The second season of f[X]'s biker gang drama, "Sons of Anarchy," airs on Tuesday, Sept. 8th, 2009 @ 10 PM ET.

Reviews upcoming.

Variety's review:
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Sons of Anarchy
by STUART LEVINE

Filmed in Los Angeles by Linson Entertainment, Sutter Ink, Fox 21 and FX Prods. Exec producers, Kurt Sutter, Art Linson, John Linson; co-exec producer, Jack LoGiudice; director, Guy Ferland; writer, Sutter;

Jackson "Jax" Teller - Charlie Hunnam
Clay Morrow - Ron Perlman
Gemma Teller Morrow - Katey Sagal
Robert "Bobby" Munson - Mark Boone Jr.
Alex "Tig" Trager - Kim Coates
Kip "Half-Sack" Epps - Johnny Lewis
Tara Knowles - Maggie Siff
Filip "Chibs" Telford - Tommy Flanagan
Opie Winston – Ryan Hurst
Ethan Zobelle – Adam Arkin
AJ Weston - Henry Rollins

All it takes is a couple of neo-Nazis to make a motorcycle club looks angelic, and the introduction of baddies Adam Arkin and Henry Rollins add an unseemly but compelling element to FX's revved up "Sons of Anarchy." As for exec producer Kurt Sutter, what he puts real-life wife Katey Sagal through in the premiere is ripe for years of marriage counseling.

As the second season begins, Opie (Ryan Hurst) is still devastated by his wife's murder, a killing that was supposed to be perpetrated on him after Sons leader Clay (Ron Perlman) thought Opie had betrayed the gang to the feds.

Opie's closest confident is Jax (Charlie Hunnam), and the relationship between Jax and Clay -- the two are often at odds over the club's direction -- gives a more sympathetic edge to Jax, who would like to see the Sons avert violence except when necessary.

Hunnam sometimes suffers from not having enough of an on-screen presence -- possibly because he's not as physically imposing as several of his co-stars.

For a show where emotions are muted behind the crackling of leather jackets and high decibels of highway-bound Harleys, the relationships between Clay and wife Gemma (Sagal) feels genuine, as does the renewed passion of Jax and high school g.f. Tara (Maggie Siff).

While the Sons sometimes disagree about the best way to feed the club's coffers in a world where gun running doesn't pay as well as it once did, they unite in their disdain for Arkin and Rollins' white supremacists. Evidently, even hardened criminals don't want to be labeled racists.

The two demand the club stop selling weapons to minorities. When Clay doesn't comply, they seek revenge -- only not against him, causing fallout that ripples through subsequent episodes.

Sutter, a writer and producer on "The Shield," fully understands the power of violence in getting a point across, yet the premiere's closing sequence runs a very fine line between demonstrating the neo-Nazis' brutality and a gratuitous display.

If that scene and another in which Opie's slashes open the chest of a rival club member are any indication of the season to come, subtlety won't be riding a hog anytime soon.

camera, Paul Maibaum; production design, Anthony Medina; editor, Hunter Via; casting, Wendy O'Brien. 60 MIN.

Episode Title: "Albification"

Synopsis: As Season 2 opens, SAMCRO must deal with internal repercussions from the murder of Opie's wife; a surprisingly sophisticated white supremacist named Ethan Zobelle arrives in Charming to open a tobacco shop; both Zobelle and his less-sophisticated associate are determined to take down SAMCRO because of its dealings with black and Latino bikers.

Guest Stars: Adam Arkin, Mitch Pileggi, Henry Rollins, Ally Walker

Discuss.

Can't wait for this. Season 1 wasn't perfect, but had some really great moments (quite a few courtesy of Katey Sagal).

Although only six reviews are in so far, the new season has a staggering 86 on Metacritic—the same rating that the supposed best show currently on television got a few weeks ago.

I love this show! To me, it was the best new show of the season and it is one of the best dramas right now on TV. It deserved so much more attention by the Emmys... Katey Sagal, Ally Walker (I hope she's back this year) and Ron Pearlman were perfect in their roles.

Unfortunately, I'm a little busy right now, so I can't start watching the new season right now, but I'm very excited for the return of the this show. I hope it's as good as last year, or maybe even better!

Anyone else think Katey Sagel deserves an Emmy nomination for this show? She's BRILLIANT on this.

Katey Sagal was a force of nature in season 1, and she made my personal ballot in supporting actress drama. I'm hoping for big things for Gemma this season. Even in the pilot episode, she pretty much made Peg Bundy an afterthought.

Those last scenes with Gemma and the masked guys! That was intense and unexpected. They've set up a lot of plot points in the premiere that can drive the entire season. Opie will have to find out about Clay and Tig's involvement in Donna's death sooner or later, and Jax's role in covering it all up. These Neo-Nazis who assaulted Gemma will have hell to pay from Clay and co., and it'll be interesting to see the police's role again in being in SAMCRO's pocket, now that the deputy sheriff's brother is in line with this Nazi group. It was nice seeing Ally Walker again, though she didn't have much to do. Henry Rollins was surprisingly effective, but it's Adam Arkin that looks like the one to watch out for this season. Tara and Gemma reaching a truce of sorts was nice to see, and the scene where Gemma advises Tara on loving the man and growing to love the club was a good one. And now that it's likely that Drea de Matteo won't be back any time soon, I'd like to see Maggie Siff get a strong storyline of her own like last season with Jay Karnes. Maybe she won't be able to handle all of it and decides to leave/break up with Jax, or the feds might find a way to turn her. Strong opener to the season, and hopefully this year the show will get the attention it deserves and notice what great work is being done here (especially from Katey Sagal and Ryan Hurst).

