Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine So what are you WATCHING?

I watched the first three episodes of Sons of Anarchy last night. I'm hooked!

I need to watch the rest of that series! I watched the first three or four seasons or something (whatever was available on Amazon Prime at the time), but haven't gone back and watched the rest!

Awesome! The series starts off incredible and gets even better the longer it goes!

Once you guys both finish it, I'm afraid I may force all 3 of us to get giant Grim Reapers tattooed on our backs. Just letting you know!

I almost started it again last night but just can't in the mood to watch tv this summer.

As I currently have zero tattoos, that would be quite the feat!



I'm almost at the end of season one, and we've already got the first big death. The circumstances around that one....whoa.

So far my favorite character is clearly Opie in a runaway!

Opie is a favorite, and his relationship with Jax was such a rich part of the show. He was also my wife's favorite but in a way that you and I don't feel.

How about that death? Talk about a noirish, brutal moment that rocks your world. And then, in typical Kurt Sutter fashion, it's the subsequent scenes with the characters reacting to it that sets this show on a whole different level.

...or DO we?



Yep, I mean I knew it was coming the moment there was a last-moment change of driving arrangements. That morbid inevitability is very noir.

But then, seeing the fallout from the cover-up to keep the secret is another thing entirely. I've seen 16 eps so far, and every one is packed with what seems like a season's worth of plot for other shows.

Man, that thing with Gemma at the beginning of season 2...brutal. And how she chose to deal with it was entirely unexpected. Katey Sagal is an absolute revelation in the role. I honestly forget all about Peg Bundy when I watch her here.

It's clear that secrets and their consequences is a big theme of SoA.

I watched the season 2 opener live when it came out, and honestly, I was pretty devastated. That really threw me for a loop, more than a lot of other similar sequences in shows / books / comics. Sutter, ever the master, and his phenomenal cast, will follow-up on that throughout Season 2 (which I suspect you've probably already watched) and the way they do it is nothing short of spectacular. It's the best "what happens after" run of episodes, and its all very fitting to the nature of SOA.

Katey Sagal definitely proves herself on this show as one of the alltime TV greats. Her acting is so superb that you just start to expect excellence from her every episode--which she delivers right on through until her last minute on the screen. More than anyone else, she is the actor who really stepped up and shined, though that isn't to say other performances aren't equally phenomenal (Ron Perelman being also a stand out).

You're dead on that secrets and their consequences is a major theme. And how whenever there is a chance to shine the light on the secrets and "be free" of them, characters will often do things that result in other tragedies and secrets.

I'm def curious to know where you're at by this point!

I'm on approx episode 7 of Season 3. Some really good stuff going on, even though I'm not overly enamored of the kidnapping plotline. It looks like it's going to consume the third season, and it doesn't altogether make sense to me. Yes, there's eventually some reasoning for it explained, but ultimately it's an excuse to explore the IRA connection and backstory in-depth. Exploring that connection is itself both inevitable and welcome as it's been a part of the show's mythology from the start. I'm just not in love with how it decided to get there.

Meanwhile, we've suffered the deaths of two more major characters. Both were pretty shocking and leave quite a void. The first was arguably the most likable character on the show, and the second brought a certain conflict and honor to the table.

And I swear to Baby Jesus that Agent Stahl is possibly one of the most despicable characters ever to be on TV! She's directly or indirectly responsible for ALL THREE major deaths thus far on the show! I wish I could say I love to hate her, but I swear I wanna shoot her every time she walks on-screen!!!

LOVED the Stephen King cameo, btw...as "Bachman", no less!

In addition to Gemma, another nice character to watch is Chief Unsen. I like how he's much more than a cop on the take. He lends a lot of heart to the show. He especially seems to have a soft spot for Gemma. I enjoy watching him, for however long that will last.

Teeg (Tig?) has emerged as a big-time fave. His various eccentricities and complexities constantly entertain. (I loved how he turned all the porcelain dolls, so that they faced the other way! )

Honestly, there's so much to talk about, I don't know what all to say! If there's some particular character or plot point you want to ask my opinion about, ask away! (To be more exact about where I am, they're just about to go to Belfast.)

Meanwhile, the only show I'm watching "live" this summer is the new Scream series on MTV. It's surprisingly good! To be clear, it's not an adaptation of the films at all. It uses a similar setting to the first film and a killer with a similar mask, but there's an all-new cast and mythology. Plus, there's the sense of self-aware humor that made the movies so unique.

Make no mistake, there are two characters who are clearly riffs on Sidney and Randy, and other characters echo some of the archetypes we saw in the films. I've never watched an MTV drama before, but my expectations were low. It's not high art, but it's very entertaining and suspenseful. The acting is pretty good and many of the characters likable. You start to care as characters start to die, and that's a good thing. And it's pretty impressive how the killer's method of terror is modernized to incorporate social media, texting and internet bullying.

