How High?

The Content

Weeds, the 22-minute comedy-drama about a suburban housewife who turns to selling pot to pay the bills after the death of her husband, has been something of hit for stateside subscription channel Showtime. From controversy-induced inauspiciousness during its debut season back in 2005, to where it is now - namely about to launch into its fourth season - it's proved to be quite the ratings winner for its channel, with the season three premiere alone pulling in an impressive 800,000 subscribers, putting it up there with big hitters like Dexter and The L Word.



Season Three, about to be released by Lionsgate here in the UK, opens in spectacular fashion as Nancy Botwin finds herself on the other end of a cliffhanger which saw her caught between a rock (local drug king U-Turn) and a hard place (the Armenian mob), both after her and Conrad's superstrain Milfweed, but with nothing but Silas' idea of an ironic joke instead. Silas meanwhile, with a trunk full of dope, ran into bother with Celia and the police, while Andy joined forces with a temperamental Inuit bounty hunter to chase after his nephew Shane and his ex-girlfriend Kat - who seem to be headed for the border - but looks to fall foul of his own Amber alert when he runs into some concerned citizens.



Before long, it looks like all the hard work over the past two seasons has been for nothing, as Nancy is back on the verge of peddling dimebags, only now with a new - and not particularly friendly - boss. But it's all change elsewhere in Agrestic, as a suavely lecherous property developer (played by Matthew Modine) schmoozes into town with big plans, Silas finds love with a Jesus-loving pot-fiend (Mary-Kate Olsen), his brother Shane makes a connection with Celia's tweener lesbian daughter Isabel, Andy's eight-toed escape from the US Army looks to be in jeopardy and Peter Scottson's first wife waltzes into the picture, around about the time the DEA agent's body emerges from its watery grave.

The Disc

Typical US TV fare on DVD from a respectable distributor, the widescreen anamorphic 1.78:1 visuals look great throughout, and while the supplied Dolby Digital 5.1 is something of an overkill for a show such as Weeds, the now de facto standard for DVD soundtracks is clear throughout, as the producers continue with last season's tradition of having a different artist perform the title song 'Little Boxes'. In terms of extras, the Weeds releases are normally pretty generous, but as the second disc I was supplied with was a trade screener, I didn't have access to anything bar the gag reel.

The Opinion

One of the best shows on TV - how many times do you hear that? A lot, that's for sure, but it's just as true for Weeds as it is anything else. Showtime's drug-addled little winner continues to go from strength to strength, the sitcom running time and fierce comedy aspects not in any way detracting from the superb drama, its writing perhaps stronger than ever before during its third run. The multi-faceted widow Botwin is played superbly by Mary-Louise Parker, and while it's still Councilman Doug who gets all the best lines ("they don't have sushi in prison - unless you count c**k!"), Parker is finally rivalled in the acting stakes by a more substantial role for Elizabeth Perkins' Celia, who, as Nancy's best friend-cum-worst enemy, steals every scene she's in. With a bump to a 15-episode season, you get more Weeds for your money than ever before, and at the price they're asking for it, it's an absolute steal.