Weeds Season Five

It's an impressive testament to its cast that Weeds is still as consistently amusing as it is. The rudderless storytelling continues this season as Nancy's entrenchment in the Mexican mafia is almost fully cemented. Fatherhood questions surrounding the Botwin baby are approached early, but like every other stab at creating a meaningful narrative Weeds takes, it splinters off into tangents that rarely pay off, or even forward the story's momentum. Yes, the daddy is exactly who you hope it isn't, giving the character of Esteban Reyes reason to continue sticking out like a soapy thumb, sucking the humour out of every scene he's in like a funniness vacuum. It's almost worthwhile as an excuse to justify the return of Ignacio, the strong arm responsible for getting Celia hooked on cocaine last season. This time out, he becomes a thug mentor for young Shane Botwin. It's one of the show's darkest threads, but the writers and performers don't forget to mine laughs from the horror. As usual though, the true treasures of Weeds are Andy, Doug and Celia. Aside from the writers' occasionally off-putting insistence on making Doug horribly racist, Kevin Nealon remains one of the best reasons to watch the show. His variety of delivery is hilariously highlighted in the "Bloopers" included in the special features. His on-set shenanigans are documented in a raw, self-shot, handheld behind-the-scenes feature. He likewise shines in his two commentary track contributions, matched only by Justin Kirk and Alanis Morissette's audio flirtations ― any commentary lacking an actor is pretty boring, however. Creator Jenji Kohan provides a few words on a collection of the entire season's title screens in "Little Titles." "Crazy Love" is a series of interviews with the actors and writers about the relationships of Weeds, and "History of Weeds" is a fun little animated timeline on important moments in Mary Jane's lifespan. The true gold, however, is "The University of Andy." Justin Kirk's series of webisodes has more laughs per minute of outrageous euphemisms than any episode of the season. So even though the story team are less focused than stoners doing calculus homework, uncle Andy's advice on "How to Survive a Bear Attack" will keep me eating from Weeds' sloppy comedy trough as long as they're serving.