mary-louiseparker

(S04E05) Weeds turned a corner with this episode. This week marked the true beginning of Nancy's new life. She owned up to her mistakes, made amends to her friends and family, and admitted the obvious: she was a lousy drug dealer. While it took Nancy several seasons to realize the truth about herself, Guillermo figured it out in a few episodes and gave her a new job.

(S04E04) Nobody mourns like the Botwins. I can't decide whose behavior was the least appropriate; there certainly were a lot of contenders. Lenny's countdown was extremely insensitive, and his actions throughout the episode didn't do him any favors, either. I'll save the specifics for after the jump, but he made Nancy's Andy-ditching look like an act of kindness. Not cool, BotWinBig, not cool.

As the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences tries to whittle the submissions down to actual nominees, it's interesting to take a look at who has made it to the semifinals. It's not a nomination, but it's one step away. Today comes word of the finalists for best comedy actress and best supporting drama actor. There are some surprises.

Chief among those for me is Sarah Silverman. I honestly hadn't even considered her in the running. I'm not much of a fan, but I do like that she is being considered for the simple fact that the base the nominees are drawn from can always use some expansion. And if she is the most surprising inclusion, the most surprising snub just might be Teri Hatcher. Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross, and Felicity Huffman all made the cut, but not Hatcher. Ouch. The rest of the finalists, and the supporting actors from a drama, after the jump.

(S04E03) What a relief! Now that we've ditched the dead weight (sorry, Bubbie) Weeds can finally get down to business. The Agrestic and Ren Mar worlds are slowly coming together, which should please the Doug fans. Some familiar faces are making their way to Nancy's new home, and that could mean trouble for her.

(S04E02) The season premiere took us to a new town, and "Lady's a Charm" gave us a look into Nancy's future as a drug trafficker. There's room for improvement, that's for sure. This week we learned more of the Botwin family history, got a brief and depressing Yiddish lesson, and, for the first time, I heard the word "schlimazel" outside the context of Laverne & Shirley.

The "Little Boxes" theme is gone for good. Instead, we got a quick shot of the Mexican border. I'll miss the old song, but it no longer fits with the show's new setting. I can't decide if I like the music-free credits, or if a different theme song would have been a good idea. What song would suit Weeds now that it isn't set in the suburbs?

The fourth season of Weeds began on Monday night, and the comedy's season premiere earned Showtime record ratings. With 1.3 million viewers, "Mother Thinks the Birds are After Her" is officially the most-watched season premiere of any Showtime series to date. Weeds broke the record formerly held by the season two premiere of Dexter, which had one million viewers.

Showtime's Secret Diary of a Call Girl also brought in a significant audience. The drama earned 949,000 viewers, setting a record for the highest-rated series premiere on the cable network. The L Word's series premiere was the previous record-holder.

(S04E01) So, the Botwins are beach people now. The opening credits gave us one last look at Agrestic/Majestic before taking us to Ren Mar, Nancy's new home. We spent a lot of time getting acquainted with some of Judah's relatives, Lenny and Bubbie. I'm a little squeamish when it comes to serious health issues, so Bubbie already gives me the creeps. Weeds used Dean's serious injury to get some laughs last season, and now we're dealing with someone in a vegetative state. I'm repulsed, yet intrigued. Welcome back, Weeds!

Mary-Louise Parker was forced to wear a cast to Sunday night's Tony Awards ceremony. The actress broke a toe while filming a love scene on Weeds. The injury occurred when she hit her foot on a bed frame. It was only the first take, but Parker completed the scene. The footage will have to be used in an upcoming episode. The fourth season of the Showtime comedy premieres tonight.

Devoted fans are familiar with Nancy Botwin's various affairs--Alejandro, Peter, Sullivan, and, most recently, Conrad. The question is, who is she hooking up with this season? Romany Malco and Tonye Patano were phased out of the show, so it probably isn't Conrad. Any guesses? Warning: spoiler-related speculation after the jump.

You think winning two Oscars would earn you some respect, right? What about a Tony and Emmy winner? No, apparently not -- in either case. Two high-profile TV movies which feature Jessica Lange and Mary-Louise Parker are being broadcast -- unceremoniously -- over the next three Saturday nights on CBS. Yes, they are essentially being dumped. The Nielsen numbers for programs on Saturday nights is next to nothing. By running Sybil and Vinegar Hill, these stars' respective films on that night of the week, CBS is showing no faith in them, let alone TV movies in general. I guess Hallmark Hall of Fame movies are the exception to the rule.

If you've watched 30 Rock this past season, you've seen how funny actress Edie Falco can be. As C.C. (Celeste Cunningham), she's been a hoot opposite Alec Baldwin. Well, Showtime noticed, and they announced today that the three-time Emmy-winner, best known as Carmela on The Sopranos, will star in a new show for their network. She'll be playing a "strong-willed, iconoclastic New York City nurse juggling the frenzied grind of an urban hospital and an equally challenging personal life" is the 30-minute, single camera, dark comedy.

(S03E07) Weeds apparently took a note from Californication's extraneous nudity, plentiful sex playbook. This episode was all about the humping as one arc ended and another began. As Conrad and Nancy's debt is laid to rest, Peter's body rises from the muck.

(S01E05) I bet you guys think critical thinking is whack. Well, it is. Why think when you could just watch The Secret? Some of Agrestic's residents must be watching The Secret. Celia got a brand new house. Doug got a golf membership. Sullivan got his way. Silas got a a new calling. And, Andy (aka Bill Sussman) got let off the hook. The only person not exercising the "laws of attraction" seems to be Nancy. All Nancy got was a great big pile of smack to sit on.

(S03E04) The Modine has landed! This week, we got our first look at Sullivan Groff and, through him, the up-and-coming community of Majestic. It's probably a bad sign that Sullivan regards Agrestic as a potential toilet bowl, but who cares? His hair looked fabulous!

Sullivan didn't waste any time putting his looks and charm to use on his new neighbors. After schmoozing with the city council members, he managed to (unsuccessfully) hit on both Nancy and Celia--not bad for a thirty-minute episode. Something tells me that he won't take no for an answer in Celia's case. Either way, it's great to see Matthew Modine again. No offense to Kevin Nealon, but I've been waiting for a hot older man to turn up on this show.

(S03E03) We learned many important things on Weeds tonight:

1. You can't make $12,500 off a brick.
2. The cock wants what it wants.
3. Fish have internal testicles.

Weeds is like the anti-Entourage. Instead of tying everything up in a neat, happy little bow by the end of the episode (Kanye Ex Machina, anyone?), everything goes to pot. (Oh yeah, I'm punny.) Seriously, could things get any worse for the Botwins?

The Golden Globes: the award season's equivalent to a Roman orgy (tastefully done, of course). No seat-holders, plenty of food and libations, and no cue-card written, inane banter between presenters. Most importantly the Globes only present awards to the actors, directors and writers and leave the accolades for best costuming, makeup, and gaffing to the Oscars.

What I like most about the Golden Globes, and subsequently the Screen Actors Guild and People's Choice Awards (the Wal-Mart of awards shows), is that they recognize both television and movies, which makes it interesting for fans of both types of media. If you're not a big movie fan then you don't have to wait too long to see who wins a television category. As I write for . . . ahem . . . TV Squad, my interests tend to lean in favor of the big video box. This is especially true when it comes to television comedies.

With that being said, my in-depth five-minute analysis of the nominees for best comedy can be found after the jump.