Sons of Anarchy – Season 3 (2010/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
A- Sound: A- Extras: C+ Episodes: B+
The sands
of the hour glass have slowly been sifting through for Sons of Anarchy
motorcycle gang and times up. In Season 3 bonds are broken, secrets are
revealed, and the levies of emotion bust open on the most agonizingly
engrossing season of Sons of Anarchy yet.
As so I
don’t reveal too much (for those fans who have been following this series from
the beginning) I will base this short review on what FOX has revealed
already. Gemma (Katey Segal of Married with Children and Futurama) is framed for murder, but of
course not all things are as they appear.
Jax is on the hunt as his son gets kidnapped, the trail running cold but
then SAMCRO finding themselves in Ireland hot on the trail
again. The tension between Clay (Ron
Pearlman) and Jax is hot as ever, but Jax must learn to live with his
step-father and burry the hatchet in order to save his son.
Sons of Anarchy: Season 3 is a pleasant departure from what
(I thought) was a somewhat stagnant concept.
SAMCRO had spent two seasons protecting themselves and their beloved
town from drugs, outsiders, developers and many times each other; but after so
much of the same it was time to mix it up.
The creative choice to make this more of a ‘on the road’ season, was a
solid and smart move. We were not
subjected to another dry, sun soaked season, but ventured over to Ireland (Belfast)
to find Abel and join up with the Northern Ireland branch of Sons of
Anarchy. Overall, Season 3 was a welcome and pleasant change that renewed my interest
in Sons of Anarchy.
The
technical features of Season 3 were
right in line with Season 2, being
just short of perfect (for TV on Blu-ray).
The picture is 1080p AVC @ 18.5 MBPS, MPEG-4, 1.78 X 1 digital High
Definition presentation that presents with a crispness, a vibrancy of colors,
and solid framing blacks unlike many other TV series have demonstrated on
Blu-ray. Again like the series itself
the picture quality is sharp and bold.
The digital noise in some darker sequences has been improved over Season 2, though not perfect. The depth and detail of the image is surely
admirable. In terms of bass,
directionality and crisp, clean, clear dialogue. The soundscape again is immense and as the
action picks up the series truly shines.
The
extras include:
- The Future Begins Now (4 new Webisodes
that show what happened between seasons 3 and 4)
- Audio Commentaries (Give a
solid look into the series’ creative process and the emotion that each
cast/crew member holds for Sons of Anarchy)
- Table Read with the Cast
- Extended Episodes (doesn’t
add much to the season)
- Bike Customizer (Motorcycle
Charity Event)
- Deleted Scenes
- Gag Reel (Funny to see such a
stern group, fall apart)
- Fox Movie Channel presents Sons of Anarchy: Season 3
A great
series that just keeps getting better.
Bravo again to FX for another wonderful, engaging series.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
