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Show:		9.0
Picture:		9.0
Sound:		9.0
Extras:		8.0
Score:		9.0

Director(s):	Various
Starring:	Albert Brooks • Alexander Gould • Allie Grant • Elizabeth Perkins • Hunter Parrish • Justin Kirk • Kevin Nealon • Mary-Louise Parker
Genre:	Comedy • Television
Website:	http://www.sho.com/site/weeds/home.do
Release Date:	June 02, 2009
Rated:	NR

List Price:	DVD - $39.99
Amazon:

Nancy Botwin (played by Golden Globe winner Mary Louise Parker) started selling marijuana to her suburban neighbors several seasons ago (3 to be precise) when her husband died. He left her with two children and a large mortgage, giving her no option but to deal drugs. Nancy, involving herself in more and more marijuana operations in Agrestic, her town, finds the trouble growing. Luckily for her, wildfires (and a gasoline can) helped ensure her house and life burned away, bringing Nancy and her family to the border town of Ren Mar, California.

In Ren Mar, Nancy takes a cross-border drug running job until she is promoted to running a store which secretly harbors a tunnel between California and Mexico. To make matters even more complicated, Nancy begins having a sexual relationship with Esteban (Demian Bichir), the mayor of Tijuana and boss of the tunnel and Guillermo (Giullermo Diaz) who employes Nancy. If this isn’t complicated enough, Nancy’s oldest son is still dealing weed himself, her old best friend has followed her to spy on her for the DEA, her accountant is tagging along, and her in-laws hate her (that’s where she’s living). 
So, in addition to changing the location and many of the characters, the game itself has changed. Nancy is now dealing with lieutenants in drug cartels and they make their money on things that are far more sinister than, well, Weed(s).

Season 4 is extremely refreshing. Some of the stories and plots of seasons 2 and 3 began to dance dangerously toward lame redundancy, where the dangers ran from circular stories to repetitive plots with different characters. They were beginning to stretch themselves thin. By taking the story and many of the characters and moving them away, they managed to give the show new life.

This is also assisted by the growth of Nancy Botwin. Starting out as a (relatively) moral low level pot dealer, she, in season 4, is one of the big dogs. She deals with major amounts of drugs, higher-up criminals, and instead of loving the saint, she loves the ultimate sinner, Esteban. Her transition is not only intense, it's fascinating. In changing the interactions of the characters as well as depth in which Nancy is immersed in the drug business allowed the writers to recreate the show. The character of the struggling soccer mom has been replaced by the drug-savvy money lover, who has gotten further and further from being a “mother” to the point where she admits she’s awful and we question if she actually remembers what brought her into drug dealing in the first place.

Keeping in line with the past three seasons, Season 4 continues to intertwine the blend between comedy and drama, with a couple of episodes bordering on thrilling. The writing stays sharp, and while the web became so tangled I wasn’t sure how they could keep it together without becoming convoluted, it did. The writers seem to have almost mastered the art of finding a way out of the holes they dig, and it makes the show increasingly interesting.

DVD Bonus Features

There are many features on the set, including the admittedly fascinating “Weed Wranglers,” which details the process in which the fake marijuana/cigarettes/joints/etc. are constructed on set and how exactly they get everything to look so realistic. “Burbs to the Beach” is a series of interviews articulating why the series shifted from Agrestic to Ren Mar, and show creator Jenji Kohan blatantly admits that they were bored and running out of things to do in Agrestic.

“I’m a Big Kid Now” takes the actors who play Silas, Shane, and Isabelle (Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould, and Allie Grant) and discusses how the lives of these young people have been changed and shaped by appearing on a show. It’s heartfelt and youthful, with the three talking about the challenges they face growing up on the show (and the challenges their physical growth poses for the writers, who often begin the next season immediately after the season before).

The DVD packaging is made out of fully recycled material, from old bottles and paper. I suppose on a show called “Weeds” there is no reason not to “go green,” but be warned that the cheap recycled cardboard tears easily.

While many shows struggle after their initial freshman or sophomore years, Weeds becomes more intricate and more polished. Season 5 begins Monday, June 8, at 10 PM on Showtime.