Grade for "Albification": B+

Great ratings news!
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"Sons of Anarchy" posts big ratings gains with season 2 premiere
by Dan Snierson

"Sons of Anarchy" made a ratings splash on Tuesday night, netting a series-high 4.3 million viewers with its season 2 premiere. The FX drama jumped 95 percent in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic, representing the biggest increase of any original series on the network from season 1 to season 2. Final ratings will be available Thursday.

I've been catching up full speed, and I was blown away by both Katey Sagal and Ryan Hurst, Sagal especially. The premiere alone would be a strong tape for her, though I have no doubt she'll get another whopper of a tape later on down the line. If she can just got on the Emmy's radar, then a nomination should be a cinch.

Episode Title: "Small Tears"

Synopsis: Following a traumatic event, Gemma finds herself unable to tell either Clay or Jax about it; a rival porn producer moves to put Luanne out of business; Clay takes exception to Jax's hasty decision making.

Guest Stars: Adam Arkin, Tom Arnold, Henry Rollins

Discuss.

This could be a potential tape for Katey Sagal next year, assuming she could gather enough buzz to land a nomination.

That was a savvy move on Gemma's part not to reveal to Clay and Jax yet that she was raped and who did it. This season seems to be about lies that are kept hidden beneath the surface until the right time to reveal them -- Gemma's rape, Clay's role in having Donna killed, and Jax covering up what he knows to protect Opie and Samcro. It's all going to blow up so royally by season's end, or I hope so anyway (especially when Clay finds out that Henry Rollins' character was one of the rapists). I like seeing the developing relationship between Tara and Gemma. It was interesting to see how they played up the escalating war between the blacks and the Mexicans, and then what looked to be Adam Arkin's neo-Nazi character tipping off the Mexicans about the gun sale between Samcro and the blacks. The scenes with Luanne and the rival porn business were fun and a needed change from the rest of the episode. Tom Arnold was actually good here! It was a limited role playing a sleazy porno boss, and this didn't seem like much of a stretch for him, but he fit in with the rest of the cast surprisingly well. I wouldn't mind seeing his character back on sometime. The best scene was when Jax was showing Luanne the new warehouse studio that she'd be using, and she thought that he was about to off her ("You think I'm gonna pull an Adriana on you?") LoL. That's even funnier since Drea was on the show last season (and is much missed).

Grade for "Small Tears": B

Episode Title: "Fix"

Synopsis: Zobelle cooks up a "temporary problem" for Hale to solve as a way to undermine SAMCRO; Gemma's rape is undermining her relationship with Clay; Jax's involvement in Luanne's porn business is getting to Tara; Clay tells Bobby, who needs a job, to run the business end of Luanne's business.

Discuss.

Katey Sagal's doing some excellent work right now with the aftereffects of her gang rape and how that's affecting her marriage with Clay. I can't wait until she reveals to Clay and Jax what really happened to her, b/c there's going to be hell to pay then, and I want to see these separatists go down quickly (though Adam Arkin is disarmingly great here in a role that I didn't expect from him). Luanne's porn business side storyline is a needed contrast from the SAMCRO storyline, and the porn scenario with "Don Draper" and the bottle was a hoot. I liked seeing Tara get in that porn chick's face over Jax, and then the bathroom scene when she walks in on the two of them. The Clay/Jax feud seems to be heating up, and Opie looking to fall in the middle of that. I hope he finds out at some point this season what Clay's role was in Donna's death and his reaction to that news. Great start to the season so far.

Grade for "Fix": A-

Episode Title: "Eureka"

Synopsis: Tensions between Jax and Clay escalate when they disagree over strategy for rescuing Tig after he's captured by bounty hunters on a gun-running mission; back in Charming, Gemma is rattled by a graphic reminder of her attack, and she sets out to do something about it.

Discuss.

Opie siding with Clay in the feud with Jax, and Jax knowing all along what Clay and Tig did to Donna is some great storytelling, and none of that can end well if/when the truth ever comes out. Gemma trying to get revenge on one of her rapists but not being able to go through with it might have been the best part of the episode. Katey Sagal is having an excellent season so far, and I'm ready for SAMCRO to obliterate these neo-Nazis once Clay and Jax find out about Gemma's rape. Tig's bounty hunter capture was lively, and I almost wished that they'd taken him to Oregon just to see what the group would do. Exciting season so far.

Grade for "Eureka": B+

Episode Title: "Smite"

Synopsis: While Jax and Clay lock horns (and line up support) over how to deal with Zobelle, Tara finds herself ensnared in Gemma's emotional struggle in the aftermath of her attack; SAMCRO gets help from an unlikely source.

Discuss.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Katey Sagal is turning in Emmy worthy work week after week, just about topping what she did last year. It'll be a crime if she's snubbed again.