Weeds: Season 4

By: Iggy Michniacki on 6.9.2009

The Movie Itself:
Please Note: if you enjoy the review for Weeds: Season 4 feel free to check out our reviews for Weeds: Season 1, Weeds: Season 2 and Weeds: Season 3.

In our review of Weeds: Season 3, I made mention of what goes up must come down. Lucky enough for Weeds fans everywhere, though, there is always that possibility of such said object coming right back up again.

Weeds: Season 4 wastes no time diving into Agrestic, excuse me… I mean Majestic, being wiped out by a large ‘accident’ of a fire. Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise Parker), her two sons (Alexander Gould & Hunter Parrish), and her brother-in-law, Andy (Justin Kirk) are on the run to the border to try and escape the possibility of lawful prosecution as well as create a new life with a larger piece of the ‘marijuana’ cash pie. As Nancy has moved on to work the border for Guillermo (Guillermo Diaz), the rest of the gang is back in Majestic and the law starts to catch up with them. Celia (Elizabeth Perkins) is quickly framed for the ‘grow house’ found while Majestic was burning, and the mastermind behind it is somebody one might not expect. As Nancy is running without being sure whether she is in trouble with the law or not, Doug’s (Kevin Nealon) games as a city councilman start to catch up with him. After years of moving city money around and giving great yet illegal money advice and support to friends there are many that feel Doug needs to explain himself.

Along the border, however, Nancy and Guillermo start to work the smuggling ring and make bigger bucks than they did back in the suburbs. Staying at her dead-husband’s grandmother’s house, the Botwin gang quickly runs into Andy’s father, Lenny Botwin (Albert Brooks). Lenny is in no way appreciative of Andy or Nancy, and this quickly adds some comedic tension into the series. As Celia tries to clear her name and Doug is on the run from his mishaps, some of the gang finds themselves back together again just in an unfamiliar place. But when the thirteen episodes are ready to run out of time, the consequences of their actions quickly catch up with them all and what happens changes the tone of the business, people, and the show for good.

Weeds: Season 4 is right back in the boat it needs to be in, and that’s holding back nothing and throwing punches at anybody and everybody in its way. Season 4 is simply brilliant as a new beginning for Nancy and her family starts, a new beginning for the writers do as well. The change in supporting cast is the first item one might notice. The loss of Conrad (Romany Malco) and Heylia (Tonye Patano) might be something difficult to see, but the addition of Lenny (Brooks) is a fantastic creative move that lead to many laugh out loud moments. Mary Louise Parker continues to show how brilliant she is as an actress, continuing to master her ever-evolving role as Nancy. Soccer-mom, drug-dealer, confused widow and, most recently, smuggler seems to be no issue for Parker as she seems to succeed in every scene throughout each episode.

Going back to the writing, it seems that the creative side of the series got back in the thinking chairs and capitalized on the matter of new beginnings. Although the plots of the first three seasons were deep, it seems that Season 4 tries to cover much more ground than the other seasons ever though of. There is not too much more going on in this season compared to the previous seasons, but the events are more spread out, and the issues seem to take on a darker tone.

Although it seems that Weeds: Season 4 truly gets the show back on track with its new beginnings and fresh writing, there are still the occasional agendas the show tries to push across. The matter of death and the right to choose in that matter comes into play rather quickly in the season and the opinion of one having the right (or not) ‘to play God’ is quickly inserted into the plot. Death isn’t just flirted with towards the beginning of the series as it seems the end of this season takes a turn for the darker side of life, and leaves the possibilities for Season 5 wide open. Some other political and ethical issues that are presented in this season are the matter of child custody and the issue of the drug smuggling world being much larger than just marijuana. These ‘writer opinions’ are much lighter in this season, though, and are something that have been toned down quite a bit since the end of last season, making them much easier to dismiss (or grasp).

Weeds: Season 4 isn’t the masterpiece that Showtime, Lionsgate, and Kohen had going during Season 2 but it is a refreshing treat after the questionable writing agendas that plagued the end of Season 3. Although some issues seem to be redundant and the episodes seem to be way too short (it took four seasons, but it is starting to bother me), Weeds is still a bit of fresh air amongst all the garbage that can be found on television these days.
Rating: 8/10

The Presentation:
Weeds: Season 3 was the best looking and sounding of the first three seasons, as Lionsgate has shown a strong progression through each season. Weeds: Season 4 is definitely a continuation of this trend, as it looks and sounds just as fantastic, if not more, than the previous seasons.

