Weeds - Season One

After watching this in close proximity to Suburgatory, I've decided that Suburgatory is Weeds without the weeds. Both have illustrated the weird, sterilized, conformism of suburbia, and they even share an actress in common - Allie Grant, who plays a plain-looking daughter in both. But I think Suburgatory plays up the quirkiness more for comedic effect, while Weeds uses it dramatically, even darkly, to show us how troubled, depressed, and bored these characters are with their lives. I mean it is considered a comedy, and it has its funny moments, but for me it played as if it should be a one-hour drama rather than a half-hour comedy, and most of the humour came more from the characters than their environment and its influence on them.

You could also say that Weeds is a lighter and faster version of Breaking Bad (a lot of the things that happened in one season of Weeds took 2 or 3 seasons to play out on Breaking Bad), with the parental figure dealing drugs to support their family, but trying to keep it a secret and thus becoming somewhat distant from them due to all of the unexplained absences. Even the drug itself is lighter, as weed is less dangerous than crystal meth. But maybe I should stop comparing it to other shows and just talk about it directly.

Nancy Botwin is likable because she's strong, smart, and adapts even when she makes mistakes, making her a capable heroine for the story. It's interesting watching her conduct business, because she is not who you'd expect to deal drugs, and therefore she doesn't always do things the same way that some shady thug might. Her sons and brother-in-law are douchey at times, as is her friend Celia, though by the end of the season I understood Celia better and am almost starting to like her. Kevin Nealon is also fun as Nancy's goofy accountant and pot customer.

I enjoyed the season, but I'm not sure if I can identify why. It's entertaining, but not addictive, and it's occasionally funny, but not super hilarious; it's weird, as suburban settings should be, and it has drive but not a lot of thick tension - though Mary-Louise Parker's performance alone almost brings it up to where it should be. I'm not saying this as a complaint, my feeling is just that a lot about this show seems...mild. Maybe it is a lack of cliffhangers, though they pulled out a nice one at the end of the finale. But it's only the first season, which for most shows is just an establishing season until things pick up steam, so I'll report back after I've watched season two.

Best Episode: "The Punishment Lighter", in which a college security guard confiscates Nancy's weed, Nancy confronts a competitor, and Celia loses and then regains her spot as head of the PTA in a loopholed power move.