So, next week it pretty much all kicks off. We’ve got Boardwalk Empire on Sunday, The Event and Lone Star on Monday, Undercovers on Wednesday and then a few others the week after. Not the greatest list for a new season but we work with what we have and there’s a few maybes in there that could well flourish into great shows. Before all that though I’m going to throw a quick recap at you of the last few episodes of Weeds and last week’s (lukewarm) Sons of Anarchy premiere… beware, THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD.
Weeds – Felling and Swamping and A Yippity Sippity
First and foremost, Weeds is back on form, these two episodes served to simplify the formula right down, right back to the way it was back in seasons 1&2. This is the way forward for the show, last season was cluttered, wayward and about as entertaining as an elephant stuck in a bear trap. However, S6 has been, so far, hilarious, focused and as entertaining as… well, a soccer mom selling weed should be.
A brief synopsis, then: Nancy, Silas, Shane, Stevie Ray and Andy and the baby are on the run after Shane brained Pilar with a croquet mallet. These episodes concern the Botwins obtaining new identities and finding new jobs (apparently American hotels do family deals on jobs too). All par for the course with Weeds really, gladly the stuff about Esteban has been mainly focused on his brilliant side-kick who honed in on Doug at the close of episode 3.
There’s been some great moments, Shane procuring a new buggy for “Avi” was superb as were the various encounters in the hotel. I said in my last post that I hoped this would be the last season, now I find myself backtracking a bit, if the writers can maintain this quality throughout the season, I’d happily keep watching, we’ll have to wait and see.
Sons of Anarchy – SO
One of my Girlfriend’s favourite shows returned last week for its third season and while it started out with a bit of a whimper it certainly had my jaw resting about 10 inches south of its home with the ending. SoA warns us that it means business as Hale, one of the main characters in the first 2 seasons, is run down and instantly killed while a nameless toddler bleeds to death on the church lawn.
Quite a kick in the teeth I’d say, up until that point I was ready to write off the premiere as another lacklustre, set-up episode, doing not much aside from providing promise that the rest of the season should be good. I found Jax and Tara’s moping about to be a bit tedious, even though Jax obviously has good reason to be moping, and Half-Sack’s funeral didn’t really hit the emotional low-notes it should have been aiming for.
I look forward to SAMCRO heading to Belfast later in the season, and remain cautiously curious about Stephen King’s upcoming appearance. A decent opener from SoA then, but it can and should do better.
Well that’s all for now folks. I’ll be posting a fair bit next week, granted I can find the time. Also I’d really appreciate any recommendations for new shows this season, I doubt I know about them all (could especially use some comedies) and every suggestion will be considered. Enjoy the new season!
