Weeds: Season Three Blu-ray delivers great video and decent audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
Matthew Modine joins the cast as a real estate mogul who hooks up with both pot-dealing soccer mom Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) and her friendly nemesis Celia (Elizabeth Perkins) in the third season of this high-flying hit Showtime series. Meanwhile, Nancy's son Silas (Hunter Parrish) finds romance with a religious girl (Mary-Kate Olsen), and Nancy gets a legit job. Carrie Fisher guest stars as Celia's divorce lawyer. Kevin Nealon co-stars.
The other day, while thinking about some of my upcoming reviews, my mind
wandered to Weeds: Season 3. Color me surprised that I actually remembered the
name
of the show's lead character, Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker, The Spiderwick
Chronicles). I don't watch all that many television shows, and
remember even fewer of the characters portrayed thereon. I can easily remember the names of
some of the legendary figures from shows I love, such as Jack Bauer, Tony Soprano, Cigarette
Smoking Man,
Miles O'Brien, and Bobby Hill, but I couldn't tell you the name of one character from Tour of
Duty, Oz, or The Office (the British version), even though I've seen every
episode of those shows. Weeds must have stuck with me for one reason or another,
even
though I found myself entertained by but not enamored with the show's firsttwo seasons, quite contrary
to
the shows listed above where I failed to recall a name but find them all superior to
Weeds. It was with a somewhat elevated excitement level that I received Weeds
Season 3 and screened the entire season in rapid succession to see just how my feelings
towards the show would be cemented, and I leave the season cautiously optimistic and wanting
more.
Nancy watches her pot business go up in smoke, again.
The third season of Showtime's mega-hit series Weeds reunites the entire cast and
introduces a few new characters, picking up immediately after the mind-boggling events of the
last
episode of season two. Nancy Botwin finds herself indebted to one of the thugs holding her at
gunpoint at the end of season two, U-Turn (Page Kennedy), who demands a massive payment
after
one of Nancy's enemies, Celia (Elizabeth Perkins), drowns her stash of weed in a swimming pool.
To help pay the debt, Nancy is forced to get a real job and finds herself in the employment of
Sullivan Groff (Matthew Modine, Full Metal Jacket), a
man in the employ of the rival city of Majestic where poor planning has caused the city to
petition
Agrestic to allow their waste to flow through a new sewer system Majestic will install under
Agrestic. Nancy's fortunes rise and fall numerous times throughout the season as she deals with
new earners, her deceased husband Peter's ex-wife Valerie (Brooke Smith), the troubles her sons
and brother-in-law Andy (Justin Kirk) find themselves in, and the various pitfalls of
pot.
While the third season of Weeds is an entertaining one, the plot lines are beginning to
delve into the ridiculous and ultra-convenient. Weeds is a great concept that is teetering
on wearing out its welcome and becoming cumbersome and dull, but only if contrivances and
highly unrealistic plot lines are not kept to a minimum in future episodes. What this third season
does well, however, is
to
continue to bring each of your favorite characters from Agrestic deeper into the darkness that lies
underneath their shiny, yuppie veneer as they become more privy to not only the business
Nancy
runs, but also as they maneuver one against the other for leverage, power, money, status, and a
piece of the pot pie. The third season continues in its soap opera spectacle as twists and turns,
almost too numerous to remember, permeate the story and continue to throw each and every
character for a loop and Nancy's weed business into upheaval. Character development continues
to be a strong suit of the show, and at less than thirty minutes each, individual episodes are
easily digested and serve as a fine time killer, and the season as a whole is short enough to
sprout an entire Weeds Marathon over the course of a lazy day. If season four can
match the pace and freshness of this season, it should be a solid watch. However, the show in
this third season does show signs of venturing too far out into left field. In my humble opinion
(having binged today on season three), only by continuing to build on the solid foundation and
level-headed writing present in the first two seasons, and for the most part in the third, not
charting new territory that takes the characters out of their element and the audience out of its
comfort zone, will Weeds continue to rate "high" among its dedicated fan base.
Weeds: Season 3 is presented on Blu-ray high definition in a 1080p, 1.78:1 framed
transfer. The strength of this video transfer is in its clarity and colors. The image has a generally
realistic appearance and there are many times where you'll experience that wonderful feeling of
actually being in the many locales around Agrestic. Black levels are as solid as to be expected,
although most of the show is bright, well-lit, and features little opportunity to showcase any deep
blacks. A nighttime scene at a gas station in episode two is one of the better examples of solid
blacks,
but the scene is still lit by the bright lights of the station. Detail is solid in every episode. Check
out Nancy's denim
jacket worn about halfway through episode two, and the Army fatigues and dress uniforms seen
in
various places throughout the season. The color is great, and the stitches, buttons, patches, and
adornments on clothing all stand out wonderfully. Background detail is a bit soft, but the overall
quality here is very high. Flesh tones are somewhat pink, and the image is somewhat flat. Grain
isn't visible over most shots, but a few exhibit a rather heavy grain field. Check out the 25:40
mark
in episode one for an example. Lionsgate has delivered another winner, and this is the best
looking
season of Weeds on Blu-ray yet, barely surpassing season two.
