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Californication - Season One

Actors: David Duchovny, Californication
ASIN : B0013ZGN9I
Sales Rank : 743
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Paramount
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0097368920941
UPC : 097368920941
Release Date : December 17, 2008
Publisher : Paramount
Manufacturer : Paramount
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Paramount
Running Time : 340

Description

Sophisticated and unique, this comedy centers on novelist Hank Moody (David Duchovny) who struggles to raise his 13-year-old daughter, while still carrying a torch for his ex-girlfriend. His obsession with truth-telling and self destructive behavior -- drinks drugs and relationships -- are both destroying and enriching to his career.

Amazon.com

"You can’t always get what you want." The Rolling Stones may have said it best, and it seems to be writer Hank Moody’s theme song. David Duchovny (X Files) was born to play this sly, sarcastic, self-loathing, and--despite all the meaningless sex, booze, and fist fights--kind character. Writer Moody hates the Los Angeles world he lives in; a world that turned his sharp best-seller into a cheesy date movie, where his young daughter and should-have-been wife (Natascha McElhone) are slipping away into the hands of a rich play-it-safe guy, and where everything he truly wants seems just out of his reach. But the man hasn’t lost all hope. "Happy endings may get a bad rap, but they do happen," he assures his daughter. "And when they do, they’re just as true as the unhappy ones." One can’t help but hope Hank finds his happy ending, because it's with his family that his soft side surfaces. Hank takes no shame in trying to woo back his "wife" Karen, even if it is in front of her new fiancé. He knows he’s meant to be with her--plain and simple--and there’s a glint in her eye that always makes you wonder if she’s really thinking the same thing. And his daughter Becca? Well, any guy would melt against this guitar-wielding cutie (played by the adorable Madeleine Martin), but Hank really captures the "I’ll kick a lot of ass for my daughter" mentality that so many dads harbor. He’s also fully prepared to drop a gorgeous woman at a moment’s notice to heed his daughter’s call.

The rest of the cast, including Evan Handler (Sex and the City) and Pamela Adlon (Lucky Louie), provide some surprisingly interesting and hilarious side stories. Just when it seems situations in this show can’t get any more ludicrous or disgusting, they most certainly do. That’s the beauty of it. Californication is a dark, coarse, edgy adult comedy. It’s also very real, and quite intelligent. --Jordan Thompson

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Weeds - Seasons 1-3 (Amazon.com Exclusive)

Actors: Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, Hunter Parrish, Kevin Nealon, Alexander Gould
ASIN : B0018B7E8G
Sales Rank : 1193
Studio : Lionsgate
Format : NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0031398236481
UPC : 031398236481
Release Date : December 03, 2008
Publisher : Lionsgate
Manufacturer : Lionsgate
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Lionsgate
Running Time : 30

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Season One
With its fantastic comedy series Weeds, cable network Showtime finally gave up its also-ran status to HBO and found itself with a controversial, buzz-worthy show that was as hilarious as it was dark, one about a truly desperate housewife. A recent widow with two growing sons, Nancy Botwin (Golden Globe winner Mary-Louise Parker) looks like a typical resident of the affluent Southern California suburb of Agrestic. She keeps a clean, upscale house (with the help of a live-in maid), attends PTA meetings, goes to her kids' soccer games, makes frequent stops at the local coffee franchise.... and sells marijuana in order to make it all possible. Left with no way to support herself after her beloved husband's fatal heart attack, Nancy turns herself into the "suburban baroness of bud," dealing to her neighbors in the area, with the help of her supplier Heylia (Tonye Patano) and point man Conrad (Romany Malco). Nancy's clients run from the local councilman (Kevin Nealon) to the just-barely-legal students at the local community college, but many in Agrestic are still in the dark as to how she keeps her family afloat, including her best friend, the sardonic Celia (Elizabeth Perkins), a wife and mother whose blistering, withering put-downs could make Dorothy Parker cringe in fear. But like many small-business owners, Nancy yearns for more success and cash, and like her workaholic neighbors, finds keeping a balance between work life and home life to be extremely precarious at best.

