Networking the Characters in Sons of Anarchy

Some math for a rainy Sunday morning:

A client that wants a network diagram in a report + 

a consultant who is testing out diagramming software + 

a questionable obsession with Sons of Anarchy =

A network diagram of all all the characters and their interactions for Seasons 1-4 of Sons of Anarchy.

Confessions of a Lazy Sons of Anarchy Fan

Oh, my dear three readers! I'm back and I have a few things I need to get off my chest. I feel woefully unprepared for the start of Season Five of Sons of Anarchy. I urge you to judge, accept, laugh or feel like you're in good company. Here are my Sons of Anarchy sins in no particular order:

1. I haven't watched any of the Before the Anarchy videos
2. I stopped watching the WTF Sutter videos before the beginning of Season 4
3. I can't keep up with all of the cast photos that have been released.
4. I didn't run out and buy the Season 4 DVDs on BluRay
5. I have no idea what Kurt Sutter's fan challenge is for this season. 
6. I have only watched the Tara promo. If it doesn't air while I'm watching TV, I don't seek it out in the corners of the inter webs.
7. The Paley Center event happened. Apparently. It was on and off my radar before I could read the coverage.
8. Comic Con happened and I missed all of it.
9. The TCA panel happened and I missed all the coverage of it except for the Firewall and Iceberg podcast.
10. I know that there are spoilers and teasers out there on the Internet but I haven't looked at them. 

So what does all of this mean? Maybe it means I'm lazy. Maybe it means I'm not worthy. Maybe it means I'm a bad fan.

I think it means that I'm overwhelmed by the amount of content that's available in the Sons of Anarchy pre-season. I just can't keep up with it all. It also means that after the last two seasons, I'm more inclined to go into this season completely blind. I've made my peace with the show. I know it's a soap that claims to be something more than it really is. And I'm okay with that. I'll ignore the claims and focus on Jax's bare ass.

Sons of Anarchy: Make Me No Promises

My reaction to the finale of Sons of Anarchy makes me think of politics and how candidates try to manage (and often lower) expectations for performance prior to a debate. How much did we hear that Sarah Palin was sure to have her clock cleaned by Joe Biden, an experienced debater, in the time leading up to the 2008 Vice Presidential debate? Plenty. And when debate time came, Palin didn't implode and we all perceived her performance to be successful because her campaign had lowered our expectations for her performance. Sons of Anarchy has taken the opposite approach to managing expectations: set the bar high and then come in well underneath.

After watching the finale, I've adjusted my expectations downward. And that's okay. I expected SoA to be great. It isn't. But it's still pretty fucking good. I've accepted that the Sons of Anarchy that Kurt Sutter is making is a different show that what I would like it to be. Fundamentally, Sons of Anarchy is a show that won't eliminate characters to advance the story. Kill off all the David Hales and Kozicks of the world that you want but the core cast is untouchable. Given that SoA spent the better part of the season fueling our bloodlust for Clay, it's hard not to feel as if those our expectations were manipulated. Again (See: Season 3 finale switcheroo).

That may come off as overly harsh. I don't mean it to be. From a fan perspective expectations are important because they represent a contract with the show. We agree to watch, to be immersed in the setting, to fall in love with the characters, to suspend disbelief when we need to, to obsess, to analyze, and to count down the days until the next season begin (272 days until September 4, 2012, if you were interested). On the other side, the show and the people who make the show promise to tell good stories, portray their characters in a convincing, compelling, engaging ways, and to hold those characters accountable to the rules in the show's world.

In a lot of ways, I feel like Sons of Anarchy hasn't been holding up its end of the contract. Maybe my expectations are misplaced. Maybe the show sets expectations too high. Regardless, it's time to reevaluate my relationship with the show. Here is my new contract with Sons of Anarchy:

• I'll keep watching because I am interested in what happens next but I'm not buying any more hype about the broad Shakespearean themes of the show. Those allude to broader artistic ambitions that Sons of Anarchy appears to be uninterested in pursuing. It's a soap. Period. So let's just stop talking about The Bard, the Prince of Denmark, and Lady Macbeth, shall we?
• I will ignore promises that Sons of Anarchy will do anything other than entertain. Promises that the show will address latent and institutional racism in our society? Promises that the show will explore post-modern themes associated with the nature of SAMCO--is it a club or a gang? Promises that there are consequences for characters and their actions? Pffft. Whatevs. I'm not taking that bait any more. 
• I will crack jokes about Gemma as a GiLF. 
• I will mimic Tara's crazy eyes in the mirror when I'm bored.
• I will enjoy the shots Jax's bare ass.
• I will cherish any scene with Tig in it. With or without baby oil.
• I will continue to be on Team Opie
• I'll appreciate scenes like the closing one of the finale where Tara kneels, Jax is king, and Gemma emotes for dramatic and comedic reasons. 
• I will expect the late-season Get Out of Jail Free Card.
• I need to stop threatening to break up with the show. We all know it's an empty promise. Besides, I would miss all my SoA friends too much. 

Okay, what did ya'll think? Do you have a new contract with the show?

