I hesitate to proclaim my love for any show currently on (network) television. With cable programming, I’m only a little less reticent to publicize my longing for new episodes of stuff. Weeds may have started out as some out of control comedy that tried to get at suburban drug culture in an amusing way. Unfortunately, though, after the first couple of season, Nancy and company have taken a serious dip in quality and coherence. Of course, the show still has its moments that can prompt a viewer to chortle a bit aloud, but for the most part it seems as if Weeds’ fifth season has found the show spiraling further down the rabbit hole of soap-operadom.

The various intertwined plots – that seem to be getting less and less defined as time goes on – disallows any sort of proper fleshing out during a scant twenty seven minutes of airtime per week. So while it’s unquestionably amusing to hear Celia attempt to discuss the ins and outs of gettin’ it on with a woman, her sudden interest in the female figure seems to be ill explained despite the character not having been in the company of a man for a while (the fact that I’m discussing this, I think, only points to the sensational aspects of day time fare).

But while Celia is otherwise occupied with ‘tang, Nancy’s eldest son seems smitten with his uppity step-sister that arrives unexplained and too snooty for words. That’s really all there is to it, except the newly introduced character gets a Botwin to read a book, which is kinda surprising. But Esteban’s daughter is only a part of the short arc this week that involves the Mexican, elected official. As the show moves to a close while Nancy and Esteban discuss the various ways by which to feed children, the two decide that they’ll both attend some political, publicity event in Mexico the following day.

After pledging to go straight – or at least in a reasonable, political facsimile – Esteban gets popped by the Mexican Feds as he’s discussing the plight of the common man. The bracelets get slapped on, he’s summarily led off as Nancy and Cesar look on in something akin to disbelief.

All of that might come off as just short of ridiculous, but Weeds has seemingly done the impossible – it made Alanis Morissette hot. As a medical doctor, which is somehow semi-believable, the former (current?) pop star strikes up a relationship with Andy subsequent to delivering Nancy’s latest child. After making Andy work for a second date and in fact ditching him amidst the first, the doctor seems taken with the younger Botwin brother’s prowess between the sheets.

Considering all – or most, at least – of what transpires here has to do with the sexual exploits or pursuits of a character, my figuring that Weeds has finally just turned into day-for-night pseudo drama seems well supported. The show hasn’t fallen off completely as of yet. But without something detached from the interpersonal relationships going on here, Weeds might be petering out a year prior to its scheduled demise.