Weeds: Season 1 DVD: Review By kaismith

Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louse Parker): "I'm not a dealer, I'm a mother who happens to distribute illegal products through a sham bakery set up by my ethically questionable CPA and his crooked lawyer friend." And there the main character of the new refreshing comedy/drama on Showtime, Weeds, so eloquently sums up her own life.

Jenji Kohan best know for writing for great shows like Will and Grace, Gilmore Girls, Sex and the City, Tracy Takes On and Mad About You created Weeds one of my favorite shows on TV that has a "slick balancing of satire and soap opera" as the New York Times on the Web describes.

Nancy Botwin is forced to become the breadwinner of her family after her husband's unexpected death. As unconventional as she is she didn't turn to demeaning jobs such as waitressing or becoming a maid, she must of course up hold appearances, so she starts a career as the neighborhood drug dealer, specializing in marijuana. Botwin struggles through out the first season with keeping her family together, keeping her clients happy by getting primo stuff, and evolving with as the market changes and her business grow and being a confidant to her best friend who also happens to be the PTA president, Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins).

This series is sooo refreshing, witty and just so original. Everything is great about this show from the acting to the writing. And Mary-Louse Parker is outstanding. Most recently remembered for her very dramatic role in the HBO mini series Angels in America and the very personal scandal with her former boyfriend Billy Crudup who left her while pregnant with their twins for Claire Danes. This role establishes Parker even further demonstrating her amazing range and talent.

Also I love Justin Kirk as Andy Botwin, who also starred in Angels in America. Again the role of Andy is completely different from what he played in Angels in America> He really owns the role and cracks me up at the ridiculous and very immature things he does. He is so relatable too because we all know someone whether a friend or relative like him, mooching and getting into business that doesn't concern him.

Six Commentaries with Cast and Crew

"Smoke and Mirrors," An Original Marijuana Mockumentary

Mind blowing! I am no expert on marijuana much less any illegal substance, but I thought I knew quite a bit from health class in high school. This featurette draws upon state and medicinal marijuana experts to tell the history and explain the difference between Marijuana and tobacco and hemp. Romany Malco who plays Carter Carter Nancy's weed hooky up narrates the featurette coyly. Interestingly enough, this clip seems pretty balanced and neither supports or deters the use of marijuana.

Smokey Snippets

The cast talk about smoking and sorta refer to their experiences.

Agrestic Recipe

Twelve recipes from breakfast to dessert included in the ingredients "herb of your choice."

Show Time Original Content Including Special on Suburbia

This featurette addresses the iconic image TV painted on suburbia and the walls shows like Weeds and films like American Beauty is breaking down. The director and cast discuss the characters and their discourse.

All Too Much /More Than a Friend Music Video

Full Screen - 1.33:1. When I first watched an episode on a recommendation from a friend, I remember being immediately impressed by the opening credits. The opening song, cinematography and text art was so just so creative and just different than anything I've seen on TV at the moment. I love the way the series is cut. It is very intimate but makes you forget that you are watching them because the dialogue and the event just occur so naturally.

Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Surround. The theme song, "Little Boxes," originally sung and composed by Malvina Reynolds in 1962, is so fitting for the series. I haven't been as impressed or had an introduction credit stuck in my head since Six Feet Under.

The cover is too funny! Parker and her supporting characters stand on the cover sealed in a dime bag as they stand on fresh cut grass. I love it. It would have been even more original if the DVD came sealed in a plastic Ziploc bag, of course sealed for freshness. The standard plot synopsis, supplemental features list and episode clips are present on the back side. The inside has a cute fence flap that holds the Season 1 episode list and promotional material do season two (which is awesome!).

What I love best is while everyone lives in the perfect developed houses every character is majorly conflicted making them all the more relatable and human. The strange world the characters live in is setup in the first episode helping viewers digest the oddities of events through out the series. And I'm telling you some strange stuff happens but in the tradition of another witty and very original shows I just adore, Six Feet Under the viewer tends to accept everything as strange as it is and you can't stop watching. This show is compelling and wildly addictive!

And I must leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Celia, "Let your freak flag fly."