While Desperate Housewives yearned to be a suburban satire with bite, Weeds was the real deal, skewering upper-middle class mores with a sharp eye, a keen wit, and a mostly forgiving heart. In episode after episode, the show's creative team (led by creator Jenji Kohan) pulled back the layers of Agrestic's superficiality to show what lies beneath the squeaky-clean exteriors and smiling faces; it turns out that hunger, fear, desire, and, yes, desperation aren't that far down. However, Weeds forsakes pulpiness and florid drama for biting yet affectionate humor--its heroine is a woman with sliding morals, but one you'll root for to the very end. The effervescent Parker, the only actress who can mix perkiness with morbidity in just the right amounts, anchored the show with her amazing turn as Nancy, who by the end of the first season had become a kind of soccer-mom version of Michael Corleone, entering a corrupt world with both trepidation and fascination--and totally enamored of the power it brought her. Also perfectly cast, Perkins found the role of a lifetime as the bitterly hilarious Celia, and entering the show in its fourth episode, Justin Kirk (Parker's co-star in Angels in America) proved to be a potent secret weapon as Nancy's brother-in-law Andy, a slacker who wasn't above peddling t-shirts to elementary school kids. As icky as these characters might appear on the surface, Weeds made them all immensely appealing and great company to be around. Don't say we didn't warn you: one hit and you'll be hooked on this show. The DVDs feature six episode commentaries with cast and crew, outtakes, original featurettes, a music video, and most enjoyably, Agrestic Herbal Recipes (for entertainment value only, we assume) and the "Smoke and Mirrors" marijuana mockumentary. --Mark Englehart

Season Two
The first season of Weeds ended with a shocker: Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) found a dreamy new boyfriend, but he turned out to be a DEA agent (Martin Donovan). Luckily, she manages to find some pretty creative ways to "deal" with it. Despite that new obstacle, she decides it’s also time to "grow" the business to higher levels, and all these risky moves lead up to another fabulous season finale cliff-hanger. Elsewhere in suburban utopia, comic relieving brother-in-law Andy (Justin Kirk) tries to dodge his army commitments by joining Rabbi school, while the hilarious Doug (Kevin Nealon) battles it out with Celia (Elizabeth Perkins) to maintain power over the Agrestic City Council. Plot aside, Season 2 of Weeds took this potentially great show to the next level. No matter how hard they tried in the first season, the show’s makers had a heck of a time trying to shake the impression that they were mimicking the edginess of HBO’s original programming. (Some might have gone as far as to say they were trying a little too hard.) This time around, the characters and the story have grown into their own skins, and they offer something much more authentic and convincing. The second season also starts a great new tradition: Malvina Reynolds ‘s "Little Boxes" is still the opening theme song, but it is performed by a different artist for each episode (from Elvis Costello to The Shins). Just one more thing to keep us "addicted." --Jordan Thompson

Beyond Weeds

Season One
Season Two
Season Three

Stills from Weeds (click for larger image)

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Brotherhood - The Complete First Season

Actors: Jason Isaacs, Jason Clarke, Annabeth Gish, Frank Ridley, Kevin Chapman
ASIN : B000GH3CWK
Sales Rank : 2042
Director : Brian Kirk, Edward Bianchi, Henry Bromell, Jean de Segonzac, Leslie Libman
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Showtime Ent.
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0097368507845
UPC : 097368507845
Release Date : December 26, 2006
Publisher : Showtime Ent.
Manufacturer : Showtime Ent.
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Showtime Ent.
Running Time : 583

Description

A working-class Irish family is torn between right and wrong when two brothers live out their destinies on opposite sides of the law. BROTHERHOOD tells the story of two brothers who sometimes share a twisted sense of moral compromise--each with his own skewed, idealistic vision of what makes the American dream.

