Sons of Anarchy

Sons of Anarchy

Sons Patch

Sons of Anarchy is an American crime drama TV series, the show follows a unique motorcycle club called the "Sons of Anarchy" in a town called Charming (California in the show).

The show is quite violent it features a lot of killing, physical violence and sex scenes. The show mainly follows Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) and his immediate family.

With 7 seasons made it is an eventful and long series, with a lot of death and action involved, if you enjoy an action packed show then this is for you although prepare for upset if your get attached to characters within a show.


The first 3 seasons really pull you into the show, I watched them in a short time and then paced myself over the next 4 seasons. The first 3 seasons really set the pace for the show and gives you a solid idea of what its all about, I personally enjoyed seasons 1-3 the best, don't get me wrong the later seasons are still good but it was just my personal preference.

Seasons 1-3

Jackson Teller

Jax Teller has a premature child to his ex-wife who is a drug addict, when this happens he stumbles upon something of great significance to his dead father who used to lead his beloved motorcycle club, this creates a lot of inner thought, pain and confusion for Jax which later fuels feuds with other gang members.

The acting from Charlie Hunnam is really good, you may already know him from the original Green Street film. He really sets the show for you and you begin to like his character more each episode.

Jacksons mother - Gemma (Katey Sagal) is crazy and threatens to kill Wendy (Jacksons ex-wife) if she tries to see her own new-born child, this is typical behaviour for Gemma and you will see this throughout she really adds an extreme parental paranoia to the show which creates a great viewing!

SAMCRO moving out on the beloved Motorcycles.

With the second season seeing a new group come to the town, its creates tensions within the group and makes them uneasy and the new arrivals called LOAN (League of American Nationalists) seeking to rid the town of the motorcycle club. The LOAN group are basically white supremists and cause a lot of problems in the town shortly after their arrival causing some of SAMCRO's members (the motorcycle club) to get arrested and spend time in the cells.

Within each season major problems unravel and create an exciting viewing, usually in conflict over guns, money and rival gangs. The lifestyle that they live is like the stereotypical outlaw - constant drinking, fighting, drug abusing and plenty of women one thing I found interesting is that they were allowed to cheat on their "old lady" which was basically the guys girlfriends on wives and they allowed them to have other women at there own will. This is really shown in the first couple

Clay (Ron Perlman) & Jax (Charlie Hunnam)

seasons when its constant to give you an idea of how they live, the parties they have are crazy.

With season 3 the law enforcement really impacts the club and tries to make backhand deals with them to meet each others terms, Jax's son has been kidnapped and SAMCRO are looking everywhere to find who done it. They end up in Ireland visiting the Irish branch of SAMCRO, where the IRA (Irish Republican Army) have a strong foothold and they run the gun running in the area they cross paths. Some of the gang get hauled away to Jail for a short term due to a bad deal going sour.

Season 3 (Part of the Gang)

The club has its own ranking and authority system with the top being President, Vice President, Sgt. at arms etc.. it creates authority and jobs within the club to bring some order throughout the outlaw group.

Without giving away too much of the show, I would say it is really good and very enjoyable to the viewer, I would recommend watching if when you have the time. 7 seasons does seem a bit daunting to start with but it really is worth the watching as the show is highly reviewed and has won many awards!

Constant violence, gun fights, murder, alcohol and drug fuelled partying must be fun to watch right?

My personal favourite character is Chibbs (Tommy Flanagan) who is Scottish, having a strong Glaswegian accent in the middle of all the American accents really enforces his character and makes you enjoy what he says as its so unusual to have a Scotsman in a big hit American TV show. Throughout the seasons he is well known for saying "Jackie boy" to call Jax and you really appreciate the home comforts of the accent in the show I would consider it a unique strategic USP from FX.

Sons of Anarchy Trailer - Season 1

Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers is a 10 part mini-series which followed Easy Company (101st Airborne Division) of the American Infantry Regiment. It is based on a true story of each individuals soldiers experience of the war and have documentaries of the real living soldiers speaking about the war and their comrades.

Spielberg(left) Hanks (right)

The series follows the company from basic training all the way into the drop into major European conflicts, through until the end of the war in Japan. The interviews with the real soldiers who were in the battles really bring character and reliability to the series which made me really enjoy it. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks who also worked together on Saving Private Ryan and that was a spectacular film so you can expect the same from these 10 episodes they made for this.


