Sons of Anarchy

Welcome to the wild American west that's still outside the law. This show follows a present-day motorcycle club called the Sons of Anarchy as they sell illegal weapons, fight turf wars with rival gangs, and try to stay one step ahead of the law and keep their small California town Charming just the way they like it.

The story driving the show is basically Hamlet. I hope it doesn't mean that everyone ends up dead, although right now the club is up to its ears in problems with the ATF, the Aryan Brotherhood, the IRA, and their own infighting as the balance of power tilts from the club's president to its VP.

Here is Jax (played by Charlie Hunnam), a.k.a. Hamlet, complete with skull so he can talk to his dad.

Is this show realistic? I hope real motorcycle clubs aren't like this. The show's violence is as sadistic as that in Game of Thrones; credibility and retaliation mean everything to these guys. It's almost more appalling because it's modern day and all too relatable. If the show were realistic it would also mean there's a huge underground network of guns, drugs, and sex in the U.S. Sadly, that much is probably true. I watch in fascination ("oh god, he's not going to...oh sh*t! that must hurt") but I have not the smallest desire to experience this world.

Ultimately the show is downright compelling for several reasons. The first is that I find myself rooting for people who are doing bad things and it's fascinating to see how messed up my moral compass gets. The second is that alliances and enemies shift almost every episode, which makes for a bevy of plot twists and dramatic reveals. The third is that the comedic relief is so intense and so incredibly funny. There is no humor in Game of Thrones; everything just always gets worse. The writers in Sons build the tension to a breaking point and when they throw in a gag sequence and you laugh as hard as you can to wash the pain away.