Sons of Anarchy Casting: Hassling the Hoff

David Hasselhoff has been cast to play an aging porn star named Dondo in Season 4 of Sons of Anarchy.  I just... I don't even know. The Hoff?  It could be brilliant. Casting Stephen King as a cleaner last season was incredibly well done but The Hoff causes me to raise an eyebrow. Yes, Kurt Sutter has a deliciously sick sense of humor and I hope that The Hoff will be used as well as King was.

But the news also makes my brain hurt a little. I'm invested in the characters and their stories and while Sons of Anarchy has always had a certain (highly enjoyable) swagger to its sensibility, stunt casting The Hoff might just be a bridge too far. Would Mad Men or Breaking Bad cast someone like David Hasselhoff? Probably not. If this stunt casting is something viewers can expect for the run of the show, does it change how seriously we should regard the show? Does stunt casting fundamentally change what the show is--a family drama? Or does it cheapen it in some tangible way?

Unfortunately, I've got more questions than answers. My concern for the show is that peripheral things like casting The Hoff may serve as a distraction from the heart of an otherwise compelling, strong central story.

Sons of Anarchy Season 3 - New updates

With the premiere of Season 3 of Sons of Anarchy a mere 119 (or 126 depending on how you estimate it) days away, great yet not completely satisfying because the wait is killing me little bits of news keep emerging.

First, we have some episode titles!  There has been no word on a title for 3.01.  My guess is that The Prince of Charming Loses His Shit After The Kid was Kidnapped might be a bit too on the nose for Sons of Anarchy.  However, we know that 3.02 is titled Oiled and 3.03 is titled Caregiver.  

Second, casting news!  The Master of Darkness, Stephen King will be making an appearance on Episode 3.03   as a "quiet loner" who helps Gemma in her time of need.  Apparently King is a fan of the show.  What exactly is Gemma's need? (Get your minds out of the gutters, ya dirty pervs!  You know Gemma has the Mojave vajayjay going on.)  I'm guessing it might have something to do with her gun-happy father, general shenanigans from being on the lam with Unser, or perhaps the emergence of the mythical bounty hunter plot point.    

In addition, James Cosmo, you know... Renton's dad from Trainspotting, has been cast to play Kellan Ashby. He is an Irish priest connected to the RIRA whose character arc will last for 8 episodes.  Just a little aside here, but fucking A with the background research on Irish politics and resistance groups because Sinn Fein, the Provisional IRA, and the Real IRA are so clearly distinct, unique groups (sarcasm added).  I mean, the LSH's parents are from Dublin so it's not like I'm completely ignorant when it comes to Irish independence concerns.  Anyways, I wonder if Kellan Ashby and Maureen O'Nolastnamereleasedyet know each other.  Me thinks yes.    

In other news, sons-of-anarchy.net has the first fan photo from the Season 3 set up.  Mosie on over there and check it out if you want to see whether Charlie Hunnam still has that freaking Jesus Cobain beard.

Don't forget to fire up your credit cards and pre-order your copy of Sons of Anarchy Season 2 on DVD and BluRay.  No release date yet, naturally.  In the meantime, check of the Girl of Mayhem podcast.  She does great character analyses and some pretty serious recaps.    

Sons of Anarchy Season 3 - What do we know?

Okay, there's been some news.  Bits and pieces. Dribs and drabs.  The Sons of Anarchy Season 3 news that makes the wait thismuch more tolerable.  Most importantly, production started on 4/23!  Yay!  Twitter reports from the table read for Episode 1 are very promising not to mention the first day of production.

Hal Holbrook has been cast as Gemma's father, Nate Hadock for a four episode arc.  Apparently Gemma and Dear Old Dad meet up under unusual circumstances.   As if we could expect any usual circumstances on our beloved Sons of Anarchy.  And Dear Old Dad may or may not be trigger happy while watching old Westerns and suffering from Alzheimer's.

And Gemma.  Well.  There is a rumor that she is still on the run but apparently, there is a $10,000 bounty out on her.  I don't know about the bounty part.  The price seems really, really low but then I've never hired a bounty hunter before.  And what bounty hunter in their right mind would go out looking for the Beautiful Biker Queen?  It just smells fishy to me.

Unsurprisingly, Able is still missing as Season 3 begins and his absence is taking a toll on Jax and Tara and their tru lruv.  Paging Wendy!  Able's abduction obviously opens up a line for the Belfast chapter so it will be interesting to see the role that (new character alert!) Maureen will play in The Kid's return/demise. (Paula Malcolmson was cast to play Maureen, a character with a 9 episode arc).  Perhaps she is Cameron's wife?  Just a guess.  Plus Jimmy O might come back for a few episodes as well.

Finally, I know the off season is hard.  I've resorted to really enjoying Fringe.  I get it -- we are al resorting to drastic measures.  But before anyone gets really desperate and thinks it would be a brilliant fucking idea to get a Sons of Anarchy tattoo because there are pictures out there on the internets of people who have gotten the full back patch and no I'm not going to link to them.  Just remember, Sons of Anarchy is a television show.  If you need a flow chart to decide whether SOA themed ink is right for you, perhaps you should consult this.

Bits and Pieces

I came out of the other side of my parents Easter visit with my sanity if not my ego intact. [WHY IS YOUR HAIR SO DARK? DID YOU DO THAT ON PURPOSE?  IT IS SO BLACK IT ALMOST LOOKS BLUE. YOUR NATURAL COLOR IS DARK BUT NOT THAT DARK.]  Sigh.  Anyways, there are a few bits of noteworthy Sons of Anarchy goings on.

First, casting news!  Paula Malcolmson has been cast to play a new character named Maureen.  You can read all the details at The Watcher.  This is purely speculation but I wonder whether her character will be an ATF agent or part of the SAMCRO family.  It would be interesting to see Agent Stahl's character go beyond her dogged pursuit of the Sons of Anarchy.  Then again, Maureen is a good Irish name so perhaps she might be connected with the SAMCRO chapter in Belfast?  Or perhaps Cameron's wife?  Let the wild, unfounded speculation begin!

The April 9th deadline is approaching to submit your fan questions to Kurt Sutter for part of the Season 2 DVD extras.  Check his blog for all the details of how to submit your question.

If you haven't voted for Gemma yet in the final four of Red Eye's Best Character Tournament do it and do it now!  She's down against some guy from Burn Notice, so get to it!

Finally, if you haven't discovered the TV Tropes wiki devoted to Sons of Anarchy, it is really worth a look-see.  My personal favorite is Crouching Moron Hidden Badass:  Half-Sack is an Iraq war veteran and a surprisingly skilled boxer.