Weeds - Season 1

I recently finished viewing the first season of Showtime's hit series, Weeds, and let me just say this now, this WILL be a mixed review. I just had to get that little disclaimer out of the way first.

As you probably already know if you're a television connesieur like myself, Weeds centers on recently widowed soccer mom Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) solving her financial problems by dealing marijuana in her upscale California suburbs. That's a great premise for the show. It's like Desperate Housewives with drugs. From here on, I'll just break down what I like and what I cringed at.

What I did enjoy:

- Elizabeth Perkins steals the show as Nancy's neighbor and head of the PTA, Celia Hodes. Perkins is hilarious but in a subtle, restrained way that I just love. To continue with the inevitable Desperate Housewives comparisons, Celia is like Bree Van De Kamp, but way bitchier. I don't want to spoil anything, but when she swaps her daughter's chocolate bar with a laxative - priceless!
- Heylia James, Nancy's pot supplier, is also great. She brings a sort of warmth to this series where most, if not all, of the characters are morally questionable, to say the least. Oh, Heylia's definitely no saint either, but she tells it like it is, no bullshit. She's always telling Nancy what stupid white bitch thing she's doing now.
- Mary-Louise Parker (you know, the one who beat all four of the desperate housewives at the Golden Globes) seems made for her role. With another actress, Nancy could easily be unlikeable (and honestly, I thought I wouldn't like her either), but Parker brings a vulnerability and charm to her performance that makes Nancy unquestionably rootable.

What I did not enjoy quite so much....AKA What I absolutely hated:

- Nancy's kids. God, they're awful. The less said about them the better.
- Nancy's brother-in-law, Andy. He's so friggen' annoying. There's so much more to be said but I really don't have the energy to rant right now.

Overall, Weeds is an enjoyable show, although somewhat overrated in my opinion, but I will definitely be checking out Season 2 once it becomes available on DVD.