WEEDS (the TV show) (suburban pot-dealing mom, etc.)

Aside: I can't watch SHOWTIME! now without shouting SHOWTIME! a la Dizzee everytime I see that SHOWTIME! logo.

JUST ADD WEED AND BLACK PEOPLE/CORNBREAD.

Oh shit, I forgot that cornbread line. That was a bit cringworthy.

"Even on premium cable, setting up a privileged dope-dealing suburban matron as a sympathetic heroine is tricky." Is it? Beyond the legal issues, I find it very hard to attach any kind of moral taint to pot - is the "pothead accountant" any different from an oenophile, really?

Now I suppose I'll have to get Showtime and check it out...

Yep, especially since she goes heavy on the "no kids" thing to the other dealer. And the upper hand she gets on him at the end of the episode was a little too convenient for me.

cutty is completely right about the black people dialogue, wtf! I keep hoping it's a parody of the way white suburbanites people think black people speak, but I am getting the suspicion it's not parody. The whole streetwise matron character thing almost saps my will to live.

Um, all that said, it's one of the few things I've been watching on tv since it gives me an excuse to hang out at my friend's place.

I suspect that at some point during the show's development the writers got as far as "hey, let's make the black family the non-dysfunctional one" and then used that as an after-the-fact excuse for their dialogue.

Seriously though wtf, a cable show with Mtn Goats music? This crosses some bridge not ready for yet

if there one problem with the show, the formulaic 'end the show with MLP crying' thing grated a bit.

The "black" dialogue has gotten better. I don't really approve though of all of the re-does of "Ticky Tacky" either. And come on Showtime, you are SHOWTIME, show some BOOB.

I liked the Elvis Costello one for the season opener.

Parker completely saves the show, she even gives the post-abortion interaction some soul.

I will gladly get all Bimbled on this bitch and proclaim this show to be the best thing on TV right now. (I just saw the big black dildo / dressed like a beekeeper / Thursday's DEA kush summit ep.)

Oh yes, it's quite brilliant. Can't wait for the new season.

This show is appalling. The "me-so-horny" masseuse in the episode where the uncle takes the very young child to get a handjob was unfuckingbelievable. There's not a single ludicrous "black character" stereotype that hasn't been employed, completely straight-faced, yet.

The fact that this shit attracts talented actors like Martin Donovan and Zooey Deschanel is depressing.

Heavy accent does not a stereotype make. & shit, you forgot all the white folk stereotypes, too!

First two episodes leaky leaky!!!!!!!!!!!

haha i'm 9 minutes to go with e01

Zooey Deschanel is pure magic.

oh right yeah, isn't hilarity duff in this now?

/surmounter

actually....

Showtime has also announced that actress Mary-Kate Olsen will be appearing in 10 out of 15 episodes, marking her first solo role, separate from twin sister Ashley Olsen. She will be playing a devout Christian girl named Tara who moves into the neigbouring megachurch community of Majestic, and who will become a love interest of Silas Botwin.

haha yeah that's what i meant.

Go Silas!

Heavy accent does not a stereotype make.

Riiiiight, "flied lice"-style happy-ending Asian masseuses are not a stereotype at all.

Neither are oversexed young drug-dealing black men who can't pass up the opportunity to bed down with a suburban white woman (despite the fact that this action goes against everything they've written the character to be prior to this scenario).

Or lazy latina maids who smile at the boss one minute but then vent their "Dios Mio!" frustration in comically-subtitled Spanish the next.

Or heavy, sassy black matriarchs who spout surprising urban wisdom and defend their cornbread recipes (!) with profane one-liners.

I mean, seriously, the show is perfectly fun, but it is positively lousy with really lazy writing and nasty old central casting racism.

Sure, there's plenty of "white stereotypes" as well (Elizabeth Perkins' career-driven mom, who resents her child and cares only what the PTA thinks; "there is something sinister lurking beneath the surface of seemingly peaceful old suburbiaZzzzzzzzz"), but that's ultimately a strawman here, as the show asks us to care for/sympathize with/etc. these characters. It's bullshit.

I keep watching the fucking thing, because I am a mashochist (and, yes, there is the occasionally hilarious quip - "Hey, Lupita - what do you call the thing between the dick and the asshole?" (pause) "The coffee table?"), but I really do think this show is pretty awful.

OH NO A BLACK WOMAN IS MAKING CORNBREAD ON A TV SHOW

AND THERE ARE BLACK PEOPLE SELLING DRUGS AS WELL

CALL THE NAACP ASAP

You also forgot about the sassy husbandless with-child black woman living w/ the sassy cornbread-baking drug dealer.

