Sons of Anarchy
Episodes 1-5
Starring Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman, Katey Sagal
FX Network
Wednesdays @ 10 PM

When The Shield finishes up its final season in 2009, FX will have some mighty big shoes to fill in its lineup. As the hit series is winding down and their other top hit shows pushed back into 2009, FX hopes the new series, Sons of Anarchy, will catch fire and some viewers in the process.

The series, created by one of the writers of The Shield, revolves around the day-to-day lives of a motorcycle gang in a fictional town in California called Charming. Known as the Sons of Anarchy, the gang has their hands in everything, whether it is gun running to various other gangs in the area or organizing a town fund-raiser. The gang is led by Clay Morrow, president of Sons, and Jax Teller, son of the original founder of Sons of Anarchy. Jax’s life enters a crossroad when his pregnant, drugged up ex-wife is sent to the hospital after an overdose on Crank. With his son born premature, Jax does what he can to not think about the situation and along the way, comes across his father’s old journals. The journals highlight his father’s original vision for the biker gang, a vision that does not line up to its current incarnation.

Those quick to judge a book by its cover might automatically assume this is The Sopranos with motorcycles (and no one says it’s not), but unlike the hit HBO series, this series’ origins come from the mind of one of the world’s greatest writers.

The series is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but those familiar with this work will notice similarities immediately. Though Jax’s father, John, is dead, his journals continue to guide him much like Hamlet’s father spirit did for Hamlet in his story. Clay married Jax’s mom Gemma almost immediately after John’s death, creating the Stepfather-Stepson-Mother relationship present in Hamlet. The idea of playing out the series in the same fashion of the Shakespeare story is a pretty lofty goal and if it is able to be pulled off properly, Sons could have the potential to be the next Shield. That is, if viewers can stick around past the standard, cliché storylines.

One of the reasons FX has enjoyed so much of its success on basic cable is due in large part to its gritty storylines, graphic violence, and realistic dialogue. It is staple of FX shows but after seeing it in many of the FX shows, the novelty does wears off. Want to see a man stab a man in his neither regions with a pool stick? Or how about a man getting his tattoo burned off with a blowtorch? It is all here in this series but at this point, is anyone shocked by this or better yet, do they even care?

The storyline is also too on the nose. With the way both Gemma and Clay plot to maintain their hold on Jax, it is more than likely that one or both individuals had something to do with John’s death. Storyline aside, the actors are pretty good and work with what they are given. Extra points go to Katey Sagal, who plays Gemma with enough sexual appeal and just overall bitchery to make her fun to watch. She is definitely the one you love to hate. Perlman basically phones in his role, playing Hellboy with the makeup. Charlie Hunnam, a former model, tries his hand at acting in the Jax role and so far, while not fantastic, is holding his own in scenes with Sagal and Perlman.

While this new series has nothing new to show, it is the untapped potential of being a truly engrossing Greek tragedy that will surely keep fans glued to their seats.