EDIE FALCO as Jackie in Nurse Jackie Episode 4.08, airing June 3, 2012 on SHOWTIME:
SYNOPSIS: Nurse Jackie Episode 8 - June 3, 2012:'Chaud & Froid' Season 4.8.
Jackie's coworkers are punished for covering up her addiction.
SYNOPSIS: Nurse Jackie Episode 8 - June 3, 2012:
Episode Detail: 'Chaud & Froid' - Nurse Jackie -
When Cruz learns about Jackie's rehab, he takes revenge on coworkers who have been covering up her drug problems. Meanwhile, Eddie is deposed by Kevin's lawyer; a dumped Lenny decides to take off for Europe; and Coop accompanies O'Hara to her ob-gyn appointment.
Showtime has released the full playlist of season 4 NURSE JACKIE webisodes, The Break Room on YouTube:
The next episodes of NURSE JACKIE will be airing after the Memorial Day holiday on June 3rd. Be there or be square.
After the jump: Have a look at this interview with the creators on last week's "Day of the Iguana": Bonus: added shots from episode 4.08, more.
Photo credit: Showtime
Photo credit: Showtime
AFTER THE JUMP: Recap Episode 4.07:
While we're on the subject of behind-the-scenes features, have a look at this interview with the creators on last week's "Day of the Iguana": http://youtu.be/YhxuGejnMTc
EDIE FALCO as Nurse Jackie and JAKE CANNAVALLE as 'Charlie Cruz' in Nurse Jackie, season 4.
Did you guess that Jake Cannavale (Jackie's rehab friend, 'Charlie) was Bobby Cannavale's (Jackie's boss, 'Cruz') real-life son? It was starting to to look very probably and in episode 4.07 it's now a known fact by Jackie, by Cruz and by Charlie.
"What happens now?' is the question. Jackie continues to struggle to stay sober. Her involvement with Charlie was at first positive for her--now what's to become of this huge can of worms that has been tipped out completely?
I'm curious too if Cannvale as Cruz is hired just for the season or has signed on beyond this, if there in fact is a NURSE JACKIE season 5 (hope so!)
A side benefit to Charlie and Cruz being who they are on the show is that we immediately understand what it must be like for Charlie to be Cruz's kid. Impossible. Maddening. And, visa-versa!
EDIE FALCO as 'Jackie' and EVE BEST as 'Eleanor Ohara' in NURSE JACKIE on SHOWTIME:
NURSE JACKIE Episode 4.07 - SYNOPSIS -'Day Of The Iguana':
Next on Nurse Jackie:
NURSE JACKIE- Episode 4.07 Detail: 'Day of the Iguana' -
Jackie's divorce lawyer advises her to play hardball with Kevin if she wants custody of the children; and Eddie unwillingly gets caught in the middle of the Peytons' legal wrangling. At the hospital, Cruz has a panic attack; and Zoey seeks suggestions for a proper breakup strategy. Later, Jackie helps out Charlie following his arrest and learns an unsettling secret about the teen. (TVGuide.com)
Jackie thankfully is still in recovery; her teenage 'rehab friend' Charlie? Not so much. In fact, he's a total mess, bringing out both Jackie's nurse persona and her mom side. To her credit, she tries to help the kid but he's pretty far out there. Jackie's sobriety 'outside', beginning when she left rehab after 18 days, has been tenuous. Despite troubled Charlie's disrupting Jackie's own recovery he has yet to take things too far. But the farther 'out' he goes--the closer she comes to yet another challenge to her sobriety. The question is: will this be the one to break her?
This episode, which was sort of Zoey-centric (she moved in with Jacks) was somewhat of a respite from the built-in intensity of watching someone trying to stay sober in the midst of Hell breaking loose around her including new boss Cruz giving her grief for not having an employment history record on file. (Prepare for upcoming consequences and not, save for emotional grief, for Jackie!) 'Zoey' (Merritt Wever) is the perfect 'fix' for what ails Jackie. She a temporary, safe distraction. Zoey is an interesting mix of sort-of-flighty and very grounded. Jackie's obvious distress is something that thus far, Zoey is taking in stride. Zoey's presence in Jackie's otherwise empty home is a relief/comfort for her. What was not in any way a relief was Jackie's finding some old (as in fuzz-encrusted) stash. What to do?(!) Ultimately, Jacks decided to go lean on her best friend, Ohara. Good call, Jackie.