Sons of Anarchy: Taking Stock of Loose Ends

Sons of Anarchy returns tonight. Wahoo! The post-prison dynamics within the club and within Charming are going to be the focus of Season 4. In advance of the premiere, I've taken stock of some of the loose ends remaining at the end of Season 3. They are in no particular order:

• How will the information contained in John Teller's letters play out? What's in those letters beyond JT's accusation that Gemma and Clay were his would be murderers? Moreover, how important will those letters be? It may turn out that they're old news to everyone but Tara. 
• What will become of Fiona and Kerrianne now that Jimmy O is dead? A big move to live with Chibs in Charming?
• Will Opie find out about Sarah Palin's Lyla's abortion? If so, how will he react? In the Season 3 finale, that man looked like he had a serious case of baby fever.
• SAMCRO pulled a fast one on Putlova's horrible Russian accent. How will that get resolved? More blood? Perhaps with some treasure? 
• Are we done with the Irish? Or does the gun deal between SAMCRO and the IRA stand?
• Who are the people with money behind Jacob Hale that were buying up storefronts on Main Street in Charming?
• Oswald has been very loyal ot SAMCRO. How long can that last? 
• Is Tig's mistrust of Koz deeper than a betrayal over a German Shepherd? 
• How is Clay's arthritis these days?
• 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.  Did killing Stalh satisfy Opie's need for revenge? Or will he have have remaining trust issues with Tig and Clay?
• Luanne's murder.  Who was responsible?  My money's on Georgie Caruso but I'm open to suggestions.     

With all of this in mind, SOA Season 4 sounds like it is full of promise. There are a few early reviews worth reading, including those by Alan Sepinwall, Maureen Ryan, James Poniewozik. 

Happing viewing!

Sons of Anarchy Season 3 DVDs

In a hail of bullets, here's what I learned, remembered, appreciated and realized after going through a marathon re-watch of the third season of Sons of Anarchy on DVD along with most of the bonus material:

• I was skeptical but SOA Season 3 does work better when viewed as a marathon. However, prolonged viewing reveals how thin the plot gets in the middle of the season.  So there's that.
• I fell asleep during an episode and a half (Look, I'm sleep-deprived and that shit got boring) of the Belfast part of the season. I missed  McGee's entire character arc and the Jax/Trinity incest bit.  The result of missing all that? Nothing. Neither of those threads contributed to the overall narrative of the season.  
• As much as I bitched and moaned about how it felt like the double cross was a cheap trick, I will admit that on my second viewing there were signals that Jax and SAMCRO were scheming together against Stahl. Most obviously when they were getting money from Stahl to pay Putlova in exchange for Jimmy O. But most of the hints and signals were so subtle that you'd only pick up on them if you knew something was afoot.
• I forgot how much Gemma, Clay, and Jax implied that John Teller was a rat.
• The dialogue between Jax and Clay about the 50 cuts looking at how Jax will react and having to decide whether Abel is alive or dead is aaahhmmmaaazing. Perfect writing, perfect acting. 
• Piney keeps cyanide capsules in his pocket just in case and Opie references the pills as his father's "end game." That is something to file away for future reference. 
• Gemma's time with her dad felt like the writers deciding that she needed something interesting to do.
• I cared much, much, much less about the plot twists with all of the Irish characters except for Fiona and Maureen.
• I still can't figure out what Tara's motivation is and I think that's a good thing. 
• The deleted scene where Jax tells Opie that he's full of hate and anger and is unable to feel the love he has for his son should have stayed in. It would have explained a lot of my frustration with Jax throughout the season. Or maybe it's just me. 
• I still like Lyla. 
• I want Gemma and Unser to have their own spinoff (a 30 minute sitcom, naturally) where they fight injustice on the mean streets of Charming. 
• Margaret, the once heavy metal groupie and now hospital administrator, made some eerie comments about Tara as an uncertain mother-to-be in an unstable environment. It makes me wonder if that's what we'll see in the upcoming season. 
• I want Calamity Jane's sexy lawyer/punk rock pumps. 

Onward and upward to Season 4!

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.

They're Baaaaaaack.....

Can you feel it? That certain something in the air. It's like a drop in the barometric pressure before a hurricane, that spark of of excitement before your intuition tells you something good is about to happen, or that feeling of impending doom after you've eaten your second chili cheese dog with extra onions.  

Photo from Dominic Pagone's Photostream
Click the link for more cast pictures from today's shoot.

Yes, yes, you've guessed it. Production is underway for season four of Sons of Anarchy. How do I know? There are new sets being built. Baby casting is in progress as well as casting for a deputy sheriff. Danny Trejo has been cast a Mexican commando badass. There was a table read for episode 401--titled Out. There's a new blog post from Kurt Sutter reminding us that season 4 picks up 14 months after then end of season 3. And last, but certainly not least. the Sons of Anarchy You Tube Channel is up and running.

Phew.

Now that we're caught up, let's get down to the really important matter at hand. Charlie Hunnam's hair. It's short. Like Green Street Hooligans short. What do you think?

Source: The Internets 

It's certainly better than the Jesus-meets-Kurt-Cobain look that was going on at the end of Season 3. It will help the continuity issues that The Hair creates--see the scene with Father Ashby and Jax in Firinne. But is the short hair really true to Jax's character? Or is this just what the ravages of time, lice, and a stint in the penitentiary do to pretty outlaw biker boys?

Sound off in the comments section about the hair. I'll be back to regular blogging as things heat up.