OFF THE WIRE
Written by Digits
clutchandchrome.com
A new television show rode onto the small screen in September 2009 which was full of violence and controversy setting its storyline firmly in the world of motorcycle gangs. Producers and writers could only hope talented acting and clever writing would attract and keep bikers afraid of a stereotype backlash from the non-riding public. Clutch and Chrome goes behind the scenes and rides through the series critics have come to love and viewers have flocked too.
The latest television drama to enter the world of two-wheels isn’t so much about the motorcycle but the characters who ride them, and in this case the gang members who wreak havoc from the saddle of their steel steeds.
Coming from the same network that brought a no holds barred police drama ‘The Shield’, FX’s new series ‘Sons of Anarchy’ doesn’t just use motorcycles as props but sets the story in the dark world of motorcycle gangs and immerses its troubled characters in interweaving plotlines.
To read the initial series synopsis on paper, ‘Sons of Anarchy’ could have been dismissed as ‘Grandson of the Wild One’, but that would dumb down a cleverly written series and do a great disservice to the talented cast. Following a confused son trying to find his place in life as well as coming to terms with the mafia-style motorcycle gang family business. At first glance its as if Marlon Brando had stuck around at the end of The Wild One, married the waitress he had a crush on and after a little bit of begetting, we arrive at the present day of the Sons of Anarchy.
But the first five minutes of the FX show (which premiered on September 3rd 2008) wiped away any possible similarities or comparisons, with the 'Sons of Anarchy' motorcycle club more resembling those targeted by the DEA than any past generation counterparts. If media time were twisted and the Sons of Anarchy met Marlon Brando’s Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on the street, they would probably fall off their bikes with laughter, either from the 1950’s outlaws stealing something as silly as a racing trophy or the group’s dapper hats and jackets.
The story of 'Sons of Anarchy' has continued to maintain gritty and classical Shakespeare undertones through the series as the storyline storms through a one smart plotline after another, rewarding viewers paying attention with hints that everything is not as it appears. ‘Sons of Anarchy’ isn’t your typical motorcycle television show with chiseled actors sporting stubble and riding a showroom Harley. Creator and Executive Producer/Writer Kurt Sutter creates a world of characters ripped from that one-percenters club in Anytown, USA located in the bad part of town casual bikers steer clear of. Club members wear their colors constantly, proudly and even while they’re having sex! The men in ‘Sons of Anarchy’ smoke and drink too much, appear rumpled and unshaven with hair that hasn’t been washed this side of a week.
The show's sharp scripts attracted at least one of the leading men.
"It’s incredibly smart, very, very, very vivid, completely ungratuitous for a show’s that as hardcore and violent and explosive and radical behavior, these are not your average conservative Republicans, these guys are ruthless and badass," say's Ron Perlman who plays the club's leader Clay Morrow. "The way it’s depicted is very organic, which you could only do if you’re a brilliant screenwriter, as Kurt Sutter is, and as an actor you know you’re always going to be supported by—you’re never going to be made to look gratuitous or silly because everything is incredibly well supported in a very organic and very brilliant way."
One has to wonder that the time saved by not making the cast look Hollywood beautiful is surely lost and even multiplied for the hours it must take the make-up department to adorn the actors with the multitude of large, complicated tattoo’s every character sports. Between how they walk with casual confidence to the commanding glances thrown around, the actors aren’t playing motorcycle gang members so much as they are the ‘Sons of Anarchy’.
Although the cast all ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles, the bikes are toned down and dirty enough to park outside of any clubhouse. Short on fairings and abundantly matt black the sparce bike ‘bling’ comes in the form of gas tanks custom painted in the gang’s colors or with the occasional skull, a vanity common to many bikers. Even down to the novelty lids the members begrudgingly wear to satisfy a helmet mandatory state, authenticity appears to be the rule of the show. Producers not only have road captains on set, but also a member from a self-described motorcycle gang acting as a consultant for directors as well as actors.
"We have a tech advisor who’s a member of the Oakland Chapter of the Hells Angels named D.L.," says Ron Perlman,"he’s one of the most famous guys in that club, and whenever I get a break in the action, I sit and chat with him."
Speaking of actors, who are all these people with such familiar faces?
Firstly, any role you’ve seen them perform before ‘Sons of Anarchy’ feels like some acting exercise with everyone on screen fulfilling the intelligent script and its well-written lines. If good scripts stretch acting muscles the 'Sons of Anarchy' makes each actor a thespian body-builder. Nearly every character is asked to go from a cold stone stare to unrepentant violence in a matter of moments. As if taken from real life biker conversations, the dialogue is casually clever with actors delivering it bitingly perfect. In fact, so much information is squeezed into every scene and exchanges, casual viewing could easily lead to a well used backward button on the TiVo remote control.
Taking the lead role is an actor well known to European audiences for his work in a British drama, Queer as Folk, Charlie Hunnam plays ‘Jax’ the well-liked son trying to balance the demands of the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club with his own personal morals. But as with all of the cleverly complicated characters created by Sutter, Jax goes from disarming with a smile or quip to outbursts so violent other members have to pull him off his unfortunate victim. Of course there’s a perverse street justice angle to every beating, but the brutality stops viewers from putting Hunnam’s character in any type of box.
However, the sparkling smile obviously works its magic as apparently every female in the town of Charming either wants to or has slept with the young but respected member of the club.
One of the characters to watch is Gemma Teller-Morrow played by Katey Sagal. She appears to be a loving mother to Jax, devoted wife to Clay (the leader of the Sons of Anarchy) but different and not necessarily ‘Martha Stewart’ sides of her personality come out to further the ever-moving plot. Like a smooth run through the gears as you pull away from the lights, Katey Sagal effortlessly adds layers to her character in surprising moments where she easily steals scenes.