EDIE FALCO as NURSE JACKIE and BOBBY CANNAVALE as Cruz in NURSE JACKIE Episode 4.06 Sunday at 9 et/pt on SHOWTIME
Despite Jackie's (EDIE FALCO) managing to resist temptation even when it is thrust right into her hands, she still has to contend with problems continuing to dog her that go beyond staying sober. Pictured above is one of them: Dr. Cruz (BOBBY CANNAVALE) suspects something is not quite right about Jackie but no one has given him anything on her. Undeterred, he's embarked on a 'witch hunt' of sorts, determined to get to the bottom of Jackie's secret. Here, Jackie employs what she admitted to Zooey is a talent she is 'great at': Lying.
Even Jackie must suspect that with a guy like Cruz hounding her, it's only a matter of time before she and perhaps even those that have been covering for her go down.
Jackie dreams about sex (with Cruz) and drugs but no rock and roll, although Kevin rocks her to her core when he sues for full custody of their daughters. At the hospital, Cruz detects holes in Jackie's employment history, and she's surprised when she catches him exhibiting a kindly bedside manner to a trauma patient. Later, Lenny and Zoey get engaged, but Zoey still has questions about their relationship; Jackie, O'Hara and Akalitus treat a transgender teen.
Edie Falco and Eve Best in Nurse Jackie on Showtime
Nurse Jackie : Where's My Ring?
Zoey loses her engagement ring.
Nurse Jackie : Uncle Coop
Coop insists on being involved with O'Hara's child.
NURSE JACKIE: Episode 4.05 RECAP:
Jackie managed to withstand an-on-the-job-shoulder injury using only an ice-wrap instead of the painkillers that pre-sober "Jacks' would have reached for. She did weaken in her resolvewith Kevin however and he took full-advantage of it. He's now gotten the goods on Jackie's prior pill-taking by cowing Eddie the pharmacist then, feigning consenting to a lunch date with Jackie, instead has her served with divorce papers indicating he is suing for full custody of the girls. This new development leaves Jackie shattered and again, temptation rears it's head. Instead, Jackie stuffs her face with pie.
MERRIT WEVER as "Zooey" and EDIE FALCO as "Jackie" in Episode 5.05 of NURSE JACKIE on Showtime - Sunday 9 pm/et/pt:
Nurse Jackie: Episode 4.05 Synopsis: 'One-Armed Jacks': After realizing after she's whipped up pancakes in cute animal shapes that her girls are not even home to eat --they are at Kevin's--Jackie admits to O'Hara that she's really struggling living alone. Jackie calls Kevin, leaving him a message to meet her for lunch despite O'Hara's strong objections. While treating a gruesome trauma involving severed limbs, Jackie pops her shoulder out and must visit Eddie in the pharmacy so she can get it iced and wrapped up. Later, as Jackie waits for Kevin to show up for their lunch date, she is instead 'served'--divorce papers. Zooey, who had been soliciting a roommate, is invited by Jackie to live with her. That night they have pancakes for dinner.
RECAP Episode 4.04: Grace reveals to Jackie that she knows about Jackie's still in rehab propelling Jackie to Kevin's where in the presence of a nearly-nude woman, Jackie confesses the truth to Kevin. Suspiciously, he seems completely unfazed.
In dire need of some support, Jackie calls up Charlie to meet at an AA meeting. She find him drunk at the meeting and whisks him away. We learn that 'Charlie' is new hospital admin, Mike Cruz's son.
After meeting a charismatic, near death patient, Jackie is sorely tempted by "Jules'" offer to use heavy painkillers, going so far as to toss them in a Dumpster then reach in amongst the refuse, falling in, swearing and giving up on giving into temptation. Unbeknownst to Jackie, Kevin storms the pharmacy and demands from Eddie the names and exactly how much medications ("A lot.") Jackie used; he takes copious notes. Something tells me that we and Jackie are going to hear that list recited in a more formal setting...
