I want to pet his faux-hawk. The clips could be spoilery to the sensitive types in our midst so I'll put them after the jump.  But I'll tell you this, just like Tara, I don't need a boy to handle my shit.    

Looking forward to the season premier of Sons of Anarchy

In preparation for Season 3 of Sons of Anarchy, here's my round up of the loose ends remaining following Season 2's finale Na Triobloidi. A note on spoilers: I'm aware that some of these questions have been answered in the spoilers that have leaked but I'm not going to address them here largely because I'm trying to push them out of my own mind in preparation for the season premier. I'm leaving out the Able plot point because,  duh obviously it is THE overarching loose end that is left over from S2.  The list of all the other loose ends follows in a hail of bullets:

• The outstanding gun charges that landed SAMCRO in the county clink after the raid on Zobelle's family dinner.  The guys may be out of jail, but the charges haven't been dismissed. Yet.
• ATF Bitchface pinned Cameron's murder (wrongfully) on Gemma.  How does the beautiful queen of bikers manipulate her way out of Cameron AND Polly's murders?
• Agent Kohn still hasn't turned up. Yet. 
• Opie's resolution to stay in SAMCRO after he learned that Clay and Tig killed Donna.  He stayed in with a desire to change the things along with Jax.  Some of that is likely to stay in the background while the guys are in hot pursuit of Able but it's possible that Opie will have some residual trust issues with Tig and Clay. 
• Opie handed over his clip when he confronted ATF Bitchface when he told her in the most brilliant, painful way that "the outlaw had mercy." What's she going to do with that clip?  I don't put it past her to use it against Opie in the future.
• Surely the Mayans are going to seek recompense after that little highway showdown to intercept Zobelle.  How does this play out?    
• How does SAMCRO make things right with Jimmy O and the IRA when they find out that Chibs threw Cameron and Edmund under the ATF bus? 
• Is it possible for Chief Unser to retire with any sense of dignity?
• Luanne's murder.  Who was responsible?  My money's on Georgie Caruso but I'm open to convincing suggestions.  Related:  will SAMCRO stay in the porn business?    
• Did Darby survive the fire?  And if he survived the fire, where the hell has he been hiding?
• Just how many life sentences does Big Otto have on his plate now?
• Will Cliffy and Duke survive the foster care system with their father's "values" intact? 

What did I leave out?  The comments section awaits....

In which I attempt to be the ball.

This post is one of my irregular ramblings that isn't television related.  Anxiety, excitement, and my trials and tribulations in academia after the jump if anyone is interested.

Sons of Anarchy Season 3: The Jax and Tara Trailer

Many thanks to @OliviaRoy and @kat_brown for the early heads-up on this. The Jax and Tara trailer for season three of Sons of Anarchy has hit the interwebs. What do ya'll think? I suspect there is some creative editing at play and/or selective disclosure on the future of Jax and Tara. (Side note: we need a nickname for them.  Jara? Taxa? Tarjaxa? Jar-Jar?)  It really looks like Jax is telling Tara to GTFO but looks could be deceiving.  With all of that being said, it might be a rough few early episodes for the Tarjaxa-shippers among us.
  

Sons of Anarchy Season 3 Cast Pictures

For our obsession/ogling/enjoyment.  All the others, including a very hot Opie with long Jax-like hair, are after the jump!

Clearing the Decks

A quick round up and catch up on the Sons of Anarchy news from the last few weeks.....

The Sons of Anarchy panel at Comic-Con was a success and in spite of it being short on information, we did learn that there will be three (3!) new prospects.  Video clips of the panel is available in three parts: a One,  a Two, and a Three.  Sons-of-Anarchy.net has assembled some pretty great photos from Comic-Con so go check those out.  Speaking of photos, how's this candid from Show Patrol's coverage of Comic-Con for charming (pun intended)?

Also, there were great interviews with Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Ron Perlman, and Kurt Sutter that are worth a look-see if you haven't watched them yet.

The FX panel at the Television Critics Association convention/meeting/whatever invoked the term unshaven hero to describe the characters and narrative arcs in Sons of Anarchy.  Wondering what is going to drive Season 3?  Sweet Baby Able, it's about Able!  For a great round up on cast quotes from the TCA even, including Maggie Siff's fantastic musings on Tara's loneliness, click here.    

A few newsy loose ends...

• Photos from the appearances by Katey Sagal and Charlie Hunnam at Outlaw Jam.  
• @Culvercat's Twitpic photostream of on-set pictures is awesome. 
• Uh, a Cloris Leachman appearance on SOA? I vote for T.I. instead.
• A first look of Stephen King on the SOA set.
• The Big Bad this season is Jimmy O.  Duh.  (Sidenote:  That has got to be one of the most oddly written interviews/profiles of Kurt Sutter ever. I think that reporter needs to have her BFA in creative writing revoked.  If anyone from the FX PR shop is reading this, my dream interview for Kurt Sutter would be with Terry Gross on Fresh Air so MAKE IT HAPPEN ALREADY).  
• Uh, the net result of Season 3 is to press the reset button for Season 4.  I'm not real sure what to make of that but it kinda makes my stomach hurt.  

Yeah, so True Blood....

I've been short on time so the True Blood Recaps have fallen by the wayside. I mean, sweet Baby Able, I'm still not caught up on the Sons of Anarchy stuff from Comic-Con and the SOA news is only going to be coming more quickly as season three approaches. Plus there is the WWGD T-shirt to address.  So, the True Blood recaps are on permanent hiatus until I can carve out some more time. And when I say permanent, I mean Talbot permanent....

Image from Sookie is Mine!