The pilot episode is the defining point of The Shield, it's the bang on which the entire series is formed, and while it is one of the most important episodes in the show it's not a great character piece. As I mentioned previously it's a piece that's crammed full of characters and has to rush along at a breakneck pace towards an almost inevitable conclusion. As such it falls into the hands of the following two episodes to give us some extra character depth and development in order to allow us, the viewer, to connect with these characters on a deeper level.

"Our Gang" follows on from the events of the pilot episode with the barest of moments elapsed. Most of the Farmington District Police Force is outside the hospital where Terry Crowley was taken. That's the first real mule kick from this series, Vic's bullet wasn't even a clean kill - Terry dies in hospital in the following episode. Despite shooting for the head Vic couldn't even manage to be certain his problem was dealt with cleanly, Terry does die without waking up and being able to tell people what happened, but the entire situation is a great example of how messy things could have been (and will be).

The reactions outside the hospital during the cold opening are also great; Vic manages to look cold and almost like he is in shock, unable to grasp what's happened - but he's always in complete control of his actions, especially his closing comment "I'm responsible." A comment that serves two purposes, first of all it creates a "Did he just confess?" moment for the viewers (a moment that is extended a little by the opening credits) and secondly in the context of the situation it actually serves as a calculated move. By admitting a form of guilt he's able to make whatever signs of guilt he and Shane might have look natural and also by starting with such a bombshell he's heading off any accusations that might suggest he's responsible for Terry's murder. Even in a situation like this Vic is looking for the higher ground to take the advantage. He's that sociopathic.

Shane on the other hand is obviously afraid of being caught, he looks sick and close to breaking throughout the scene. He's fortunate that he's not questioned at this point in the episode because he would probably have broken (later on, when he's had time to compose himself and fabricate a story with Vic he does manage to keep it together, just). Lem and Ronnie on the other hand wear their innocence on their sleeve, especially Lem who takes the whole incident personally, for Lem the Strike Team will always be his family and the loss of their newest member is like losing a young brother. He lashes out in the only way he can, breaking a van window and cutting his hand up. You notice here that the innocent member of the Strike Team lashes out in anger, whereas his two guilty team mates remain relatively calm and collected. Ronnie on the other hand - the reasons behind the way he reacts become clearer once you've seen the seventh season.

A huge section of the rest of "Our Gang" deals with the mental landscape of Vic Mackey, through a series of flashbacks we're shown Vic's mental process in an abstract manner. Gradually we see him reconcile his dissonance over the act, almost breaking during the weightlifting scene but finally coming back out of it as collected as he's ever been. It's almost an act of birth (or rebirth) for him, (there's certainly a lot of pushing involved in the sequence, that's for sure.)

"Our Gang" also confirms one of the major antagonistic relationships of the show, the one between David Acevada and Vic Mackey. David's pursuit of Vic, which is somewhat hollow and unconvincing in the pilot episode "I just want to get a dirty cop off the street" reaches a new level of purpose. He's convinced that Vic is behind Terry's death and while he cannot even come close to comprehending the truth and instead suggests that Vic set Terry up and sent him into a death trap (which is why he doesn't manage to break Shane - he's just far enough away from the truth that Shane can deny with certainty). It also brings Gilroy fully into the equation, a man who currently has Vic's back but will eventually become the piece that (temporarily) unites Vic and Acevada against him.

While "Our Gang" represents a transition past the abnormal events of the pilot episode, "The Spread" represents business as usual. It's the first real insight into the capering shenanigans of the Strike Team and lets you experience what things must have been like before the show started. It's a lighthearted episode that could almost make you forget what transpired in the two episodes previously, it's certainly at odds with them.

The Strike Team perform a little light corruption by detaining a star basketball player and thus determining the outcome of a match before it happens. It's betting time. This storyline gives the guys a chance to spread their characters, showing Lem to be quite an amiable fellow, and revealing Shanes racist attitudes in a well acted manner. Walton Goggins manages to look very uncomfortable at appropriate moments, showing some deep seated racist attitudes buried inside Shane's persona - something that will pay off in a later season (in one of the moments I kind of wish never happened). Ronnie still remains something of a background extra at this point.