Poor Jackie. This continues to be a very rough road to recovery.
Grace learns that her mother has been in rehab, forcing Jackie to race to Kevin's before she spills the beans to him. Later, Cruz docks Jackie's pay over some purloined items; and Jackie sets up an AA rendezvous with Charlie, who turns up in bad shape. Rosie Perez appears as 'Jules,' a woman with a condition that is the most bizarre that I've ever seen on Nurse Jackie. (You really do need to see it.) Jules and Jackie click in a profound way with potentially disastrous consequences.
Unsurprisingly Jackie left rehab early,'AMA,' because she desperately believes that troubled older daughter, 'Grace' needs her mom close at hand. In fact, Grace makes it very clear that the writing is on the wall--she wants to live with her dad.
Surprisingly, Jackie managed to stay in the recovery program for over two weeks, even making a connection with a fellow patient with whom she seems to have forged a very real relationship.
Though it probably was a poor judgment call on her part, she did return to the hospital, which in my estimation is both a boon and bane to her sobriety. In her favour, Jackie has a support system in place at work which she doesn't have at home and it's a medical setting. But the fact that the very substances which she abuses are right under her nose at work certainly sets her sobriety up for failure.
It seemed almost inevitable that she'd succumb to temptation and almost immediately, her fragile state is shaken when Kelly Slater gives her a bag of Fentynal patches. In a wrenching scene, Jackie agonizes over the temptation to use only to instead turn the patches over to Cruz and rat Kelly out. Kelly beats a hasty retreat from All Saints.
Will she have the strength to stay on the wagon when temptation next rears it's head or will Jackie's leaving rehab be the beginning of the end of her struggle to stay sober? Perhaps we'll find out more in this week's episode.
NURSE JACKIE - Season 4 EPISODE 3 - "The Wall" - Edie Falco (SHO)
NURSE JACKIE - Season 4 EPISODE 3 - "The Wall" - Lenny Jacobson, Peter Facinelli, Edie Falco, Stephen Wallem and Eve Best:
(David M. Russell/Showtime)
As I've said before, NURSE JACKIE's season 4 debut episodes are really good.
Jackie and many other main characters are facing circumstances that would have seem unimaginable or ludicrous at least, just a season ago. But here we are with "Jackie' in rehab, OHara pregnant (and happy about it!). Akalitus has been demoted to working the floor at the hospital. Kevin is living separately from Jackie who (hypocritically) threw him out upon hearing his admission/confession that he'd had a fling. Jackie herself was flinging around with hospital pharmacy dispenser,'Eddie,' who like almost everyone else at the hospital, did not know that Jackie was married with kids. To say that Eddie is distraught over the turn of events regarding Jackie (and his job) is a great understatement.
There's new cast addition Bobby Cannavale who plays a sincere-sounding, but not really fully-comprehending, 'Dr. Cruz.,' Cruz represents the hospital chain that bought up 'All Saint's'.
Cannavale's IRL son Jake, has been getting as much face time thus far this season as his dad as 'Charlie', Jackie's compadre in rehab. I think you'll really like their story arc.
Going back to my original thought that the Nurse Jackie characters are facing unpredicted or hugely disruptive situations in season 4: Jackie now has alienated those closest to her, including Ohara and Grace, Jackie's eldest, long-troubled daughter. With no one to bare her in-recovery, detoxing soul to, Jackie's clicking with fellow drug addict, 'Jake' may make the differences in recovery for either one or even both of them.
Jake Cannavale as "Charlie Cruz':
NURSE JACKIE Episode 4.03 Synopsis: 'The Wall' - Despite her counselor's warnings, Jackie leaves rehab and returns to a much-changed All Saints, where working sober for the first time leaves her feeling easily rattled. Meanwhile, Zoey second-guesses her relationship with Lenny; Eddie reveals to Jackie that Kevin knows about their affair; and Grace presents Jackie with a list of demands.
Laura Silverman as 'Laura' NURSE JACKIE Episode 4.03
NEXT WEEK (4.29.12): Episode Detail: 'Slow Growing Monsters' - Nurse Jackie Grace learns that her mother has been in rehab, forcing Jackie to race her daughter to Kevin's before she spills the beans. Later, Cruz docks Jackie's pay over some purloined items; and Jackie sets up an AA rendezvous with Charlie, who turns up in bad shape.
