"Weeds" finale

Showtime's signature series "Weeds" wraps up its third season tonight. I'd planned to to write about this in last week's TV column, but...

It's not that it's bad, it's just that "Weeds" sort of defies analysis. It's got its own drumbeat, its own low-key in-jokes and repetitive elements that you either accept or you don't.

I like the show, I'm willing to accept its surreal take on suburban life, but I've never found the characters compelling enough to put it on my must-see list. Or, more to the point, to pay the $15 a month to get Showtime to watch it. Now, "Dexter" plus "Weeds" is getting pretty close.

Anyway, the finale leaves viewers on tenterhooks as a wildfire wipes out Nancy's farm - and most of Agrestic - while the feds close in on her operation. There's some funny bits in there - my favorite is that Matthew Modine's sleazy preacher/real estate developer abandons the Southern California life for the greener pastures of Colorado Springs.

Guess they haven't heard about our lackluster housing market out in Hollywood.

Weeds season premiere

I poke some mild fun today at David Duchovny's new Showtime show, Californication, but didn't get the chance to talk much about the return of Showtime's other big comedy, Weeds. They both premeir on Monday.

I watched the first four Weeds episodes and... they're pretty good. Last season left off on a particularly nasty cliffhanger and the third season picks that thread right up and keeps it spinning. Not to give anything away, but it looks like it'll be a tough season for the gang.

And Kevin Nealon continues to pretty much steal this show. How come he's never been this good in anything else?

UPDATE: Yeah, I know: I've got the wrong person in their underwear in that photo. Haven't come up with a better one yet, though.