Unbeknownst to me, SHOWTIME was starting to come up with some shows of its own. And...hold on to your seat...showing them regularly. They were good shows, at that. Last week I decided that I was going to give "Weeds" a chance, after hearing rave reviews of this sleeper of a series, from people that I trusted.
Oh my fucking God, I love this show!! I watched the entire first and second season in about 2 days, staying up until 3am, thinking about the characters and their problems like they were old friends, trying to remember all of the funny lines I could. The writing is brilliant, and the acting is excellent. It's not entirely funny and it's not entirely serious, it's outrageous and real at the same time, it's made up of beautifully imperfect characters...in short, it's great, and it totally works. Tonight was the premiere of Season 3, and it looks very promising. Mary Louise Parker could not be more adorable, and Elizabeth Perkins and Kevin Nealon have found the best roles of their careers.
There is a new series that premiered right after "Weeds", called "Californication". Our hero is David Ducovny, as a blocked writer and womanizer - really, a pretty self-centered deadbeat of a guy, neither doing the ex-husband or dad thing all that well, and clearly on a downward spiral. He's fully aware of his situation, and is smirking as he takes us down his self-destructive path with him - charming us in the way only David Duchovny can.
Again, the writing is sharp, the characters are well-developed, and it has the right blend of humor and painful truth.
I think that Nancy-Pants and Hank would be friends. I can see them talking and laughing about their fucked-up lives over dirty martinis in Nancy's kitchen. They both have lost loves who they miss (Nancy's dead husband and Hank's ex), and they are both eloquently bumbling their way through parenthood. Alas, our hero and heroine may never meet. But lucky me, I get to spend my Monday nights with them, and I am grateful to have their company.
HBO who?
