Sons of Anarchy (FX)

The SONS OF ANARCHY motorcycle club sells guns for a living. They like to brawl with each other for fun, regularly drink themselves into a stupor, and will beat to a pulp anyone who crosses them. Members of opposing gangs who threaten their business get shot, execution style -- and, just to make sure the right message gets through, the Sons will dynamite the corpses. And, believe it or not, these are the good guys in this violent drama about gang rivalries in Southern California.

The show paints an interesting contrast between the obvious love and affection these men have for each other and the disdain they feel for people who aren't part of their brotherhood. The heart of the show is Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), who has a newborn son and is starting to question his lifestyle. His mother Gemma. (Katey Sagal) is now with Clay (Ron Perlman), the head of the gang. They're both devoted to both the biker lifestyle and its underground business and are threatened by the idea that Jax might be considering a new direction.

But make no mistake: These men are all vicious, hardened criminals who will do whatever it takes to protect their lock on the Southern California arms trade. Guns, threats, and violence are their most useful tools, and no matter how much the show tries to humanize them, they're simply not nice people. They're not pleasant to watch, and most viewers will find it difficult to sympathize with their problems -- a discrepancy that becomes a serious flaw. Other shows have tried to humanize criminals, notably The Sopranos, which made the mob seem exciting. But that series featured sharply drawn characters and some of the best writing on television, while Sons of Anarchy seems to be more like a caricature of everyone's clichéd idea of a biker gang.