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This riveting Showtime series puts a familial spin on Angels with Dirty Faces, the 1938 James Cagney-Pat O'Brien classic in which two childhood friends take divergent paths--one becomes a priest, and the other a hoodlum. In Brotherhood, Michael Caffee (Jason Clarke) is an idealistic and respectable Rhode Island state representative dedicated to the preservation of his close-knit lower-middle-class Irish neighborhood, the Hill. His older brother, Michael (Jason Isaacs), is a gangster who returns home after a seven-year absence (one step ahead of a hit, two steps ahead of the Feds) to pick up where he left off. The stage is set for backroom skullduggery and mean streets thuggery, as both men pursue their visions of the American dream on opposite sides of the law. At the heart of this series is the conflict between the estranged brothers. With the exception of clueless matriarch MaryRose (Fionnula Flanagan), Michael is not exactly received with open arms. "You're a tornado," Tommy tells him early on. "You suck everything in and spit it out broken." Indeed, the man is a psychopath. When a henchman of neighborhood mob boss Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman) threatens a woman, Michael not only repeatedly bashes his head against a car, but for the coup de grace, cuts off his ear. In one gut-wrenching scene, he compels a woman to sell him her store by inducing her mentally challenged brother to play Russian Roulette. No wonder Tommy insists, "We're not the same in any way." But don't be too sure. Michael is a good man and devoted father and husband, but he isn't above (or beneath) using Michael's inside information to blackmail a stubborn colleague who won't vote his way on a freeway project that could destroy the Hill.

As the season unfolds, he will be forced to make more ethically challenged deals with the powers behind the scenes, one of whom has a mysterious connection with his mother. Brotherhood mines the clash between personal and professional lives to flesh out its characters. "The people's business" doesn't pay well, and Tommy is forced to moonlight as a real estate developer, and perform all home repairs. Eileen (Annabeth Gish), his picture-perfect politician's wife, smokes pot and is having an affair with a man she knew in high school. Declan Gigg (Ethan Embry) is a conflicted policeman who grew up with the Caffees. Comparisons with The Sopranos are inevitable, but Brotherhood quickly establishes its own unique voice, if not accent. --Donald Liebenson

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Brotherhood - The Complete Second Season

Actor: Jason Isaacs
ASIN : B000XCZGXG
Sales Rank : 2971
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Showtime Ent.
Region Code : 1
Format : Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0097368515840
UPC : 097368515840
Release Date : December 07, 2008
Publisher : Showtime Ent.
Manufacturer : Showtime Ent.
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Showtime Ent.
Running Time : 546

Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/07/2008 Rating: Nr

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Set against the equally deadly worlds of politics and crime, Showtime's Brotherhood is television's new go-to series for gripping family drama in a post-Sopranos world. The violence can be sudden and shocking, but no less devastating are the words these conflicted characters wield at each other. "You are filth," compromised state representative Tommy Caffee (Jason Clarke) dismisses his dissatisfied wife, Eileen (Annabeth Gish), in the wake of learning about her drug-addled affair. The season ends with a confession by Tommy to his brother, Michael (Jason Isaacs), whose criminal actions have once again thwarted Tommy's political aspirations, that could be as near fatal as the beating Michael took at the end of season one. Michael begins this season in recovery and prone to seizures and blackouts. That doesnʼt stop him from lobbying local crime boss Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman) to put him back to work. Meanwhile, sad-eyed Declan (Ethan Embry), a cop and childhood friend of the Caffees, is separated from his wife, Cassie (Georgie Lyman), on the outs at work, and in the grip of alcohol and drug abuse. Tommy and Eileen are a couple in appearances only, while their eldest daughter begins to display behavioral problems, from stabbing a classmate with a pencil ("Did it break the skin?" Tommy asks) to dabbling in marijuana. The Caffee family dynamic is perhaps best represented in the Thanksgiving episode, in which matriarch Rose (the venerable Fionnula Flanagan), abandons the family celebration for a hotel tryst, leaving the family members to scramble to make the holiday meal. Suffice to say, as one family member ruefully notes, "the Caffees donʼt do loving and supportive." A welcome addition to the excellent ensemble is Brian F. O'Byrne as Colin, a distant and not entirely trusted (by Rose) cousin from Ireland, who quickly becomes embroiled in the family's affairs on both sides of the law. Brotherhood's second season fulfills the promise of the first, ratcheting up the dysfunctional drama, political machinations, and crime complications (Michael runs afoul of the rival Italian mob after a truck hijacking goes awry). Every episode this season is named after a Bob Dylan song. Nothing is made of this. It's just a little something something that ensures our continued support for one of television's most compelling and addictive series. --Donald Liebenson

