Sons of Anarchy (season 1)

The first season of the American television drama series Sons of Anarchy created by Kurt Sutter, about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in California's Central Valley. The show centers on protagonist Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam), the then–vice president of the club, who begins questioning the club and himself.

Sons of Anarchy premiered on September 3, 2008, on cable network FX.

Plot

The series begins with the torching of a SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original-the club's full name) gun assembly warehouse and the theft of guns by a rival club, the Mayans. The police attend the scene where Joaquin County Sheriff Vic Trammel, who is on SAMCRO's payroll, finds two dead illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, Jax's estranged meth-addicted wife Wendy, who is pregnant with his child, collapses. An emergency C-section is performed and a baby boy is delivered ten weeks prematurely. Wendy has decided that the boy shall be named Abel.

Jax goes to a storage unit to collect some old baby clothes and comes across a box of his father's stuff, in which he finds a "manifesto" outlining what the now-deceased founding member (John Thomas Teller, "JT") of SAMCRO hoped the club would become. This document sends Jax into a dilemma as he struggles with the direction the club is taking. Gemma, Jax's mother, club president Clay Morrow's wife, former wife of JT, and unofficial club matriarch, visits Wendy in the hospital and tells her she will kill Wendy if the drug addicted mother attempts to gain custody of Abel. She says that because Wendy took drugs during pregnancy, Gemma will see to it that the baby never calls Wendy "Mommy." A broken-hearted Wendy overdoses on the methamphetamine supplied by Gemma. Charming's Deputy Chief Hale finds the immigrants' bodies at the burnt-out warehouse, but Tig and Bobby remove them before he can forensically examine them. Tara, Jax's high school flame, recently returned to Charming after several years away earning her M.D. and completing her residency, now works at the local hospital, where she played a significant role in Jax's premature son's survival and eventual recovery. Tara receives a threatening phone call from a former boyfriend, ATF agent Josh Kohn, who comes to Charming stalking Tara, pretending to investigate the Sons, but apparently on vacation status.

To solve a gun trafficking problem under the ATF's watchful eye, the Sons head out to Indian Hills, Nevada, to patch over the Devil's Tribe Motorcycle Club. While there, Clay sleeps with a girl named Cherry, who takes a liking to Half Sack. Kohn follows the Sons and witnesses their shootout with the Mayans. Kohn provides Tara pictures of Jax in compromising situations to try to split them. The Sons soon become aware of Kohn's presence in Charming. Clay is arrested on charges of aiding and abetting a triple homicide after guns sold by the Sons are used in a shootout. Cherry arrives in Charming, and Gemma realizes Clay has slept with her. Shortly afterward, Gemma assaults Cherry with a skateboard and is subsequently arrested.

Tara reveals to Jax that Kohn has been stalking her since she broke up with him, and she has a restraining order against Kohn. Jax throws Kohn through a plate glass window before beating him and telling him to stay away from Tara. Kohn is arrested for breaking his restraining order, which ends Kohn's career as a federal agent. Kohn returns to Tara's house and attempts to rape her, but Tara is able to grab his gun and shoot him in the stomach. Jax comes to her aid and advises Tara to let the police handle the situation. However, when Kohn calls Tara a "biker slut", Jax shoots him in the head. Jax takes Kohn's body to the hills and later returns to burn it. He also throws his father's memoir into the fire, but takes it back out within seconds.

Opie, Jax's closest friend since childhood and fellow MC club member, botches a planned assassination that was a favor for the IRA, and Bobby steps in to complete the task. However, their crime is witnessed by the victim's 17-year-old black mistress. ATF Agent June Stahl tries to crack the club's unity by interrogating the women associated with the club: Tara, Luann, Donna, and Cherry. Stahl arrests Cherry on outstanding warrants, but Charming Police Chief Wayne Unser aids Cherry, who escapes Charming that night. When Big Otto learns that Stahl is trying to use the RICO Act to bring the club down for racketeering, he violently assaults Stahl in prison. The young girl who witnessed Bobby commit murder provides the ATF with sketches of Bobby and Opie, and they are subsequently arrested. Stahl sets up Opie to look like a rat, even though she knows it endangers his life, and Tig and Clay fall for the ploy. They believe Opie has turned informant when they find wire taps in Opie's phone and truck. Clay orders Tig to kill Opie without telling anyone else in the club; however, Tig mistakenly kills Opie's wife Donna while she is driving Opie's truck.