Throughout the first few episodes it's the Dutch/Claudette stories that can provide the tension and the laughs when things look bleakest. "The Spread" is no exception, the main thrust of the story is pretty grim, there's a serial killer/rapist on the loose. But the discovery of a naked man, and the fact that he keeps jars in his fridge full of *Dutch sniffs them* "That's not mayonnaise"... wait for it. Semen. Is a classic moment of black humor, Dutch's reaction is just hilarious as he tries to leap away from the jar, dropping it and getting the man juice on his shoes.

In fact pretty much the whole of "The Spread" is a relatively lighthearted affair, but it remains important because it does set up the start of the serial killer storyline for Dutch and Claudette. A storyline that contains one of the more brilliant moments of the season, the one where I took my opinion of Dutch and turned it 180 (it's in the episode "Dragonchasers" which I consider to be the second huge moment of The Shield). It's also the first episode to really play up Julien's struggle with his homosexuality, the point where Julien begins to become more than just 'the rookie cop who makes mistakes'.

"The Spread" is also a great example of what the show could have been like if they'd run a season prior to Terry Crowley's murder. The hi-jinks of The Strike Team are exactly the kind of thing he could have been involved in, something a little underhanded and dirty but not overtly criminal. It's another one of those episodes that makes me wish there had been a prequel season (so to speak), but it's not worth dwelling on again this season as the rest of the episodes coming up pick up the pace and move forward.

With the completion of "Our Gang" and "The Spread" The Shield has mostly got past its initial crunch point and is looking to move forward with an eye towards developing a long term story line. The show would never manage to escape Terry's shadow, but at this point it had at least performed a cathartic ritual and bought some breathing space so it can expand beyond the 'original sin'.
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[Before we start I believe that all props and credit should land squarely in the lap of Mr Rob Buckley for introducing me to this particular show as it's one I would never have discovered myself.]

You a fan of the spy genre? Enjoy your James Bond served with a twist rather than a shake? Maybe you love shows like Sea Lab, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law or The Venture Brothers. Or you adored the tongue in cheek style of the "No One Lives Forever" series of games.

Well if you're one of those, or someone who enjoys quality adult orientated (NO! Not that kind of adult) cartoons then you'd be doing yourself as serious favour and get over to FX then give "Archer" a serious going over.

Archer is a semi-realistic art style cartoon about a secret agent codenamed "The Dutchess" but known to everyone in the organisation by his real name - Sterling Archer. Archer (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin ) is a colossal jerk of such a spectacular magnitude that it's hard not to love his attitude. He comes across as a mix between Gary Cole's Harvey Birdman and Stephen Colbert's Phill Ken Seben (Both from the afformentioned Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law), saddled with a massive ego that is only dwarfed by the insecurities inflicted on him by his boss slash mother Malory (Jessica Walter).

Archer's co-workers include not just fellow spy (and ex lover) Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler) but also ISIS's accountant Cyril (Chris Parnell) who is now dating Lana thanks in part to his *ahem* special qualification and Malory's secetary Carol Cheryl Cristal Carol (Judy Greer) a young woman who is equal parts desperate and disturbed plus others, including Archer's butler Woodhouse (George Coe) - who I suspect is named in tribute to the author of the Jeeves and Wooster books, one P.G. Wodehouse.

Archer is a spy comedy which plays heavily on not only the absurdities of the spy genre but also the fun of an office environment for such a high action field. A lot of ISIS staff (described adeptly as drones at one point) are involved in the mundane aspects of spying, the paperwork and so forth. And this is a source of at least some of the humor alongside Archer's own absurdities.

It's almost redundant to say that the voice acting is phenomenal in this show, Judy and Jessica are both alumni from Arrested Development and if anything they're funnier here as they've had more time and practice. Though it is fair to say that the characters they are voicing here do have some traits in common with Lucille Bluth and Kitty Sanchez that is not a slight at their talent or hilarity. Chris Parnell himself is also no stranger to sitcoms, you might know him best as Doctor Leo Spaceman (that's pronounced Spa-Che-Man) from 30 Rock and Jon Benjamin has honed his craft with numerous voice overs before now.