Presented with a AVC 1080p codec, Weeds: Season 4 simply lights up the screen. At first, it was a little tough due to the shots in the first episode not being as bright and three-dimensional as others, but that ‘toughness’ disappears quickly in the first episode and a great looking picture is there for all thirteen episodes. Weeds: Season 4 simply jumps from the screen and proves to be yet another Showtime series (this one done by Lionsgate) that seems to be very successfully moved to Blu-ray. The three-dimension that is expected with Blu-ray is there throughout most of the season. Textures and detail really strive in this season as the detail of walls, cars, ‘plants’ and housing is full force. The skin tones are true as in previous seasons but do occasionally seemed washed out. The backgrounds also can lose detail similar to other television programs brought to high definition. Overall those imperfections are few and far between and the detail in depth in colors will steal the eye’s focus. Greens, reds, and blues seem to hold the greatest amount of detail and full color as they leap out of the television frame. I shouldn’t be shocked as the previous seasons of Weeds have turned out quite nicely as well, but Season 4 seems to take the cake as it should.

With every episode advertising its DTS-HD track one might expect the audio to be as strong as the video. Well it isn’t, but it doesn’t fail by any means either as every episode’s soundtrack does get the job done. Weeds: Season 4 boasts a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track that works the speakers quite nicely, especially the front three speakers. As mentioned in reviews of the previous three seasons, this series is very dialogue heavy as conversations and dialogue drive all the comedy and drama. As not all of the speakers seem to get the full attention they deserve, the sounds, voices, and music are still quite clear and easy to understand. Music never washes out dialogue, but at times it can feel heavy causing the audience to find the remote in the middle of an episode so the volume can be adjusted. The subwoofer does come in to play some in this season, but not too much. It will make its presence felt with a light rumble from time to time but never overwhelms and never seems to be a focal point. But, as stated, this is a dialogue driven show and there is never any issues so every twist and turn can be understood and the lossless audio track can get the job done.
Rating: 8/10 (video 9/10, audio 7/10)

The Extras:
Although the extras are slightly less than what was available for Season 2 or Season 3 everything is in High Definition. Everything on the first disc is offered in full 1080p HD while the extras accompanying the second disc are all 1080i. Also, there is a commentary track on each disc that is available as a Picture in Picture (PiP) commentary showing you the actors responses and actions as well as seeing them.

Commentaries: "Mother Thinks the Birds are After Her" with series creator Jenji Kohan, "Three Coolers" with Roberto Benabib, "No Man is Pudding" with Kevin Nealon and Justin Kirk, "Excellent Treasures" with Elizabeth Perkins and Allie Grant, "I Am the Table" with Kevin Nealon and Justin Kirk (also available as PiP), "Head Cheese" with Hunter Parrish, and "If You Work for a Living, Why Do You Kill Yourself Working?" with Jenji Kohan.
Gag Reel (HD): Also available in the previous seasons is a gag reel of cut scenes and cast and crew screw-ups.
Little Titles (HD): A short featurette that explores the changes in the title sequence due to the changes in the show itself.
Moving Weight (HD): Guillermo Diaz discusses the business of ‘weed’ and also explores into issues involved with the drug, the law behind it, and lawyers who are often involved in those situations.
I’m A Big Kid Now (HD): Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould, and Allie Grant all discuss their evolving role in the show as them and their characters get older.
The Real Hunter Parrish (HD): A waste of space, as it follows Hunter Parrish discussing his career and life in Hollywood so far.
A Tour of Bubbie’s House (HD): Take a tour through the set of Bubbie’s House… wickedly exciting (not really).
One Stop Chop Shop (HD): One of the more interesting featurettes that explores the set of the small Mexican Chop Shop as well as the tunnels underneath it.
The Weed Wranglers (HD): Discover how the crew made all the fake ‘marijuana’ for the show and how it was placed and used to look real.
Burbs to the Beach (HD): An extensive look of the core cast moving from the suburbs, Agrestic/Majestic, to the beach along the border. The show really changed this season and this featurette explores the differences in the settings.
Rating: 7/10

Overall:
It is safe to say that Weeds is back. Although Weeds: Season 3 wasn’t a train wreck the back half of that season did temporarly derail the good thing Weeds had going. Luckily, Weeds: Season 4 proves to be saving grace as a new location, some new cast, and some great new ideas set Weeds back on the fast track. Overall, the news is even better for Blu-ray owners as the video and audio presentation is simply stunning. Also, filled with the usual Weeds bag of extras, this time all in high definition, this Blu-ray is too good to pass up.
Rating: 8/10