Ranking the New Shows: #6 – Nurse Jackie

In an early, draft of this list, we had Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie” ranked as high as #2, but over time it slid down to#6.

The show: “Nurse Jackie“

Synopsis: A Vicodin addicted nurse tries to balance a hectic work life with a messy love life

Debuted: June 9th, 2009

Our take: I started out really enthusiastic about Nurse Jackie, but by the end of the season my interest had petered out. The way the characters were first introduced was great- nursing student Zoey hovers awkwardly until Jackie snaps. Jackie manipulates her boyfriend into giving her drugs without him realizing that’s all she’s interested in.  And then the show seemed to be dragging it’s feet, which is bad news when your episodes are only half an hour long. The half hour format in itself is an odd fit- I think they were going for a Weeds-style dark dramedy, but a lot of the humor after the first few episodes didn’t work.

For the first few episodes, Nurse Jackie was “gray”- she was snorting pain killers and unabashedly using her boyfriend to get more (behind her husband’s back, of course), and you’re not really sure how you feel about all of this. Mid-season Jackie becomes almost two separate characters- in some scenes she’s clearly written so the audience is with her. In others we’re meant to be against her. There’s something ballsy about putting a character out there that you’re not entirely sure how the audience will react to, and I feel like the writers of “Nurse Jackie” lost their nerve. They write to manipulate, knowing how the audience will react to every scene. A better and more consistent “gray” character can be found in Mad Men’s Don Draper.

What it would need to do to keep me watching: Bring sassy, cynical, verging on angry Jackie back, and let us decide whether or not we’re disgusted or not by her behavior. Oh yeah, and leave the weird slapstick comedy moments out.

Instant Reaction: Nurse Jackie, “Steak Knife” & “Pupil”, 7/20 & 7/27

I must have gotten through with the firm talking-to I gave Nurse Jackie last time around, because things are finally starting to happen. On the romantic front, Eddie tries to give Jackie a bracelet in honor of their one-year anniversary. It doesn’t play out so well- Jackie clearly doesn’t remember the anniversary, nor does she seem to really want to even acknowledge it. This leads to Jackie and Eddie’s first fight, and Eddie lets her have it, suggesting she only shows interest in him when he’s giving her drugs. This is the first real conflict in the show and the first time anyone has confronted Jackie about anything. So far, it’s one of the most compelling moments of the season.

The plot thickens further when Eddie discovers that Jackie has a daughter (of course we know she has two AND a husband…) after Coop flaps those gossipy lips of his. So far it’s a non-issue, but I have a feeling it’s going to be a can of worms in the Eddie-Jackie storyline in coming weeks. I do find it a liiiiiittle bit unbelievable that someone would be able to do such a stellar job of keeping her family a secret from most of her coworkers, but hey, it’s tv. If it’s well written, I’ll buy almost anything.

There’s more development with the side characters, as well- Mrs. Akalitus finds an abandoned baby in the ER and instead of turning it over to child services, stays the night in her office with it. Zoey, after watching a show about pupils on tv, discovers that one of the temp nurses is on drugs (irony!!), and Dr. O’Hara has a bit of a meltdown over her personal life.

After a mid-season slump, it looks to me like Nurse Jackie is finding it’s groove.

Instant Reaction: Nurse Jackie, “Tiny Bubbles” 6/13/09

In this week’s episode, Paula, a former friend and coworker of Jackie’s returns to the hospital. She’s dying of cancer and has been given only a week or so to live. With little more than a *wink wink*, she convinces Jackie (and the rest of the staff) to help her euthanize herself.

The issue of euthanasia is handled with such nonchalance, that I wonder if we’re supposed to believe that in the “Nurse Jackie” world, this is a common occurrence. The writers are apparently aware of this snafu, so they have Eddie the Pharmacist rebuke Zoey the Nursing Student for suggesting it’s some sort of “rite of passage”. Well excuuuuuse me, princess! It’s a little contradictory for the euthanasia plan to come together so quickly and then insist that this doesn’t normally happen.

Also on this week’s agenda is the revelation that Coop’s parents are lesbians. Despite the fact that two more-than-capable actresses were cast as Coop’s Two Moms (Blythe Danner and Swoosie Kurtz), I’m more than a little afraid that we’re in for some poorly handled mommy-melodrama in the weeks to come.

This week really highlights “Nurse Jackie’s” main flaw- a lack of dramatic (or any) focus. The writers continue to inch away from the love-triangle/addiction plot introduced in the pilot and bog everything down with subplots that are not particularly compelling. On top of that, the humor is a lot less sharp. Last week, there was some way over-the-top slapstick (which I didn’t like either). This week, I don’t think I laughed once.

“Nurse Jackie” is at the halfway point in it’s first season. It’s gone downhill after a promising start, but I’m hoping it can recapture some of the excitement of the first two episodes as the season concludes.

Instant Reaction: Nurse Jackie, “Daffodil” 6/06/09

This week on Nurse Jackie: Coop and Eddie get some toasted goodness from Quiznos.  Hellz yeah! Jackie helps a girl taking care of her sick mom. Also, a man rendered speechless by a stroke uses a flashcard to tell his wife to STFU.  On the whole, this might have been the most consistently entertaining episode so far.

Still, there are strange bits of slapstick comedy that I find jarring (Mrs. Akalitis tazing herself, for example). It breaks the reality of an otherwise believable show, and deflates the meaning more poignant moments. I’ve mentioned in past weeks that Coop (Peter Facinelli) is the comedic powerhouse of the show. Jackie’s nursing student, Zoey (Merritt Wever), is also beginning to provide a more subtle humor.  Both of these could be and should be used more liberally, especially in place of the lowbrow comedy that always falls flat.

