cannabisnews.com: 'Weeds' Grows Into One of TV's Best Shows 





'Weeds' Grows Into One of TV's Best Shows 
Posted by CN Staff on August 10, 2006 at 09:11:03 PT
By Terry Morrow
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel
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 MorrowPublished: August 9, 2006 Copyright: 2006 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.Contact: letters knews.comWebsite: http://www.knoxnews.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Showtime's Weedshttp://www.sho.com/site/weeds/ First Puff of 'Weeds' Now Available on DVD http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21986.shtmlTV Infested By 'Weeds'http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21028.shtmlConservative US Braced for Drugs & The Suburbs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21022.shtml
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Comment #15 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on August 11, 2006 at 04:11:53 PT
Yeah, I don't care much for asparagus, either....
No matter how much I smoke, it doesn't do a damn thing.Maybe, I should cook with it.
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Comment #14 posted by whig on August 10, 2006 at 23:40:02 PT
Telarus
Thanks for explaining. I can recognize trolls very quickly when they come into a community that I'm already part of, but when you don't know the group the trolls are just part of the background noise you have to filter though to find the real sense of the group. I know that when trolls show up here I want to call attention to them right away so that nobody gets confused by them.Also does it seem to you that a lot of the Fark participants are somewhat young and not really knowledgeable about cannabis? It seemed like a lot of people were talking about things they didn't really understand for themselves, whether cannabis was actually a good thing or not didn't seem to be clearly expressed by most people there. I realize that places like CNews are kind of unique, where we aren't just opposed to prohibition we really are pro-cannabis as a beneficial and good thing for people to have. I often see people talking about cannabis prohibition being "worse" than the assumed negative effects of cannabis itself, but when it comes to those negative effects there really aren't any that rise to a level I'd consider a serious concern. Maybe someone won't like it, or maybe it won't be helpful to someone, but it surely won't kill anyone or do permanent harm of any kind. Some people, myself included, don't really care for asparagus. Is that really a knock on asparagus or is it just my preference?
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Comment #13 posted by Telarus on August 10, 2006 at 20:59:39 PT
-=Whig=- Fark.com thread
Well, the first thing to realize when you try to read through that thread (don't worry, I got confused at points, too), was that one user ("Executive Monkey") was trolling, on purpose, and taking the 'anti' position just to spout blather. On the up side, it did give a chance for some of the more well spoken pro-legalization people to really hammer their arguments, and dispute some of the propaganda that was linked to, such as the DEA 'fact page' on cannabis. On a more positive note, there was an overwhelmingly positive response to the article and the conversation, with the main points being made re: legalization would remove the "point-of-contact" from cannabis users to exposure to harder drugs (there-by destroying the "gateway" theory), that the goverment would save tons of money, and even make more back in taxes. There was some debate about how the organized crime cartels would react to losing a 'profitable' venture, with reactions ranging that they would find 'something even worse to do' as a semi-con opinion, to the argument that it would effect their funding used for other illegal ventures as a semi-pro opinion.The thing to really keep in mind tho, was the sense of humor that ran through at least 50% of the comments (YAh! Granny gravity Bong), with much of the sarcasm and scorn heaped on the government 'fact' propaganda, and everyone getting a good laugh at them. I take this as first hand evidence that the government has lost the 'rhetoric war' with this section fo society (Fark readers).Namaste,
-Telarus, KSC
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 15:13:24 PT
Christen-Mitchell 
I love Little Boxes.Little boxes on the hillsideLittle boxes made of ticky tackyWeeds is the best show!
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Comment #11 posted by Christen-Mitchell on August 10, 2006 at 14:41:27 PT:
Weeds Music
Hadn't seen the program, so I scapped up the DVD when it was released. Hilarious show. Pretty good balance with many serious moments.Here's a link to the Showtime site with Weeds music. It starts off with the original of "Little Boxes". Enjoy.
Weed's Music
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Comment #10 posted by Dankhank on August 10, 2006 at 13:49:16 PT
ok, got it ...
http://www.smokingwithstyle.com/gravitybong.htm:-)
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Comment #9 posted by Dankhank on August 10, 2006 at 13:28:34 PT
Gravity Bong ...
I have a little problem grasping the physics behind the gravity bong ... don't know why, I fancy myself as reasonably intelligent and like a sponge on topics that interest.Cool photo, though .............
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Comment #8 posted by Max Flowers on August 10, 2006 at 12:27:44 PT
Elderly lady hits gravity bong
That's a really cool photo on that fark page showing an old lady hitting a gravity bong...!
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Comment #7 posted by whig on August 10, 2006 at 12:22:43 PT
Telarus
I took a look over at the Fark site but it was hard to follow. I don't know how to talk to that kind of crowd. Do you want to translate the general sense of it, and if you are in contact with a lot of college aged people do you think it would be a popular thing to encourage every campus possible to start a SAFER campaign?
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Comment #6 posted by Telarus on August 10, 2006 at 12:10:23 PT
Wheeeee!
Yah! Weeds!Just as an aside, there's a really, really good positive conversation going over   Fark.com about the recent Colorado legalization initiative.++Colorado voters could be deciding on whether to legalize marijuana statewide this November. "Spliffy" tag unavailable++
http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=2217596
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 10:40:02 PT
Thanks Again JR
I will check it out.
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Comment #4 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on August 10, 2006 at 10:33:15 PT
DVD price comparison
If you're looking for cheap DVDs online, the best site I've found is DVDPriceSearch.com - but usually DeepDiscountDVD, if they carry the disc, is the one to beat. Sometimes, though, DVDPriceSearch has deals on their front page or promotional codes for DDD which makes your total even less.
http://www.dvdpricesearch.com/
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 10:20:00 PT
Thanks JR
That price is more reasonable then what I've seen before. I wish that most DVDs would stay in the $20 range if they want lots of people to but them. 
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Comment #2 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on August 10, 2006 at 10:06:39 PT
Cheap Weeds
Deepdiscountdvd.com and dvdplanet.com (which both have the same mailing address) both have the Season One DVD for under $25! DDD has free shipping (don't know about DVD Planet), and you only pay sales tax if you're in Illinois. 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 09:22:07 PT
WEEDS Now on MySpace.com 
http://www.myspace.com/weedsonshowtimeVideos on YouTube.comhttp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=32B5E9E9BAAEB70D
 
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