Oh, no, there's at least two dozen more shopworn, lazy cliches I left out.

I really don't think I'm being hypersensitive; I think the writing on this show is lazy.

At the same time, I understand people getting really worked up when someone accuses something they like of being on racially shaky ground.

that's ultimately a strawman here, as the show asks us to care for/sympathize with/etc. these characters.

that's ultimately the flaw in yr argument because elizabeth perkins is no more sympathetic than anyone else in the show.

The thing is, Ben, you seem to be focusing so much on the "lazy" stereotyping (which, honestly, you seem to be inordinately sensitive to) that you're either willfully or inadvertently ignoring the work going into fleshing these characters out, which this show has done since the 2nd episode of the 1st season. I don't doubt that the writers are playing w/ these stereotypes to a certain degree, but they're not what the characters are all about, & to reduce the supporting cast to these caricatures when they're clearly not just those things is nothing more than sloppy viewing on your part. Unless you're watching this show w/ a RACIST STEREOTYPE CHECKLIST & a red pen at your side - then I can see you missing a few things, like characterization & salient plot points. But, hey, to each his own.

Which is to say:

- black person making cornbread = not racist writing
- black person selling drugs = not racist writing
- Mexican maid not wanting to do work = not racist writing
- black man sleeping w/ white woman = not racist writing (tho I'm pretty sure the motivation for EP's character to want to fuck Conrad was semi-racially motivated, in that she could throw it in her hubby's face that she boffed a black man; I didn't catch that plot line)

I'll give you the massage parlor, though playing the RACISM card on characters that had all of 5 minutes of screen time is a bit silly.

Guh, Dave, stop talking about RACISM -- I've only seen the first season, but the issue with that stuff is that it's just aesthetically LAME. I liked the crack about the fuck-you-up fairy and all, but when someone's strutting around tucking her lip and going MMM-HMM and talking about cornbread, they rapidly cease to feel like a character and start feeling like a construct.

This show is jacked up, by the way. There's all this good writing and great jokes, but at least through the first season it has NO idea what kind of show it is, and keeps pulling in ridiculous directions and having these awful stylized-editing moments and horrible montage endings, and it thinks WAY too much of MLP's character, and seems to imagine stuff is cool and interesting that is just not cool and interesting, and can't straighten out a tone between broad sitcom humor and dark humor and melodrama and realism, and yet ... eh, it's totally entertaining!

pfft

pshaw

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought the depiction of the sassy black folks, and the overkill on stereotypes was intentional. As if the writers were saying "Yes we have a black, drug dealing family on our show. We're going to be accused of playing to stereotypes and racial ugliness no matter what so we might as well run with it." That's the way I see it, as I can't see the writers portraying them that cartoonish and stereotypical without some self-awareness involved. Not saying that it's justifiable but, hey, it sounds like something white, irony aware, writers for a show about a pot dealing mom in the suburbs would do.

pppppppppppffffrrrrrrrrrrrrr

people be advancing incredible theories to skirt the simple fact that their sassy hard-nosed wise-talking drug-dealing motherly cornbread-baking black grandma character comes off kinda cardboard and by-the-numbers

much like their bitchy shallow gossipy PTA-dictator fat-daughter-scolding suburban mom character who then gets cancer and we then we learn that OMG it all comes from the behavior of her OWN mom coming off pretty by-the-numbers

fuck this show

OK now we can get serious.

this party's about to get raw like sushi, so haters to the left.

nabs i don't think we're supposed to like fat-daughter-scolding mom any more at that point. it's not that kind of show.

I don't care if we're supposed to LIKE her, I just think she -- along with a LOT of stuff on this show -- is a really flat stock character. I still enjoy the writing of lots of this, but the tone and setting and a lot of the characters are stock to the point of ridiculousness, and it still amazes me that if you watch long enough it's even possible to get past that and get interested in how they function in their own ridiculous stock-charactery way. Seriously, there are times when this show rivals pornography for mindboggling stock characters!

And I thought I was full of shit!

:D

the 'ex-israeli army hotty' is straight from central casting, have to fess.

Does the second season get better or something?

(Just as an example of what I'm talking about, BTW: MLP's sudden VIP-area conversation with "Tusk" was, like ... it should have been on CBS.)

xp - thank god for central casting, then

i think the second series was better. that had um eastern european badass gangsters which were in NO WAY stereotyped, um...

xpost

clink! to that

wow gayest version of "otm" yet

When did the second series come out? I really enjoyed the first one, but I think that's all we've had in the UK.

umm, perhaps this is somewhat intended, to be juxtaposed with something so un-stock as a drug-dealing soccer mom?