Nurse Jackie co-creators/showrunners Linda Wallem and Liz Brixius are leaving the Showtime comedy after four seasons, Deadline reports.
A new showrunner has not yet been named, but Showtime is already in discussions with a candidate to work alongside star/executive producer Edie Falco and executive producer Richie Jackson, according to the site... Nurse Jackie kicked off its fourth season earlier this month and enjoyed a ratings bump, averaging 653,000 viewers.
AFTER THE JUMP: MORE SCENES FROM NURSE JACKIE EPISODE 4.03:
Edie Falco as 'Jackie' and Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) as a drug buddy who dies while doing drugs with Jackie:
EDIT #2/So the opening episode was pretty great, right? Just the beginning! Here's a SPOILER about 2 characters for whom sharp eyes will draw a distinct connection!
'Nurse Jackie': Jackie wouldn't be Jackie if she put in her 28 days at rehab and it was smooth sailing from there. Of course she leaves early, and of course life conspires to make continued sobriety a difficult proposition. And, no, it's not a coincidence that her new boss and her new rehab buddy share the same last name -- on and off screen"
Synopsis: In the Season 4 premiere, big changes are afoot when Jackie, separated from Kevin, hits rock bottom and realizes she needs professional help, while All Saints is taken over by a corporation whose new director Mike Cruz (Bobby Cannavale) makes a shocking personnel change. Also, Kevin does not react well when he learns the truth about Jackie and Eddie, and O'Hara reveals a stunning secret.
Bobby Cannavale as Mike Cruz and Edie Falco as Jackie in "Nurse Jackie," Sundays on Showtime beginning April 8.
Nurse Jackie: 'Karma's a Bitch' Nurse Jackie Episode 4.01
Detail: 'Kettle Kettle Black Black' - As the fourth season opens, All Saints has been taken over by a multinational corporation and placed in the care of an innovative no-nonsense doctor who is revved up about making changes to the hospital and staff. Meanwhile, Kevin has moved to a new apartment, but is seeking to reconcile with Jackie. As for Jackie, she runs into problems when a guy she picked up has a heart attack in her home. Later, back at the hospital, Mrs. Akalitus is given an ultimatum by the new management.(SOURCE: TVGuide.com)
Edie Falco as "Nurse Jackie" and Anna Deavere Smith as "Gloria Akalaitis." New Season Premieres Sunday, April 8 at 9 PM ET/PT on Showtime.
Oh, excitement! The first episode of season 4 Nurse Jackie is online for free to enjoy--already!
I've really been looking forward to this season--I think lots of 'Jackie' fans have because this will be the first time since the series premiered (can you believe we are on season 4?!) that Jackie is going to seriously take on an attempt at sobriety. Despite her often prickly demeanor, Jackie is a character that we truly care about. We want to see her sober as we've watched (helplessly) as her life spiralled out of control and finally she hit rock bottom. It's time to see this great character that the equally great Edie Falco has made her own, begin to get a grip on her life--just trying means a lot. Check out the newest Nurse Jackie, episode 4.01 'Kettle Kettle Black Black', and drop me a comment telling me what you thought!
NURSE JACKIE: Episode 4.01 Detailed Synopsis:
'Kettle Kettle Black Black' - Nurse Jackie As the fourth season opens, All Saints has been taken over by a multinational corporation and placed in the care of an innovative no-nonsense doctor who is revved up about making changes to the hospital and staff. Meanwhile, Kevin has moved to a new apartment, but is seeking to reconcile with Jackie. As for Jackie, she runs into problems when a guy she picked up has a heart attack in her home. Later, back at the hospital, Mrs. Akalitus is given an ultimatum by the new management. (TVGuide)
In the Season 4 premiere, big changes are afoot when Jackie, separated from Kevin, hits rock bottom and realizes she needs professional help, while All Saints is taken over by a corporation whose new director Mike Cruz (Bobby Cannavale) makes a shocking personnel change. Also, Kevin does not react well when he learns the truth about Jackie and Eddie, and O'Hara reveals a stunning secret. (Showtime)
Nurse Jackie: 'Into The Future'
Mike Cruz introduces himself to the staff at All Saints.
