The Film
While network TV has been reduced to far too many talent contests, reality-driven shows and this fall a whole prime time hour of Jay Leno (not that anything is wrong with Jay), dramas have found a home on the plethora of cable channels. And among the edgiest of the networks is F/X, which seems to go where even HBO and Showtime dare not tread. One recent arrival last fall was Sons of Anarchy, a modern take on Hamlet transported to the rural California town of Charming, where there are no strip malls and no big box retailers. Mom & pop businesses thrive, but that's because that's how the local motorcycle gang wants it.
The Sons of Anarchy (Motorcycle Club Redwood Original) or SAMCRO also have a few businesses of their own, including the local auto repair shop, but the real money is running guns - and that's where the fun begins. After crossing paths with a rival MC, the guys of SAMCRO must rebuild their fledging enterprise, deal with ATF agents (rogue or otherwise), and do so while keeping their families together. And at the center of this is Jax (Charlie Hunnam), who begins to wonder where his stepfather Clay, the club's founder and president, has taken SAMCRO for a ride down a path to destruction.
The Picture
Sons of Anarchy is supposed to take place in northern California, but at times it looks decidedly more like the southern part of the state. This isn't so much an issue to the story, but the crisp visuals of the Blu-ray suggest that all isn't as it seems. When the show debuted on F/X last fall, most viewers (including this reviewer) saw it in standard definition, which hid some of these facts. Here is where the HD version might almost look too good. And throughout the first season on Blu-ray the show looks fine, even if it depicts a rather sordid view of rural California, along with some of the most undesirable people you'd never want to run foul of.
But picture-wise, the Blu-ray captures the mostly muted colors of the landscape, and brings out the faded blacks of the leather and other biker apparel. As is the case with many TV shows, some of the details are soft at times, but it is hardly noticeable over the 13 episodes. Most of the 1.78.1 1080p presentation makes this world look anything but charming.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is a step up from how most heard it on TV. The bike engines roar almost as if someone was kick starting their hog right in the living room. The dialog is generally clear, and mixes well with the music, which includes biker appropriate songs. There isn't a lot in the range of ambient sounds or the subtle audio cues that you'd hear in a movie, but given the budget of this show, that's to be expected.
The Extras
There was no biker hijacking of extras on this one. In fact, for a TV series, the extras round out the package quite well. There is audio commentary on selected episodes, as well as a featurette on the making of the first season, plus a look at what went into capturing the spirit of a biker gang, complete with some background on the bikes and more importantly the tattoos. Finally rounded out with deleted scenes, this is a pretty robust package. The only major complaint is that like many TV series, viewers will face previews for other shows at the start of disc one, but fortunately these can be blown through. Just rev the engine - make that press skip - and you're into the main menu.
Final Thoughts
As with many basic cable series, the season is abridged when compared to a network show. But the 13 episodes (including the pilot) are free from any extraneous side stories or needless filler. This is a show without a lot of heroes however, so it is hard to know whether to root for these guys to fail or for them to continue to ride off into the sunset.
Product Details
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