Sons of Anarchy Season One

I rented this on Netflix and enjoyed every minute of it.

I don't know a whole lot about the culture of motorcycle gangs, so I can't speak for the accuracy or authenticity of what is shown in the series, but it was certainly entertaining as hell. Sons of Anarchy tells the story of a motorcycle club in Northern California, that runs the fictional town of Charming, selling guns, bribing police officers, and generally kicking ass and taking names. Like I said, I don't know if most motorcycle clubs are anything like this, but the Sons of Anarchy sure are figgin' badass. If anything, this show makes it clear that being in a motorcycle gang probably isn't all that fun, since they get shot at, arrested, and in trouble with rival gangs in just about every episode. It's kind of odd that anybody would even stay in the gang considering all the drama they have to endure. Don't they realize that anybody can just ride a motorcycle without all that hassle?

But, whatever. All that drama makes for a fun show. There is a lot more than just the drama and action, of course, since there are real, human stories to be told about the various members, foremost being Jax, who is almost based on Hamlet, with his entire storyarc being somewhat Shakespearean in nature. His father and uncle started the club as sort of utopia for free ideas, but when his father died and his uncle married his mother, the club became corrupt and dirty. It's a bit overwrought and pretentious in places (especially the device of Jax finding and reading the journal written by his deceased father at various points in every episode), but the writing is so rich and the acting by the ensemble cast is so engaging that it's just so much fun to watch.

I highly recommend checking out the first season, which I devoured as quickly as Netflix could send the discs, and I already have season 2 at the top of my queue.