Chez Moni: We cut the cable cord

Dave and I have been hunting for a new t.v. show since we got rid of cable a few months ago in favor of an AppleTV, with access to Netflix and Hulu streams. Dave tells me we are definitely getting cable back when cash flows in more freely. I can get behind that. Not that he has much time to veg, but he's a sports-watchin' kind of guy. I do miss live t.v. once in a while, for Sunday football or news on for background noise, but I was sick of being a Comcast sucker, paying them more and more each month for a commodity we used relatively infrequently (or rather, paid for 500 channels and watched 3 of them).

Not happening for us

From what I hear, t.v. is thriving these days, thanks to certain networks picking up well-written, bold concept shows. We're both interested in The Americans, a Reagan-era drama about married KGB spies, masquerading as a normal family in DC suburbs, but it isn't on Netflix or Hulu, we don't want to pay extra for it. Same goes for Homeland, a show with rave reviews starring Claire Danes as a stellar, albeit bipolar, CIA agent. I've loved Claire since her days as Angela Chase in My So Called Life, when I identified with her teenage angst and hopeless crushes. Angela led me to embrace denim overalls as fashionable; she rocked them, and other 'edgy' Contempo Casuals separates circa '94.

Claire and Rayanne ain't misbehavin

So back to 2013 t.v. options. In the off chance I have enough downtown and energy to keep my eyes open while on the couch, I'm often overwhelmed by the sheer options of shows. I've heard great things about Downton Abbey, but I just haven't been compelled to invest. We gave up on Orange is the New Black due to boredom. We (mostly) liked House of Cards, a modern DC-based drama about majority whip a.k.a. Kevin Spacey clamoring to the top of federal government at the expense of nothing and no one; the next season will air this winter. We've been dedicated to Mad Men over the years, but it's not in season. Top Chef, the only reality show I can watch without cringing, unfortunately doesn't exist in our cable-less lives.

The very likable Kristin won 2013 Top Chef

I really like documentaries, and my favorite sub-genre is the meth documentary (their teeth! their bad haircuts! I can't look away!), but there are only so many of them. I also have a cursory interest in Breaking Bad or Walking Dead, but Dave doesn't have much stomach for those (you know, your garden variety high-school-chemistry-teacher-turned-meth-maker and zombie dramas). I recently discovered Sons of Anarchy, and convinced Dave to try it even though I had no idea what it was about.

The show began in 2008, and has been FX's most successful to date. We are about 6 episodes into Season 1, and I'm in. to. it. It's about a California-based biker gang who run guns for cash while operating a garage by day. In some episodes, the guys do right by bringing justice to the good and punishing the bad. And by punish, I mean punish. The Sons pursue their own brand of law enforcement, and they are violent - think The Sopranos on Harleys. There are of course side stories about family, love interests, drugs, and hidden histories. I'm getting intrigued and I certainly don't mind watching Jax for an hour. He reminds me of Kurt Cobain. Me-ow!

Oh hey, Jax. Didn't hear you ride up.

Some scenes are a little too gory for my taste, but all in all the Sons story is strong, and I hope we can stick with it (yes, I refer to committing to a show like it's some noble achievement, like training for a big race or finishing a book). I like having something to turn to, to know the story line, to have favorite characters....something we're invested in. Sure beats watching Duck Dynasty, a little gem Dave picked out during our dying cable days in a strategy to, I don't know, lower my opinion of him?