Continuing on as one of the very few members of the crossover audience for Glee and Sons of Anarchy, here is my previously-promised SoA rant followed by some thoughts on tonight’s episodes.
I’ll rant first so I can hide anything spoilerish under the “continued” jump.
I think it’s great that Sons of Anarchy has become popular with a diverse general audience and isn’t just a biker cult thing. Many of my co-workers and my husband’s co-workers watch the show, and only a few of them are bikers or motorcyclists (there is a difference). We look forward to discussing the show on Wednesdays (or Thursdays if someone is DVRing).
But I have a problem with one sector of the fan base: the posers. And to them, I say: it’s okay to not be a biker and still like SoA. It is not okay to pretend you are a real biker and try to live SoA. It’s offensive, though still mildly amusing, when you try to impress and it’s obvious your knowledge comes from your one neighbor who was in the local H.O.G. chapter for a year and actually rode a motorcycle on a long trip once, and from watching Gangland on The History Channel. It’s not amusing at all when you wear the ripoff merchandise that resembles a three-piece patch and act like you think you are in a real club or something.
I’m also not too thrilled with actual bikers who nitpick the show to death rather than enjoy it for what it is: a biker soap opera with one of the best casts and possibly the strongest writing on television right now. I know it’s easy to be critical when it’s a lifestyle, subject area, or location you are very familiar with. But too many of us have lost the ability to suspend disbelief and just enjoy.
I’m still deciding whether or not I like the new Hawaii 5-0. I’ll keep watching to support anything filmed in my hometown while I decide, though. I’m interested to see how they keep it local enough for, well, the locals… and of course the expats… without having to overexplain for the rest of the audience, and without making it seem forced.
On Rottweiler Nation, I saw an announcement that a Rottweiler plays the role of the main character’s dog on the new NBC show Chase. Since it’s on at the same time as Hawaii 5-0, the dogs and I will have to check out an episode online or on On Demand.
I joke about being the entire crossover audience between Glee and Sons of Anarchy. Please tell me there are others of you out there!
Speaking of Glee, this week’s episode killed it, unlike last week’s Brittany/Britney trainwreck. One thing in common that several of my favorite shows share is the ability to go from over-the-top absurd to gut-wrenching emotion without missing a beat, and this episode did just that. I was cringing in advance at the idea of a Glee episode featuring religion. But as someone who has both lost and found my own faith a few times over many years, I could actually relate to most of the portrayals of the different characters’ expressions (or rejections) of religion, faith, and spirituality.
Speaking of Sons of Anarchy… well, that might involve a rant. Not about the show which is still one of my favorites and in my opinion has some of the best writing out there, but about some of its fans. So I think I’ll save that for another day.
As you know, I follow only a few TV shows. Rescue Me and Mad Men were done with their seasons before our vacation started. Not the case with Sons of Anarchy, with two episodes to go. The final one will be airing when we are in the air somewhere between HNL and ORD. We are missing tonight’s episode because FX is conspicuously missing (hmmm, along with AMC, I now notice) from Dish Network’s Bronze package.
I never really considered FX and AMC to be premium offerings, but seeing as they, along with USA, have given us some of the better shows over the last couple of years, maybe they are!
Oh, the unreasonable request? Should be obvious… please try not to spoil me until I catch up via a hopefully timely Comcast On Demand!
(NaBloPoMo | November ’09: 24 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 269 of 274)
For those who haven’t seen Sons of Anarchy episode 210 (“Balm”), this is not a plot spoiler, especially since I’m not quite ready to talk about this episode yet.
I just wanted to mention that I was quite tickled to see a couple of shelves full of Rottweiler stuff (figurines, plates and possibly photos) in Piney’s cabin.
Freya (that would be the hopefully-ready-to-trial Freya) just wants to remind you all that Rottweilers are everywhere you want to be, even on Sons of Anarchy.
That is all.
(NaBloPoMo | November ’09: 10 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 255 of 274)
Please, please, please don’t spoil me on Mad Men! I now have three episodes to catch up on before we can talk, including tonight’s season finale. I’ve complained before about Comcast’s delay in adding Mad Men episodes to On Demand in a timely fashion, particularly the non-HD versions. When I last checked earlier tonight, last week’s episode still wasn’t available for either HD or non-HD.
One show I am completely caught up on is Sons of Anarchy. It’s only Sunday and I am already looking forward to Tuesday’s 90-minute episode. One of the most interesting and surprising things about Sons of Anarchy is the large number of non-bikers who have embraced the show. That is obviously a good thing for the future of the show (as evidenced by its strong ratings) because I doubt any show could survive very long with a niche audience only. But no, I meant watching those non-bikers discuss the show on any number of blogs and forums. And by discuss, I mean overanalyze based on misconceptions of the “biker lifestyle” as they perceive it. The funniest ones are those who think they know everything about outlaw bikers because they watched all the A&E Gangland biker episodes. Or because they are slightly acquainted with one, count ‘em, one outlaw biker, or at least they think he is an outlaw biker because he wears a vest with something on the back.