Nurse Jackie: 'Vacation Days'
Jackie asks to cash in her vacation days.
Previously on Nurse Jackie: 'Super-nurse Jackie Peyton reached the end of her rope at the end of season 3 of the Showtime Original Series, NURSE JACKIE. Her marriage was in shambles, her addiction was raging, and her friends and coworkers were more than suspicious of her antics and half-baked lies. It turns out karma's a bitch. Now out of tricks, out of excuse and out of control, Jackie finally has to seek help. But coming clean won't be easy. As Jackie's about to learn, the truth is a hell of a drug. Jackie returns for another hilarious season on Sunday, April 8 at 9 PM ET/PT.'
Nurse Jackie: Rehab (Nurse Jackie Spot) This April 8, it's time for rejoicing, reinventing, rebuilding, and rehab. Nurse Jackie returns for a new season April 8th at 9PM ET/PT
I take it that the portrayal of Jackie Peyton's 28-day 'Disneyland vacation'/stint in rehab will be rendered as honestly as the confines of a 30-minute cable comedy will allow. We've had many, many hours of Nurse Jackie leading up to this 'chose a path' moment in her life. However, if Nurse Jackie were an hour dramedy on the networks we'd just be winding down season 1. That's where I think it's important to be very careful of the timing on 'little shows' like this one.
Nurse Jackie has a powerhouse cast, wonderful directors (Steve Buscemi directed almost all of one season), and sharp writing but the audience is waiting years for some forward movement on Jackie's part and, after watching the Nurse Jackie Season 4 'Rehab' preview in particular, the payoff appears to begin very soon! That's the paradox though, if Jackie gets better, will she still be funny? One would hope yes, and that would be enough to enjoy a few more seasons. My guess is season 4 will be very telling about where Nurse Jackie the show, is headed as well as 'Nurse Jackie' (played by Edie Falco) herself.
Emmy winner Edie Falco returns for season 4 of Nurse Jackie.
Edie Falco and Anna Deavere Smith in Nurse Jackie Season 4
Edie Falco is back in her Emmy®-winning role with a bitingly funny new season of the Showtime Original Series, NURSE JACKIE. Out of excuses, out of tricks and out of control. The healing begins for Nurse Jackie April8th at 9PM ET/PT!
I haven't missed 'Nurse Jackie' as much as I've missed Edie Falco, Eve Best, Anna Deavere Smith and the rest of the stellar cast of the show. Also, I don't think it is unfair, as I noted in my last Nurse Jackie post, to say that season 3 ended in a slightly disappointing way.
But, by all accounts as you'll hear in the behind-the-scenes interviews with the core cast members, season 4 will differ quite markedly from the previous seasons. It's my guess that instead of a show about a drug-addicted nurse, Nurse Jackie will be more about a nurse struggling to conquer her addiction and achieve sobriety.
It is a testament to Edie Falco's deft acting skills that despite Jackie's acting in rather despicable ways to support her habit, we the audience still want to see her survive and thrive--to clean up her act.
I'm really looking forward to the season 4 premiere of Nurse Jackie on Showtime in just under 2 months--April 8th at 9PM ET/PT! Please check back here as I'll have more Nurse Jackie news (and probably some spoilers) as it becomes available and of course, I'll be covering Nurse Jackie week-to-week when the season gets underway.
This season the shift hits the fan. Get a sneak peek look at season 4 of Nurse Jackie. #KARMASABITCH
Will You Be As Shocked By the Big Reveal As Jackie Is?:
Whether it is the delicate topic of mental illness (United States of Tara), drug-dealing moms (Weeds), sex addiction (Californication), drug addiction (Nurse Jackie) or living with incurable cancer (The Big C), the Showtime network never seems to flinch in taking on these topics while simultaneously injecting biting humour into their half-hour comedy offerings.
There's nothing inherently funny in any of the overarching themes in these series but having made their way onto the premium network, many have gone on to earn high accolades and great success.
Next on Episode 12: Jackie dodges a urine test; Kevin makes a stunning confession.
