Fleshing out Showtime's new double-header

As if we needed a naked Mary-Louise Parker, as seen in those Showtime ads, to lure us to the channel on Monday night? Or how about a bare-torsoed David Duchovny? A certain subset of TV watcher would simply, happily, accept a mere photo showing the back of his head (truly great hair).

But here they are, Parker and Duchovny, in a delicious combo of TV programming: the thoroughly addictive "Weeds" (10 p.m. Mondays), which enters its third season, and the enticing newcomer "Californication" (10:30 p.m. Mondays).

The former, a glorious take on suburbia, pot and the single working mom, left us with a doozy of a cliffhanger in Season 2: Nancy (Parker) and Conrad (Romany Malco) sans their much-coveted MILF weed; MILF weed coveters U-Turn (Page Kennedy) and the Armenians, in turn, clearly fuming and about to shoot them dead. Silas (Hunter Parrish) is, in fact, the culprit, stashing the hijacked pot in his car, but he's about to be pulled over by a cop. And Shane (Alexander Gould), having gone gaga over Kat (Zooey Deschanel), rides blissfully in a van with his new love on the way to Pittsburgh. Giving chase are eight-toed Andy (Justin Kirk) and bounty hunter Abumchuk (Robert Mukes).

"Weeds" soars with its storylines, and the first minutes of the season opener — what momentarily turns the guns away from Nancy and Conrad — is wildly silly and brilliant. Parker is masterfully addictive — delight in watching her search for cellphone reception, crawling on hands and knees. And in a scene involving a bathroom, pills and an exfoliating mask, Doug (Kevin Nealon) and Dean (Andy Milder) cement this series as one of the best joyrides to be had.

"Californication" is a different kind of joyride, with Duchovny as a one-hit author named Hank Moody who plows through one-night stands in beachy, glitzy L.A. He's got a precocious daughter, Becca (Madeleine Martin); a loyal agent (Evan Handler); and a face and body attractive enough to land him in bed easily with the opposite sex. (I lost track of how many women in this first episode alone). But what Hank wants as much as the first draft of his next novel is ex-girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone), the mother of his daughter.

Known forever for playing the brooding FBI Agent Fox Mulder in "The X Files," Duchovny makes what could have been a shallow man-child character easy to like. He's believable as the scruffy author — self-possessed and blunt one moment, weakened by memories of familial bliss the next. His shortcomings may be many, but Hank's devotion to his daughter is absolute, reminding us a bit of that other favorite TV anti-hero of ours, Tommy Gavin of "Rescue Me."

And like "Rescue Me," "Californication" looks as though it's going to give us a vivid, realistic, witty take on what it's like to be a guy trying to get his act together. With Duchovny in the driver's seat, it's terribly easy to go along for the ride.

Florangela Davila: 206-464-2916 or fdavila@seattletimes.com