Weeds: Season 3

By: Iggy Michniacki on 6.8.2009

The Movie Itself:
Please Note: The review for Weeds: Season 3 contains spoilers for the end of Weeds: Season 1 and Weeds: Season 2.

Weeds: Season 3 eclipsed that mark of twenty-five episodes and carried a well written series into its thirties. The reason that this is important is due to the reality that Jenji Kohan had enough ideas to drive this series about twenty-five or so episodes. This was plain as day, as the second half of the third season went the drastic route of ‘worrying about the little things’ and crossed a boundary that no comedy should ever cross, the agenda of persuading an audience to feel exactly how the writers feel.

After Weeds: Season 2 leaves us with yet another cliff-hanger of an ending, Weeds: Season 3 wastes no time diving right into the matter at hand. Nancy (Mary Louise Parker) is caught up working for the dark and dangerous U-Turn (Page Kennedy), and her chance to call the shots seems long gone. Also, Guillermo (Guillermo Diaz) is introduced as a slippery supplier who is willing to help Nancy out, even if it means pulling no punches. Doug (Kevin Nealon) is trying to slow down Majestic’s (neighboring town) sewer line project through Agrestic, while also trying to exploit Majestic’s community developer, Sullivan (Matthew Modine). And as Majestic and Agrestic merge, so does the drug world between U-Turn and Guillermo, and even more importantly the world of drug-free Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins) clashes with Nancy and the life of growing marijuana. If all this madness doesn’t seem like enough for Nancy, she must also deal with the fact that Silas (Hunter Parrish) is trying to get in deeper in the new ‘family business,’ and at the end of the road she’s left to make a decision that could lead to losing everything or losing almost everything.

The first half of Weeds: Season 3 is simply irresistible and picks up with the same pace and attitude of the first two seasons. The writing seems strong and all the characters continue to mesh well together. Mary Louise Parker continues to steal the show though, as she seems to carry so much on her shoulders as our beloved center piece. Supporting ‘drug-duo’ Kevin Nealon and Andy Milder continue to be hysterical and roll out witty scene after scene. The children and the rest of the supporting cast do a nice job, as well. The additions of cast members are hit or miss, as the added sub-plot of Sullivan (Modine) seems to add a bit of flavor to the show the addition of Mary Kate Olsen seems very unneeded and annoying. Also, Nancy’s drug partners through the first two seasons start to go different ways and by the end of the season I was ready for Heylia (Tonye Patano) to be gone two seasons ago.

But what comes up must go down and this seems to be the most true when it comes to television. As mentioned earlier, the writing seems to go down hill the second half of Weeds: Season 3 when it seems like everything that had worked so well for the show was put on hold so some writers could set forth personal agendas. The ‘tension’ (and I mean that in a good way) between Nancy and Conrad was blown off, basically due to the issue of race by dismissing any chance at a relationship because they ‘listen to different music’ and ‘come from different worlds’. Also, a comedy series that had done so well to take its ‘pokes’ at everybody and every belief set its sights on targeting specific groups most notably those of religious and political background. Don’t get me wrong, making fun of politics is needed, and poking fun at religious groups can be quite entertaining but there is an obvious difference between that and the attack against ‘certain’ groups a writer (or writers) does not like.

Weeds: Season 3 is fun and works well in many areas the first two seasons did. Also, my issues with the end of the season may not bother others as much as it bothered me, it especially won’t bother those who agree with those writers. Weeds: Season 3 also wraps a nice little bow to end it, and even though some things are in the air, a fresh beginning is waiting on the other side.
Rating: 6/10

The Presentation:
It seems only right that each season of Weeds would see a better video and audio presentation on Blu-ray. Season 1 did look sharp and Season 2 was even better, so one would assume Season 3 would look glorious. Well, go ahead and assume, because Weeds: Season 3 is the best looking and sounding season yet. Once again, Lionsgate brings Weeds to Blu-ray with an AVC 1080p encoding that shines brightly. As in the previous seasons colors being vibrant, true and beautiful was one of the main things I noticed, but in this season they look even better. Greens are absolutely stunning as it seems only right that this would be the main color of concentrate for this program. Darks and lights contrast beautifully throughout all the episodes and black levels exceed expectations by holding detail like new release theatrical movies. The plagues of the previous seasons are for the most part gone, as very few moments see the noisy, grainy scenes that popped up every once in a while in the past. Although not perfect, this season of Weeds is one of the best looking shows to come to Blu-ray, without any doubt.

Going lossless with Season 2, Lionsgate stayed true by equipping Season 3 with another DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 track that is near perfection. Concentrating on conversations, as this is a dialogue heavy show, proves strong once again through a dedicated and clear center channel. The surround sound does a great job as well, giving detailed noise to match what is going on up on the screen. The subwoofer finally got a bit more action this season, as during minor events it seemed to have just a light rumble, but during more active scenes it roared at just the right capacity. All around, the audio Lionsgate is using with Weeds is putting on a solid performance season after season, leaving me looking forward to the next.
Rating: 9/10 (video 9/10, audio 9/10)

The Extras:
Those familiar with the two previous seasons on Blu-ray know that there have been plenty of extras that Lionsgate packed on board. The same holds true with Weeds: Season 3, but to be honest they are starting to feel repetitive.

Episode Commentaries: Commentaries by Jenji Kohan on “Doing the Backstroke” and “Go”, by Mark Burley on “Shit Highway”, by Justin Kirk on “Bill Sussman”, by Hunter Parish and Alexander Gould on “Grasshopper”, by Craig Zisk and Michael Trim on “The Two Mrs. Scottsons”, by Ernest Dickerson on “Release the Hounds”, and by Roberto Benabib on “Protection”.
Good Morning Agrestic! (SD): Somewhat of a slapstick routine where the cast ‘acts’ against each other trying to form some entertainment.
Uncle A.W.O.L. (SD): Justin Kirk searches for the perfect interview, too bad he doesn’t have much luck.
Little Boxes: Randy Newman (SD): Get a closer look at Randy Newman’s take on the title theme.
Gag Reel (SD): Cut scenes, bloopers and gags from behind the scenes.
Little Boxes Music Montages (SD): Same as Season 2, a mix of all the guest musicians doing the opening title from this season.
One-on-One with Mary-Kate Olsen (SD): An interview with Mary-Kate Olsen, because we all know how important she is.
Soundtrack Sampler: Get a taste of the soundtrack and then go buy it. Yes, this is here to make more money!
Subtitle Trivia Tracks (HD): Much like the Trivia Track in the second season but limited to subtitles. This is available to turn on and accompany the whole season.
Rating: 7/10

Overall:
Sadly, Weeds: Season 3 is nowhere on the same page as the first two seasons and I even have doubts that it is in the same book. Although the first half of the season is as widly entertaining as the previous seasons the second half of the season goes down hill incredibly fast. On the other hand, fans of the show can rejoice in the fact that the Blu-ray disc is another winner. A full plate of extras mixed with amazing video and great lossless audio keeps Weeds looking great on Blu-ray.
Rating: 8/10