The List: #22 Weeds

#22
Number of Seasons (To Date): 4
Years Active: 2005 - Present
Network: Showtime

Who would have thought that a dark comedy series about a soccer mom dealing dope in the upscale suburbs would ever be a hit? Weeds is the story of a woman who turns to marijuana dealing when her husband dies suddenly. Something went wrong with the life insurance, and dealing is the method of maintaining her comfortable life in her large house (complete with live-in maid) and taking care of her two children. The series uses this set-up to point out the hypocrisy found in rich gated communities (populated mainly by whites) similar to Agrestic, the home of Nancy Botwin, the pot-dealing mother.

With a few exceptions, nearly everyone in town is on Nancy's client list, including a prominent attorney and a city councilman (not exactly the mayor, but close). One of the first scenes of the series shows Nancy at a PTA meeting, where she fights against sugary sodas being offered in the vending machines at her children's school, only to see her go off to see Heylia and Conrad, her suppliers, who are probably the only black people she knows. And unlike the other citizens of Agrestic, Heylia and Conrad don't feel the need to put on an act about who they are or what they believe in. They are free to be themselves.

But Doug (the councilman) and Dean (the attorney) have to cover up what they do and what they believe in, otherwise the fickle and repressed citizens of Agrestic would run them out of town. People like Celia, Dean's husband, a woman with a plan to rid the city of drugs. Of course, this only means illegal drugs; like most of the moralists on the show, Celia has a vice of her own. It's a little drug called alcohol.

Weeds is certainly a comedy, but it is even more heavily serialized than Arrested Development; many episodes lead directly into the next. And this is truly a dark comedy; there are more than a few instances where humor is derived from truly terrible events. Weeds is here to show us just how absurd our lives are, and these absurdities extend to our tragedies.

Many people will take offense to this show (I'm beginning to think that the religious plotline from the third season was a response to groups like the Parents' Television Council making a big stink about how immoral this series is), but that is their problem. This show will make you laugh and think.

Up next: #21...