What do Smallville, CSI, Weeds and House have in common? All four shows are featured in this week's spoilerific Ausiello Report vodcast! Enjoy!
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Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
It's enough to drive you to drugs. At the climax of the first-season finale, Weeds' pot-peddling widow, Nancy Botwin, was being seduced by a sexy new flame, Peter Scottson — who turned out to be a DEA agent. But with the Showtime series' sophomore season now underway (Mondays at 10 pm/ET), the rebellious PTA mom, played by Mary-Louise Parker, won't let that get in the way of doing whatever it takes to support her family.
"Their relationship starts to take some weird turns," says Parker, who won a Golden Globe for her role. "The producers don't necessarily tell us where we're going, but his character turns pretty dark."
That's business as usual in this black comedy set in Agrestic, a deceptively placid California suburb. Things don't get any li
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Question: Call me crazy, but I just love Weeds. Can you please give me some spoilers?
Answer: You're gonna think I'm hitting the hashish a little too hard when I tell you this, but in Episode 3, we're going to learn that ***** a** *a*** a** ****a** a** ****.
Hey, tired of trying to solve these puzzles all by yourself? Well, listen up: I've gone and created a special thread in my Ausiello Report blog where TV scoop hounds like yourself can discuss the latest edition of Ask Ausiello. Although the thought of uniting thousands of AAdicts under one cyber roof scares me a little, I trust that you will use your powers for good (i.e.: dissect asterisk quizzes, weigh in on the latest spoilers, organize a parade in my honor). We'll try it for one week and see how it works. If I smell even a whiff of foul play, I'm pull
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Martin Donovan with Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
Tonight at 10 pm/ET, Showtime's highest-rated series, Weeds is back, to give fans another seasonlong buzz. When last we tuned in, Nancy (Emmy nominee Mary-Louise Parker's pot-peddlin' mama) had finally bedded her new beau, Peter, only to learn that he is (of all things!) a DEA agent. Surely, Peter's getting his walking papers, right? Not so fast. TVGuide.com grabbed a few minutes with the fed's portrayer, Martin Donovan, to talk about his extended visit to Agrestic, his confusing stint as Dead Zone's big baddie, and the rather disquieting film he has premiering this month.
TVGuide.com: After watching Weeds' first-season finale, I figured you wer
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If I ever hear that anyone in the sunny suburb of Agrestic is hiding a stranger in the basement, I'm done with Weeds (Mondays at 10 pm/ET on Showtime).
But somehow I doubt that will happen. While the higher-profile Desperate Housewives stumbled creatively, its thematic sibling on pay cable has become a sharper, darker, funnier satire in its sophomore go-round.
Weeds' greatest asset remains Mary-Louise Parker as the alluringly dazed-and-confused widow Nancy Botwin, who provides for her kids by distributing marijuana to seemingly upstanding townsfolk (including Kevin Nealon as a carefree CPA and city c
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Question: Is this the end of the HBO dynasty? I mean, HBO really set the standard for cable programming by having a small lineup of great shows and showcasing them one or two at a time (a formula that FX is using quite successfully). Now I'm wondering if it has fallen asleep at the wheel. While Showtime and FX are preparing shows such as Rescue Me, The Shield, Weeds and Sleeper Cell, HBO seems to be canceling a show every other month. Am I paranoid, or does the channel have some sort of master plan that no one knows about? Because if my math is correct, by the year 2008 The Sopranos, Deadwood, Rome and The Wire will all be gone.
Answer: I think it's fair to say that HBO is in a slump, and with more franchises nearing the ends of their runs, the network does need to step up and create another breakout show or two. I love Entourage, but it seems to lack the cultural oomph of Sex and the City — and I'm sorry, but Big Love is not the sort of show to build a network night around. Even wit ...
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Stockard Channing, Out of Practice
Question: What's with the diss of Stockard Channing? She was brilliant on Out of Practice. I'd rank her comic timing right up there with the comedy legends. Can you seriously see Lauren Graham playing the role so well? I can't. Comedy requires a particular ability and talent that dramatic and "light" comedic actresses can't do. Face it. Graham belongs in drama, not comedy. Channing is right where she belongs.
Answer: I've got no beef with Stockard Channing, generally. She's a class act and is especially adept at the highly theatrical and sardonic sort of clowning she was called upon to do on the short-lived Practice. Even so, in my opinion (and clearly fans of this show will disagree), she has done much better work elsewhere — as is the case with everyone on that show, from her costars to the writers. I may have missed an episode or two that showcased her best work on this so-so series, but my impression was that she was pushing it a bit, forcing the sometimes cringe-inducing material.
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Question: David's question predicting the best drama series Emmy mentioned Six Feet Under being out of the running. I thought that since Season 5 aired in the summer of 2005, it would still be eligible for this year. I hear so much about Lisa Kudrow's The Comeback getting nods, even though it aired at roughly the same time. And although it's out of sight/out of mind, SFU should be shown some Emmy love, at least with nominations for "All Alone" (the aftermath of Nate's death) or "Everyone's Waiting" (the series finale).
Answer: Yes, I suppose I should have clarified that. An oversight, or maybe I was in denial, hoping everyone would just forget about the show and let more deserving applicants make the cut (even the last season of West Wing). That wildly overpraised final episode, in which it looked like most of the Fishers would die of boredom in the future, could easily rack up some nominations for the series, if not the cast. I'm thinking The Sopranos and maybe even
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Question: Get off the pot and give me some Weeds prattle!
Answer: I hear Zooey Deschanel has been hired to play Justin Kirk's love interest in a limited Season 2 arc.
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Question: How can Lauren Graham get nominated for an Emmy in the comedy category when all of her best scenes this season are dramatic (i.e., the car scene in the final episode)? Do you think Desperate Housewives will sweep the nominations once again? I can probably live with two or three nominated wives, but taking four spots is kind of pushing it. In a sense I think Lauren has a great chance of being nominated because Emmy favorites Patricia Heaton and Sarah Jessica Parker are no longer contenders, and because the Housewives aren't as dominant as they used to be. However, she may not get nominated just because this has been the most dramatic (and least comedic) season of Gilmore Girls — although she did get nominated for a TCA this year. I don't get it.
Answer: Lauren Graham falls between the cracks in so many ways: between comedy and drama, and being on a network, now defunct, that almost never could find its way onto the Emmy radar. The category is a little more wide-open this year,
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