Overall, a very watchable weekly series so far through 4 episodes. Not willing to dub it a modern classic, but it's perfect for the summer doldrums when such shows as "The Last Ship" and "Under the Dome" have become unwatchable and have been dropped by me in favor of binge-watching on Netflix.

Hitting a few of the points:

- yeah, those were two other big deaths, with the first one really hitting hard because as you said, he was so damn likeable. "One nut, shit load of balls". The other was a total shock which felt like it came out of left field, and therefore was very effective.

- the actress who plays Agent Stahl is terrific. She nails that part so well and is so true to the part. She truly believes what she is doing is good even when its totally self-centered with no real positive. You can't help but hate her.

- Unser was one of my wife's favorites, possibly her very favorite character. He lends a lot to the show, and he's a good example of how the show thrives by not having every single major character be part of the club. The actor originally won us over by his perfromance at Charlie Utter on Deadwood, where he was my wife's favorite character there. (And *that* is a show you would love).

- The Stephen King cameo is so awesome and so weird, that its got to be my favorite cameo in the entire series! When he walks out with the statue of the foot, it's like Whaaaaaaat?!!!

- I also didn't love the kidnapped baby plotline for reasons you say (and, well, because any parent would feel a lot of discomfort with it). I never really understood the motivations of the original kidnapper, even though he son was just killed. But eventually you do get full explanations for the motivations of Father Kellen Ashby and Jimmy O (both of whom deliver awesome performances).

- Tig really emerges as an awesome part of the cast, doesn't he? You want to hate him for what he did in Season 1, yet they show again and again his good sides, even when he's totally misguided by his loyalty to Clay or his indulgences. Like Unser, he has a real soft spot for Gemma and that makes him even more endearing. He's probably got the best one-liners in the show to on a regular basis.

- BTW, IMO, the Season finale to Season 3 is the single best one of the show, and one of the best season finales ever. You're in for a treat!

Random topics to discuss:

- How scary is Happy? That is a real MC member who was an advisor on the show, and then they decided he was too badass looking not to have in it.

- The actor who plays Bobby has been around forever, usually in Christopher Nolan's films, and here he finally gets a chance to shine. He does a great job too, and I like how his character tries to be the moral center of the club and therefore often is knee-deep in its problems.

- I didn't pay much attention the first time around but since I've watched most of the seasons more than once, I started to realize how amazing the music is. There are some truly beautiful montage sequences where excellent music choices are made.

- I also love the vocabulary the show uses--it has its own language. It's a combination of real MC talk and just the way Kurt Sutter talks (as seen on the Shield). My wife and I still like to bust each other's balls by saying "you better get right with that", "we'll have to handle the blowback", "I did it because I care about this Club!" and other lines you hear a lot.

This is actually on my radar too, and I plan to watch it eventually. I caught the first episode and thought it was pretty solid.

I have a low expectation of MTV original shows too, but that being said, my wife started to watch "Finding Carter" last year, about a teenage girl who discovers her "mother" is actually her kidnapper, and I was surprised at how damn good it was.

Yeah, I was looking forward to him not being "the prospect" anymore. And the other one seemed like he had so much plot to go that it felt really realistic. I mean, how many of us die with all of our plots resolved, right?



I dunno, I think she KNOWS exactly what she is and cares only about her ambition. What she did to Gemma only confirms it.



Not sure if Deadwood's on Netflix. I'll check soon....



Yeah, it was! I kinda wish he'd show up again, but I doubt it.



Yeah, we see the father explain it to the shopkeeper (good actress) who had ties to Jax's dad. Still not crazy about it.

I like Titus Welliver who plays Jimmy (obviously from Lost), but his accent is jarring here and unconvincing, imo.



Absolutely! He gets to where he commands every scene he's in. I never thought I'd like him after the Season 1 thing, but I really do. I'd be curious to see him do other things.



Good! Should be 2 or 3 nights from now!



He just transferred into the Charming crew on my latest watch. Had no idea he was furreal! I hope this means they develop his character some more.



I recognized him particularly as Flass from Batman Begins. I love that his character is an (admittedly bad ) Elvis impersonator on the side! I wonder if he did his own singing? I like his developing sway towards Jax as hings go on.



Absolutely, and it starts with the great theme song! Lots of shows these days don't bother with theme songs and extended title sequences. I'm glad that doesn't include SoA. I've noticed our Ms. Sagal contributes several numbers as well.



Yeah, those are awesome!

Oddly, the first ep didn't blow me away, but I felt it got lots better with subsequent eps. I knew I would check this out because I loved the Scream films (though I've oddly never seen the fourth one). Even though it's a different story, the spirit of it is there with likable characters and ironic self-reference. And plenty of suspense.

There's definitely something more going on her with the killings than the pretty thin motives of the killers in the films. I'm def intrigued.

