Weeds- Season 1, disc 1

Plot: A
Take the utter banality of the California suburbs and throw in some high-quality hydro. Bam!
No, but it's good. Mary-Louise Parker plays a Mom who lost her husband. To maintain her quality of life, she sells dope. So far, the series is especially interesting because it's really more about the suburbs than the drugs. The drugs just sort of add an interesting twist to the real conflict: surviving the PTA meetings, the teen-aged angst, the boredom.

Characters: B+
I really like Mary-Louise Parker's character and her sidekick Mom Elizabeth Perkins. It's pretty funny to see Kevin Nealon in there playing a pot-head too, though an extremely paranoid CPA one at that. The kids are good too. My only real complaint is with the black family who are Parker's source. First, I just wonder about the whole set-up, with her coming to pick up the weed and her very chummy, glib relationship with them. There are hints of how they met, but I just wonder about this interaction.

Directorial style: B+
Nothing too flashy. Just straight ahead scenes with the various protagonists doing their respective thangs. But it works in the whole "this is the 'burbs" setup of the series.

Overall: Episodes 1 & 2: C+; Episodes 3-6: A-
The first two episodes were a little problematic, with the characters trying to find their grooves and the show trying to find direction. Sort of to be expected, really. But then things pick up in episode 3. The characters grow more nuanced, conflicts arise in Parker's business, and storylines suited to each character's situation emerge. I think it's an interesting series with a great premise. I am excited to see Parker put up her "front" business while she takes the distribution to the next level. I'd recommend putting Weeds in your queue.