Hollywood experts often say a big actor is needed for a powerful role with the term used for presence, power and commanding a scene just by being there. Ron Perlman does all of this playing Clay Morrow, the current leader of the Sons of Anarchy from low key scenes in parks and diners, to telling a corrupt policeman just how future illegal agreements will play out.
Famous for his roles in Beauty and the Beast, Enemy at the gate and Hellboy 1 and 2, Ron Perlman takes the violent, scheming and vindictive Clay from the script to the screen with a natural ease, playing a conductor leading a symphony of illegal activities.
As mentioned before, every actor finds their rhythm in the unique character they’ve been written; Mitch Pileggi known for his role as Assistant Director Skinner in the X-Files perfectly falls into his white supremacist character who leads a rival gang, Drea de Matteo last seen as the sister on Joey uses the little screen time she has convincingly as Jax’s junkie ex-wife and Sprague Grayden transforms from the sweet school teacher in Jericho to a struggling wife of a former gang member trying to stop her husband from going back to his ‘brotherhood’.
Passing the biker test...
As smart as the writing may be and as sharply as the show is directed, bikers tuning into FX will most likely wonder how many of the actors rode before starring in ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ and how much of the riding are they actually doing in the show?
Aside from Mark Boone (Bobby Munson) and Charlie Hunnam (Jax Teller) no one in the cast had ridden a motorcycle before shooting. But the riding actors didn't necessarily have it easy either, Hunnam's motorcycle of choice is a sportsbike and not the cruisers used in the series.
As mentioned earlier, all the motorcycles used in ‘Sons of Anarchy’ are Harley-Davidsons and word from the set is that the bikes may look warn and battered because they actually were. It seems everyone had their embarrassing moments and actor Johnny Lewis’ (Half-sack Epps) came when he managed to drop his motorcycle twice in twenty minutes while hardly moving during the first series. Just as with anyone who has had a similar experience, the only thing injured was his pride.
The entire riding cast received motorcycle instruction and the production crew has an experienced road captain to give ongoing advice and hints. Clutch and Chrome was told that everyone does all of their own riding in the show with only Hunnam and Perlman prohibited by the production’s insurance policy from riding during stunt scenes.
It wasn’t surprising to learn that most of the actors who didn’t ride before starting on ‘Sons of Anarchy’ have taken it on as a passion off of the set as well.
Riding to enjoyment
When the general public watch ‘Sons of Anarchy’ they’ll most likely mentally paint all bikers with the lawlessness seen on the screen and some may switch off. Indeed, bikers who are sensitive to being painted with the 'motorcycle gang' brush could take insult to the way riders are portrayed and not watch the pilot in its entirety.
There's no doubt however bikers or not, the viewers who make the effort to watch any episode for any length of time will want to stick around and see where the intriguing story leads. As far as television drama goes, there hasn’t been anything like Sons of Anarchy and the show continues to stand out, if not simply for its great acting and sharp writing.
Now this article is written with the bold disclaimer that no one in the Clutch and Chrome office has ever pitched or decisioned a prospective television series. The closest anyone here has come to Hollywood is living in Los Angeles and spotting someone who they thought was ‘somebody’. But quite frankly, it was hard to tell as they were wearing a hat and sunglasses while sitting behind a tinted windshield.
But we have wondered what it was like to be at that meeting where the idea was proposed of having a drama based in the world of a motorcycle gang. After all, current motorcycle entertainment is all over the board with reality bike building shows having family tiffs for excitement and Ewan McGregor using the force to get himself and a former roommate around the world safely, not once but twice. (Judging from Charlie Boorman's mishaps he obviously never made it past Padawan).
However, to our credit one of the first articles written in these two wheel loving pages discussed the motorcycles starring role on the small screen. At the end of the article we noted ‘With so many different types of bikes as well as the range of riders on the road, the opportunity tell a plethora of different stories about people with a variety of backgrounds is a huge resource for the entertainment industry. Of course it’s up them to go off the well-walked pathways of story telling and bring something new to the viewing audience before they get bored with the 'cruiser with a cause' show.’
As if written as a prescription for the ’motorcycle TV show blues’, ‘Sons of Anarchy’ was not only developed and proposed, but thankfully it was approved and produced. While the creative team need to follow the road to to its dramatic destination, its still up to the riding viewers to pull up beside the Sons of Anarchy as they take this trip down unknown roads and check out the drama's destination.
And a fine trip it has been.
The second season of Sons of Anarchy averaged 4.5 million total Viewers, with those coming from 3.16 million Adults 18-49 and 1.98 million men 18-49. Competitively, Sons of Anarchy ranked as the most watched basic cable scripted series of the year in the male age bracket of 18-49 and second most watched by adults 18-49.
But where Sons of Anarchy rode away with viewing numbers was in the growth of viewers. Achieving numbers never seen before with either cable or broadcast television, Sons of Anarchy showed the largest season-to-season growth in adults ages 18-49 with 81 percent more people tuning in and 80 percent increase in males 18 to 49. The total number of viewers for the show grew 72 percent.
With numbers like these, it was no surprise when FX ordered a third series in December 2009 with creator Kurt Sutter has signing a two-year deal to continue as the man with a plan.
“The success of' Sons of Anarchy' is very gratifying and the show has become a bona-fide hit,” said FX president and GM John Landgraf. “The critics have recognized 'Sons' as one the best series on television, and the show has earned its place alongside FX’s great drama series."
All of the success puts to bed the concerns on how well the show would represent the everyday biker. Besides, if the average rider managed to get as close to a real motorcycle gang as viewers do with Sons of Anarchy, complaining about stereotypes would be the least of their problems.