I mean, come on, you have a large sassy black woman with a secret family cawn'bread recipe. Obviously, they're going for the cliches.

So far that's two in the "maybe this show has major shortcomings ON PURPOSE" position.

PS given that the writing for her (Mahalia, is it?) is often very sharp and funny, it seems to me that the creators of this show just actually think she's a lovable, fascinating character -- which she actually kind of would be, if we weren't so often distracted by her cut-out nature.

But if this show is TRYING to come off kinda lameish about certain things, then right around Tusk-time it became a freaking triumph.

The sex scene in the 1st season w/ the latin drugdealer was definitely off key. Trying to be absurd and shocking, but way too predictable. Then MLP is crying about it later? :P

Actually the show reminds me a lot of Dexter, which has some of the worst cardboard characters to date (omg his sister is horrible), yet somehow it is totally watchable.

wait who who the hell said 'major shortcomings'?? And are you talking about Celia? No, I think you're supposed to find what she says funny, and even see her sweet spots at times, but ultimately dislike her.

Oh god, TOTALLY, bnw -- I kinda think they maybe couldn't think of any way to possibly resolve the threat there without just kinda whoring her out, so then they had to spin it into a weepy out-of-control "what am I even doing anymore" thing just to explain it away.

Though, granted, she didn't appear to have picked up any replacement vibrator batteries yet.

Seriously, I'm really not seeing any stock characterness apart from the obviously intended aforementioned racially cliched bits. Can you please identify what and who you are describing exactly?

And how do we feel about Silas? My friend and I debate this constantly, I think he's a COMPLETE prick and is horrible to his mother who gives him so much (condom/safety pin, anyone?) and she justifies it completely saying "oh he's 15, he's young, he's an adolescent, he's having a hard time", like everything he does is just completely OK.

I really hope he just gets killed though.

she being my friend, not Nancy

xpost - I am describing basically ever character in the first season apart from Nancy, Shane, Silas, and Conrad.

Yes but I'm still not getting it--specifics?

They are two-dimensional stock characters. The writers try to make up for that missing third dimension by making them over-the-top ridiculous. And they exist in a world of uneven shifts in tone and style that does not make their job any easier.

(None of which keeps me from finding the show entertaining and watchable.)

WHO??? Names! Because you see, you said that Nancy, Shane, Silas, and Conrad aren't very stock (when, actually, now thinking of it, Silas is pretty boring and awful). So they're out of the way. Now the characters left are:

Heylia, obviously intended to be a cliche (along with Lupita)
Doug Wilson, who seems pretty unconventional and weird
Andy, who is probably the most stock-characterish on the show (typical screws-everything-up brother in law), but who I think is utilized in a very effective way
Celia, who, as the extremely dysfuntional upper-middle-class pill-popping mother, is cliche, yes, but I woudln't go so far as to call her a 'stock character' like Andy is.

So, I mean, Heylia and Lupita really don't count, so it's just Andy and possibly Celia, out of like 15 characters

The sex scene in the 1st season w/ the latin drugdealer was definitely off key. Trying to be absurd and shocking, but way too predictable. Then MLP is crying about it later? :P

i don't think she cried about it, i didn't predict it, and it wasn't shocking.

Who was this? I don't remember this bit

Did you even read upthread? Celia, Heylia, "Tusk" scene, Sanjay -- this thing is full of cardboard cut-out characters animated with ridiculousness instead of humanity. (They haven't even gotten very far into penetrating who exactly MLP's character is supposed to be, a mystery that actually works in their favor.) I mean, if you want to insist that the characters are SUPPOSED to be so two-dimensional, then whatever, but I'm not certain how that would help.

Who she's supposed to be? She's the soccer mom who deals pot. I don't think she's easily pigeonholed. And I really do think the writers are trying to play the 'racial stereotype' card, yes.

"Soccer mom who deals pot" is an occupation, not a character. And "racial stereotype" is not the same thing as "stock character"; one is a social concern, the other is an aesthetic concern.

that's ultimately the flaw in yr argument because elizabeth perkins is no more sympathetic than anyone else in the show.

Bullshit on that; her breast cancer storyline was working double shifts to scream for sympathy for this character (one of the few times they've tried to flesh out a character, and it's cheap and cynical). We still know NOTHING about Heylia (she's stepped out of her zone once, for the cringeworthy storyline about her brief romance with the - sigh - Nation of Islam neigbor who comes bearing bean pies); we know absolutely nothing about Vaneeta; even Conrad is totally vague (how can we possibly know nothing about him when the writers clearly have no idea who he is?!).

reaching

The only show that requires *less* reaching in the calling-out-pop-culture-
for-psychotically-uncomfortable-racial-politics-and-characterizations is probably "Flavor of Love."

