Weeds: Season Two
By James Keast

Showtime’s pot dealing suburban mom returns emboldened in this second season — and so does this DVD package, flaunting its marijuana mojo all over the special features. Just as the series takes Nancy Botwin (a fabulous Mary-Louise Parker) more seriously into the pot business by starting her own gated community grow-op, the DVD takes us into a “how to” featurette on setting up our own home hydro “tomato” crop. Weeds spent much of its ten-episode first season belabouring how “normal” life was for Botwin, with kids, carpools and an unusual job. Season two more fully embraces the unique complications of marijuana, as Nancy tries to seize the means of production, and attendant complications in distribution, financing and evading law enforcement. That hits close to home when Botwin realises that her new beau (season-long scene-stealer Martin Donovan) is a Drug Enforcement Agent. The sheen of normalcy that is suburban America helps boost the public/private dance that Nancy was already doing with family and friends — before the DEA was standing in her kitchen. The DVD’s producers don’t seem too concerned with anyone busting down the door however. In addition to building a grow-up, the show’s pot consultant counts down his top five strains, and there’s a photomontage of paraphernalia, including some beautiful glass pipes. There’s no explanation why a brief reel of goofs is called the “MILF Gag Reel,” other than, of course, what they’re clearly smoking throughout various commentary tracks. Plus: trivia tracks, musical performance, “Little Boxes” montage. (Maple)

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