Ride free or die

Magnet #564 - Harley-Davidson

Here's why I should never be a Nielsen family: I skew show demographics like no one's business.

It's not often that someone from the same demo watches Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place, ABC's Brothers & Sisters, BBC-A's Doctor Who or Top Gear, Lifetime's Army Wives, CBS' NCIS, and FX's Sons of Anarchy.

Can't help it - I love my tv in all its many forms, from cute to brutal. Add in a pretty boy and a love story, and I'm a goner.

Sons of Anarchy is one of those shows. Brutal, I mean. If you haven't watched the show, think Sopranos (which I never watched), with a gun-running, outlaw biker gang, taking care of their own in Charming, CA, and meting their own brand of justice along the way.

I don't mind saying that I had a pretty visceral reaction when I saw the first previews last year - you couldn't have paid me to watch. Not my cup of tea. But, if you've read any of the television posts on this blog, you know I totally had to give it a shot. It's what I do.

Sucked in. From the supersick opening titles with the fab ink graphics to the fanfreakin'tastic soundtrack - Sucked. Right. In.

And, I swear, it's more than just a pretty boy. Mind you, Charlie Hunnam's Jax Teller is easy on the eyes - especially in his "I swear every biker under 30 wears the baggy jeans and hoodies" cut, with his cute helmet and glasses, riding his bike. (As for love story, I do so want him together with Tara, his high-school sweetheart who got out of the life and became an upstanding doctor, but still has her killer tat on her lower back. She's played by Maggie Siff, who is oddly almost unrecognizable as Don Draper's client Rachel Menken, from S1 Mad Men.)

Anyway, after I got over the distasteful aspects (the outlawing, the violence, the supremacy of the other, other bad guys, etc.), I found myself left with a heap of engaging character complexities and impossible situations, brought to life by superb writing and raw acting.

Seriously, in what other world would Beauty & the Beast's Vincent Ron Perlman and Married with Children's Peg Bundy Katey Sagal be believable as Clay and Gemma, the aging patriarch and matriarch of an MC. In what other world would you be so engrossed in small touches of their lives (her menopause, his arthritis) and the well-being of their relationship (his infidelities with a tarty-tart, her spending the night in jail for smacking that tarty-tart upside the head - with a skateboard) that you forget that they possibly murdered her first husband to be together?

And, these two are just the tip of the iceberg - it's a magnetblog, remember? Of course, the Harley on this magnet is totally something that the Samcro boys would have to modify the bejeepers out of before taking out on the road. Yeah. Don't even get me started on the superawesome bikes.

Season 2 starts tonight at 10 on FX - this preview pretty much sums up most why I'm watching. Check out Maureen Ryan's and Alan Sepinwall's reviews for real reasons why you should be watching, too.

I guess if I had to think about it any harder, I'm betting the real reason I like this show, is because I feel like such a bad-ass watching it - like I could actually be a biker chick, kicking ass and taking names. (But you know, nicer.)

eta:
OMG! I don't know how I forgot about this! But, now I'm wondering if the Samcro clubhouse is anything like the old Hell's Angels haunt we used to pass every so often down in NC. And every time we'd pass it, Mom would be like, "that's where the Hell's Angels are!" as the whole family would look to the left as we passed.

eta2:
Oh. My. Good Gravy. That was one helluva season premiere. Ya'll better catch up. For realz, yo.