16. Weeds
Weeds is show about the life of a drug dealing, pseudo-sociopathic milf and her friends who live in the small suburb of Aggrestic. The show follows Nancy Botwhin (the aforementioned mother) and the lives of her family, friends and . . . business associates. It is also the first of the HBO shows to make it on the list. It will not be the last.
The show is a satire/comedy/drama all rolled into one. It pokes fun at the middle class American lifestyle (a huge understatement), follows characters through wacky and zany adventures, and tracks Nancy's interactions with some sketchy ass people who may or may not run gangs... The best part is that it is only half an hour in running length, so they can't over-do the drama.
By far the biggest reason that this show is on the list is its supporting cast. Nancy is interesting and all, but Celia, Doug and Andy are where its at. Doug and Andy are absolutely hilarious in their antics, they almost always lighten the mood of an episode. Celia, though, is the show's best character. She is just a star - she is a driven, manipulative, cunning, sarcastic and insane bitch while also being slightly vulnerable. She is in some ways the antagonist to Nancy, but at the same time, we understand her motivation in almost everything. Really, you have to see for yourself, but the characters are just hilarious.
I also love how well Nancy is done. It is fascinating to watch her. I'm half convinced she is a sociopath and half convinced she actually loves her family. She always has the motivation of her family's protection, but she also puts them into really needless risk. She also does some pretty fucked up shit to some guys she is in relationships with. Nancy is not a nice person, but shes also cute and likable.
The dramatic side of the show is pretty good - the one thing that you can count on is that whether Nancy is dealing with low level gangs or high level law enforcement she will find someone who she can fuck and bend to her will. Given the nature of drug dealing, there is never a shortage of drama for the show. The show is also good for moving their plot lines along, which is good because I hate when a show can't close a story. Needless to say shit really goes down in Aggrestic.
Even the kids in this show are entertaining. Shane and Isabelle are quite funny and usually add a light humour to the show. I usually hate how kids are portrayed in shows so this is a nice change.
The show has also won a lot of awards. You can probably assume that most of the ones higher than it will have won a fair amount as well, so from now on I will stop mentioning them.
This show doesn't make it higher on the list because sometimes it hurts to see how many stupid things the characters can do in a row. Especially Nancy. Honestly for someone who is smart she can be REALLY stupid sometimes.
Also, it doesn't have the same 'pull' as some of the ones that are higher than it. I want to watch it but I don't needto watch it. Also, I also finding myself yearning for a joint as I'm watching, which makes it an expensive endeavor ;).