The writers continue fumbling with both scale and pace. All of the major plotlines are in a holding pattern with no new developments. They were in a big rush to get the love triangle and daughter’s psych issues out, and now they’re dragging their feet.

And speaking of those psych issues, for a “medical” show, the psychology seems poorly researched.  Jackie’s daughter’s symptoms, which include obsessively watching tv news and circling her desk three times before sitting down so planes won’t crash, sound much more like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder than Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The dour drawings could easily be interpreted as depression.

Instant Reaction: Nurse Jackie, “School Nurse” 6/29/09

Week 4 for “Nurse Jackie” is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s not trying as hard as it was in the first couple of episodes, which I mean as a good thing. It’s less forced. On the other hand, I can already see it running the risk of getting boring.

In fact, nothing much has happened in the last two episodes. Jackie’s daughter is showing signs of some sort of mental health problem, but we already knew that. This lack of eventfulness highlights a bigger problem for the show.

Maybe the slow pace would be less of an issue if the show was more focused on the comedy. Nurse Jackie is more of a drama, however, and because of that I think it would be better as an hour-long show. In most cases, wanting a show to be longer is a good thing, but in Nurse Jackie’s case, I want it to be longer because it feels like nothing really happens. There isn’t enough funny to make it satisfying as a half hour comedy. In the dense world of a premium channel drama, 30 minutes is barely enough time to check in on all of the main characters, let alone establish legitimate dramatic interest.

All in all it’s a good show, but it needs more red meat.

Instant Reaction: Nurse Jackie, “Chicken Soup” 6/22/09

It’s week three, and Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie” is starting to settle in a bit.  This week’s episode was a little less eventful (after the first two weeks it almost had to slow some), but it did pack some laughs.  The only major development plot-wise – Jackie’s lover, Eddie the pharmacist, may soon be replaced by a robot.  This is perhaps even more significant as a means of cutting off her drug supply.  The machine would basically account for each and every pill.

There was another development with Jackie’s daughter’s anxiety that could turn into a multi-episode arc.  Unfortunately it came to light through several minutes of characters talking about it and just one 30 second scene actually showing it.  Writing 101, dudes:  show don’t tell.  It means little to me at this point and came across as manipulative.

The self-contained hospital story of the week focused on an elderly couple and chicken soup this time.  It was probably the weakest of Jackie’s run thus far.  Not annoying, but certainly not engaging.  They chicken-fisted it.

The comedy came primarily during an exchange between Jackie and Coop (Peter Facinelli), whom is starting to define himself as the show’s funniest character.  Facinelli’s dimwitted yet enthusiastic doctor plays a nice counterpoint to the hard-nosed Jackie.

Instant Reaction: Nurse Jackie “Sweet-N-All”, 6/15/09

The cliffhanger ending of the pilot of “Nurse Jackie” reveals that Jackie is married, a plot thickener indeed since most of her co-workers have no idea (including the pharmacist she’s banging). We learn more about her husband and their relationship in the second episode. The show doesn’t take the easy route of vilifying him to justify her adultery. In fact, they seem like a pretty happy couple.

That isn’t the only thing that got more complicated in the second episode. Coop, the idiot doctor? Turns out maybe he’s not such a dummy. Jackie’s flushed ear is back with a vengeance and looks like a season long story. There are also signs that she’s legitimately torn between the two men (the end of the pilot made me wonder if she was only using the pharmacist for drugs).

Jackie’s questionable behavior continues in the second episode – she puts crushed Percocet in her morning coffee, continues her affair, accidentally drugs her boss, reams out a patient’s careless mother, and blames the flushed ear on her nursing student. I was amused to see an outpouring of angry nurses ranting about “Nurse Jackie” sullying the reputation of nurses. It’s a TV show, you morons. And it’s a pretty damn good TV show, at that.

Introducing “Nurse Jackie”

After months of heavy advertising, Showtime finally unleashed “Nurse Jackie” last night. The dark comedy marks Edie Falco’s full-time return to the small screen (she did have an awesome guest run on ’30 Rock’). The hype paid off: after record ratings, Showtime immediately ordered a second season.

Jackie (Falco) is a no-bullshit nurse with strong instincts when it comes to her patients. She also has chronic back pain which has resulted in her addiction to painkillers. It’s the Showtime version of “House, M.D.“- darker and dirtier than anything on network tv. So far, so good.

Jackie sums up her character with one line of dialogue: “I don’t like chatty, okay? I don’t do chatty. I like quiet, quiet and mean. Those are my people.”

Dialogue like this gives Falco the opportunity to show how sharp-tongued and witty she can be. It’s quite a departure from the slightly dim, mostly shallow Carmella Soprano. It immediately reminded me of her brief stint on “Oz” as a corrections officer. After all the years as Carmella, I still knew she was a talented actress, but I forgot how smart and funny she is.

As a medical show, I’m also mostly pleased with the accuracy so far. I’m an RN, so this is my TV pet peeve. Timothy often makes fun of my outrage over a misplaced tube or misused needle. (So I’ve yelled at the screen… more than once.) It’s not my fault so many shows are chock full of inaccuracies and pure bogusness. I was relieved that “Nurse Jackie” has very few. The only one worth mentioning is her scrubs. Form-fitting, stylish scrubs are nearly impossible to find.

On the other hand, as a comedy the show’s tone is uneven. There are many funny scenes, but a few play like laugh track laden sitcoms, while most inhabit a heavier and darker realm. This isn’t uncommon for a pilot, and I’d guess the writers and directors will find their rhythm by the second or third episode.

Overall, “Nurse Jackie” looks like a keeper. This looks like the perfect role for Edie Falco, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s Emmy buzz in her near future.

Showtime has made the pilot available free for download on Amazon. Download it here.