Nurse Jackie's third season-ender, 'Deaf, Blind Tumor Pee-Test' is tonight (Monday June 20) and for me, the success of this particular episode is mixed.
Season 3 of Nurse Jackie had a different tone to it than the previous two seasons. It had to, as at the end of season 2, Jackie's secret was out to both her husband and her best friend, who joined together in attempting--and failing at-- a hastily-called intervention.
The last 12 episodes of Nurse Jackie have been about her dealing with aftermath of that intervention and though there were plenty of laughs surrounding the supporting characters, there was also quite a bit of 'gallows humour' involving those closest to Jackie (the Emmy & Golden Globe-winning and currently Tony-nominated, Edie Falco).
I commend the Nurse Jackie writers for making Jackie face the consequences as viewers of better television dramas (which this is), even comedy dramas, can be quite demanding in 'keeping it real.' It was time.
They could have gone a few different ways after Jackie's dark secret was discovered. As it happened, Jackie flipped off both her spouse, Kevin (played by Dominic Fumusa--above) and her best friend, Dr. Eleanor O'Hara, played exquisitely by Eve Best (below). I'm really hoping to see some awards-time recognition for Best's performance as she was pitch-perfect.
With Jackie still in denial about her pain-killer drug addiction, life went on but she remained on a very rocky path. Jackie tried lying about quitting only to run out of her stash and start showing obvious withdrawal symptoms. When you are surrounded by medical caregivers that is tough to hide. But as her former paramour 'Eddie' (played by Paul Schulze) told Jackie, her ability to prevaricate is beyond any he's witnessed in his lifetime (paraphrase). Most of the time she had almost everyone fooled, especially those that were in denial themselves that a high-functioning nurse like Jackie could have such a huge monkey on her back.
After Jackie's smarmy drug-dealer was (fittingly) run over by a Mack truck before her eyes as he prepared to cross the street to meet her, Jackie was forced to go cold-turkey. The sudden withdrawal left her wide open for being found out so, in real pain and desperation she stole some morphine patches that were being sent over to Oncology. The missing patches were quickly noted and an investigation by HR was underway.
All of the additional stress kept the heat on at home. Both the kids, who were unaware on a conscious level of their mother's problem, reacted to what must have been an atmosphere of a powder keg about to blow by acting out. Younger daughter 'Fiona', tried to set a fire in school and the eldest, 'Grace' (so very sadly) secretly pulled out handfuls of her own hair. Finally, Fiona asked to be medicated. Spouse Kevin'appeared to do a stitch-by-stitch coming apart at the seams until the final episode--the season 3 finale tonight, in which there is the 'big reveal.'
In the Season 3 finale tonight Jackie will find herself in a truly unique situation.
Synopsis Nurse Jackie Season 3 Finale:
Jackie dodges Akalitus's request for a urine sample and forgets to order a cake for Coop's wedding; Kevin makes a stunning confession that leads to a marital split; Coop's bride stands him up at the altar.
Given the very short half-hour slot that it had to fit in, I would have preferred to see both episodes 11 and 12 back-to-back as the big reveal felt a bit rushed to me. It is going to be very interesting to find out just how she handles things now that Dr. O'Hara has begun supplying 'Jacks' with pain-killer dosages that are meant to be reduced until Jackie is drug-free. That is the plan, anyway. Will it actually come to fruition in combination with the consequences of the big reveal?
You are just gonna have to tune in to season 4 to find out.
Eve Best as Dr. O'Hara in a scene from Episode 9 of Nurse Jackie (Showtime):
By now you've watched Episode 8 of Nurse Jackie and know that drug-peddler-addictions counselor and epileptic 'Bill,' got mowed down by a truck as Jackie watched from just across the street. She had come to his high rise "with a doorman and gargoyles," he'd described it, because she had gotten 'desperate', which is also how dear, departed scumbag Bill calculatingly phrased it to the near-jonesing Jackie. The scene is very cleverly done (and gruesome!) and it foreshadows I think, the very last scene in the next episode (9), 'Have You Met Miss Jones?'
Synopsis: Nurse Jackie Episode 9: 'Have You Met Miss Jones?'