(Who knows, maybe "Weeds" can still squeeze in a black guy in comical clothing chasing an Amazonian white woman in lingerie, while brandishing a fried chicken drumstick - but it's too early in the season to tell).

The sex scene in the 1st season w/ the latin drugdealer was definitely off key. Trying to be absurd and shocking, but way too predictable. Then MLP is crying about it later? :P

im with most of you about the writing being occasionally really lazy, but this actually rung quite true... people in fucked-up situations do fucked-up things (oftentimes sleeping with people who they dont care about) and then almost immediately regret it. ive been in sort of similar places more than once, and made a lot of decisions in the moment that i still regret.

So who's watched the first 2 eps of season 3 yet? The 3rd one's online now too...

I have... all action-packed with real cliffhangers. Starting to get a little upset at MLP's powerlessness on the show and some of the character dynamics in general, but still enjoying it.

still getting over the fact we "know absolutely nothing" about vaneeta. has she been in these three eps?

MLP NEKID IN WEEDS AD W/SNAKE NSFW

I caught up through the second season, and this got a lot better. Mostly because they gave in a little and just went ahead and got all thriller-y: the clusterfuck cliffhanger at season's end was pretty great!

P.S. DESCHANEL FEREVER

but the lack of a single tone that you complained got worse no? and the ending got so tarantino-y, complete with guy in closet.
but yes o zooey l luv you

also, fwiw, i have been watching six feet under and this recently and weeds is way more depressing.

first 4 eps of the new season are way uneven. season 2 was better (so far), but im willing to wait and see.

season 2 went to shit once agent wonderbread went bad. I usually totally crush on Zooey but she was just annoying. It seems like a show trying to out-do itself, discarding any semblance of reality in the plot and characters. rescue me did this after season 1 and became totally unwatchable.

first two eps of season three aren't so good, very plotty. it was a great cliffhanger but they should have cut to six months later and ignored it.

OK, people, who agrees that this week's episode (third of the season) was one of the best of the entire series? Discussion?

ima get back to this. i was a bit ech about the first two. it was a great cliffhanger but theyu should have done a 'six months later' thing with everything back to normal.

god mlp is hot

final scene of the last episode was the best thing ive seen all year

Every episode of this season seems to keep topping the previous one; they have all been, in my opinion, absolutely stellar, and extremely quality for a show three seasons in. It seems to be quirkier than ever, while at the same time presenting fairly large "how-the-hell-will-they-get-out-of-this" conflicts (and, of course, always resolving them with a hilariously absurd deus ex machina). The friendly dynamic between the marijuana-dealing soccer mom and the hardcore thug holding her for hundreds of thousands of dollars was brilliantly developed and delicately maintained, giving viewers a growing affection for U-Turn ("Avocado?") while simultaneously using his death as a perfect resoultuion for Nancy's predicament. Fuckin' A.

god mlp is hot

-- max, Wednesday, September 26, 2007 8:12 PM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

cannot be cosigned enough

the Olsen Twin is creeeeepy

this season has kind of gone off the deep end in terms of questionable racial content - the Latino gang, the drug dealer holding her hostage basically smacking her around half the time, etc..

BUT SHE TAKES OFF HER PANTS

I've seen up to episode 6, with 7 sitting on my harddrive waiting for my Canadian, cable-less ass to spend 45 minutes at home before bedtime.. I have LOVED the developments but still agree with whoever it was far upthread who thought that Silas was a total, unbelieveable asshole. I hope Mary Kate gives him a nasty disease.

Have they ever resolved his first love - Celia's other daughter who was sent away to another school? It's been a long time since I saw those first episodes - was she someone else's daughter? I don't think she's been mentioned at all since the first few episodes.

I have LOVED the developments but still agree with whoever it was far upthread who thought that Silas was a total, unbelieveable asshole

That was me but I've since changed my stance; I think he's matured quite a bit and, while still possessing some prickish tendencies, is generally a "good guy" this season.

i'm about halfway through series, like it a LOT still, but it was a big change of pace and i maybe need to go back to the early eps.