A fan has been posting episodes of the classic soap The Edge of Night on YouTube. It ended its run in 1984 and reruns haven't been shown on TV since 1989. Edge always placed a greater emphasis on crime and suspense than conventional soaps and less on romance and domestic drama. The show holds up remarkably well.

I'm watching a Different Evil Dead movie each night all weekend, starting with the original.

When I was a kid, I didn't dig the parts that didn't "look" like a regular horror movie. I wanted them to hurry up and get to the gore. Now that I'm older, the far out cinematography is the best part of the movie.

I'm of the rare opinion that Evil Dead and Army of Darkness are better than Evil Dead 2. For some reason, I just can never get into teh second movie.

I'll be watching part 2 tonight for the first time in over 20 years. I hated it the first time i saw it, so it should be interesting.

I would be interested to know what you think. I tried giving it a second watch and still couldn't get into it.

Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn is held up as either the best or the worst of the series depending on your point of view. I'll have to say I'm in the later. Yes, Raimi was innovating a lot of horror comedy with his slapstick, Three Stooges and Looney Tunes callbacks, but the movie's biggest sin is it doesn't fully commit one way or the other. It wants to be either a schlocky b-movie or madcap comedy, but it doesn't balance properly and the middle drags a bit.

Wow, your thoughts are pretty much the exact same as mine, Dave!

The main thing that bothers me about the movie is that the middle of the film is such a slog to get through. Slapstick comedy is fun, but there has to be a story or characters built around it. Watching Ashe get tormented by the undead is funny for about 10 minutes, but after that, I just found myself wanting the movie to get moving again. The end of the movie kicks ass, but it's a lot of work getting there.

Raimi was with a new studio and didn't have rights to the first film anymore, so that's why the first 7 minutes are a quickie "redo" of the first film. It hurts the overall film as it's too rushed, feels nothing like the first film and fails to give Ash proper grounding. In the first Film Ash is the most level-headed of the group, but slowly goes unhinged after all the shit that goes down with the people he cares about. By the time he leaves the basement the second time, he's completely lost it (and there's some great camera work). In ED II, there's none of that build-up and he's inconsistently either batshit crazy or heroic.

Personally I would have been fine with Ash going crazy by himself in the cabin more, if Raimi had just cut loose and went for broke. I also found the entire subplot with the 4 other humans (cannon fodder) to be a drag on the film, not funny, scary or entertaining.

Compare it to Peter Jackson's Brain Dead (AKA Dead/Alive) which is also a gross out horror comedy. That one went completely bananas and is a full feature length film of depraved, hilarious, over-the-top delight.

Wow! Yeah, I caught the final four eps of Season 3 of SoA Saturday night, and that finale was quite the barn-burner! The way it looked like things were going one way and suddenly revealed to be going another way was pretty damn breathtaking! I guess Jax It just brings to my attention that the show very cleverly makes the audience think they know everything while actually holding back on some important details. I like that!

That major death in the finale--wow! While at the same time very satisfying and well-earned, I couldn't help feeling a little sad at the loss. I mean, Easily the biggest death of the series to this point!

I loved how the theme song changed for the duration of the Irish excursion and how events played out with all those storylines. Though I'm still not in love with the kidnapping plot, there's a lot to admire in how it played out. that moment involving the collateral damage with the prospective parents was pretty affecting.

Anyway, I'm two eps deep into Season 4. Some interesting turns already, both expected and unexpected. And Danny frickin' Trejo to boot! Hells to the yeahs!

How about that ending? I loved it for all the things you've said (and others of course). It's definitely a major turning point, which leads to Season 4 where things really start to change at a faster rate.

Yeah, I loved the opening song change too when they were in Ireland. I loved the Ireland episodes and thought they were terrific. The entire cast there--most of them from the show Deadwood also, BTW (including Maureen and Jimmy O) were great.

Season 4 brings in a whole new set of problems and starts to bring to a head long simmering tensions. I can't wait for your reactions!

Oh, and yes, Danny Trejo is THE MAN.

Yeah, tell me about it! I've just seen the mid-Season 4 episode where Clay does a very bad thing to a character that I'm pretty sure every fan of the show really cares about. In a way it's the biggest death yet because it's the first death (well, technically the second from an ep or two before, but that character was pretty new and undeveloped) of someone who wears the SAMCRO cut.

It's funny. I half-expected the Sons to be harmonious for a while after how they came together in Season 3, but Clay really ruined that singlehandedly and swiftly by changing a key principle of how they do business. Add in the thing with the letters that loomed in the S3 finale quickly surfacing and things went to shit very quickly. SoA doesn't fuck around!

After this game-changing episode, it's going to be interesting to see the build-up and spiral. I know (because the internet went crazy at the time) that at some point in S6, I believe. That's the only one I knew about beforehand, though I don't know the circumstances at all. If nothing else, there's still a lot of storyline left for that character, so I'm curious to see the twists and turns from here until then!