Pop Culture Flashback: 'Sons of Anarchy' Ride Into Town (September 3)

The cable channel FX began airing in 1994 with classic reruns slowly introducing new, original dramas. By 2002, shows became pretty gritty. The dark and morally complex Sons of Anarchy began airing on FX on this day in 2008.

2008 – ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Debuts

Five bikers standing tough — Maggie Siff, Tommy Flanagan, Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal from *Sons of Anarchy. (FX)*

Created by Kurt Sutter, Sons of Anarchy followed the lives of an SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original), a gunrunning, outlaw motorcycle club in Charming, California. The center of the series is Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), the son of John Teller, the club’s president. After his father passes away, Jax reluctantly questions where he’s been and where he’s going. He has a strained relationship with Gemma (Katey Sagal), his widowed mother and Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) her new husband and current president of the club.

Debuting on FX on this day in 2008, the series also starred Mark Boone Junior, Kim Coates, Tommy Flanagan, Johnny Lewis, Maggie Siff and Ryan Hurst. David Labrava played the recurring role of Happy Lowman. He also served as a technical advisor for the show and he knew his stuff. At the time, he was a real member of Hell’s Angels. (He gave that up in 2019.)

Sons of Anarchy dealt with themes of vigilantism, government corruption, racism and lots of violence, but the series ended with a message of redemption albeit a tragic one. The show ended on December 9, 2014.

OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY:

Actress Mary Stuart — Mary Stuart *(Wikimedia Commons)*

1951 – Mary Stuart ‘Searched for Tomorrow’ for 35 Years

The daytime TV series Search for Tomorrow began as a 15-minute serial on CBS. The show’s sponsor, Proctor & Gamble, aired commercials for their cleaning products “Joy” and “Spic and Span” during the show’s broadcast. This helped the show to earn the title of “soap opera”.

Search for Tomorrow was filmed live every day until March 1967. That same year the series turned from black-and-white to color in September. It became a half-hour show one year later. On March 29, 1982, Search for Tomorrow made the big move from CBS to NBC.

The soap opera held the record for the longest-running non-news program on television until it was time for it to end as well on December 26, 1986. Having a TV show run for 35 years was an amazing feat, but what is even more incredible is the fact that actress Mary Stuart was there from the beginning all the way until the end without interruption. She was the only one in the cast to do so.

In 1988, Stuart began playing the role of a crooked judge on One Life to Live. She stuck with the role for one year and then retired only to come back to the soaps in 1996 playing the role of Meta Bauer for Guiding Light. She played that part until 2002, the same year that she died at the age of 75.

Soap Opera Fun Fact: On August 4, 1983, both the master and backup copy of an episode of Search for Tomorrow became lost forcing the cast to do the show live for the first time in 16 years!

1962 – See Ya Later Wally Gator

Wally Gator, Touche Turtle and Lippy the Lion — Mr. Twiddle, Wally Gator, Touché Turtle, Dum Dum, Hardy Har Har and Lippy the Lion. *(Hanna-Barbera via TVDB)*

Produced by Hanna-Barbera, the syndicated The Wally Gator Show was sort of a three-in-one TV show. It featured three cartoon shorts: Wally Gator, Touché Turtle and Dum Dum and Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har:

Wally Gator: Despite his theme song which describes Wally as a “swing’in alligator of the swamp”, Wally was actually held in captivity at a local zoo. In each episode, he spent his time trying to outsmart zookeeper Mr. Twiddle only to end up back where he started.

Touché Turtle and Dum Dum: Initially set during the Middle Ages, Touché and Dum Dum were heroes of sorts, brandishing swords (or “swards” as Touché would say) saving kings and queens. However, some of the storylines took place in different eras and locations.

Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har: In this cartoon, Lippy would often talk his buddy into some new get-rich-quick scheme. The latter usually went along with the idea reluctantly saying his catchphrase, “Oh me, oh my, oh dear”.

The Wally Gator Show only ran for one year. Of the three cartoons, Wally is usually the only character people remember from their childhoods. He has also been featured in other Hanna-Barbera series (including 1973’s Yogi’s Gang; 1977’s Laff-A-Lympics, and 2021’s Jellystone!) while the other characters did not. Guess Wally got the last laugh.