"WEEDS"

"Weeds" is not a theatrical release so I haven't watched it with popcorn, peanut M&M's but, with plenty of Diet Coke. I would like to thank my beautiful daughter's penchant for buying boxed sets and knowing what the best ones are.

As a '70's child I had heard about this show and was intrigued by it but way too cheap to subscribe to SHOWTIME. Again, I would like to thank my little girl for bringing this series into my life. Snow, ice and Seasonal Affective Disorder have kept me housebound since Christmas and my life was saved because of this series.

Not one for the prudish, moralistic or politically correct. Or is it? To me it has been a wonderful escape from all these standards I am supposed to adhere to.

It is the story of a newly 40 Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) whose husband recently dropped dead of a heart attack while jogging. She was left in yuppie, upper middle class suburbia with two sons 11 and 15. The story starts in the aftermath of husband Judah's death and immediately goes into the premise of the show. Nancy sells marijuana to make ends meet. This leads me to my only problem with a show I've now watched for five seasons. It never really explained how Nancy made the trip from the land of PTA and granite counter tops to a drug dealer on the wrong side of town.

However, this concern left me after about two episodes after I became engrossed with Nancy's life, her sons Silas,(Hunter Parrish)and Shane (Alexander Gould). The other central characters Celia (Elizabeth Perkins), Doug (Kevin Nealon), Dean (Andy Milder) and Isabel (Allie Grant)were included in all five seasons and Andy (Justin Kirk) came in in episode three. All are, to say the least, not perfect but, I grew to love and understand all of them. Then there was the never ending parade of secondary players some I had never heard of to those with big names. Although all of these people, for the most part, participated in some despicable and illegal things; there was always a loveable human side to all of them.

No wonder this show has been awarded with nominations and trophies, it is the perfect escape on a cold winter's day. Again, if you have no tolerance for illegal drugs, teenage sex and pregnancy, crime, blood/gore and some really harsh language, it might be best to stick to "The Disney Channel".