After last week’s pilot aired, bloggers and critics alike turned on Californication. Will they be any nicer after tonight’s inaugural episode? I doubt it. Even I didn’t warm to this one. And I loved the pilot. Californication’s main weakness is that it’s brash just to be brash. Any chance it has to get a woman naked, it takes. And after this glorious episode I now have the image of Hank having sex with a scientologist, followed by mutual vomiting. Thanks for that Californication!

It’s not all bad. There’s one guaranteed way to make me not hate a show, hire Lucy Davis. It doesn’t fail, she’s just that awesome. So congrats to the folks at Californication for realizing that she rocks and giving her a scene to be deliciously douchy as Hank’s potential editor at Hell-A. Unfortunately Californication needs more help than Lucy Davis can offer.

The allure that I saw in the pilot is long gone. There is absolutely no reason to feel empathetic towards Hank. The fact that he stands in front of a mirror and calls himself a douche doesn’t make me feel for him. Sure, he hates himself, but he never does anything to dig himself out of the whole that’s become his life. Instead he just keeps digging deeper and deeper. Californication relies too much on Duchovny. He’s a great actor, but he can’t carry the show entirely on his own. The other characters need some depth, some back story. While we learned the circumstances in which Karen cheated on Hank, we really don’t know why. The most negative thing that I can say is that I really don’t care why. I don’t care about these characters or their circumstances.Hopefully the next few episodes will get me, otherwise I may have to bail. Especially next month when the fall season kicks into gear.Until next week, I leave you with this: Vaginal rejuvenation.

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Two things that I love are watching television and screwing with my friends. So when an opportunity presents itself to do both, well, that’s a good day. The folks at FX in the UK have created a nifty viral marketing tool for Dexter, where you type in some basic information and your friend’s email and suddenly they’re getting a video death wish from Dexter. I took it upon myself to send said video to my friend John, a few hours later he replied simply with the following:

RE: This is really weird.

You’re fucked Diana…FUCKED.

Mission accomplished? I think so. To freak your friends out, head over to Icetruck.tv.

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The Botwin’s are back and oh are they screwed. Last time we saw Nancy Botwin she was being held at gunpoint by rival gangs and her drugs had been stolen by her son. Oh, her husband was also murdered by said gangs, and her other son was kidnapped by a woman on the run from an Eskimo, named Abumchuck. The crew at Weeds really knows how to write em.

At the end of the premiere episode Nancy surprisingly finds herself even more screwed than she was in the finale. Why you ask? Well, Celia found the drugs in the trunk of Silas’ car. Uh oh. And Celia being the moral authority that she is, put all the drugs into the pool, therefore pretty much guaranteeing Nancy’s head on a platter to U-Turn. Don’t you just love Celia? Seriously, the woman is gold!

I’ve found over the course of two seasons that I could not care less about Silas. I understand how he has to be there to illuminate Nancy’s home-life, but I feel like Andy and Shane do that more effectively. At least they provide comic relief. Because of that, I don’t care what happens to Silas, especially since he’s such a one dimensional character. I’m really dreading the moment when the Olsen twin shows up as his love interest this season. At least deaf Megan knew how to use a can of spray paint.

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Poor Nancy, she tried to go straight, she really did. She’s just a bad girl at heart. So Helia threatens Nancy’s life and Conrad and Nancy decide it’s time for her to get out. She had a good run but she’s got Peter so she doesn’t need to work for money anymore. There’s only one problem. Nancy doesn’t want Peter, she wants her old life. No matter how dangerous.

Nancy tried to make it work with Peter, she really did. She just came to a point where she realized Peter wants, and needs her to be someone she isn’t. Unfortunately Nancy makes the mistake of telling Conrad all of this over the phone….that Peter is listening in on. Boy’s got trust issues, well founded, but still issues none the less. So I’m thinking Conrad is definitely screwed now. Nancy might get a little slack while Peter pretends to trap her but Conrad is going down. Too bad, I really like him. It’s interesting that  Nancy is descending further into illegal activity just as Andy is claiming to be there for the kids. Foreshadowing anyone?