I'm warming up to this season. I loved the beginning and middle of last season, thought it was really funny, and by the end it got really intense and serious, and I still loved it but it sort of painted itself into this weird corner, and the beginning of this season started so over-the-top in a way I just found annoying, but I feel like with this last episode it's starting to slow down to a slightly more normal pace, if that makes any sense. And I've enjoyed Modine as well.

the one i saw last has a good 'shield' reference; but the show in general is kind of going that way weirdly: the franticness of it, also the three-way black-vs-latino-vs-eastern european gang stuff.

i fucking love this show. but i work days and nights, and never watch tv, so my friend gave me this link:
http://www11.alluc.org/alluc/tvshows.htmlaction=getviewcategory&category_uid=872

i was up to episode 10 in the second series, and then the whole second series disappeared off this site - RIGHT at this cliffhanger episode where DEA dude is outside mlp's house listening with his spy equipment. fucking gutted.

try, erm, teevee linkz

hmmm... when i click on the episodes, another tvlinks box just pops up. i can't actually seem to get the program.

give it more time to load? it does pop up in a separate box. although some source sites just don't load at all for me.

try... torrenting

i don't even know what that means :(

http://www.bittorrent.com/download

+ go to mininova or pirate bay (etc) for teh shows.

Well well, that episode sure was trash... what the hell did it accomplish?? There were almost no laughs at all, no plot movement, and horrible pacing with tons of filler (Doug and Andy looking for needles to siphon morphine; are you kidding? The whole thing could've been whittle down to 15 minutes without losing a thing).

great finale

I have mixed feelings about it. Funny that it was advertised as a huge cliff-hanger when compared to the end of last season, this was a pretty clean break (except for the Celia thing).

im only watching season 1 but wtf @ stevie d upthread, nabisco totally ... otm

this show is so fucking frustrating i think mostly cause the cast is SO GOOD and the writings just not there to back them up

i love kevin nealon

the last season was a lot better, i thought

kevin nealon is so grebt in this!

the last season had me just wishing it would end already!

love the Nealon. I never knew he had it in him. But yeah, the writing is often flimsy and mlp - while still smokin hot - really started to bug me after the first season or so.

MLP was better in the third season, and nealon is pure jokes.

but yeah the writing isn't always *quite there*. and where the hell did andy go lately?

I can't believe this show is still on the air.

Is there a "Breaking Bad" (new show about a meth-dealing dad, apparently) thread yet? I've heard good things.

Andy and Doug are by a gigantic, painful margin the best and best-written-for characters on this show.

Andy's boot camp experience especially one of the highlights of the series - "you're gonna shit when I shit!".

I FUCKING LOVE WEEDS. I'm going to pick up disc 2 of season three today! That scene with the Thermals song and Nancy in the swimming pool? CLASSIQUE AND INSPIRED

i totally thought the show ended at season 3. apparently there is a new season? ads for it everywhere.

i never thought i could be excited for this show given how frivolously the plot develops but it seems like something interesting could happen in the next season. probably not, though...

i recently tried getting into this show, but I couldn't hang. there's something about it that grates on me like fingernails on chalkboard. partially the racial stereotypes debated up thread (which hit me over the head within the first 2 minutes of the first episode - maybe i'm overly sensitive too), partially the overly-precious "the things they say!" dialog of the youngest kid, and partially just overly full of annoying people who i would hate if i knew them.

and kevin nealon? guy sucks. he was one the worst SNL cast members i can think of. he couldn't make it through a 30 second skit without fumbling his lines and was about as charismatic as a dog turd.

never made it through a whole episode, but the posters in the subway make me very happy every morning.

i think the only reason i even care enough to rant about it, is that i was disappointed. i really wanted to like the show.

I like this one because I don't think it's ever treated any situation seriously

kevin nealon is hilarious in this. as is the brother in law.
the ad where she is on her stomach in sequined knickers makes me uncomfortable.

i have been really surprised by K. Nealon. I was never a fan, but yeah, he and the bro in law make me laugh. mlp is such a chore though. cute, sure, but ugh.

and now i see i said basically the same thing three months ago

From wikipedia:

Season 4

Showtime has confirmed a fourth season of Weeds, with at least 13 episodes.[7] The fourth season is currently scheduled to debut on Monday, June 16, 2008.[8] The plot of season 4 revolves around Nancy relocating her family (and her drug business) from her burned-down Agrestic neighborhood to the beach town of Ren Mar on the San Diego/Mexico border.[9]

The first episode of this season entitled "Mother Thinks the Birds are After Her" is the last time "Little Boxes" will be used over the opening credits, after which it will be replaced by new credits and an unknown theme song.

From what we know, the show is taking a whole new direction. Showtime has guaranteed that the show will still contain the iconic dark humor that is loved by the fan base. However, the new setting will affect the coloring and overall atmosphere of the series.

