7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
Everyone's favorite pot-selling soccer mom, Nancy Botwin, is back in the complete fourth season of the hit series WEEDS. Last time we saw her, Nancy's business (and house) was going up in smoke. So the Botwin bunch has relocated near the border for a fresh start with some new buds. Life's looking green again in this subversive and buzz-worthy comedy. Season 4 of this critically acclaimed series is more subversive, more hilarious, and more addictive than ever.
Starring: Mary-Louise Parker, Alexander Gould, Justin Kirk, Kevin Nealon, Hunter ParrishCrime | 100% |
Dark humor | 72% |
Comedy | 53% |
Drama | 10% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Bonus View (PiP)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
It's time to move on, so let's move on.
Though the theme of the fourth season of "Weeds" revolves around new beginnings, new loves,
new curiosities, new explorations, new addictions, and certainly new problems, the show is
starting to feel old
and stale. Season four's baker's dozen worth episodes entertain but don't necessarily go
anywhere
or do anything, each 27-or-so-minute show telling a continuous story that seems to be moving
only for
the sake of marching onward towards no readily identifiable goal other than to keep the
characters
on the air. The story meanders through the usual barrage of crises and resolutions, each
character's development making for interesting -- if not usually far-fetched -- material that serves
no real
purpose other than to see how much trouble the character can get into and out of. "Weeds," at
this point in its life, seems a show with little in the way of meaning and import; the biting social
commentary remains, though this season gracefully begins and ends with far fewer overt political
jabs than its predecessors. Still, commentary on large-scale social and political issues such as
guns
and immigration are at the forefront of the season, while the show also deals with more personal
and family-level issues such as hormones and substance addiction.
Hey! You there! Yeah, you in your underwear! Go order 'Weeds' from Amazon!
Presented on Blu-ray with a 1080p, 1,78:1-framed transfer, this fourth season of "Weeds" looks great. Though flesh tones sometimes veer towards a rosy shade, the transfer holds up well across the board, offering up sharp colors, strong detail, and crisp lines throughout. The most striking aspect of the video presentation lies in the abundance of color; whether Nancy's pink shirt as seen in chapter three, her blue Prius, the greens of vegetation, or any number of other assorted colors, each catches the eye, the image awash in bright, strong, and accurate hues. Soft backgrounds appear sporadically but rarely does the foreground not enjoy smooth, crisp imagery with above-average levels of detail across the board. Whether the stone walls of Albert's house, the dusty underground tunnel below the maternity shop, or the worn border between the U.S. and Mexico, the transfer never fails to reveal strong textures and clear, visible details in any number of objects scattered throughout the season. This season of "Weeds" makes for strong high definition material that does justice to the series and the format.
"Weeds" won't smoke any sound systems, but this DTS-HD MA 7.1 lossless soundtrack does its job admirably enough. Though the mix rarely makes aggressive use of all seven channels, the show's front-heavy and dialogue-centric audio presentation benefits from the clarity afforded to it by the DTS mix. Dialogue only suffers from the rare occasion where it plays as slightly unintelligible under a deluge of sound effects, but the presentation generally impresses. Music plays nicely across the front, for example a Spanish-language song as heard at the end of episode one features a nice, clear offering and a bit of a pulsating low. The track features little ambience, and even many major sound effects pour primarily through the center channel. The rears come noticeably alive on precious few occasions, a sequence featuring a swarm of buzzing bees in episode five, for example, features a decent presentation that creates a somewhat realistic effect of the insects flying about the entire soundstage. Though short on head-turning sound effects, this presentation adequately supports the visuals and its generally clear presentation makes for a sufficient listen.
This two-disc set of "Weeds: Season Four" contains extras on both discs.
Disc One
Disc one features commentary tracks for four episodes: "Mother Thinks the Birds are After Her"
with series creator Jenji Kohan, "Three Coolers" with Roberto Benabib, "No Man is Pudding" with
Kevin Nealon and Justin Kirk, and "Excellent Treasures" with Elizabeth Perkins and Allie Grant.
Coyote Bonusview Picture-in-Picture is a video commentary for the episode "No Man is
Pudding" with Kevin Nealon and Justin Kirk, delivering the same track as the audio-only option,
this one showing the actors in a small box on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Next
up is a gag reel (1080p, 8:25). Little Titles (1080p, 5:30) offers a brief look at the
changes in the show's opening title sequence. Moving Weight (1080p, 9:27) features
actor Guillermo Díaz discussing his character and several issues pertaining to the drug
business and laws with a lawyer. I'm a Big Kid Now (1080p, 9:34) contains the show's
younger actors -- Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould, and Allie Grant -- discussing growing up on
the set of a television show and how their real-life changes are reflected in the show.
Disc Two
Disc two features commentary tracks accompanying three episodes: "I Am the Table" with Kevin
Nealon and Justin Kirk (also available as a picture-in-picture commentary), "Head Cheese" with
Hunter Parrish, and "If You Work for a Living, Why Do You Kill Yourself Working?" with Jenji
Kohan. The Real Hunter Parrish (1080i, 6:03) features the actor briefly recounting his
life and career. Tour of Bubbie's House (1080i, 7:41) allows viewers to follow set
designer Julie Bolder through one of the sets. One Stop Chop Shop (1080i, 5:33) looks
at the construction of a set that recreates a small Mexican auto shop and the tunnel underneath
it. The Weed Wranglers (1080i, 6:05) examines the fake drugs created for the show.
Finally, Burbs to the Beach (1080i, 6:32) looks at the shifting locations between seasons
three and four.
Entertaining but growing long in the tooth, "Weeds" defies the odds and continues to fascinate despite a deluge of far-fetched character arcs and plot devices that serve to heighten the drama but sacrifice any semblance of reality from the program. Escapist entrainment at its most fundamental, "Weeds" takes audiences into a lifestyle portrayed as glamorous, dangerous, and everything in between. In that regard, it's similar to a show like "The Sporanos," though the similarities end there, the latter a far more finely-tuned effort and one of the best television has ever seen. "Weeds," on the other hand, spins an intricate web that becomes too tangled to believe but remains a maze worth wandering through. Lionsgate's Blu-ray release impresses. Featuring a strong video transfer, an adequate soundtrack, and plenty of extras, the show's fans should find no reason not to buy this one. Best enjoyed with a footlong cheese sandwich.
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