Out of pills and jonesing for a high, Jackie is confronted about the missing drugs from Oncology; Coop decides to start a family of his own and finds an old girlfriend on Facebook; Zoey reconsiders her relationship to Lenny after he's put on a heart monitor.
"Desperate for a high, Jackie is confronted about the stolen drugs.'
Nurse Jackie: Everyone Makes Mistakes
Lenny accidentally gets a 'epipen' needle stuck in his finger.
Nurse Jackie: Dudeville
Coop shows a picture of his "future" wife to Eddie.
'Kevin finds Jackie's stash so she steals from Oncology.'
Kind of misleading episode description which I'm gonna revise (Slightly spoiler-ish):
Jackie steals drugs from Oncology because she's running out of ways to get her fix. The drug dealing epileptic is charging her $200 a day which obviously there's no way she can continue to shell out.
Kevin does indeed find drugs while searching for daughter Grace's saints cards that she'd dropped down between and under the seat of the car. He accidentally stumbles across Jackie's stash from their car trip 'months ago,' as Jackie frames it when confronted by him. I didn't connect her stealing some heavy painkilling patches from Oncology with his discovery because she did not know about it, yet.
I found it really hard to emphasize with Jackie in this episode as she gets ever-more desperate and willing to take from others to feed her habit. She's flagrantly lying to cover her a** without regard for the needs or feelings of anyone but herself. Yes, she's done so in the past but with her dirty secret discovered by those closest to her, she's desperate and seemingly veering all over the place.
This is a very 'un-pretty' Jackie, one that is on a collision course with disaster which though we've known from the beginning, we didn't know when it was coming.
Dominic Fumusa as Jackie's spouse Kevin is particularly convincing when he confronts Jackie with the stash he's found. He was just beginning to feel OK again about their life, he tells her. Jackie assures him that everything is OK--the pills are from long ago--that part is true--but things are far from OK as we see when she embraces him only to reveal a morphine patch on her upper arm.
I continue to be intrigued by the course of Jackie's addiction. I don't think we had any idea of how much she was taking until recently. Now, if you look at the screen shots you can see that Kevin finds only 3 pills hidden in the dental floss container which Jackie anticipated needing for an overnight trip. Now, as we saw in the last episode, Jackie is downing 5 pills per day, which is both sad and scary. As usual, Edie Falco does a sublime job of portraying Jackie and her many layers beyond being a drug-addict--an example of which you can see in the sneak peek (below--after the jump) where she seems to show genuine caring for of all people, 'Coop,' when she pulls him out of his funk by enticing him with an interesting patient.
Kelly continues to win over the All Saints staff including Akalitus; Kevin finds one of Jackie's stashes in a dental floss dispenser; a Native American patient soothes Coop's depression about his parents' split; Jackie pockets drugs meant for Oncology.
I'm both a tiny bit late and a wee bit early with my weekly Nurse Jackie post:
I drove cross-country. I'm on a coast!-- with spouse--no kids OR dogs! I'm in Maryland (instead of my home near Chicago).
I'm with spouse, my one sib. and his wife, and we are helping out my Dad with his house/ house stuff. My mom died in January and my dad will move back to the midwest when he can--but first--the house!
What did you think of Nurse Jackie episode 3.05 "Rat Falls?"
It was my favourite episode of season 3 so far because it was stuffed full of meaning and great moments and scenes.
For one, I've been wondering how Eddie and Jackie were going to proceed, post 'intervention' now that Eddie is pretty much Jackie's husband's best friend as well as her co-worker. The answer is, with caution.
Jackie panics when her stash of pills from Bill the epileptic drug dealer runs low; Coop decides to fight O'Hara for the ER chief position but learns his mothers are divorcing; Jackie confronts Eddie about his "texting" relationship with Kevin's sister.
I have not had a chance yet to talk about why, but I found my screener episode of the 'Nurse Jackie' 'Rat Falls' to be the most powerful episode of Nurse Jackie, yet this season. Don't miss it! I'm watching it again on Monday! (Somehow--I'll be in Maryland w/out cable TV but w/internet. Ooh, I know! on DVD!).
