Nurse Jackie on SHO - Page 2

I hated the show. Can't stand Falco. Her voice gets on my nerves. And I just found the show boring as hell. I love Showtime for Dexter, OAR movies, undubbed letterboxed asian fight fests. But not for Nurse Jackie.

Fortunately, the foregoing appears to represent the view of a small minority. It just goes to show that there is no accounting for taste, both good and bad and that which is which is a matter of opinion.

Falco is a gifted actress and her everywoman looks and Brooklyn brogue work perfectly for her in Nurse Jackie, it seems to me. This is a New York story about a New York gal. The show has been nothing but good so far and promises to get even better. Eve Best, the talented London stage actress who plays Dr. Elenor O'Hara has been terrific, too, as for that matter has everyone else in the show's large ensemble cast.

The pilot ep is available at Amazon as a free (720p) download....

The question for me is are they still running snipes and other ads during episodes and movies?

They have enough quality competing shows with HBO now, but as long as they run their ads on them I won't go back.

And their movies still need work.

Haven't seen any for a long time.

I have taste. Trouble with Falco is that is how she talks in every damn show. I just do not see this show on the same level as Breaking Bad or Dexter. I did not bother watching ep2. but the pilot just left me incredibly bored with not a single character I cared about.

Well, you disliked Falco before the series even started, so it would stand to reason you're not going to like the show at all. I like it pretty well, she does remind me somewhat of the Nancy Botwin character in Weeds. I think it's going to be a decent show, but everybody is entitled to their likes and dislikes.

It's very doubtful anybody is going to change anybody's opinion concerning any show on television. they might convince someone to try it out, but if they've watched and didn't care for it, a lot of peiple raved and still rave about Friday Night Lights, but it wasn't for me.

So far I'll continue to watch. The show is quite entertaining overall.

larry

I agree with your opinion of Friday Night Lights. For whatever reason, it wasn't for me, either, and I never understood the adulation that was heaped on it. It does appear, though, that ours is a minority view.

I DVR'ed the premiere of "Nurse Jackie" but waited for the 2nd episode to air so I could watch them back-to-back. Glad I did because the pilot was way too dark and heavy (good stuff but a little too much on the "Weeds" side of nihilism) but it effectively sets the backstory for the series. By the 2nd episode the characters are allowed to go a little nuts with some cynical moments interacting easily with some gut-busting scenes that made me laugh-out loud. The supervisor using Jackie's spiked artificial sweetener into her coffee kept paying off (if Jackie thought the ear was going to get her in trouble... ) and Jackie's nursing assistance is both cute as a button and ready-made for reaction laughs as the audience surrogate. I also liked that they showed Jackie's attachment to the pharmacist that provides her with drugs isn't just a chemical/sexual dependence but that these two genuinely like each other (the 'God particle' discussion was excellent).

Best joke of the 2nd episode: "Hot Dogs? NOT HOT DOGS???!!!... Relax, I was kidding." So if anybody here had negative feelings about the show from seeing the dark pilot relax, jump in and enjoy the laughs because "Nurse Jackie" gets funnier once we get past the dark exposition of the first episode. It goes together with "Weeds" about as well as "Ghost Whisperer" and "Medium" will be in the Fall: perfect symmetry of humor, pathos and cynicism.

dad -- The nihilistic nature of the Nurse Jackie pilot reminded me of Weeds, too. That kind of thing does not put me off, though, particularly if it is as well executed as these two series are. I guess my sense of humor is meanspirited enough to allow me to accommodate to and laugh at Weeds even at its darkest. Really black comedy is not for everyone but I enjoy it. Does this mean that I require therapy

My wife and I watched both episodes and we like the series; I agree that it should be an hour show and not a 30 minute show because there is just too much story and not enough time.

Her chemical dependency is interesting as are the great methods she goes through to get her "fix" as well as the explanation of how she plans her fix's during her daily routine.

I also like the contrast in how her Dr friend sees Jackie and how Jackie is seeing her noob assistant. Her friend brings up Jackies compassion and her wanting to treat the patient and connecting on a humane level and then Jackie goes on to tell her assistant that she's too nice for this line of work.

It just goes to show that HBO and Showtime are putting out good content while the major networks are still trying to shove more and more reality TV down our throats. Is it the freedom of not being constrained by language and nudity probitions that is allowing the creativity and emotional connections to be made in these shows?

As is the case with so much else in the television business, I think the networks preference for reality shows over dramatic shows is a matter of money. Reality TV is (relatively) dirt cheap to produce, exponentially less so than the typical weekly shows in which the networks, gasp, have to hire and pay real actors. I hope that HBO and Showtime know better than to go very far down that line because if they did I know that they would lose me and I suspect a bunch of other subscribers, too.