Weeds: Season 3 passes on smoking your system despite its full-fledged DTS-HD MA 7.1
soundtrack,
arguably overkill for a dialogue-heavy television show, but give credit to Lionsgate for going all the
way on this release. As expected, this track is front heavy. Dialogue, focused in the front and
flowing from the center speaker with grace and authority, at an approriate volume in relation to the
music, is always audible and crisp. Minor ambience and atmospherics are heard at times, like the
chirping of birds, but such niceties are placed squarely in the front of the soundstage, leaving the
rears mostly barren. The popular music heard in the show lacks punch and fidelity, evidenced by
the rather flat sounding song heard at the end of episode two. The end of episode nine does provide
a bit of bass, finally, but it is more the exception and definitely not the rule. Unfortunately, there is
little to say
about this dull soundtrack. It does nothing more than move the show along, sonically, but as a
half-hour comedy/drama, this one sounds fine.
Weeds: Season 3 deals out some serious extra dope for this release. Extras are spread
across both discs in the set, and I'll list them by disc.
Disc One
Five commentary tracks are available on the first disc for the following episodes: Doing the
Backstroke with Jenji Kohan, Sh*t Highway with Mark Burley, Bill Sussman
with Justin Kirk, Grasshopper with Hunter Parrish and Alexander Gould, and The Two
Mrs. Scottsons with Craig Zisk and Michael Trim. Kohan, the creator of the show, is the
most
interesting listen, particularly concerning how to resolve the cliffhanger from season two. In fact,
nobody had a clue what to do when it came time to get back to work on filming season three.
Three episodes -- A Pool and His Money, The Brick Dance, and He Taught Me
How to Drive-By -- offer pop-up trivia tracks. Following the commentaries and trivia tracks is
an enjoyable gag reel (1080p, 5:57). Little Boxes Montages (1080p, 3:47) is a series
four brief psychedelic montages featuring stills and characters from the show. Little Boxes -
Randy Newman (1080i, 2:32) is a brief promotional piece that examines the use of this
famous song in the show. Next is a Mary-Kate Olsen biography (1080i, 2:47), followed by the
final extra on disc one, a sampling of various tunes from the soundtrack (complete set available
now!).
Disc Two
Three more commentary tracks are to be found on this disc for the episodes Release the
Hounds with Ernest Dickerson, Protection with Roberto Benabib, and Go
with Jenji Kohan. Also, four more trivia tracks are available on the episodes Roy Till
Called, Cankles, The Dark Time, and Risk. Next is a feature entitled
Kush Kush and Away, presented in 720p. This is a basic interactive game where players
move Nancy Botwin around the screen, collect marijuana, and return it to another individual
while avoiding authorities. It is fun for a few levels but not worth spending more than several
minutes playing with. Uncle AWOL (1080p, 7:00) is a humorous short with the show's
star, Justin Kirk, and a look at his character's best moments from the show. Finally, G.M.A. --
Good Morning Agrestic (1080i, 33:04) is a six-part mock morning show that brings you
several humorous vignettes with the stars from the show, from cooking Bake Apple Potbellies
with Andy and Silas Botwin to a discussion about illegal immigration with Nancy Botwin's
housekeeper.
Weeds: Season 3 is solid entertainment that is decidedly adult-oriented and likely to offend
more conservative and faith-based audiences who may choose to give the show a chance. A
fantastic concept to be sure, the excellent cast, generally solid writing, and entertaining plot lines
keep the show mostly fresh and highly watchable, and Weeds is
solid entertainment for mature audiences. Lionsgate continues their upward trend as one of
Blu-ray's best studios with a release that offers fantastic video quality, a serviceable lossless
soundtrack
that does all it can with the source material, and a generous helping of extras. Weeds: Season
3 is recommended to fans of the show who come into it having seen the first two seasons.
Weeds: Other Seasons
Season 1 1-disc $12.05
Season 2 2-disc set $14.99
Season 4 2-disc set $14.99
Season 5 2-disc set $13.81
Season 6 2-disc set $14.60
Season 7 2-disc set $24.99
Season 8 2-disc set $21.78
Season 8 3-disc set Target
Blu-ray bundles with Weeds: Season Three (1 bundle)
If you need to complete your Weeds Blu-ray collection, today is the perfect time, as Web retailer Deep Discount is featuring this Showtime series in its "Daily Deep Deal": today only, you can get any of the Blu-ray season sets of Weeds at a discount of over 50% ...
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has revealed the final specs for the upcoming Blu-ray release of 'Weeds: Season 3'. Video will be presented in 1080p widescreen, and be accompanied by a 7.1 PCM audio track. Extras include eight commentaries with cast and crew, seven ...
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has announced that they will release the highly acclaimed 'Weeds: Season 3' for Blu-ray on June 3rd, day-and-date with the DVD release. Video will be presented in widescreen and be accompanied by 7.1 PCM audio. Extras includes audio ...
