It’s a bit embarrassing to jump into a long-running conversation with a presumptive comment without knowing what has already been said and which points have been established. Southland did it, seemingly ignoring The Shield, and Nurse Jackie has done it, seemingly ignoring countless series (some of which are still going) and what it is they’ve already done. As a whole, Nurse Jackie relies too heavily on the wonderful talent of star Edie Falco to keep it aloft, and as the first season pushes on you realize it does little to blaze a new trail for itself.
Let’s look at the basic plot conventions used in Nurse Jackie:
Jackie has back pains and takes painkillers (grinds up Vicodin and puts it in her coffee, or uses other methods of delivery). Compare this to the major plot point of House, M.D. starring Hugh Laurie with similar chronic pain and whose abuse of medication becomes a major part of the story from day one. To further emphasize the Nurse Jackie-House comparison, the mannerisms of Jackie and House feature a similar level of sarcastic wit, though not as clever or biting in Nurse Jackie due to a lower standard of writing.
Oh look! The Shield is back in the conversation, but not for the reasons you might think. It has little to do with similarities between Jackie’s rule-bending behavior or her propensity for foul language (though those are admittedly trends), but rather her illicit affair with the hospital’s pharmacologist and the subplot development of her child’s learning disability. Unto themselves the points would seem like typical character flaws to give someone in a television show, but their pairing draws the comparison that doesn’t leave Nurse Jackie in a favorable light. To the show’s credit, her affair makes perfect sense in a way, as her husband is almost immediately painted as her intellectual inferior, thus driving her to look for a match in another man, which invariably leads to a deeper relationship, and finally sex. The parallel is there, whether you’re able to ignore the mimicry might have a decisive factor on how much goodwill you offer the show.
Nurse Jackie Peyton (Falco) and Dr. Eleanor O’Hara (Eve Best) preside over their New York City hospital like a pair of matriarchal guardians. The former handles the basic day-to-day treatments and snap decisions while the latter is there to act as her confidant, closest friend, and the officiating source of Jackie’s authority (she may be a very smart nurse, but she still has to follow some semblance of a chain of command). Were it not for O’Hara’s presence, Falco would be butting up against the bullheaded, power-thirsty Gloria Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith) with no hope of keeping her job due to the countless instances of disrespect she throws her way. It’s easy to draw yet another comparison to House, in that the first season featured a similarly domineering manager-type in Chi McBride who met a similarly humbling fate at the titular medical persona’s hands. When she’s not spiting her superiors, Jackie mentors an aspiring nurse named Zoey (Merrit Wever) and screws Eddie, the man who gives her pain meds (Paul Schulze). At this point, you could even draw another comparison, by suggesting the double life plot of Nurse Jackie mirrors that of Brian Cranston’s meth-dealing high school teacher in Breaking Bad; Jackie’s co-worker and sex-buddy Eddie doesn’t know she’s married (at all) and her husband has no idea that she hides their marriage – she even goes so far as to keep two different cell phones, one for affairs and one for family.
The series has a bit of merit unto itself as Edie Falco plays Jackie with the exact right amount of sarcasm and world-weary reluctance to start each new day. Eve Best also gives a compelling performance as the co-conspirator to Jackie’s every mischievous whim. Peter Facinelli does well enough as the nervous new doctor who has an unfortunate collision with Jackie’s temper on the first day, and Wever has just enough pluck to be entertaining. But all the parts suffer under clichéd story lines and subpar writing.
Despite how the show sounds, it looks superb. Established directors Paul Feig and Scott Ellis help to steer the show out of the rut the writing would land it in, and even Steve Buscemi tries his hand at directing about 4 episodes. The show never ceases to demonstrate a good visual aesthetic (only heightened by its appearance here in hi-def), it’s the other parts that drag it down.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
A variety of production and honorary featurettes have made their way onto the disc. One honors the exemplary performance and talent of Falco, while another focuses on the oft-ignored contributions of nursing staffs within hospitals. Finally a series of true-to-life nurse stories have been compiled along with an assortment of cast and crew commentaries for some episodes.
"Nurse Jackie: Season One" is on sale February 23, 2010 and is rated NR. Comedy, Drama, Television. Directed by Allen Coulter, Craig Zisk, Paul Feig, Scott Ellis, Steve Buscemi. Written by Various. Starring Edie Falco, Eve Best, Haaz Sleiman, Merritt Wever, Paul Schulze, Peter Facinelli.
