Showtime.
Nurse Jackie was a Showtime program starring Edie Falco, fresh out of The Sopranos. Maybe she yearned to get out of a crappy show, and finally get to do something really great, and demonstrated her ability to carry a show on her own. But The Sopranos gave her the exposure she needed, to get a shot at better stuff like this.
Jackie Peyton is an ER nurse at All Saints Hospital in New York City. And Jackie is a great nurse. She really handles herself well with patients, and knows her business and is looked up to by many of her fellow employees. She's also not afraid to tell Doctors to pull their head out of their ass, or "when I tell you to order the scan, order the goddam scan!"
Jackie has a couple of secrets though. Most importantly, she hurt her back at one time and got addicted to pain killers. So she is high most of the time. She tricks, schemes, connives and does whatever she has to do to keep herself in pills. The other secret is she has taken to sleeping with the hospital pharmacist. So her day consists of doing her nursing duties, training new nurses, sleeping with the Pharmacist, staying high all day, and then going home to her loving husband and two lovely daughters.
This show is filled with one of the best ensemble casts put together since The Wire. There was Eddie, The Pharmacist played by Paul Shulze (who has no idea Jackie is married.) There is the irrepressible Dr. Fitch Cooper "Coop" who Jackie also has to train occasionally. Her husband Kevin is played by Dominic Jerins, and her best friend Dr. Eleanor O'Hara is played by Eve Best. The Emergency Room Administrator Gloria Akalitis is played wonderfully by Anna Deverse Smith, and a simply fabulous male gay nurse Thor, is played wonderfully by Stephen Wallem. And on top of all this there is a extraordinary array of Doctors and nurses and others who turn in wonderful and unforgettable performances. Dr. Cruz, and Dr. Prentiss, and Lenny the EMT, and Sam, and Mo, and mental patient God all come to mind.
I was impressed a lot by Ruby Jerins who played Jackie's older daughter Grace. She was basically a little kid when she started this role, and we watched her turn into a full bloomed teenager. Now with child actors, that can be a crap shoot. Some can be wonderful as children and then not so much as they mature. But not this kid. I hope that after she finishes college, she comes roaring back into acting.
But I think if this show had a second star is was the amazing Merrit Wever as unassuming Zoey Bartok. This lady is scary good. She makes you feel like she doesn't know what she's doing, but don't be fooled. She's nailing it. I could not get over her natural sensibilities. And an awkward comic sense that is totally charming. A brilliant actress I can't wait to see more of.
But as much as I and everyone love Jackie, her life is one big spiral. And it is a series of we as an audience praying she doesn't make bad choices. But she wouldn't be a junkie if she didn't.
This is one of those things, I knew out there somewhere I'd heard about, but when it all suddenly appeared on Netflix, and I was out of other stuff, I gave it a whirl. And what a great decision that was.
Grade: A