The events are dramatized for the viewers entertainment but they really happened in WW2, each episode is dedicated to a certain part of Easy company's war effort. The show follows the company through thick and thin, from Carentan to Bastogne, it is superb how they done this and the effects are second to none! If you have a home cinema system I highly recommend using it for this you would think you are in the battle when you hear the shells splitting the tree's in Bastogne.

Easy company being shelled upon in Bastogne.

Mjr. Richard Winters

The quality of the acting in the series is amazing especially from Major Richard Winters (1918-2011) who is played by Damian Lewis who is a big time star on various other roles, he really brings you in to love the show and the characters, you are on the edge every episode hoping they survive through the next firefight! The accuracy of the show was stated as 3-4 higher than any Hollywood movie that was released on the war this was due to all the fine knitting being done and the veterans were even on set to confirm accuracy, the veterans got to watch the episode before any were released to see if they approved first and foremost which was really important I believe as they are portraying their lives in the field where they lost important people in the war effort.

If you enjoy action packed war films then this is honestly one of the best things you will ever watch on TV relating to the war, I was gripped when I started and watched the whole 10 episodes in no time! I liked the combination of it being historically accurate as well as entertaining enough for the viewer to enjoy, pretty much like a action packed informative documentary on the war.

Its not all fun as you would know, it does show horrible facts of the war, good soldiers dying and its a graphic eye-opening viewing throughout the show, the one part that got me was when they found a concentration camp the accuracy of it was unbelievable it turned my stomach, it was like watching Schindler's list all over again, good viewing but hard to think that this actually happened.

Easy Company finding a Concentration Camp.

Easy Company found this camp all locked and the German soldiers had evacuated it and left because of the allied presence in the area, so the prisoners were left to die, houses burning, bodies piled up burning, children starving, I don't know how they done it but the people who played the parts of the prisoners looked the part you can see just every single bone on there body in the scene as they obviously had no food or water and were slowly dying away, its a horrible sight but at the same time an amazing informative viewing of history.

The real Easy Company (Band of Brothers).

I would definitely recommend watching, its fairly cheap on Blu-Ray and will keep you amused for a fair while! Lots of interesting facts on the Blu-Ray also if its your cup of tea.

Band of Brothers Official Site

Band of Brothers Official Trailer

Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders is a crime drama TV series which is based upon a Birmingham gang that operated in the aftermath of the first world war, the series is based upon true stories of the gang.

The show focuses on the gang and the main leader who is Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy), it is really exciting as the world is dramatically changing after the war and the gang is taking full advantage of this.

Within the first season the gang are under constant badgering from the Chief Inspector who has come over from Belfast to Birmingham to help clean the city up and find the location of a large numbers of arms that have went missing as these were supposed to be shipped abroad and Winston Churchill had assigned the job of finding them to the chief inspector.

Gang Leader Tommy Shelby

If you like the idea of "Gangster crime" then this is certainly for you, gangsters in suits all living a high fast paced life looking for a good profit and to not get imprisoned. They do a lot of crimes that takes them in a wide range of environments which takes them from local areas, to factories and to horse racing days.

Within the cast a lot of high held names come up like - Cillian Muprhy, Tom Hardy and Tom Flanagan, all known for very good roles especially Tom Hardy playing the rough hard man roles, he really shows it within this show.

What I think really does well for the show is because it is set in the early 1920's roughly and how the times were different really attracted me to the show as it was a completely different age. With the dress sense all very formal it makes the crime they are doing look very good and attractive its like every kids dream when they have a vivid imagination.

They have made 2 seasons so far of the show and with a 3rd in production it is safe to say the show is popular and will hopefully continue for a couple more, the way the show is portrayed really helps you get excited when you are watching it as you really must know what happens in the next episode.

Tommy's Crew at a Confrontation with another crew.

With competition high it is crucial for Tommy to run his crew properly and to make sure he has a good income and protection is good for his men and the families. They operate out of houses in Birmingham and have a favourite local pub to arrange and discuss new business, Tommy has always had an eye for getting the pub as his own.

Peaky Blinders in the pub discussing business.

