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Drama

“Sons of Anarchy” recap: “Toad’s Wild Ride”

Those music montages toward the end of episodes are never a good sign, are they? Yeah, when I noticed there was about 10 minutes left and the unmistakable first notes of Iggy Pop and The Stooges’ “The Passenger” came on, I knew that “Toad’s Wild Ride” had yet to deliver its biggest jolt. But more on that later. Clay is in full damage-control mode with his Nomad flunkies, telling them there is DNA evidence that will link them to the home invasions and the murder of Roosevelt’s wife. Frankie (Chuck Zito, who you just knew was going to be a […]

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Horror

Was “Halloween III” the “American Horror Story: Asylum” of its day?

As American Horror Story: Asylum gets under way tonight, with a well-earned sense of excitement and anticipation — I’ve seen the first two episodes, they rock — I can’t help but think of Halloween III. Might seem odd, until you consider the similarities between the two undertakings. Creator Ryan Murphy envisions AHS as an anthology series, with each season unspooling a different tale with a (largely) different cast each time out. That’s pretty much the plan John Carpenter had for Halloween, but there were a couple of problems with that idea: 1) He made (or allowed to be made) Halloween […]

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Drama

“Sons of Anarchy” recap: “Small World”

Clay, you dirty bastard. Been awhile since I’ve been able to say that. Feels kinda good, in a weird way that only Sons of Anarchy can produce. Yes, tonight we saw that Clay indeed has been playing possum, using that oxygen tube in his nose to great effect, making everyone think the old wolf had turned into a harmless cub. But he may be hatching his most horrible plan yet. More on that later. After last week’s relatively lighthearted jaunt, we’re back in the dumps right away as Sheriff Roosevelt is in the hospital attending to his injured wife. Now, […]

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Drama

Winter Ave Zoli talks life after Opie on “Sons of Anarchy”

(Note: Do not read if you haven’t been watching this season of Sons of Anarchy and don’t wish to know some pivotal information regarding the death of a major character.) As sometimes happens in Hollywood, back in March Winter Ave Zoli randomly ran into her Sons of Anarchy costar Ryan Hurst at an audition for a different project. Zoli was happy to see the actor who has played her husband for the past four seasons on FX’s hard-hitting biker drama — someone she considers to be a friend — but when she heard the shocking news he had regarding his […]

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Drama

“Sons of Anarchy” recap: “Orca Shrugged”

As usual, lots of juicy stuff happened in tonight’s Sons of Anarchy, but let’s jump right to the heart of it, shall we? WALTON GOGGINS AS A TRANSGENDERED HOOKER!!! (That oughtta help the old search-engine optimization, right? Pardon me if I repeat that phrase a few times going forward.) So yes, the Justified star — that would be Walton Goggins, playing a transgendered hooker — shows up about halfway through the episode as part of SAMCRO’s blackmail scheme aimed at a local politician. A morbidly obese, diabetic local politician who passes out after eating a cupcake surreptitiously brought to him […]

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Comedy

Louis C.K. announces extended hiatus, says “Louie” will return to FX in 2014

Riding high off his big win at the Emmys, comedian Louis C.K. told reporters Tuesday that FX has granted him his request for an “extended hiatus” for his series Louie, meaning that the show will return in spring 2014. FX president John Landgraf joined the star on the call, saying he was perfectly happy to allow C.K. the time he needed to “just live” and creatively recharge his batteries for Season 4. C.K. heaped praise on the network for allowing him total creative freedom — he writes, produces, directs and edits the series largely himself — and says he wants […]

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Drama

“Sons of Anarchy” recap: “Stolen Huffy”

Some Sons of Anarchy episodes are meant to shock you, others make you want to pump your fist in excitement, or throw stuff at the screen in bloodlust. But there are some that flat out make you want to cry. “Stolen Huffy” is unapologetically a tear-jerker, even if it saves it for the end. Opie is dead, but Ryan Hurst gets to make one last appearance (until the inevitable flashback, I suppose) as the big guy’s corpse, which finally looks at peace. Jax says a mouthful when he opines that Opie seemed to be looking for a way out ever […]

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Drama

“American Horror Story: Asylum” promises to bring the crazy

A quote like this could only come from talking about a show like American Horror Story. “Last year we were a sweet little family drama — albeit in which we killed off the entire family.” So says writer/producer Tim Minear of the FX series that captivated audiences with its edgy mix of scares and sex (hel-lo, Rubber Man) that got people talking about what had just happened and what could possibly come next. “This year couldn’t be more different,” Minear says. Oh, the creepiness will still be there, but instead of following the doomed Harmon family further into their afterlife […]

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Drama

“Sons of Anarchy” actor Johnny Lewis dead after alleged break-in, murder

While Sons of Anarchy made a splash this week by killing off a major character, a real-life tragedy involving one of the series’ former cast members has emerged. TMZ reports that Johnny Lewis, who played Halfsack — a character who was killed off in Season 2 — was found dead Wednesday in the driveway of a Los Feliz, Calif., where he apparently fell to his death. Inside the home, an 81-year-old woman was found beaten to death. Lewis is believed to have been on either PCP or meth before attacking the woman. Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter tweeted about […]

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Drama

“Sons of Anarchy” recap: “Laying Pipe”

I totally thought it was going to be Chibs. Oh, by the way, SPOILER ALERT!!! But hey this is a recap, so that should go without saying. Anyway, when murmurs got loud that the new episode of Sons of Anarchy would include the death of a major character, one logically starts looking at which actors have other projects going on. That road led nowhere, so then it became a matter of deductive reasoning. It was likely to be one of the four Sons to head to prison: Jax, Opie, Tig and Chibs. Cross Jax off right away, because duh. Opie […]