The nice thing about the premium channels is that we as subscribers actually get a vote. If we don't like what's going on in a general sense, then we can drop our subscriptions. Which is exactly what I did with HBO. I'm still stewing over them short changing us on Deadwood, Rome, and Carnivale. I liked Tru-Blood, and also watched Maher. But just those two shows weren't enough to keep me around. Showtime, on the other hand, still has quite a few quality original programming that keeps me subscribed.

Something a bit different ... great acting.

I didn't care for the first episode, but thought the second was a little better. I'll watch a couple more BECAUSE it is only a half hour. That gives Jackie ample time to screw half the hospital and not the entire building.

Really enjoying this show. The other nurse show "Hawthorn" is a mess. This one's a keeper.

I sort of agree, but my "liking it" base for both episodes was a bit higher than yours. Based on a review I'd read I was prepared to be disappointed, but after two episodes I'm now in for a few more.

However I do not care for the casting of Jackie's love interests... both at home and at the office. Her husband? That's her husband? Either Jackie aged amazingly because of her job I don't see how these two had sufficient chemistry about 10 years back (guess, based on kids age) to get married.

Also, I do not get the office fling partner either. Why does she love him??? Where's the real attraction?

All in all these seem like three random people playing three roles. I find it very distracting. I bailed on "New Christine" early on for a similar reason... couldn't stand the casting of her ex-husband (not to mention the laugh track, and resulting dialog timing pauses after supposed jokes). Casting really matters (e.g. "Rescue Me", "Dexter", etc).

On the other hand I very much enjoy the relationship with the fancy-dressing honcho doctor, the gay male nurse, and especially the nursing student. I also enjoy the smart dialog.

A bit weird overall, but I also enjoy "Weeds".

I'm in for a while.

Oh come on ---- sex for drugs. Why else would she be messing with the pharmacist?

Ok... you're right. I guess I didn't even think to see that perspective in my watching last night, trying to see her as a "legitimate" though obviously stressed character who was simply having an office affair as an escape from other stresses/obligations at home.

This casts a very bad slant to her personality, making her actually much less likable and cheap... street trash. Really? Robin Hood nurse and addicted drug addict paying with sex, in the same character? With a husband and two young daughters to go home to every night? Hmmm...

But... I guess that's what this role is. Along with the corrupt pharmacist, buying sex with stolen drugs. Hmmm...

Anyway, you're right I suppose. I was clearly naive. As you say, there obviously would be no other reason for her to be fooling around with an otherwise unattractive person.

I don't know if I'd go that far. We know she has intractable back pain, but unlike House she does not have a bunch of Dr. writing her scrips for meds. I'm sure there is more to the story and it will develop as the season goes on.

Intractable back pain, or maybe an excuse for numbing drugs????? She's got one pharmacist on board and he, it seems, is going away. Oh what to do, or who to screw, to keep on keeping on.....

I like the show, but there are some things that don't add up. Why would she hide her marriage from all her coworkers? It would be extremely difficult not to mention your children, husband, etc. for a decade. The way it is set up, it looks like she planned to have an affair to get drugs for her back, etc., from the beginning, thus her removing her ring. Or did I miss something, and the pharmacist is the ony one clueless? Also, since her husband seems like the perfect guy, her affair would suggest she has a self destructive personality - but she seems fairly normal and caring beside that.

Art

Removing rings is something most ER nurses would do for reasons of sanitation and safety. Jackie seems to have developed differing reasons. I'm sure this will be revealed.

My guess is that she is trying to hide her marriage from her pharmacist lover.

I'm liking this show, but where it fails is there is only one real story arc--hers. With a show like 'Weeds', you've got Nancy's story lines but then they can switch to Doug, or to Celia, or to Shane, or to Andy's, etc. There's no character development on any of the supporting cast. And while I find Jackie's story compelling, it almost becomes too much of a 'Day In The Life Of'. They need to keep her the central character but there needs to be more of an interesting world around her.

There is certainly no doubt that Edie Falco, as Nurse Jackie, is the star of the show. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed Eve Best as the gourmet fashion plate, Dr. O'hara, and Paul Schulze as the libidinous pharmacist, Eddie Walzer. I also like Merritt Wever as the naive nursing student, Zoey. I think all of them are off to an interesting start and that a lot more can be done with them.

I see it the same way. It's a decent show, but so far nothing that would make it a surprise if there was not a Season 2.

larry

Nurse Jackie got its season 2 renewal two weeks ago.