Clay set up the shooting to look like the One-Niners shot Donna, protecting members of the club. However, feeling guilty, Deputy Hale tells Jax that Stahl set up Opie. Jax subsequently realizes that Clay organized the shooting.

Tig, Happy, and Chibs find the witness to prevent her from testifying. Tig is about to kill her, but Jax has followed them and confronts Tig, putting a gun to his head. Instead of killing her, Jax threatens her and gives her enough money to leave California. Jax is clearly unhappy remaining under Clay's rule, as he sees Clay as immoral, and leading the club away from its roots.

Cast and characters

Sons of Anarchy is the story of the Teller-Morrow family of Charming, California, as well as the other members of Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original (SAMCRO), their families, various Charming townspeople, allied and rival gangs, associates, and law agencies that undermine or support SAMCRO's legal and illegal enterprises.

Main cast

• Charlie Hunnam as Jackson "Jax" Teller (13 episodes)
• Katey Sagal as Gemma Teller Morrow (13 episodes)
• Mark Boone Junior as Robert "Bobby Elvis" Munson (13 episodes)
• Kim Coates as Alex "Tig" Trager (12 episodes)
• Tommy Flanagan as Filip "Chibs" Telford (11 episodes)
• Johnny Lewis as Kip "Half Sack" Epps (10 episodes)
• Maggie Siff as Tara Knowles (13 episodes)
• Ron Perlman as Clarence "Clay" Morrow (13 episodes)

Special guest cast

• Drea de Matteo as Wendy Case (6 episodes)
• Ally Walker as Agent June Stahl (6 episodes)
• Tom Everett Scott as Rosen (2 episodes)
• Brian Van Holt as Kyle Hobart ("Giving Back")

Recurring cast

Guest stars

• David LaBrava as Happy Lowman ("Hell Followed" + 4 as co-star)
• Patrick St. Esprit as Elliott Oswald (2 episodes)
• Kurt Sutter as "Big" Otto Delaney (2 uncredited)
• Olivia Burnette as Homeless Woman (2 episodes)
• Michael Shamus Wiles as Jury White ("Patch Over")
• Kenneth Choi as Henry Lin ("Giving Back")
• Michael Marisi Ornstein as Chuck Marstein ("Giving Back")
• Marcos de la Cruz as Estevez ("The Sleep of Babies" + 1 uncredited)

Production

Although Sons of Anarchy is set in Northern California's Central Valley, it is filmed primarily at Occidental Studios Stage 5A in North Hollywood. Main sets located there include the clubhouse, St. Thomas Hospital, and Jax's house. The production rooms at the studio used by the writing staff also double as the Charming police station. External scenes are often filmed nearby in Sun Valley and Tujunga.^[1] Interior and exterior scenes set in Northern Ireland during season 3 were also filmed at Occidental Studios and surrounding areas. A second unit shot footage in Northern Ireland used in the third season.^[2]

Originally, Scott Glenn was cast in the role of Clay Morrow and an entire pilot episode was filmed with him. However, series creator Kurt Sutter decided to go in a different direction with the character and re-cast Ron Perlman in the role, and Clay's scenes were re-shot.^[3] Additionally, Emilio Rivera was originally cast as a Sons of Anarchy club member named "Hawk," who eventually evolved into the character of Tig Trager.^[4] Also, the One-Niners street gang who buy weapons from SAMCRO first appeared in The Shield, which Sutter produced.

Episodes

Reception

The first season received generally positive reviews from industry critics. Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe said the first season had "real potential".^[7] The New York Times’ Gina Bellafante spoke highly of the cast's acting ability, particularly Sagal’s portrayal of Gemma. Brian Lowry of Variety gave a mixed review, admiring Sutter’s creation of the club and the town of Charming but observing the early episodes lacked direction.^[8]

Home media release

The first season was released on DVD on August 18, 2009.

References

External links

• Sons of Anarchy at FXNetworks.com
• Sons of Anarchy at the Internet Movie Database
• Sons of Anarchy at TV.com