Anyone else think those tapes that Celia’s so obsessed with are going to make a re-appearance next week? I’m scared that someone’s going to attempt to kill Peter and then all the power’s gonna lie with Celia. I really hope she learns how Nancy makes her money. It would make for a nice conflict for Celia, morals or her only friend. It would be awesome if they somehow bit Peter in the ass in the end as well. I really think Celia would pick Nancy over morality. But that would mean she would have morals in the first place. Plus she loves Dean and Dean would fall too.

Doug and Celia rock. They’re kinda perfect together.

Another great episode. Only 2 more before the season ends. Weeds is in my opinion the most reliable and entertaining half hour of tv on the air. It never dissipoints.

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This episode is by far my favourite of the series. I laughed out loud so many times. Not just normal laugh out loud, but really loud from the gut laughs. A few things are said that I never thought I would hear on television. I don’t wanna ruin the awesomeness of it for you, but I have two words to say, ‘cancer cunt.’ Best. Line. Ever.

Parker is once again great. The vulnerability in her eyes when she has to reject Peter. It’s heartbreaking. When she looks up you can see how much Nancy really likes the guy. Man, does the woman have bad luck with men.

Celia gets a bunch of great zingers in and Perkins gets to shine with a key scene of vulnerbility. Celia may be a bitch on the outside, but on the inside she just wants to be loved. Isabelle has a hysterical line as well that I won’t repeat. Too good.

Now for the real juice…the end. The end of this episode is a shock. Sure, it becomes obvious about a minute before it happens, but even when the final lines are said, it’s still shocking. Obviously setting the course for the season to come.

Weeds has really brought it up a notch this season. I don’t remember it being this funny or great before.

And seriously, Nancy has a water-park in her back yard. How did Denny Duquette not leave her lots of money? Willing suspension of disbelief I suppose.

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Times are a changing in Agrestic.  Nancy’s got herself in a whole lot of trouble.  I swear every conversation she has in this episode acts as a catalyst for the big changes this season.  She tells Conrad about her DEA mishap and they end up having an awkward moment about their undefined relationship.  She gives Celia some career advice and pretty much sets the course for destroying her city connections.  She mentions arson and the next thing you know the bakery’s gone.  Nancy’s changing, she’s no longer denying that she’s a dealer, but the thing that was supposed to save her family may start tearing it apart.  Her sons are getting annoyed, her housekeeper is blackmailing her and her personal relationships are a mess.  Great tv folks.

It’s hard to say what direction Weeds is gonna take this year, but I’m excited either way.  It’s one of those shows that I love.  When the screener ended I nearly screamed, it felt like it had been on for 5 minutes.  I do however hope that in the end Nancy doesn’t end up in jail. I don’t watch Weeds for reality, I want her to continue dealing drugs and I want her to get away with it in the end, no matter how wrong it is.

I encourage everyone to tune into Showtime on August 14th for Weeds.  If you’ve never watched before the previously on Weeds should be enough to catch you up.  Season 1’s on DVD as well, it’s only 10 episodes and is an easy 1 day marathon. It’s worth it, Weeds is without a doubt one of the best shows on tv.

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If you haven’t seen Weeds, I suggest you go buy Season 1 right now.  It’s funny, heartwarming and a little bit off its head.  All in all great tv.  For its 2nd Season starting on August 14th(in the US only) on Showtime, the producers have decided to have a different band sing the theme song, Little Boxes every week.  When I first heard this concept I was amused, but never went out of my way to see who would be performing it.

The LA Daily News has an interesting article with Death Cab for Cutie about their interpretation of the song.  Also featured this season, Elvis Costello and Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley fame.

A great idea from a great team if you ask me.

Remember Weeds, August 14th, Showtime.  Showcase will air it on a later date in Canada.

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