I suppose I shouldn’t make fun of these people. I don’t know anything about their hobbies or lives either. Then again, I don’t go acting like I do know anything about… ummm… fly fishing, or bowling, or Formula One racing, or life in [insert country or region of U.S. that I have never lived in or even visited]. And I try not to post ridiculous stuff based on that lack of knowledge all over the internet. Except for here, of course. But this is my place!
Speaking of bikers, I guess I should say something about South Park and last week’s “The ‘F’ Word” episode. I think in general I’m way too old for South Park anyway, although I still find many uses for a quote from the original “Spirit of Christmas” episode: “Don’t belittle my people, [insert appropriate insult here]!” I actually use it quite a lot because a surprising number of people who would never make racial jokes about other minorities think it’s ok to make stupid flied lice/Engrish jokes about Asians. But I also don’t think the show is as funny as it used to be. Or maybe they are just too caught up in sending messages. Yeah, yeah, I get it. Using the word “fag” as a generic insult is Wrong and Not A Good Thing. You guys sure got GLAAD upset about how you sent that message, too.
But really, there weren’t that many big laughs in “The ‘F’ Word” other than bike curious (someone who hasn’t yet bought a Harley, but might be interested in buying one) and the bikers making motor noises with their mouths.
I am also somewhat surprised that I haven’t yet seen anything about legal action. Harley-Davidson is extremely protective of their trademarks. Although I would think that the use of the word “Harley” and the cartoon bikers and bikes as portrayed in South Park are well within the limits of free speech, I’ve thought that about other instances in which Harley-Davidson did file lawsuits. I also wonder what will come of the reference to “Hades’ Divinations” and the image on the patch.
Buh buh buh buh buh BUH BUH BAH BAH BAH!
(NaBloPoMo | November ’09: 8 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 253 of 274)
If you’ve stopped in here before, you know that none of my favorite TV shows are on Thursday night, so you might be wondering why I’ve picked tonight for a TV break. I’m catching up, thanks to TiVo, Comcast On Demand and Hulu.
In general, I like the concept of On Demand and it allows me to keep up with some shows that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to keep up with. I do have a gripe about how Mad Men has been handled so far this season, though. The HD version always appears right on time, shortly after the scheduled episode is aired. The non-HD version sometimes doesn’t appear until a week or more later. We’re not planning to replace our non-HD TV until it truly needs to be dumped, so I hope that Comcast wakes up to the fact that we’re far from the only subscribers in that situation.
For a couple of weeks, it appeared that Sons of Anarchy wasn’t going to be an On Demand show. Thankfully, that did not happen, and all of this season’s episodes were added starting about two weeks in. This has really become my main must-watch show. I saw it described somewhere as “soap opera for bikers” and it’s that, but deeper, too. My one disappointment so far is that rogue FBI Agent Cohn was killed off in the first season, so there’s now no reason for the Sons to travel to Chicago to hunt him down. I would have loved to see shows filmed here, even though the chances for that would have been extremely remote for a number of very good reasons.
I’m disappointed so far in Dollhouse. I was so glad it was renewed for another season, but the first two episodes really haven’t lived up to the promise I saw in the last few episodes of the first season. I’m even more disappointed in this year’s crop of medical/emergency medical shows. I’d be hard pressed to tell you whether Mercy or Trauma contains more stereotypes and recycled plot lines. Three Rivers seems slightly more promising. I guess I’ll give them each another episode or two to grab me. If they even make it that far, that is.
The show I didn’t expect to like and find myself liking way too much is Glee. Judging from on- and off-line conversations about the show, I’m far from alone in that feeling. My favorite musical numbers so far: Maybe This Time (you did know I’m a huge fan of Cabaret, right? I know it’s a bit out of character) and It’s My Life/Confessions.
I thought I might like The Good Wife and I planned to watch a few episodes anyway because it is set and partially filmed in Chicago and the suburbs. I actually do like it, and glad it’s an On Demand show, because it’s on at the same time as SOA. I wasn’t a huge fan of Julianna Margulies as Carol Hathaway, and I really hated the last legal drama she starred in (I can’t even remember the name) but I’m pretty much liking her as Alicia Florreck.
That’s enough TV talk for now if I plan to actually catch up on the watching!
(NaBloPoMo | October ’09: 8 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 230 of 274)
