TV Review Nugget: Nurse Jackie

Thembi Ford 8 June 2009 3 Comments

My list of the best television dramas of all time reads like an HBO promo spot; I loved all aspects of The Wire, Six Feet Under, and The Sopranos, but since those ended (with the exception of True Blood) HBO has left me wanting more and badly. The network’s chief competition in the realm of premium cable original programming, Showtime, has tended to offer less expert, more salacious fare in the past with the exception of the deliciously quirky Weeds and The United States of Tara; the L Word, Californication, and Dexter lack the complexity of HBO’s banner shows and are more comparable to the intriguing but one-dimensional Oz. Fortunately, Showtime scores a big win with Nurse Jackie, premiering tonight on Showtime and also available online. The sharp writing and solid performances in this thirty-minute comedy/drama continues Showtime’s recent attempt to offer high quality award-winning level stuff, so much so that I just may subscribe to the network (or at least likewise hustle to make sure I catch every episode).

Defying the traditional soap-opera/blood-and-guts setting of hospital shows, Nurse Jackie has something up its sleeve from the start. The much-missed Edie Falco is Jackie Peyton, a character whose complexities are so well conveyed that I thought of neither Carmella Soprano nor ER a single time. By presenting Jackie’s daily highs (snorting Adderall for a pick-me up) and lows (forging a dead patient’s organ donor card), the show taunts viewer morality by refusing to let on which is supposed to be which. Jackie is a steely but warm, good but screwed up woman, whose motivations smooth over her questionable actions. Jackie has a professional desire to heal – as opposed to doctors who merely ‘diagnose.’ This theme runs heavily throughout the pilot but hopefully won’t be beaten to death every episode. Our understanding of why Jackie constantly crosses the line makes Nurse Jackie less of a dark comedy and more of a comedy that’s just messed up sometimes. Every aspect of the pilot- from Jackie stealing from the rich in favor of the poor, to the juicy plot twist at the end – plays like real life in the gray areas.

Falco is supported by an equally enjoyable cast whose characters I look forward to learning. Highlights include Peter Schulze (best known as Father Intintola on The Sopranos) as Eddie, a pharmacist that Jackie sleeps with for drugs. Lebanese eye candy Haaz Sleiman, from last year’s sappy but slept-on film The Visitor, is Jackie’s GBF (Gay Best Friend), and the impeccable Anna Deavere Smith pops up as a hospital administrator. Edie Falco and Anna Deavere Smith on the small screen together is like a fresh cup of mint tea, so I would watch Nurse Jackie just for that. But I plan on making Nurse Jackie a favorite because it’s simply well done television; both the show and the character have a mean streak and a saintly streak, a combination that works impressively well.

If you need coaxing, check out this trailer. If not the pilot episode is available on both YouTube and Showtime.

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3 Comments »

Erin said:

The show is not that bad. In fact, I think a lot of people like it more now than they did before the premiere of it. Most of the
nursing community thought it was misrepresenting nurses, but I think they realized that the show if far from realistic.

# 10 June 2009 at 6:19 pm

tracy said:

I simple admire Edie falco. She is very under rated as aqn actor. I tend not to watch weekly TV series (timing), however I fully indeed to watch!

# 11 June 2009 at 4:54 pm

tracy said:

Please accept my apologies for the typos. I have been up all night writing.

# 11 June 2009 at 4:55 pm

So what do you think? Please be respectful to other readers!

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THROWBACK POST!!

Police Sketches of Black Dudes

By Thembi Ford on September 26, 2007

Police sketch artist drawings of black people are notoriously poor and rarely look like anyone in particular. I’m convinced that when asked to describe the suspect, witnesses just describe the last black male they saw, even if they last saw a black male on television. So I did a little Thembi-style experiment by going online and digging up dozens of sketches of black suspects to see just who the strong arm of the law is looking for.

Posted in Not Racist Cuz It's True., Our Shame, What the Eff?, Yipes! | 21 Responses

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