Cast changes include the downgrade of characters played by Romany Malco and Tonye Patano since season one from regulars to guest stars, season three's Mary Kate Olsen and Matthew Modine; Season two introductory Kat portrayed by Zooey Deschanel, season three introductory Guillermo portrayed by Guillermo Diaz and new ensemble member Albert Brooks will join the cast for several season four episodes.[10] Mexican actor Demian Bichir has been cast to play Esteban, the mayor of Tijuana and Nancy Botwin's love interest in season 4.[11]

Her love interest is going to be the mayor of Tijuana? This is either more shark jumping, or part of the clever series of shark jumping that goes on in pretty much every episode

I don't know if Albert Brooks is going to be a plus or a minus. Probably both.

just finished season three...i cried at the ending!

bawled, more like it! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wAHhZ0I8Lo&feature=related)

there's too much hate in this thread...this is easily my favorite tv show!

MONDAY.

kind of wack : /

I don't much like the ticky tacky theme but the totally weird thing is that it's about Daly City, which is definitely sub-sub-suburban!

Not bad! I can see people being disappointed, though, because it felt more like a standard episode than an OMG groundbreaking season opener.

it did seem pretty business as usual...

Huell Howser!

ALBERT BROOKS

"maybe it was her sled"

lol

finally caught up on this. it can be a little outlandish at times an all but it's way fun. probably my favorite thing to watch at the moment. Nacy getting gangsta on Cilia's grill!!

Nancy that is.

This show is good, stupid fun. About weed. Come ON.

"Scrapbooking?"

this season has been good, and the much-trumpeted "show completely changes direction AND loses the theme song!" press it got before it started seems like a misdirection (it did lose the theme song but the titles actually got better, and tonewise the show seems the same to me, and most of the cast is still there, except for conrad and mahalia).

this season is so dark! i love it.

also silas is now hot

he's gonna blap that kids mom.

I'm not sure yet if season 4 is fresh new fun or maybe a bit stupid. There's always been sudden plot changes and all that but now they all live in the same house!? We'll see. Albert Brooks was surprisingly not so funny.

Goddamn! Congrats again, J0hn!

Soundtracking May-December cunnilingus & Shane sharing a tender moment w/ nudie pics of his mom = THE BIG TIME

Guillermo getting one-upped by Nancy kinda made me sad!

also Silas action!!!!!!!!!!!

I am also stoked for the rest of S4 because of Emolia from The Shield playing Doug's illegal love interest! Also: potential spanking. Also: the sparkly top hat.

JohnD!

thank yez, thank yez

I can't front, I was stoked both by the usage & the perved-out context of it

dude. awesome.

OK, I am only three episodes into Season 3, but it's kind of not good...? I liked the last episode of Season 2 as an absurdly complicated madcap finale, but when the aftermath bled into Season 3, the already sometimes uneven tone of the show took a major hit. For a show that's ostensibly a comedy, everything seems all high stakes and hopeless now, which is weird and occasionally irritating.

Does it get better? (I'm only peeking at parts of this thread.)

Whaaa??? All of season three is great. To me, that's was where the show transformed from 'well-written comedy with soap opera tendencies' to 'dark and funny soap opera.' I think this is a good thing, but if you're not liking it so far, I'm not sure if it will get much better (I mean, it does get better as the season goes on, but as i said, it turns into more of a soap opera). Also, this (S03E02) is like one of the greatest Weeds moments ever.

season three is definitely when you see a transformation in nancy from 'suburban mom dealing weed' to 'woman with serious and deep judgement problems'

season three is the worst

she's back in the game now.

season three was by far the worst. season 4 is really a pleasant thing to watch after that mess.

season three was by far the worst.

I don't understand this (tho, to be fair, I can't hang w/ most of the negativity on this thread, so what do I know).

I don't have a problem with soap operas, I just hope they can still keep it frothy, and that's what seems off about Season 3 so far. The O.C. was good at maintaining that balance. (Jenji Kohan, meet Sandy Cohen.)

Halfway through S3 now. It's gotten better.

SPOILER

Thank Christ they killed U-Turn. His one-note angry thug act was unbearable.

/SPOILER

Did Kevin Nealon call his dick 'my Jeremy Piven'?

haha YES - i just watched that episode last night!

I'm very interested how Guillermo is going to stay in the plot. I can't see him making peace with Nancy - that doesn't strike me as something he would do - and I really hope they don't just marginalize him. Guillermo Diaz is FAR to good on this show for that to happen.

I really like what they've done with Cesar thus far. He's a man I would NOT fuck with.

rebellion? hmmm...

lolol @ tunnel walk of shame.

velvet painting of "El Andy" A++

Wow, what a clunker of a season. Nothing she's done makes sense for her as a character anymore, and she's turned from mom who's trying to maintain her lifestyle to this horrible fucked up person who has done nothing to actually get better or show true remorse in the past season or so.

