I am – Hercules!!
“The Sopranos” Meets “Hamlet” on motorcycles, “Sons of Anarchy” is the new drama from longtime “Shield” writer-producer Kurt Sutter about a doobie-loving California biker gang trafficking in illegal weapons. It stars Charlie Hunnam (“Undeclared”) in the Hamlet role of Jax, Ron Perlman (“Hellboy”) as his Claudius-esque stepfather Clay and Katey Sagal (“8 Simple Rules”) as his Gertrude-y mother Gemma. Clay isn’t really Jax’s uncle, but Jax’s late father used to run Clay’s titular motorcycle club, so there is a pronounced family dynamic. Sexy Maggie Siff (who turns up sometimes as Rachel Menken on “Mad Men”) turns up here as an Ophelian local doctor who apparently slept with a Son or two before she fled to med school. “Shield” fans will be interested to learn he Sons are all arguably bigger badasses than Vic Mackey, if badassery is what one craves. Apropos the Danish monarchy’s Nordic heritage, the Sons go about their business like Vikings, beating, burning, clubbing and impaling the forces that impede their conquests with a brutality that might send detective Vic scurrying beneath bedsheets like a frightened toddler. (If you’re left at the end of the pilot confused as to who “Sam Crow” is, know that SAMCRO in an acronym for “Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original.” ) What’s good? Hunnam. The plentiful beatdowns. The pleas from Asian Elvis’ dressing room. The music. Guest star Drea DeMatteo’s first scene. The name of the gang. What’s not so good? When Jax suggests getting out of the gun business, he should maybe suggest an alternative or two. Sagal’s showdowns are too much like something out of “Las Vegas.” The joke about giving a deer a blowjob doesn't even work on a shock-value level. Having sampled the first two episodes, am I willing to roll a little longer with these guys? At least until new episodes of “South Park” return next month. Reviews are mixed: USA Today give it one and a half stars (out of four) and says:

… The first two episodes are littered with flashes of violence and basic cable's fondness for mild profanity. Still, in its early going, Sons is mostly interested in establishing the Sons as a tight-knit community — at the expense of plot and sense.… Sons wants us to care about their hopes and struggles, but gives no clue as to why we might do so.

TV Guide gives it a 6 (out of 10) and says:

… Well-made, but heavy-handed and hardly inviting. …

The Wall Street Journal says:

… even viewers who can overlook the gang's psychotic propensity for mayhem and murder, and see them as anti-heroes, will surely notice through the squalor that these guys are all total losers. …

The Associated Press says:

… With "Sons of Anarchy," FX is adding to its roster of outstanding dramas … Raw and often bitterly funny …

The New York Times says:

… it isn’t half-bad. … Mr. Perlman is a problematic link in the show — he’s performing all ’30s gangster on us. But, as with “The Shield,” the casting is otherwise quite impressive. … call me a girl, but so far I’m enjoying it more as a soap opera than as an addendum to “The Wild One.” …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… There are moments that require you not to think too hard, and some of the black humor doesn't overcome its fundamental nastiness. But on the whole, it's a superior package, intelligently constructed and handsomely executed. …

The Chicago Tribune says:

… It's tough to follow in the footsteps of "The Shield," and though "Sons" has its moments, it's quite a bit darker than the cop drama, and it remains to be seen if its characters will ultimately be as compelling as Vic Mackey and his crew. …

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

… a real gem … Sutter shows in the first two episodes that he's a storyteller who can lay down an intriguing narrative framework.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… I got a chance to see the first episode of "Sons of Anarchy" this week and I enjoyed it. I won't review it until I can see more episodes (and watch it while writing a story), but my first impression was positive.…

The Boston Herald says:

… You can’t do better than draw on the Bard for inspiration, but you probably couldn’t do worse than FX in adaptating his material for “Sons of Anarchy” … These big wheels don’t spin for anyone.

Variety says:

… Eager to occupy the mob turf vacated by "The Sopranos," the series features an intriguing cast and introduces a bleak new world. Once that's accomplished, though, there's not much momentum to the story, other than fits of nastiness designed to establish that this is one dangerous group of hombres. … Admittedly, "The Shield" felt a trifle cliched at the outset too -- corrupt cops in L.A.? -- before finding novel ways to develop and prolong its cat-and-mouse scenario. Given that, there's still modest hope for "Sons of Anarchy" -- the disclaimer being that before the series gets much further down the road, somebody better check the steering.

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… the relentlessly grim and wrenching "Anarchy" is what you get when the thuggery quotient travels off the scale and it becomes nearly impossible to stomach spending time in the same room with the savage characters populating it. … Disturbing and graphic and almost casually sadistic, the series breaks from the starting gate without the darkly comic edge that defined so many on "Sopranos." Everyone here is either too vile or weak to work up much compassion for. …

10 p.m. Wednesday. FX.

The First Five: Now $25.99 Each!!

$4.99: Miller’s Crossing!! 195-Title Big DVD Dale!!