With the new local inspector hot on his the tail of the gang, he gets an inside informant in the local pub to try and get access to Tommy and sensitive information on upcoming jobs but this proves difficult for the woman to do and she develops feelings for Tommy but he doesn't know she is secretly working for his majesty's government.

What really does well for the show is the really good strong acting within it, it really makes you believe what you are watching is live and happening, it pulls you into the era and you wish you could have seen it first hand in person, it is a great example of strong British historical television.

The real "Peaky Blinders" gang.

Peaky Blinders Official Facebook

Netflix - Peaky Blinders

Hand of God

Hand of God

Hand of God

Hand of God is an American drama which focuses on a Corrupt Judge Pernell Harris (Ron Perlman) who has a psychotic breakdown after his son shoots himself in the head and leaving himself in a life threatening coma. Pernell was apparently "Reborn" and believes his son is talking to him while he is in a coma,  while his daughter in law is beginning to get ready to pull the plug on her husband as she believes there is no hope for him coming back as the doctors say that also, Pernell being very powerful pulls a lot of strings as he is in high standing to keep his son alive on the machines as he believes he will waken. If you like the idea of an insane show you can't keep track of then this is for you!





With a conman Preacher taking large sums of cash from the Judge he is feeding him ideas about his son and when god will talk to him next, this plays on his mind as he already has marital problems and an addiction to a "call girl". His status in the community is very high and people need him in his place to ensure a new housing project can be signed off so a lot of his wrong doings are ignored.

The Judge being "Born Again"

The reason his son shot himself was he was made to watch his wife get raped by a masked man and couldn't live with it, this was a targeted attack which the judge breaks the law on finding out who the rapist was, he believes his son will waken once the guilty man is dead or imprisoned. With Pernell's wife also being a mischievous lady with a cannabis addiction it all adds to the picture, she wants her son to be let go and unplugged but it must be Pernell's way or none at all, he has a constant battle with all family members and others in order to save his son, he has visions and hears his voice telling him what he must do next.

Furious Feud between Pernell and his stepdaughter.

He hires a convict as his servant as he is also a god worshiper and believes Pernell is sending him on "gods path", he hires him to kill people and anything required and he will do it as he believes he is doing right by god. Pernell even orders him to kill a local cop because he believes he was involved with the case.

With corruption happening regular and the threat of Pernell losing his judging positon because of a poor case call it creates an exciting watch for the viewer, the mysterious vibe from the show is one I haven't experienced before and this interested me a lot.

Seasons

The show has 1 season made so far it was a very exciting first season I must admit, the second season has been given a go ahead by Amazon as it is an amazon exclusive program. I was excited to know it was renewed as it ended on an very irritating thirst for more vibe. The main character was very well known this is what made me try the show and it was definitely worth the watching I must admit.

Thickening Plot

Con Artist Preacher with Pernell and his assistant

With Pernell having "public" shows of insanity it is damaging his credibility, he has visions and starts acting crazy and speaking "tongue" when in the company of others, this is making it difficult for Pernell's corrupt business partner the mayor of the town to get the permission all set up for the new project that will bring plenty of wealth and prospect to the town. It is an alcohol, drug fuelled, call girl filled series that makes you believe this is what goes on in high government levels especially in America. The local town is corruptly run by the major players in high places and they bargain with each other over various things that they require at high end weekends away. The preacher is an ex drug abuser and has relapsed and has to control his urges while hiding this from his assistant/girlfriend as they are trying to con as much money out of people as they can, Pernell is gullible to his ways and falls to his every trick causing havoc for his wife and others.

Hand of God main cast

I would highly recommend trying the show as it was different from anything I have ever  watched before, I will definitely be tuning in for season 2.

Hand of God - Amazon TV

Official Trailer Season 1

Prison Break

Prison Break

Prison Break

Prison Break is an American drama that was aired on Fox TV for four seasons. It is based on Michael Scofield who is a big time structural engineer who has to commit a crime to gain entry to a local prison as his brother is incarcerated in the prison allegedly for a murder he never committed. Michael (Wentworth Miller) had access to the blueprints of the prison and has a really intelligent photographic memory so he then get the secret labyrinth of blueprints tattooed on his body hidden within a design so only he can see what it really means, this is his plan to break out his brother before his death row sentence as he can't stand to see his brother die. Immediately from the start it turns into an exciting race against time for Michael to rescue his brother from getting the chair.