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The L Word - The Complete Fourth Season

Actors: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Erik King, Lauren Vélez
ASIN : B000TGJ8D0
Sales Rank : 2147
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Showtime Ent. / Paramount
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0097368515949
UPC : 097368515949
Release Date : December 23, 2007
Publisher : Showtime Ent. / Paramount
Manufacturer : Showtime Ent. / Paramount
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Showtime Ent. / Paramount
Running Time : 626

Description

THE L WORD Season 4 picks up with the women wrestling with issues close to their hearts. As with previous seasons, old demons rear their ugly heads and a host of new characters are brought into their fold, offering them access to a broader community with diverse issues. THE L WORD® stars Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner, Katherine Moennig, Dallas Roberts, Daniela Sea, Rachel Shelley, and Pam Grier. Newest additions to the cast include Cybill Shepherd, Marlee Matlin, Janina Gavankar and Rose Rollins. Special guest stars are Rosanna Arquette, Eric Roberts, Bruce Davison, Kristanna Loken and Jane Lynch. This season, the war in Iraq becomes an integral part of Alice's (Hailey) life as she struggles to move on after the death of Dana; Helena (Shelley) tries to find financial independence and come to terms with leaving behind a world of privilege; Phyllis Kroll (Shepherd) -- who takes the courageous plunge late in life to come out of the closet -- risking everything that has defined her life up to now; and, Bette (Beals) has to deal with Jodi Lerner (Matlin), a woman who confronts her head-on about her Type-A personality.

Amazon.com

If the third season was marked by transitions, The L Word's fourth concerns growing up--or trying to, at any rate. Shane (Katherine Moennig) becomes her brother Shay's guardian, Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Tina (Laurel Holloman) stop fighting over their daughter Angelica, and Bette's new boss, Phyllis (a very game Cybill Shepherd), decides it's time to embrace her true nature. So, after 25 years of marriage (Bruce Davison plays her husband), Chancellor Kroll comes out of the closet--and sets her sights on Alice (Leisha Hailey). For all the inclusiveness, Max (Daniela Sea), still remains on the margins. Dumped by Jenny (Mia Kirshner) the year before, Max continues to share her apartment while acclimating to life as a man.

For those who felt season three was too dark, four offers a welcome corrective. There's still plenty of angst--Jenny's memoir meets with a few negative notices (Heather Matarazzo's journalist pens the harshest critique) and Helena (Rachel Shelley) learns to live without Mommy's money--but there are plenty of moving moments to compensate (most revolving around Shane and Shay). New additions also arrive to shake things up, like Marlee Matlin as an artist who helps Bette to broaden her horizons, Kristanna Loken as a single mother with a yen for Shane, and Rose Rollins as an Iraq War veteran with whom Alice has a tryst (leading to a well intentioned, if heavy-handed message about how even liberals should support the troops). As in seasons past, the directorial line-up impresses as much as the acting talent, and includes Oscar winner Marleen Gorris (Antonia's Line) and playwright Moisés Kaufman (The Laramie Project). Since creator Ilene Chaiken makes most special features, like deleted scenes, available online, this set offers few extras, other than biographies, a photo gallery, and episodes of The Tudors and Californication. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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This American Life - Season One

Actors: Ira Glass, Ira
ASIN : B000UEDFLM
Sales Rank : 3805
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Showtime Ent.
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0097368529649
UPC : 097368529649
Release Date : December 23, 2008
Publisher : Showtime Ent.
Manufacturer : Showtime Ent.
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Showtime Ent.
Running Time : 120

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The widely popular, award-winning Chicago Public Radio show of the same name is now a Showtime show. Drawing on a different theme each week, viewers hear compelling stories from everyday folks culled from six months on the road. Host Ira Glass and company create a captivating look at the American Life in a series that’s not quite documentary, not much of a news magazine and definitely not a reality show – it’s simply unlike anything else.

