Sons of Anarchy - Season 5 - Tuesdays on FX

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I agree with Ryan's comments, yet I still can't stop watching, and am very much looking forward to the S5 premiere. The main complaint seems to be that the show just refuses to let things naturally happen, where instead it pulls rabbits out of hats to save the characters the writers don't want to lose. Just let some folks
Clay
die already!
 
I am looking forward to it though it will feel a bit odd seeing Joel McHale and Ashley Tisdale on the show. Then again, the show managed to make Tom Arnold look good so who am I to judge.
 
Strafer said:
Peter Weller directing? Sweet.
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The greatest human being that's ever existed. He's doing a Q&A at the Getty on the 6th about Italian architecture (he's getting his PhD in that) and he got us all tickets.

Hearing him talk about White Tulip was one of the best things that's ever happened to me.
 
- Russell Brand to Host "Sons of Anarchy" Live Premiere Chat on Tuesday, September 11
Sons of Anarchy kicks off its adrenaline-charged fifth season on Tuesday, September 11 at 10:00 PM ET/PT, but first...

On September 11 at 9:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM PT, executive producer Kurt Sutter and the cast will sit down inside the SOA clubhouse for an exclusive chat on FXNetworks.com and webcasted across multiple platforms. Hosted by Russell Brand, the SOA Live Premiere Chat is a forum for both casual and super fans to get exclusive inside access to the fifth season of Sons of Anarchy. From rants and raves to discussion of where each episode is taking the show, the SOA Live Premiere Chat will get viewers amped for the episode premiering only one hour later.
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- Maggie Siff on Attack of the Show the other night
Maggie Siff from Sons of Anarchy talks to John Barrowman about the upcoming season premiere on September 11th and what their diehard fans can expect to happen to their favorite biker gang.
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Cornballer said:
- Maureen Ryan: 'Sons of Anarchy' Season 5 Review: Running Out Of Gas?
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I would basically agree. I marathoned the series over the last month and plots are so unnecessarily complicated it's kinda hilarious. So many threads only exist because people don't talk plainly with each other or pointlessly keep secrets. The whole 3rd season with Abel and the Irish, the 4th season with the letters, Juice's character-destroying plot, etc. There have been four seasons of a show about a violent gang and yet they've really only managed to kill off one significant member of the club. That doesn't feel right given the world that's been set up, and it just demonstrated a certain cowardice on the writing. They're too in love with the club and the characters to shake it up. Boardwalk Empire knows what's up.

The machinations of the two-part finale for season 4 were pretty damned frustrating. An epic deux ex machina pops up to ensure virtually none of the season's arcs have climaxes, let alone result in any changes to the status quo. Tig does something incredibly rash because of a stupid lie, all to set up season 5. Come to think of it, I think most of the show's finale's have been really frustrating, opening up story paths that leave me going "ugh, really?" Except for season one's, which was great.

I expect to discover that this show is even more frustrating when viewed weekly, since the show loves to set things up and then not see them through. It's easier to deal with that when the potential is blown right away rather than waiting a week.
 
Dan said:
I would basically agree. I marathoned the series over the last month and plots are so unnecessarily complicated it's kinda hilarious. So many threads only exist because people don't talk plainly with each other or pointlessly keep secrets.
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The first two seasons were great, but seasons 3 and 4 really got into their Hamlet mode.
 
- Sepinwall's review of Season 5
Sutter has said that he never intended for "Sons" to be analyzed on the level of an HBO or AMC drama, and that his goal was to make a fun, pulpy, adrenaline-fueled show. And if you're not meant to think too hard about what's happening, then "Sons" largely succeeds at its goals, particularly given the performances, the direction (led by Emmy winner Paris Barclay) and Sutter and his writers' talent for crafting gut-wrenching individual moments. But if you ever held out hope for "Sons" to be more than that — smarter and more consistent and not as married to overly-complicated plotting — then the start of the fifth season suggests you will continue to be disappointed.
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Reviews have never and will never influence my opinion of the show. I absolutely love it and it's incredibly entertaining and the characters are great. That's all I need.
 
I don't understand how EVERYONE wants Clay dead. Seeing him reduced to a standard member and doing some undermining while setting up Jax to take a huge fall from grace is exactly what this show needs. I think he'll be dead by the end of this or next season no doubt; but the Jax/Clay relationship is what makes the show compelling. Without Clay, the only internal conflict is going to be Jax/Opie over allowing Clay to live. Clay brings the conflict element forward to other members of the club.
 
mernst23 said:
I don't understand how EVERYONE wants Clay dead. Seeing him reduced to a standard member and doing some undermining while setting up Jax to take a huge fall from grace is exactly what this show needs. I think he'll be dead by the end of this or next season no doubt; but the Jax/Clay relationship is what makes the show compelling. Without Clay, the only internal conflict is going to be Jax/Opie over allowing Clay to live. Clay brings the conflict element forward to other members of the club.
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Under the rules that Jax and the club operate in, Clay needed to die. It could have at least been interesting if Jax decided he wouldn't succumb to those blood-thirsty desires and chose to spare Clay's life, but that was forced upon him by CIA directive. So it's not even like Clay is still around because Jax is trying to change the club. He's around because the powers that be didn't want to get rid of him.

