Nancy Has Limits: Weeds 4.9

Well, we've finally come upon one of Nancy's limits - in the excellent 4.9 of Weeds.

Shane's been masturbating to those full frontal nudity pix of Nancy that Judah took of her years ago. That's too much even for Uncle Andy, who has had a good time with this picture over the years himself. Andy tells Nancy, who is also trying to deal with Silas' hot affair with MILF Lisa (played by Lost's Sarah - Julie Bowen). Nancy finally sits down with the two boys, and gives them her point of view. (Actually, though both involve boys and older women, Shane's is much more over the top. Possibly Nancy would not have reacted that much to Silas's doings, had she not been so understandably appalled by Shane.)

Meanwhile, Andy is El Andy in Mexico, a great coyote with great lines. Over the years, Andy, brilliant played by Justin Kirk, has had the best lines in the series.

Mary-Louise Parker's putting in an especially superb, saucy performance as Nancy this year herself. It's good to see her and Esteban together - I think they're an even better couple than Nancy and Conrad (Nancy certainly seems more happy). I hope Weeds doesn't break her heart by getting him killed...



See also: Showtime's Sassy Hour of Sin ... Weeds 4.3: Nancy by the Endless Sea ... Sitting Shiva on Weeds and Laughing: 4.4 ... Nancy Gets Spanked and Likes It: 4.8 ... Shane and Two Girls: 4.10 ... Nancy Turns a Corner: 4.11 ... The First Bitter Fruit of Telling Till: 4.12

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The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





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Weeds 3 Ep 3: Appealing, Important Questions

Monday's episode of Weeds on Showtime was very appealing. Indeed, Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin was never more appealing, and it was not just because of the dance she did on the table for the Mexican drug dealers. Actually, it was because of that dance, and she did look very appealing doing it, but there was something else about the dance...

It typifies everything that Nancy does, to save her family, to survive, in the underlyingly tough world of this comedy series. Selling weed is the flagship of this well, noble, sympathetic effort. Nancy would never have gotten into the business had her husband not died. Nor would she have gone so far with Peter, if not for the need to protect her family, her business, herself.

Which is not to say that she didn't enjoy Peter, maybe even love him, in a way. And she certainly gets a kick of our her business (except when it's almost killing her, which is fairly often). But the prime motive behind this stuff is survival, not pleasure.

And the same applied to the dance on Monday. Nancy wouldn't have done it, couldn't have, if it wasn't in sync with a part of her - if a part of her didn't really cleave to that. But the more important reason that she danced to order was her need to get the brick of heroin, as U-Turn had requested.

In the end, it turned out that Nancy was being gamed - there was no dance that was always required. The drug dealers were taking advantage of her.

And this pertains to the main story of Weeds, too. How much of what Nancy does is really necessary? How much happens because she is being manipulated, gamed? How much because she is a gaming herself?

Amidst the delightful laughs, these questions make Nancy and Weeds not only highly appealing and but even really important.

see also Weeds in Perspective

and reviews of other Season 3 episodes: 1 ... 2 ... 4-5: Prius and Gluteus ... 6. Ray of Hope ... 7. Conrad Rules! ... 12: Nancy and Conrad! ... 13. Shane Pays the Price ... 15. Finale: The Fire and the Clean Slate

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The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

Weeds is Back

Yeah, Season 3, tomorrow night, on Showtime...

You may remember that Season 2 left our heroine and heroes in something of a cliff-hanger: Nancy's deal went bad. U-Turn and his crew had guns on the Armenians who had killed Peter and now had guns drawn on U-Turn and company, with Nancy and Conrad in the middle. Everyone was looking for the dope - which, as it turned out, Silas had taken- but not for long, because Celia is about to have him arrested, for something else...

The first episode of Season 3 begins right where the above left off. Nancy (of course) is able to get out of this (you didn't think she'd be killed, did you?), but (of course) not without paying a price (and one which she will continue to pay all season)...

Meanwhile - that lunatic (Kat) who took Shane for a ride leaves him stranded. Uncle Andy and the Inuit bounty-hunter go out in search of him.

So, Season 3 looks every bit as dark and funny as Season 2 - and, who knows, bear in mind that we haven't seen Peter dead, not even shot with our own eyes, so Season 3 could even lighten up a little before its over.

