Sons of Anarchy Review

"Sons of Anarchy," which airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. Eastern on the FX network, is a crime drama created by Kurt Sutter, former writer-producer of "The Shield," about an outlaw motorcyle gang set in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California. 

Kurt Cobain lookalike Charlie Hunnam stars as Jax, second in command of the gang, and son of the deceased co-founder. The head honcho, Clay, played by the great Ron Perlman, is married to Jax's mother, Gemma, who is every bit as badass as her husband. Katey Segal is very, very good in the part.

While Jax has more of a conscience, and is influenced by his late father's original vision for the club (also known as SAMCRO for "Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original"), Clay and Gemma have no qualms about extreme lawlessness, and expedient use of killings to further the family business. More than one writer has drawn parallels between their family dynamic and Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Of course, the melancholy Dane never stabbed a meth dealer in the groin with a broken pool cue, but I digress.

Despite the ultra-violent biker mayhem that ensues week after week, there are also a lot of laugh out loud moments in the show, much like "The Sopranos." Perlman's character is sort of a cross between Tony Soprano and Sonny Barger of the Hell's Angels. He is motivated by the need to maintain his position of power in the face of opposition from two rival gangs as well as land developers and various law enforcement agencies.

This is easily my favorite new show of the 2008 TV season, although my wife prefers HBO's "True Blood." FX has a history of pushing the envelope of sex and violence on series like "The Shield" and "Nip and Tuck," as well as giving shows a chance to develop an audience (in stark contrast to its sister network FOX).

Here's hoping the Sons of Anarchy have a long run.

"Sons of Anarchy" airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Eastern on FX.