Have any other TV programs ever shifted this much from fairly light-hearted comedy to fairly dark drama?

the torture scene was pretty fucking awful.

This season was so brilliant, the next logical step after the soap operatic qualities of season three. **SPOILERS** I've read some shitty criticism of Nancy's decision re: Guillermo. Why would anyone think that's out of character? Have they not watched the first episode of season one? Or paid any attention to Silas' initial requests to deal? Or looked at her face when she first saw heroin in her garage? She obviously has some morals, and she's always made stupid, gutsy decisions, so why is it strange that she went to Till?

So that was the last episode of the season? Crazy. As I said above I didn't really like season 4 at first but yeah, it sure turned out friggin fantastic. The writers kept putting the characters, Nancy especially, in these worse and worse situations and somehow still managed to keep them just barely alive. And I think Demián Bichir was pretty damn good too.

the kevin nealon scene was the best! also, nancy talking to the gift basket woman.

That scene w/ Nancy in the car ordering the gift basket kinda got to me (especially when she starts to crack).

I hope they bring back Guillermo (unless they sand off his face or sodomize him with a broken pool cue or give him a Columbian necktie).

i'm sick of guillermo and his spanglish, he can go away now. bring back conrad.

agreed

Bleh. Finally watched the first episode of this. Fucking embarrassing. I think everyone summed it up upthread. Does it get any better?

the only reason(s) for watching this show are basically bro-in-law & Kevin Nealon imho

this show has kinda made me hate MLP who is otherwise pretty cute and not completely horrible (cf West Wing). srsly, how many times can you sip resignedly at your iced latte? i'd rather watch that loop of Caruso/shades/the Who

the show gets way better after the first episode, yes.

This show has basically become a series of Nancy's fuck-ups that both save her ass and bury her deeper in trouble. Fortunately, while it's cringe-worthy, it makes it reasonably worth watching.

Doug showing up and freeloading around their new home in the recent season was pretty great.

cant say this enough--the acting is 100% fantastic on this show more or less across the board and it just makes it all the more annoying that the writing is so stupid and terrible

Enjoyed the first three seasons, but pretty much got my fill of these characters. I just read the wiki summary of S4 and I doubt I'll watch any of it.

oh man, i don't have anywhere to watch this tonight :/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoaTl7IcFs8

i thought this was totally inspired

can't really be fucked tbh

this show has finally completely crossed into fucked up dark territory, but it seems really uncomfortable there and still wants to be funny every once in a while, and it seems....I don't know. Like it needs to end after this season?

my guess? She goes to the fed for witness protection, gets sent to some crazy suburbia for said witness protection, and it's like the show can start over again, but now with feds funnies.

and Jennifer Jason Leigh is hot.

Yeah, this is still my favorite show ever, I'm very very impressed with these two episodes. That last scene really shook me up.

Good ep last night imo

damn, what a frustrating ending

The first 3 episodes of this season have been such garbage that I've forgotten to watch the last two. Remember when this show used to be quirky, humorous, and interesting? Now it's just boring and lacks anything worthwhile. Has any other show actually changed from a straight-up comedy to a straight-up drama?

Looking back, Weeds declined very swiftly after Agrestic met its fiery fate. I wish I'd stopped watching it then, but something about the show - and it may quite possibly be MLP's wanton displays of legs and boobies all over the place - keeps me a little engrossed.

I wish she'd make me pie.

Her thank-you note to men is so sweet it may give me a toothache even before the pie.

Liked this week

more Ignacio imo

nealon deserves an emmy for this shit.

we still watch it, but the show's just really stupid now. Still trying to be shocking, not as funny as it used to be.

feel the same way but hey it's only half hour show.

the half hour format is its saving grace at this point, methinks. how the fuck did the girl scout know that celia is selling pot on the side of her makeup business!?!?! so stupid. yet still, we watch.

Last scene was kinda great.

saved the episode

saved the season. The Celia/Dean/Nealon etc portion of the show is stupider then ever...and unlike occasionally in the past, mostly not really funny.

But what's going on with Nancy and the kids and that last scene make me want to watch for another season.

agreed, that is the best season cliffhanger in a long while. shane's gotten dark!

celia dressing up like nancy was sort of funny as a one-off gag, but as a story arc for next season it's definitely retarded.

