'Weeds' Grows Into One of TV's Best Shows

[LdyLunatic]

USA -- A second harvest of "Weeds" (10 p.m., EDT, Monday, Showtime) comes just in time to save us from the worst summer drought we've seen in quite some time.
This summer's television garden has been filled with rotten tomatoes ("Big Brother All-Stars") and lightweight peaches ("America's Got Talent") But for adults seeking more sophisticated, engaging fare, it's been an unbelievably bad crop until now.
In summers past, we've had HBO's "Six Feet Under" or "Sex and the City" to produce for us. With those gone, the entire garden is left up to "Weeds," which admirably carries on the tradition. It returns faster paced, wittier and with characters more complex.
"Weeds" is a garden of pleasures. It's oh-so-wrong, yet it manages to be the best comedy on cable. Heck, for that matter, it's also head-and-shoulders above anything on primetime network television, too.
The story picks up from last fall's delightfully teasing cliffhanger, with Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) discovering that she's had intimate relations with a man who works for the Drug Enforcement Agency. This wouldn't be an issue if she weren't secretly a marijuana dealer.
And this is "Weeds" at its best: the story of how compromised life can be for Nancy. She's a widow who reluctantly started selling marijuana to make ends meet after her upper-income suburban husband died. Her decisions are often poor, but made for the right reasons.
As she tries to keep her family together and maintain her position in the community, she gets pulled deeper and deeper into a profession that ethically nags at her.
Even as she scoots out the door after a one-night stand, she tells her DEA agent lover why she's uncomfortable with him still being naked the morning after: "Now, it's daytime, and I'm all dressed ... and Methodist."
The fallout from the encounter has more than one repercussion for Nancy. Her partner in the marijuana-growing business wants nothing to do with her. Her other associates become nervous as well.
Then there's Nancy's best friend, the brutally honest and hard-to-be around, Celia (Elizabeth Perkins), whose latest mission is to take away councilman Doug's (Kevin Nealon) seat. While Celia and Doug were woefully used as stick figures last season, they spring to life in the opener.
Perkins is a particularly ripe season stealer, especially when facing off against her grade-school daughter about the rebellious kid's weight issues (dubbing her, in one scene, "Eliz-a-belly").
Perkins is as feisty as ever, making Celia a wonderful foil for the lazy Doug (Nealon's best role ever), a man who's still stuck in an adolescent stage.
Also rounding out the appealing cast are Justin Kirk as Nancy's opportunistic brother-in-law, a grand sidekick to Doug, and Renee Victor as Nancy's maid, the best lippy servant since Rosario on "Will & Grace."
Only minor quibbles hold back "Weeds" at this point: Needless wordiness drags down the pace of some scenes, but that's a very minor flaw in an otherwise spectacular series.
With Nancy constantly having to dam up one leaking hole after another in her life, Parker has created a character that tries to do right but rarely feels as if she has.
"Weeds" has grown in a short period into a comedy-drama with unparalleled richness and engrossing layers. Now it's time to feast on it. Enjoy.
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN)
Author: Terry Morrow
Published: August 9, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.

 

[Legend]

Personally, I love the show. I've seen every episode from Season 1 at least 5 times. Just yesterday I had a smoke-out with my girlfriends before watching the first season in it's entirety.

I'm curious to know what they have in store for the second season, which comes on Monday night.

 

[Mutt]

I loved it. Don't have showtime so just watched it on DVD. Loved it. Two doobies and a bong worth of review. lol
Left me hangin in suspense at the end of it though. I hate it when they do that. Drop a bomb and leave me till next season.
Do have a question tho. What plant is the dude "working" with. I know its a fake, but is it supposed to be a lowryder or something? I didn't quite catch it and had to reutrn the DVD.

 

[LdyLunatic]

Find a Way To Watch Showtime's 'Weeds'



California -- On the surface, Showtime's ``Weeds'' is an artfully conceived and delivered comedy with a funny premise -- widowed soccer mom deals drugs to her suburban friends. For most series, that level of achievement would be enough. But ``Weeds'' has something more on its mind.
In its second season, which begins tonight at 10, the show really begins to dig into emotional and social issues, from single motherhood and suburban morality to parenting in the modern world and the culture wars. In its first, very good season, it only scratched the surface of such things. There's a depth, a richness to the series now that was only suggested then.
For those coming in late -- and given the relatively small viewership for ``Weeds,'' that would be a lot of people -- here's a quick recap:
Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) was living the good if not exactly exciting suburban life in the enclave of Agrestic, California. She had a loving husband, two young sons and a flashy Range Rover.
Then her husband died -- and Nancy discovered that hubby had left the family penniless. So what's a woman to do to keep up appearances? Well, Nancy turned to dealing the evil weed (well, not so evil; she kept up the quality control) with a close-knit, loving African-American family headed by Heylia James (Tonye Patano) and her nephew Conrad (Romany Malco) acting as her wholesalers.
Swirling around the edges of this new world order were Nancy's best friend, the sarcastic and sometimes self-absorbed Celia Hodes (Emmy nominee Elizabeth Perkins); Nancy's accountant, city councilman and weed aficionado Doug Wilson (Kevin Nealon); and her oversexed slacker brother-in-law Andy, played with relish by Justin Kirk (Prior Walter in HBO's ``Angels in America'').
At the end of last season, Nancy's world was undergoing even more cosmic shifts. She'd decided to go into the business of growing pot with Conrad, Doug and Andy as part of her organization. Her housekeeper had discovered her real ``occupation'' and was starting to blackmail her. Her oldest son was sleeping with his older girlfriend and dissing his mother at every point. Andy was running some scam involving rabbinical school.
And, oh, Nancy finally got a hot date with a guy she likes -- Peter Scottson (the always fine Martin Donovan) -- and then discovered he's a DEA agent. Oops.
That's where we pick up in tonight's Season 2 opener. Much of the half-hour (the show does more within that time limit than most dramas do in a hour) involves Nancy trying to get things back on track.
What's definitely on track is the series' fine writing and sharp observational humor, much of it from show creator Jenji Kohan. ``Weeds'' never has gone for easy laughs -- it sets up cliches of the stoner world, only to knock them down -- and it's even richer in this season's first few episodes. It also artfully dodges some of the smugness that surfaced last year in its depictions of suburban hypocrisy.
The real strength of the series remains one of TV's very best casts, led by the luminous Parker, who should be an Emmy nominee (heck, an Emmy winner) but is part of this year's prestigious group known as The Notable Omissions. Some people find her style of acting affected, but Parker is superb as a woman trying desperately to juggle being a high-powered entrepreneur, a good mother and someone with a reasonably happy personal life. She does more with her eyes and small gestures than most actors do with pages of dialogue.
Perkins, Nealon (who may never get a part this good or this funny again) and Donovan provide just the right touches around Parker's performance. And Kirk seems even more comfortable with his role than he did last year. His rambling riff on masturbation in an upcoming episode may be the single funniest thing the series has done.
I know that recommending a series on Showtime, a premium cable channel that lags way behind HBO in subscriptions, can be a bit frustrating for readers who don't want to pay the extra money. (Alternative: The show's first season is now available on DVD.)
But ``Weeds'' is terrific television: smart, funny, engaging and insightful. If you don't subscribe to Showtime, try to find a way to see ``Weeds.''
Complete Title: For Smart Comedy, Find a Way To Watch Showtime's 'Weeds'
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Author: Charlie McCollum, Mercury News
Published: August 14, 2006
Copyright: 2006 San Jose Mercury News