Weeds, Season 1

The most subversive aspect of the show is the way the creators do everything in their power to make Nancy Botwin genuinely likable — she is playfully attractive, fashionable, capable and sharp of wit, if charmingly naive at times — while dancing around the Joe Friday fact that she is neglecting and recklessly endangering the welfare of her children. The pluck and whimsy that livens every briskly-plotted episode is a seduction, luring you into an irresponsible diversion, gaining your lazy consent. The writers work with incredible dexterity to periodically expose and dismiss the reality of the situation; moments of clarity cut through the smoke. The watchword is responsibility. Unless someone calls a spade a spade relatively soon the outlook is *ahem* sticky for Nancy (but she's so cute!) and her kids.