Forward Thinking: Jump on and enjoy the ride

'Lately I've been getting the urge to ride motorbikes again - or at least live the lifestyle of a bikie - thanks to Sons Of Anarchy.' Photo / Supplied

For a few years there - back when I was seven or eight - I wanted nothing more than to be a member of New Plymouth's Magog Motorcycle Club when I grew up. I thought riding around on a cool, loud motorbike looking as hard as nails was the perfect job for me.

The passion soon passed, probably because I moved on to wanting to be Michael Knight of Knight Rider or something, and then, on a more practical level, a farmer because milking cows seemed like a far more realistic way of earning a crust.

But lately I've been getting the urge to ride motorbikes again - or at least live the lifestyle of a bikie - thanks to Sons Of Anarchy (TV3, Wednesdays, 9.30pm), the best show on the box at the moment by far. In case you haven't seen the American series it's about the lives, loves and often sordid ways of the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club (known as SAMCRO to its members and the show's followers).

The show centres on Jax, the vice-president of the club, his mum, Gemma, who is the matriarch of the gang (played brilliantly by Katey Sagal, best known as Peggy Bundy from Married With Children), and Jax's stepfather and club president Clay (played by thick-jawed acting legend Ron Perlman).

Now, I'm not saying the Magogs - as we referred to them back in the 'Naki - are tied up with gun-running and other illicit goings-on like the boys from Sons of Anarchy (although if you wanted bouncers for a party the Magogs were the lads to call).

But what they both have is a proud sense of autonomy (in SAMCRO's case the line between freedom and anarchy are most definitely blurred), and that resolute loyalty to the clubs' founding principles.

And on TV the stories of anti-heroes always make the best yarns. SAMCRO are ruthless, with brutal maimings and slayings an everyday occurrence, all in the name of protecting their patch and business interests.

Then there's the deeper more emotional side to the show, like Jax's girlfriend Tara being torn between her devotion to Jax (and the club) and her job as a doctor, or little lost lamb Opie juggling his club allegiances with looking after three kids and a porn star girlfriend.

Also, compared to a show like Boardwalk Empire, which was trumpeted with a giant marketing push to match its production budget, Sons of Anarchy is low-key - but far more riveting because of its storylines, the cool swagger of its pacing, and some intriguing characters.

Jax is a good looking, laid-back blond fella, a father, and seemingly a bit of a softie compared to Clay and his other heavies.

But he's clocked and killed many people so far with no hint of remorse. Yet he's likeable and one of those characters you wouldn't mind pulling up a bar stool to have a beer with.

Holding it all together though is Sagal who may have been typecast as ditsy Peggy Bundy in the late 80s and 90s, but her tough and sensitive portrayal of Gemma shows just what an actress she is.

Elsewhere on the character front there's everyone from corrupt but compassionate chief cop Wayne Unser to SAMCRO's unhinged former IRA man Chibs, and hardcore singer-turned-actor Henry Rollins stars in a small but sinister role as A.J. Weston, a henchman for white separatist gang the League of American Nationalists (LOAN).

I tell ya, Sons of Anarchy is a hell of a ride. Check it out and feel the bikie and bad boy (or girl) within.

-TimeOut