sons of anarchy

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'Bainne']

'I'm done listening to dead men.' -- Jax Teller

One item has been checked off Jax's to-do list: He's finally gotten Abel back. But what will be the eventual cost of the search for his son, as welcome as the return of Abel was for both Jax and viewers who had grown weary of the "Abel the Adorable MacGuffin" story line?

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'Firinne']

'If you love him, give him more.' -- Father Kellan Ashby

Kellan Ashby hit Jax Teller's most vulnerable spot hard when the priest talked about how painful it could be for a child to grow up in "the life."

Sonny Barger, a legendary member of the Hells Angel Motorcycle Club, has a cameo role in the Nov. 30 season finale of FX's biker drama 'Sons of Anarchy.'

Barger, a founding member of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels, plays a character called Lenny the Pimp, one of the founders of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club. Barger, who lives in Arizona these days, said in an interview that he's a big fan of the show.

"We watch it every week," Barger said. "It's a nice show and it seems like everyone likes it. But it's nowhere near my everyday life."

Below, Sutter talks at length about the third season of the show and about how Barger's appearance came about.

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'Turas']

'I'm tired, Trinity.' -- Jax

'Yeah.' -- Trinity

Putting aside what we know about Jax and Trinity (there's a familial relationship between them -- one I hope they're informed of soon), the moment between them at the end of 'Turas' was one of the best scenes in an uneven hour.

Hey podcast pals, we've only got one installment of 'Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan' for you this week, but it's a supersized edition.

In this week's podcast, Ryan McGee and I talk about a number of programs, and to make it easier to find the sections that interest you, below you can find (rough) indications of where those parts of the conversation begin and end.

The Oct. 27 Ryan & Ryan podcast lineup:

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'Widening Gyre']

'Sons of Anarchy' is, in part, a study of unintended consequences and an examination of the lives of conflicted characters whose good intentions generally land them deeper in a world of pain.

It's also a show that inspires the hope that Gemma Teller-Morrow someday does actually go to jail, because I desperately want to see an episode devoted to breaking her out of the joint. Perhaps even a movie.

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'The Turn']

"It ain't personal. It's just about the cash." -- Clay Morrow to Marcus Alvarez

Clay is able to say this to Alvarez, the leader of the Mayans, because for Clay, it's true. The truce with the Mayans is just a smart business move, one that will allow both clubs to survive and prosper.

And Clay has been in the outlaw life for so long that everything he loves is inside that world -- in the Sons of Anarchy clubhouse or under his roof. As long as he's keeping that world safe, all is well, as far as he's concerned.

But for how long?

Its third season hasn't even reached the halfway point yet, but FX has already ordered a fourth season of the hit biker drama 'Sons of Anarchy.'

"In 2010, 'Sons of Anarchy' ranks as basic cable's No. 1 scripted series in delivery of Adults 18-49,' the network noted in the Season 4 press release on Thursday.

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'Turning and Turning']

Three women end up in vises on 'Sons of Anarchy' -- Gemma Teller, Maureen Ashby and and even Agent June Stahl confront difficult if not impossible situations. One desperate man figures out a solution that could help all of them.

Below is my take on this week's episode of the show, and there's also a bit of input from 'Sons of Anarchy' creator Kurt Sutter. (If you've seen Tuesday's episode, the information is not spoilery; it just consists of Sutter's thoughts on a key development in the episode).

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'Home']

Season 3 has been a different kind of ride for 'Sons of Anarchy' fans.

There's been a fair amount of setup in the first three episodes, and in the powerful episode 'Home,' much of what transpired in the first few episodes paid off in a big way.

['Sons of Anarchy' -- 'Caregiver']

When I first glimpsed Stephen King in 'Sons of Anarchy's' 'Caregiver,' as a "cleaner" named Bachman (a King nom de plume), my first thought was, "Uh oh, is this going to be a distracting famous-person cameo?"

But the King appearance turned out to be an inspired bit of stuntcasting; he brought a cadaverous, creepy presence to his scenes.

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'Oiled']

The second 'Sons of Anarchy' episode of the season opened with a man going to confession.

But given that this is the world of the Sons, it's a safe bet that no amount of prayer or penance can fix the club's immediate crises, not to mention problems that appear to be years in the making.

Tuesday's season opener of 'Sons of Anarchy' (Tue., 10PM ET on FX) kicked off the series' third year with a proper bang.

Half-Sack's funeral is disrupted by a van that drives through the crowd, wreaking havoc as a man fires into the SAMCRO ranks. As the van drives away, Deputy Hale is run down; the shooter falls out of the van and is quickly surrounded by the cops.

Jax is stunned by the events, and as he stands there, surveying the carnage, his rage hits the boiling point. He runs over to the prone man, grabs him, and proceeds to beat him to death -- while the cops watch.

Whew!

['Sons of Anarchy' - 'So']

Note: The following 'Sons of Anarchy' recap/review assumes that you have seen the first two seasons of the FX drama and Tuesday's Season 3 premiere of the FX drama.

The act that ended the season 2 premiere of 'Sons of Anarchy' was horrifying.

UPDATE: Speaking of podcasts, I also guested on the 'Firewall & Iceberg' podcast with Alan Sepinwall of Hitfix.com.

It's time for the weekly 'Talking TV with Ryan & Ryan' update.

Every week, Ryan McGee and I unleash two TV-obsessed podcasts for your listening pleasure.

In the first podcast, we discuss Sunday's excellent episode of 'Mad Men' with special guest Tom Fitzgerald of the swell site Tom and Lorenzo.

In the second podcast, Ryan and I talk about 'Burn Notice's' summer finale and some fall shows we're excited about, namely 'Terriers,' 'Sons of Anarchy' and 'Nikita.' My review of 'SOA' is here, by the way, and my reviews of 'Terriers' and 'Nikita' will be posted on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.