I liked her Nancy-huge-eyes impersonation though

love shane!

so all seasons were added to Netflix streaming so I caught up - think I watched season 1 and a few eps of season 2 years ago. Was glad that Silas became much more tolerable, and even likable, as the show progressed. Did not miss Heylia (sp) or her daughter (?)...note to writers, just because they are black doesn't mean we will automatically write off their obnoxious personalities as "sassy".

Andy and Doug are the best part of the show IMO, I don't find Nancy and her immobile forehead interesting in the slightest. I really hope they drop this Andy/Nancy thing too because that just seems wrong to me on many different levels. And what happened with Nancy and Esteban re: ratting out his crew to the DEA? She just handed him a sonogram and they dropped it?

UGH Doug needs to be killed off stat. He has been pretty intolerable since the Olsen/Matthew Modine season. I wish this show was still a comedy.

this show

yeah, over it.

When was the last time Nancy even sold a drug? I ask you, people.

Andy = the only reason to watch this show anymore.

this season is much improved over the past two, I think.

^^ enjoying this season

really? i have no idea what this show is about anymore. or why linda hamilton's in it

i I am pretty surprised it's coming back for another year though.

The first few episodes were by and far the worst of the entire series but it's starting to shape up I think.

Doug needs to die though. I really hope they just shoot him in the head.

i didn't watch last season ... i was beginning to get bored with this show as it grew less funny. is it worthwhile to watch this again?!?

JEEZ I HATE DOUG SO MUCH GAH

Like he's not even lolstupid anymore, he's just infuriating.

I wish this show really went all the way w/ the whole nihilism thing and just left Nancy with a fucking bullet in her head and everyone else sort of at rock bottom. I can't see how this show could possibly reach any sort of eventual closure that is A) pleasant B) doesn't seem completely contrived.

well she's going to prison probably, so that is kind of interesting.

stoned watching weeds and hearing mountain goatse song was trippy man.

i didn't watch last season ... i was beginning to get bored with this show as it grew less funny. is it worthwhile to watch this again?!?

answer: no, it isn't. got sucked into season 6 mostly b/c i was curious about what was gonna happen to creepy psycho-killer son. otherwise, andy is the only reason i gave a shit about this show at all at this point. i would give a shit about silas if he wasn't such a wishy-washy twit. the show wasted jennifer jason leigh and linda hamilton, and the only semi-plausible reason that i can think of as to why the totally useless-at-this-point kevin neilan is still around is b/c the producers have taken pity on him. even the pruriert interest in seeing naked mary-louise parker get into soft-porn scenarios has lost any flavor.

nancy: "how about a farewell fuck?"
estaban: "that's crass, and it won't save you."
nancy: "what will?"
estaban: "nothing."

they might as well be talking about the show itself, and it might've been capable of that sort of meta-cleverness the first three seasons. i suspect not at this point, though.

i don't even expect this show to be good, only mildly amusing at this point. it succeeds there i guess. I enjoy seeing the world's worst parent get herself into increasingly terrible situations. still like the brother in law. wouldn't really miss this show if it were gone though; nurse jackie is hundreds and hundreds of times better as far as showtime dramadies go.

tonight marks the season-seven premiere of Weeds (10 p.m.), which opens three years after Nancy took the fall for a murder committed by her son Shane. Andy, Doug, and the kids have embarked on a new life in Denmark, while Nancy is about to be sprung from jail in New York and moved to a Washington Heights halfway house.

huh. well. ok. haven't seen this in a few years.

even the pruriert interest in seeing naked mary-louise parker get into soft-porn scenarios has lost any flavor.

sounds crazy but i guess it's true

anyone know of a reliable site i can watch this for free? it's not up on my usual website, and i can't find a non-shady link anywhere.

Wait the new season's on ALREADY?? I thought it was usually much later than this!

God, that opening sounds like SUCH A COP-OUT

“getting baked, eating italian subs, banging bridge and tunnel chicks.”

does anyone still care?

does anyone still care?

yeah, i wonder about that too ... this show has sucked for so long now, i dunno why it's even still on.

this show is so fucked up in 2023. everything about it. kinda want to keep watching it though. if you watch the first season your eyebrows will be permanently raised. just the kid sex stuff alone. but then the race stuff. just everything.

I wish my weedman looked like MLP!

― nickalicious (nickalicious)

posts that come across different in 2023

gonna get me some dank nugs from pinkie pie, bbl

"Showtime passed on this, as they had already started broadcasting Weeds, a show with similarities to the premise of Breaking Bad. While his producers convinced him that the show was different enough to still be successful, Gilligan later stated that he would not have gone forward with the idea had he known about Weeds earlier."

thought of BB what with the early cancer sub-plot in Weeds as well as Martin Donovan's government agent character getting a little TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT to the illegal activities.