Needless to say "Archer" is a phantasmal show and one which will probably burn brightly before departing from our screens with just a few episodes, but you really, really should check it out if you're the least bit interested because it is quite figuratively side-splitting in every aspect and totally gorgeous to watch to boot.

Still not enough to wet your appetite? See what Rob thought about the show.

Archer's website is located here.

(If you enjoy The Venture Bros, Chuck, Burn Notice, Arrested Development or Harvey Birdman you may enjoy this.)
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Back in April 2002 a controversial young show named The Shield aired it's fifth episode, a piece titled "Blowback", featuring one disturbing Armenian foot fetishist hit man named Margos Dezerian. The actor portraying this memorable villain was also the writer of the episode - one Kurt Sutter - a man who would go on to pen the truly heartbreaking episode "Of Mice and Lem" and the incredible jaw dropping penultimate episode of the season "Parricide".

The same year that The Shield's amazing swan song came to a close (2008) a new show arrived on FX, penned by this same aforementioned Kurt Sutter. A show purporting to be something of a spiritual successor to The Shield in style if not in content.

Sons of Anarchy is that very show, revolving around the lives and experiences of one chapter in the titular outlaw motorcycle gang this is a brutish show about men who live and die by the motorcycle (but more often by the gun). The show stars Charlie Hunnam (Undeclared, Queer as Folk) as Jax Teller the Vice President, Sons of Anarchy: California. Katey Sagal (Futurama, 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter and of course Married with Children) as Gemma Teller Morrow - Jax's mother and wife of Club President Clarence "Clay" Morrow - played by Ron Perlman (Hellboy and hundreds of other things I mean come on, you know who Ron Perlman is!) Also joining these three are Mark Boone Junior, Johnny Lewis, Maggie Siff, Kim Coates and Tommy Flanagan.

The Sons live in the sleepy town of Charming, California and through an agreement with Police Chief Wayne Unser (Dayton Callie) they keep their business out of town and as such ensure that the streets are (relatively) safe. Well as safe as it can be when there is a gang of gun running motorcycle enthusiasts riding about with impunity...

Sons of Anarchy has been touted as the show to fill the void that The Shield has left behind, and there's no disputing that Sons is a spiritual successor in many aspects. It's even (tentatively) set in the same universe as The Shield and though there's little chance the indomitable Victor Mackey would make an appearance (especially after the events of The Shield's final season) the 1'9ers do indeed feature in the show, as does a familiar looking Los Angeles.

Likewise the show has that same brutish, action packed throttle to it. It's a show which brings macho to the table and isn't afraid to sit about grunting, scratching itself and drinking beer while strangling a bear. Similarly the show is about the good in bad people, really bad people in fact, but people with a code (no women, no innocents).

But that's sort of where the similarity ends, because while Kurt Sutter had significant input into The Shield he wasn't the guiding voice and as such he didn't shape the tone of the show. Sons on the other hand is entirely his baby and as such it brings differences in story telling and pacing. The show feels more immature than The Shield, while Kurt has the lofty (and commendable) ideal of basing the story around a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet - the first season does feel a little rough at times, it's lacking the same gravitas and edge it's parent show had.

At least, it's like that for a while. But the final few episodes of the first season do indeed kick things into a higher gear, setting the stage for what promises to be an enjoyable and gripping second season. Many of the cast give exceptional performances from the start (especially Ron and Katey), while others grow into their roles (as much as allowed by their characters anyway - I'm very fond of Theo Rossi as "Juice" for example). Many of the guest star performances are also great; amongst the notable ones are Ally Walker, Jay Karnes, Drea de Matteo and Taylor Sheridan. Ally in particular is fantastic as Agent Stahl, giving the show a character with surprising depth and menace for our erstwhile "heroes".

But the bottom line is this - Will you enjoy Sons of Anarchy? Well if you watched The Shield previously then I think it's safe to say that you'll be positively predisposed towards enjoying it. Just don't expect to be watching The Shield² and things should click with you. For everyone else; if you enjoy dramas with a sense of humor and a bit of unreality to them - like say Rescue Me. Or prefer things to have a mix of action, motorcycles, guns, Americans, Scottish and Irishmen then you're in luck. Sons of Anarchy could be right up your street, so take it for a ride.
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