Michael Scofield's Story

Secret Tattoo on Michael

Michael is a structural engineer, living a very highly lavish life. Once he learned about his brother who had always been a problem child he felt like he had to devise a plan to help save him. Using his resources he creates an elaborate plan and this is unearthed throughout the series and you realise how smart the plan actually is.

Lincoln Burrow's Story

Lincoln in Fox River

Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) is a typical problem child grown up thug, he gets accused of the murder of the vice presidents brother - Terence Steadman. He is wrongly convicted although his past never helped his plea as he claims he is innocent. You find out through the show that people from high above have something to do with his incarceration into Fox River Penitentiary.

The Show

Season 1 Cast

The show starts quickly with how Michael gets sent to prison and how he has shocked his brother with committing a crime of armed robbery in a bank to get sent to Fox River. He tries to see Lincoln as much as he can within the prison to start getting the plan in place, Michael carefully sourced out unique individuals to his plan that were in the prison already.




With the start of the program you get to find out the essential characters and what role they play in

Part of the Crew

Michaels plan, within the first season it is all based within Fox River and how they are going to break out of the prison. The show is like a much more action thrilled Shawshank Redemption, it keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting to watch the next episode. A lot of problems arise for the team and this causes chaos and quick thinking from the recruited members of the escape team.

FBI Agent "Mahone"

Season 2 you find the start of life on the outside of the prison, with tensions high between the inmates you find a lot of problems arising between the group and people start to go separate ways from each other. Throughout the season you find the police and the FBI hot on their trail and it creates a very exciting watch for the viewer.

With DB Coopers money and a lot of the group chasing it for their future life plans it causes turmoil between the inmates, turning them against each other so they can have all the money for themselves. It proves an exciting watch as it is a substantial sum of cash they unearth.

Meanwhile the people who imprisoned Lincoln are trying to kill him and Michael, these hitmen work
for "The Company", in turn it spirals round and they can't seem to kill the brothers. With the hitmen on the tail of the brothers and the FBI agent Mahone it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to maintain survival without being caught or being killed.

With Season 3 the brothers find themselves in Panama City and this is where more complications

The brothers in Panama

occur for them as they need access to someone's knowledge who is imprisoned in a prison n Panama called Sona.

Without giving too much away I would highly recommend watching Prison Break as it is one of the best TV series' I have ever watched, it isn't too long an episode and within each episode it is gripping enough to keep you entertained which is very difficult for a show to constantly maintain. What I think a major strong point of the show is the constant reoccurring cast which lives strong throughout each seasons which users can relate to as they by then will have favourite members of the cast and this entices them to watch more.

Prison Break Official Site

Prison Break Season 1 Trailer

Please feel free to comment on the show and I will be sure to answer any questions if you have any regarding the show or my blog.

Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad

Breaking bad is a excellent gripping show that focuses on a high school chemistry teacher, he is diagnosed with a type of lung cancer and cant afford any treatments on his current salary so as paths cross he runs into an old student he taught who is creating Crystallised Methamphetamine (Crystal Meth) to make sure his family will be able to survive when he dies of his illness. With the dying chemistry teacher (Walter White) working with a drug dealer they end up creating the best product on the street due to Walters knowledge of chemistry and this causes a serious uproar in America and Mexico. Walter is quickly transferred from an innocent family man into a hard criminal who has to quickly adjust to his new life, he has to find balance between creating the drug, selling it and up keeping his family life whilst finding a reasonable excuse as to where he could get money for his treatment.

Crime Hardened Walter White

With Walter working with his former student Jessy Pinkman (Aaron Paul) it initially become difficult as he is reckless and is in the business for different reasons from Walter, he also takes the substance where as Walter just is making a means to an end from it. Straight from the start you are gripped into this unique world and find yourself imagining yourself in their shoes imagining how good a life of luxury would be from the crime, I think this adds to the excitement of watching the show as you are constantly wanting Walter to succeed and tough challenges constantly arise throughout the show including covering Jessy's back from his own mistakes.