There's no reason there couldn't be drama without him either. You'd still have Jax going up against the club's institutionalized violent tendencies in trying to change the heart and soul of the club. You could still have Gemma puppeteering from the background to protect what she helped build. You'd still have Jax trying to find a way to get out of all the club's dirty businesses without bringing on the wrath of their other gang partners. Still have the problem of how SAMCRO protects Charming without being engaged in those endeavors. The club's fairly self-sustaining due to the relationships it has in place, so those would be suitably difficult challenges for Jax. Clay's death wouldn't remove those obstacles.

All of season 4 was about how Clay was a fucking monster and needed to be put down, and then the show copped out, didn't have the balls to kill a main character. It's the show's own fault that people want Clay dead. And really, if they didn't kill off then, I doubt they'll ever do it. That was THE time to do it.
 
ivysaur12 said:
Yeah, I would, yeah. I would hold out on the thoughts on the arc of the season and how it addresses past problems until the 3rd episode.
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Then they should have sent us 503. :P

First two episodes are exactly as Ryan/Sepinwall portray them: more of the same, for better and for worse.
 
Can't wait for Sutter to go after the "****-bloggers", as he puts it, in the twitterverse.

Also, LOL at this:

NOTE: As part of my attempt to make my workload more manageable this fall, I won't be doing weekly "Sons" reviews this season. Geoff Berkshire will be covering the show each week on our Monkeys as Critics blog, and I'll either be posting here occasionally if there's a notable episode, or simply waiting until the end of the season to offer some thoughts.
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Kind of interesting given Sutter and Sepinwall's mild feuds. But I'm not trying to stir the pot or make something of nothing.
 
Dan said:
There's no reason there couldn't be drama without him either. You'd still have Jax going up against the club's institutionalized violent tendencies in trying to change the heart and soul of the club. You could still have Gemma puppeteering from the background to protect what she helped build. You'd still have Jax trying to find a way to get out of all the club's dirty businesses without bringing on the wrath of their other gang partners. Still have the problem of how SAMCRO protects Charming without being engaged in those endeavors. The club's fairly self-sustaining due to the relationships it has in place, so those would be suitably difficult challenges for Jax. Clay's death wouldn't remove those obstacles.
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The problem I have with this reasoning is that there would still be a need for a source of internal conflict. There are no other alpha characters in the club besides possibly Tig. Chibs would've been the ideal next hardass old-school ways person but they nerfed him into being the wise old man who agrees with Jax on everything role. Tig can't fill that role because they turned him into comic relief, which only leaves Opie. Having him be a 180 character compared to his father seems like too much of a stretch and needs to be fleshed out over a season as the result of some major climax though. I think Opie will take the main internal villian reigns along with Gemma over from Clay by the end of this season, they just couldn't do it yet.
 
This show has a pretty vast array of flaws, but it's some damn enjoyable B-tier television. Ron Perlman is a huge part of what makes it work, so I'm glad Clay's still there.
 
I am so looking forward to this.

Finally caught up just a few days ago so I am ready. Though I do have to say that the end of last season might be the biggest cop out I have ever seen. All that build up though the season for them to then just hand wave it away in the last two episodes.

Glad I went in to this series expecting nothing more then a entertaining B-grade show. Because even with that level of expectation that annoyed me slightly.
 
dave is ok said:
Sons of Anarchy would be the best four season show ever.

Instead it's going to be a mediocre seven season show.
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You mean best one season show ever, I remember being so pumped at that final episode where Jax is at the funeral just thinking it's going to kick into high gear

and then season 2 happened...and season 3...and season 4...
 
- Warming Glow: 20 Things About The Cast of ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ That You Didn’t Know

Some crazy stuff in here including Opie on Saved By the Bell: The New Class :O

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and a few other gems.
 
There's a live chat tonight hosted by Russell Brand. I'm not sure what any of the details are besides that, but it's anyone's been talking about.

Past premiere numbers:

S1 = 1.2
S2 = 2.3
S3 = 2.1
S4 = 2.5
 
ivysaur12 said:
There's a live chat tonight hosted by Russell Brand. I'm not sure what any of the details are besides that, but it's anyone's been talking about.
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- Russell Brand to Host "Sons of Anarchy" Live Premiere Chat on Tuesday, September 11
Sons of Anarchy kicks off its adrenaline-charged fifth season on Tuesday, September 11 at 10:00 PM ET/PT, but first...

On September 11 at 9:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM PT, executive producer Kurt Sutter and the cast will sit down inside the SOA clubhouse for an exclusive chat on FXNetworks.com and webcasted across multiple platforms. Hosted by Russell Brand, the SOA Live Premiere Chat is a forum for both casual and super fans to get exclusive inside access to the fifth season of Sons of Anarchy. From rants and raves to discussion of where each episode is taking the show, the SOA Live Premiere Chat will get viewers amped for the episode premiering only one hour later.
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- Matt Zoller Seitz's review for NY Magazine: *spoilers*
The exhaustive realities of series TV might be hurting it, too. No matter how studiously the script positions Jax’s ascent as an illustration of the cycles of power and generational change, Sons of Anarchy’s situations still feel repetitive. I worry that the show might never recapture the aesthetic and emotional peak it attained near the end of season two (though I liked season four quite a bit), but it’s still compelling, and there’s nothing else on TV quite like it. It’s grindhouse and art house, and it carries itself as if it doesn’t give a damn what you think of it. And its infuriating push-pull quality is still fascinating.
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