Amazon.com

Host of Chicago Public Radio's This American Life since 1995, Ira Glass segues successfully to the small screen with this Showtime series. The first season begins with the saga of Chance, a Brahma bull who met President Bush, appeared in a movie with Vince Vaughn, and guested on The Late Show. To prepare for the passing of their elderly pet and "business associate," Chance's owners clone him, but things don't go as planned. Their segment airs in tandem with a piece in which an improv group gives a band their best gig ever--to mixed results. In other episodes, Glass profiles a late-in-life screenwriter, the stepson of a one-hit wonder, and a 14-year-old who's sworn off love. As quirky as these one-act movies sound, Glass and reporters Jorge Just, Nancy Updike, Nazanin Rafsanjani, and Alex Blumberg play up the universality of their subjects rather going for exploitation or easy laughs. They also leave it up to viewers to provide morals and conclusions (We never find out, for instance, whether the short featured in "Lights" makes it into the Sundance Film Festival). In each of the six half-hour programs, prologues or epilogues reinforce the theme, such as Chris Ware's animation about a childhood craze for fake TV cameras. Emmy voters presented This American Life with awards for outstanding non-fiction series and direction, while Showtime renewed the show for a second season. Bonus features include a photo gallery, a Glass biography, and commentary from Glass and director Christopher Wilcha on the pilot. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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The L Word - The Complete Third Season

Actors: Jennifer Beals, Erin Daniels, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner
ASIN : B000GTJSO4
Sales Rank : 1887
Director : Allison Anders, Bille Eltringham, Bronwen Hughes, Darnell Martin, Kimberly Peirce
Brand : Paramount
Studio : Showtime Ent.
Region Code : 1
Format : AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0097368015746
UPC : 097368015746
Release Date : December 24, 2006
Publisher : Showtime Ent.
Manufacturer : Showtime Ent.
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Showtime Ent.
Running Time : 644

Description

The third season of the hit show, The L Word, follows a group of friends - both gay and straight - through stories of career, family, inner struggle, friendship and romantic relationships. Stars Jennifer Beals, Erin Daniels, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner, Katherine Moennig, Sarah Shahi, Rachel Shelley and Pam Grier.

Amazon.com

The third season of Showtime's The L Word is all about transitions. The season opens with Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey) coping with her between-seasons break-up with Dana Fairbanks (Erin Daniels), who is herself headed for an even heavier series of transitions. Kit Porter (Pam Grier) both falls in love with a younger man and discovers she is going through menopause. Shane (Katherine Moennig), who spent much of the first two seasons of the show hopping from bed to bed, finds herself more or less committed to Latina deejay Carmen (Sarah Shahi). And the second season's resident villain, Helena Peabody (Rachel Shelley), becomes embroiled in a sexual harassment case that leaves her ultimately looking like the victim. As with previous seasons, The L Word gets all hot and bothered with various seductions filmed to sometimes jarring music on the soundtrack, but it's the day-to-day foibles and celebrations of Los Angeles's lesbian community that keep the show interesting. Newcomer Moira/Max (Daniela Sea) begins the process of gender reassignment, making for some curious situations with potential employers. Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Tina (Laurel Holloman) begin to drift apart when Tina lands a big movie studio job and starts feeling attracted to men, leading to a custody battle over their baby daughter. Where The L Word starts getting preachy and obvious is in the opening flashback sequences. When these vignettes refer to current characters of the show, they make sense; when they depict situations meant to underline how queer identity has evolved over the years, they seem politically overloaded. The L Word works intelligently through its characters' concerns without having to resort to such direct appeals for tolerance. Its strength isn't in making lesbian culture appear more mainstream, but in making us care and identify with these women's struggles, regardless of our sexual orientation. --Ryan Boudinot

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Californication - Season One

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