Status

Aaron Paul & Bryan Cranston at the Golden Globes

The show became widely accepted and recognised as one of the greatest television series' of all time this was shown with a wide range of awards ranging from Golden Globe's to Televisions critic's choice awards. The show was even entered into the Guinness World Records Book in 2013 for the most critically acclaimed show of all time.

Seasons

The show had 5 seasons which ran from 2008-2013 which saw worldwide recognition for the amazing televisions that they had created. I would highly recommend it if you haven't already seen the show as it is very gripping and draws you into the show. It is like the ultimate fantasy of making a quick buck to just quit everything else this is effectively what Walter White is doing to provide for his family but throughout seems to enjoy what being know as Heisenberg and what being the best around does for him. Jessy and Water become a major player within the drug game very quickly and it is to much of the despise of Walters half brother who is a DEA agent and is hunting down this "Heisenberg" who he has no idea is right under his nose. This adds a sense of thrill into the mix with that as Water has to watch what he says and does at family outings which become often regular due to his illness.

With the large stacks of cash now flowing in for both Jessy and Walter it was time for them to find a way to launder the money so they could spend it legitimately and the find a crooked lawyer called Saul Goodman to help them with this. After the 5 seasons a spin off show was created that featured Saul Goodman it was called "Better Call Saul", personally I never ventured into this as spin offs are usually worse than the original series and I never wanted to tarnish the show in my eyes.

If you are looking for some new viewing then this is definitely worth a watching, some episodes can be slower than others but this is mainly due to filling in crucial story lines but this is made up from when they start making millions of dollars from one batch of meth amphetamine. It the story of a hard working class man being thrown down by a cancer battle and see's one way out and that is to sell drugs to provide for his family.

Breaking Bad Official Website

Breaking Bad Trailer Season 1 Extended

Dexter

Dexter

Dexter

Dexter is an American crime drama mystery, it forms around a forensic blood splatter analyst for Miami Police Department. His name is Dexter and is played by Michael C. Hall, the character is brilliantly played as the character has a hidden life behind his normal police work with Miami PD. He had a very unique upbringing and this has shaped him into a serial killer, but the catch is he only kills those who meet a certain criteria usually working around his job as when guilty people somehow get let off the hook with lack of evidence he will devise a plan to make sure they pay for what they have done. within the show he refers to his other side as his "Dark Passenger" and even with this name you can see how gripping and interesting the show is from the start. The show was created from the novel's written by Jeff Lindsay.  8 seasons have been released so far for Dexter but it could be possible for a comeback if certain actors are met, a lot of long time fans were disappointed with the finale and would have preferred if it was done differently.

Dexter Cast Mid Seasons

Dexter pulls you in from the start and make you really love his character as he is innocent in everyone's eyes within the show which is an excellent cover from his secret life. His "Dark Passenger" must follow a code of honour otherwise he will not be able to make the kill.  He has to find a balance between his normal life and keeping his cover and his hidden life which become difficulty with his over attached sister who also works at Miami PD. Throughout the first season you get a feel for the characters and the sort of high end CSI scenes that are always exciting where they are looking after normal criminals and Dexter is helping with his analyst skillset.

Dexter's Playful Side

From a Marketing view on the show, Fox TV used a very unique and bold campaign when they brought it to the UK - Text messages were sent to the potential viewers and were given a personalised Dexter experience as they were sent emails with videos etc. within them and this was all linked to what's in the show! Unfortunately for Fox it was treated as spam although it was actually peoples friends and colleagues who would get these messages and emails sent to them through a website released for the show called - Ice Truck (Dexter). The campaign did raise some awareness on the show for Fox.

Major Twists

Throughout the show you start to learn about Dexter's mysterious past just as he learns it himself which is a constant thrill! You wont be able to watch just one episode of it you will find yourself watching the next and the next...

The main set of the show is constantly on the Police Department and how Dexter's life revolves around it, he doesn't have much of a personal life at the start except for hunting his prey and getting the kill. Throughout the show it has a small set of main characters which you begin to enjoy the part they play in the show, it is really gripping when Dexter is on the verge of being caught either from a stranger or from his own PD!

If you enjoy the gripping pace of crime drama shows then I would highly recommend this as it has just the right amount of edge of the seat drama!

Dexter Official Website

Dexter Season 1 Trailer

Dexter in a makeshift Kill Room