Weeds

I love this show. I am addicted. I fully admit this. It's been so hot and humid this week, I've been having trouble sleeping. So, I get up, head to the computer, and turn on Weeds. (thank god for netflix instant viewing). This show is so well made, I just can't stop thinking about it. The first season starts off with Nancy Botwin and her two sons, Silas and Shane, trying to recover after her husband dies suddenly. The kids are totally screwed up, and Nancy (clearly) doesn't have any sort of job or skill set, so she sets out to sell pot to all the suburban people who live in the neighborhood. The portrayal of suburbia, specifically Agrestic, their fictional, San Fernando Valley-esque housing development is phenomenal. Elizabeth Perkins is such a bitch you love to hate her. The lost brother in law, Andy is amazing. The kids are so good, and Mary Louise Parker....well, wow. I just don't know what to say about her. This show makes me think a lot. The acting is so good, I think it's spoiled me for network television. The characters are so well portrayed you both know what they're thinking/feeling and you don't know what they're thinking/feeling. They're both normal, and so far from normal you can't identify. I cannot say enough good things about this show. I am pretty sure I will be purchasing the episodes on the interwebs as they come out. And I never do that...

Parenthood

I've started watching the NBC show Parenthood, which comes on after The Biggest Loser. Originally, I thought the promos for this show looked cute, and I could never turn down Lauren Graham (who played Lorelai Gilmore on the Gilmore Girls), so we decided to check it out. It is nothing like the movie Parenthood, starring Steve Martin, but I guess I wasn't expecting that either. There are some things about this show that are a little much (like the ENORMOUS house the parents live in, or the fact that one of the somewhat unemployed "kids" lives in a boat on the SF marina), but I am willing to suspend disbelief for an hour. What I do like about this show is that it has so far portrayed a couple with a stay at home dad and a power attorney mom, a mom who married a loser, had two kids and now has to move home with Mom and Dad in order to regroup, a guy who is so freaked out by any sort of commitment that he can barely stand it when his girlfriend sleeps over, etc. I like the characters, I like the story line. It's easy on the eyes and, although I lack 4 brothers and sisters and have no children, I identify with a lot of the plotlines - usually from the parents' perspective, now - scary, eh? Tuesday nights episode dealt with one of the teen boys wanting to take approximately 7 showers a day to masturbate - what one earth do you do about that one? It also involved a teen daughter hiding her boyfriend from her parents (I totally did that) and then her parents found out and her dad went ballistic (yeah, totally lived that one too). The actors, I thought, were really good; in that, I felt uncomfortable and squirmy while watching the aforementioned scenes. And it's a nice change from the Law & Order or CSI type show, which seems to be on every night. I'm looking forward to seeing where this show goes - hopefully up!

Dear Ken Burns,

I have been watching the new documentary on America's National Parks by Ken Burns (showing now on PBS). I don't know what it is about his film-making, his cinematography, the narration, but it's amazing. His stories are so touching, recalling a day long ago when the US was struggling to set up the National Parks system. Not only are there beautiful landscapes of the varied lands across our country, but they follow people and their stories - normal, regular people who traveled to the parks, or people who advocated for the parks formations. It's a story of politics, as well as the "American Dream" and the last few remaining untouched spots in our country. This documentary, like Burns' others, is touching, heartfelt and astonishing. It literally has made me cry on several occasions. I am looking forward to the other installments of this series. Good on ya, Ken!