So What if My Role Model is a Pot Dealer

I’ve made no secret of my certain affection for a fictitious middle-aged widow who supports her extended family weekly on Showtime at 10 PM.

There’s something about the way Mary-Louise Parker saunters as she effectively multi-tasks - Running her underground business while trying to meet the needs of her brood, inevitably falling from grace episode after episode, only to stay afloat and do a public service (Juggling hats again!) by supplying every inch of the food train with much-needed “happy” relief in the form of marijuana.

I’m not advocating drug use here. I’m quite anti-pleasure derived from substances other than chocolate or ice cream. It’s just Nancy Botwin (or Mary-Louise Parker’s character on Weeds) is such a prime example of a social antipreneur.

She has her principles and stands by them - She won’t deal in elicit drugs like crack or cocaine, traded her SUV for a Prius in a way that even Al Gore might have to slap her on the rear for just out of sheer adulation, and she puts her family first before her work. Read More…

With a Goyishe Punim Like That…

Season 4 of Weeds premiered last night and I, for one, couldn’t have been more giddy. As a huge fan of the show, its premise, and in spite of my repressed jealousy for the fair Mary Louise Parker, the show’s start did nothing to sway my belief that this show represents one of the finest half-hour slots in entertainment on TV right now.
Last season ended with Nancy (Mary Louise Parker) torching her house and the entire Agrestic going up in flames. The police go into the basement of Celia’s (Elizabeth Perkin) house and discover Nancy’s booming pot operation and of course come to Celia looking for answers. Without disclosing too much here and potentially spoiling the experience for viewers, Albert Brooks joins the cast as Nancy’s father-in-law and the stereotypical Jewish father who regrets that his son married a goyishe woman. Brooks also doesn’t think much of Nancy’s eldest son, the one with the “goyishe punim” nor the fact that Nancy is eating the German dish, spatzle, and that she smells like gas. References to the Holocaust abound and you start to understand that the Jewish humor jokes are only going to increase exponentially with Brooks’ presence on the show.

The big open-ended question series’ creator Jenji Kohan had us all wondering last night is what’s going to happen with the storyline involving the show’s incredibly talented and witty supporting ensemble (Kevin Nealon, Elizabeth Perkins, etc) who get left behind in Agrestic now that Nancy, her kids, and her brother-in-law have shacked up with Albert Brooks just north of the border. Kohan leaked to E! that a spin-off show might be in the works that would center around the the rest of the cast. Unfortunately for Nancy-Conrad fans, Kohan sees the split has something irrevocable:

“I love those characters; I just think those relationships wore themselves out, and I wanted to be true to where the characters were. Truthfully, Heylia and Nancy had nothing more to say to each other. Conrad and Nancy weren’t going to be the loves of each other’s lives, so it was time to move on.”

On the flipside, a spin-off might be a welcome relief as it will translate to a whole hour of Weeds entertainment back-to-back and that the Call Girl show will have move to another night. Nothing against the show or anything (’twas better than expected and I’ll admit it has more potential than Sex in the City as it lives up to its sexed-up hype and shows actual sex taking place in the city), but as David Hinckley of the NY Daily News said, “Secret Diary of a Call Girl is sexy enough, but ’tis a pity she’s a bore.”

For a sneak peak of Episode 2 of Weeds click here.

Dexter On CBS, And Led Zeppelin On Rolling Stone Magazine

Yesterday I wrote about me developing an eye for Showtime’s Dexter. Today I read that I’m not alone. According to Reuters, CBS CEO, Leslie Moonves, said that CBS is planning to air edited version of Dexter, because of content shortage, due to the ongoing writers strike. Reuters also points that CBS is the leader in the forensic crime drama genre with the “CSI” franchise.

On a different note, the latest issue of the Rolling Stone Magazine covers the Led zeppelin reunion. Last night a got a chance to go over the piece and it is highly recommended if you are a fan of the band. Here is a taste of what Jimmy Page had to say about the reunion: “It was immediate, Everybody went in with a will to work and to enjoy it. It was a delight.”

Along Came Dexter

As if I wasn’t watching enough TV, along came Dexter. Watching Monday night television is a complicated mission to accomplish. We watch NBC Chuck, and then Heroes getting less and less interesting while still just as addictive as before, not to mention Monday Night Football (especially if the Patriots ((12-0!!!)) are playing.) So you have to understand, that if it wasn’t for the esthetically designed On Demand button on the remote control, watching shows like Weeds, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Dexter on Showtime, would not have been an option for us. But since it’s there, and since we had a couple boring Tuesdays we started following the tales of a Miami Metro Police Department blood spatter analyst, who also happens to be a serial killer, and goes by the name Dexter. Though it may not be the best show on TV, it delivers a great story. And while some of the dialogs are poor and boring, the main character’s monologue supports the plot’s development, and helps in maintaining the suspense. So I’m hooked, again, what can I do? It’s cold outside…

Weeds Season Premiere Makes A Dent

Showtime ushered in a new season of the hit show Weeds. Unlike last season’s climatic season opener, Season 3 opened with more of a whimper (with the exception of the episode’s ending, which is a must-watch), but also a reminder of what we’ve come to love about this show since it began - flawed, f*cked up characters, funny dialogue, and ridiculous, brilliantly-timed comedic situations. Sure, it’s no Office but watching Elizabeth Perkin’s husband bond with Kevin Nealon (who incidentally had an affair with Perkins last season) over mud facial masks and genital size comparisons isn’t without its merit. Not to mention that Mary-Louise Parker is my doppelganger, or so some have told me.

Stay tuned for a brand spanking new season of Weeds on Showtime, airing Mondays at 10 PM.