'Weeds,' 'True Blood' return for the summer

Summer used to be synonymous with the notion that nothing good would be on television. June, July and August were filled with re-runs and bad game shows, and there was nothing to resort to during those times when you just wanted to veg out and escape the heat of the night.

Well times have changed, my friends. Aside from the four new television shows I picked out earlier in the month (and yes, I know, one was a game show), there are also plenty of returning favorites as well. And I mean plenty — from USA’s “White Collar” to NBC’s “American’s Got Talent”; from CBS’s “Big Brother” to FX’s “Louis C.K.” — there is a show for every taste.

This week marked the return of two of my favorite summer television likings — Showtime’s “Weeds” and HBO’s “True Blood.” These two, plus FX’s “Rescue Me” (returning July 12) and AMC’s “Breaking Bad” (returning July 15) encompass the cream of the crop of summer television. Now if only “Mad Men” wasn’t postponed until 2012 — but that’s another story. Here’s to two shows that keep my television working during the summer.

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“Weeds” returned on Monday to welcome in its final season — lucky number seven. As the show opens, we find Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise-Parker) three years from when we last saw her: giving herself up to the FBI for murder (her youngest son, Shane (Alexander Gould), was the real culprit) in order to guarantee protection from her drug cartel of a husband, Esteban, who is also the father to her newest son, Stevie.

Nancy is now out on parole, but on the condition that she must stay in a half-way house. But, of course, she soon finds herself back to her old habits.

The rest of the gang, or family for that matter, are living in Copenhagen, Denmark, where brother-in-law Andy (Justin Kirk), along with longtime friend, Doug (Kevin Nealon), are tour guides, son Silas (Hunter Parrish) is a model and other son Shane is a puppeteer, all trying to stay afloat while Nancy pays the price.

How’d they get here? Well, for those of you who have never tuned into “Weeds,” it’s never too late. I didn’t start watching until four seasons in, but with 30-minute episodes, I was able to catch up in no time. As a quick summary: It all started when Nancy lost her husband to a heart attack and found herself selling pot to the locals in order to bring in a little extra cash to support her family. But as you can guess, things get out of hand, drug cartels get involved and Nancy ends up biting off more than she can chew. Seven seasons later, she still hasn’t learned.

“Weeds” creator Jenji Kohan has managed to write a show that never gets old. It’s just such a fun show; all the characters are so different, yet they’re all tied together and it’ll be sad to see them go after this season.

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“True Blood” rang in the start of its fourth season on Sunday, and I must say I think it’s going to be a complicated one. There are so many characters, and their plots don’t seem to want to intertwine as easily as past seasons have. Let’s see if I can sum this up:

Sookie (Anna Paquin) has experienced the land of fairies, after finding out last season that she was one. But she soon finds out that fairies aren’t as nice and Tinkerbell-ish as one might think. Escaping the land that wishes to enslave her, along with her grandfather who was trapped there for 20 years, Sookie travels through a portal back to good-ole Bon Temps, La. Unfortunately for her grandfather, he indulged in too much of the fairy land and dies within minutes of landing home. And unfortunately for Sookie, she finds out that 10 minutes in fairy land equals over a year in Bon Temps.

Which brings us to everyone else: Sookie’s brother Jason has emerged as a sheriff’s deputy; best friend Tara has moved away, using all her pent-up anger to live a life as a cage fighter; and ex-lover Bill has emerged as Vampire King of Louisiana.

On the other side of things, Lafayette is still dating a witch, Jesus, and they experiment with a coven; vampire Jessica is adapting to home life with human boyfriend Hoyt; Sam has found some new shape-shifter friends; and vampire Eric, owner of bar “Fangtasia,” is still lusting after Sookie, while dealing with the equality issue among humans and vampires.

Did I get everyone? Probably not — I think I may have missed a werewolf somewhere in there — but that’s the best you’ll get out of me. While “True Blood” is still as addicting as ever — although I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, or type of blood for that matter — if the writers don’t minimize the number of characters in the show, they’re going to lose out on the fans they do have. Don’t get me wrong, I like the fact that they initiate a new breed each season — i.e. werewolves, witches, fairies — but the writers need to close up some of those story lines as well. Otherwise it’ll be one chaotic mess. Or just a big ole snack for the over-populated vampire community in the show.