The acting is superb, and it's been throughout the series. Mary-Louise Parker is looking and acting better than ever as Nancy Botwin. Elizabth Perkins is brilliantly bitchy as Celia, Romany Malco has just the right blend of sensitivity and street smarts as Conrad, and nothing Justin Kirk does as Andy is short of hilarious.

Good to hear Randy Newman do the Little Boxes honors at the beginning...

see also Weeds in Perspective

and reviews of other Season 3 episodes ... 2 ... 3: Appealing, Important Questions ... 4-5: Prius and Gluteus ... 6. Ray of Hope ... 7. Conrad Rules! ... 12: Nancy and Conrad! ... 13. Shane Pays the Price ... 14. Just Nancy Thought Things Couldn't Get Any Worse ... 15. Finale: The Fire and the Clean Slate

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The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

Weeds in Perspective

Weeds returns to Showtime on August 13. I just watched the first two seasons On-Demand, and I'm still close to bursting out laughing about certain scenes and characters. The series is right up there with Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development as fall-down laughing out loud comedy. But Weeds also has a darker side, which really developed a hair-standing-up-on- the-back-of-your neck edge by the end of the second season ... (a brilliant accompaniment to falling down laughing)...

For anyone who's been living on Alpha Centauri or thereabouts the past few years: Mary Louise Parker plays Nancy Botwin, a suburban single-mom who deals weed. Her husband Judah dropped dead unexpectedly while jogging, leaving Nancy no insurance and a load of bills. She has two sons - Silas (Hunter Parish) a high-school student and Shane (Alexander Gould) just breaking into puberty. Her brother-in-law Andy (Justin Kirk) moves in to help with the uncle-ing. Lupita (Renee Victor) the housekeeper doesn't do any work, because she discovered Nancy's stash and that's her price for keeping quiet.

There's hilarity in almost every family scene, but Andy is in a class by himself. He explains the ins-and-outs of masturbating to Shane, who's been gumming up the plumbing with his used socks. He provides sage counsel to both boys about girls and women. He gets involved with a sexy wacko himself as he goes to rabbinical school to avoid going to Iraq - until a dog bites off two of his toes, giving him grounds for a medical deferment if needed.

The first season is mostly laughs, as Nancy struggles to get her business going and make ends meet. But it ends with a startling scene - the first guy she has let herself romantically sleep with after husband's death is DEA, a drug enforcement agent.

This sets up the considerably darker but even funnier second season. Nancy secretly marries DEA Peter (Martin Donovan) who says he loves her. The idea is that Peter as her husband can't be compelled to testify against her, and nor would he want to, since being married to a drug-dealer would ruin his career. It's not that Nancy loves him - she certainly likes him, at this point - it's that she's willing do anything to protect her business and her family. She's not above using sex and whatever is necessary. I actually think this makes her more admirable.

Meanwhile, her business is booming. Conrad (Romany Malco), who starts out as a low-level drug runner, turns out to be a George Washington Carver of weed, and develops a highly desirable variety. Nancy and Conrad put together a cartel of characters to run the business, including SNL's Kevin Nealon as the pot-smoking town councilman Doug, and Andy Milder as the hapless lawyer Dean, whose wife Celia, delightfully played by Elizabeth Perkins, is Nancy's best friend and a grade-A bitch.

But something's gotta give - given that Nancy doesn't fully love Peter, is not comfortable sleeping with him in Judah's bed - and it does: In the stunning ending of Season 2, Nancy is . . . well, I won't give it away for you, in case you haven't seen it.

But I can't wait for August 13 and Season 3. Weeds is part of our current, new golden age of television, precisely what Congress and the FCC would excise from cable television if they get their way ... so grab it while you can...

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Oh - and it will be great to hear what Weeds does with its theme-song. Season 1 featured Malvina Reynolds singing her "Little Boxes". Season 2 had Malvina singing only in the final episode, with a different artist - ranging from Elvis Costello to Engelbert Humperdinck! - singing the theme song for each episode. This went one better than The Wire, which has a different artist singing "Down in the Hole" each season. I like "Down in the Hole" better than "Little Boxes," but it will be fun to see what Weeds does with its boxes this season...

See also The Wire's "Way Down in the Hole"

Reviews of Season 3 episodes ... 1 ... 2 ... 3: Appealing, Important Questions ... 4. Prius and Gluteus ... 6. Ray of Hope ... 7. Conrad Rules! ... 12. Nancy and Conrad! ... 13. Shane Pays the Price ... 15. Finale: The Fire and the Clean Slate

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The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book