I will share more about what I loved about episode 5 after it airs, including and maybe especially it's title! and I hope you will, too.
Jackie confronts Eddie about his budding relationship with her sister-in-law.
'There is no edge Eddie, OK? There's no edge.'
Jackie declining an offer from Eddie for a 'little something to take the edge off.'
Coop's Mothers tell him that they are getting a divorce.
EDIT 4.17 (Yes, I do have a screener)/ Just watched it! Excellent episode!:
Nurse Jackie Season 3, Episode 4: 'Mitten' (Promo):
Jackie finds a new hiding place for her pills and buries the hatchet with O'Hara, who becomes ER chief; Zoey works her first double shift; Kevin invites Eddie to a backyard barbecue; Jackie must tell more lies to retrieve her misplaced stash.
'Dance-Off' with Coop
Coop (Peter Facinelli) wants to stage a 'Dance-Off' in order to chose who will become All Saints new ER Chief. Here, he makes his case before Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith).
He defines super-creepy and after taking him for coffee ('Walk with me'), Jackie finds that he is 'despicable' as well. He isn't there to harm Jackie though or even demand his $12,000 worth of pills she took from him. Rather, he's facinated by her life as a (hard-core, functioning) drug addict. He discloses that he is there to send her into a tailspin. fueled by copious quantities of drugs--which he'll provide-- then charge her to get cleaned up (as he's been doing for the people who he now dismisses as 'lightweights').
Jackie is not ready for this fix but wants to know, 'Hypothetically, how far am I from bottoming out?', she queries the ex-drug-counselor.
He indicates that she's very, very far.
Jackie looks relieved.
She has spent most of the opening episodes of season 3 looking worried and now at least she believes she can scratch off both this guy and her drug abuse as 'real' problems.
The lies we tells ourselves.
(This season of 'Jackie' feels like its moving really fast.)
Nurse Jackie 3.03: Play Me: 'God' sets up a makeshift piano bar in the ambulance bay:
Kevin's sister gives Jackie her support.
Episode 3: Play Me: 'God' sets up a makeshift piano bar in the ambulance bay.
Synopsis:
Kevin's younger sister 'Tunie,' visits after a breakup with her boyfriend; Lenny prepares a surprise romantic picnic for Zoey; two street vendors are brought in after a turf war turns violent; Akalitus fights Catholic bureaucrats over the hospital's chapel.
Have you been watching Nurse Jackie?
I thought episode two sort of slowed down and took a needed breath after the 'hit the ground-running' start of eppy 1 picking up exactly where it left off at the end of season 2.
Jackie (Edie Falco) was as close as contrite as we are going to see her towards both husband Kevin and best friend O'Hara. Both were at the receiving end of a fiercely angry Jackie after they attempted an intervention on her behalf. In Kevin's (Dominic Fumusa) case, Jackie turned the (well-founded) accusations he made on their head by muddying the waters with excuses about buying name-brand meds for their children and then mixing in Kevin's insistence that they could not afford to have both their girls go to private school. Jackie played him by guilting him--and successfully took the spotlight off herself. Kevin knows something went wrong but still seems sort of shell-shocked by the whole ordeal. Meantime, Jackie is being super-nice and overtly affectionate, neither of which she was prior to the attempted intervention.
Jackie's best friend Dr. O'Hara (Eve Best) meanwhile, has concluded that she simply cannot be near Jackie at all. After trying to get her shifts changed and Akalitus (Anna Deavere Smith) nixing that as unrealistic, she begins putting out feelers for work elsewhere. Akalitus catches wind of it and informs Jackie, who realizes she has to do something to stop O'Hara.What she does is intrude on O'Hara's lunch and insist that if O'Hara were to go elsewhere, Jackie has trained so many nurses at area hospitals that she'd be able to get a job working where ever O'Hara landed. So essentially, Jackie has begun repairing her friendship with O'Hara with a bit of bullying and mild threats. O'Hara seems somewhat receptive but to her credit, still very wary and not in a hurry to reconcile. Jackie is relieved that she's got at least a toe, if not her foot in the door.
It seems that if not dodging a bullet, Jackie was only grazed by it--this time. There will come a time when she bottoms out but I don't believe season three will be that time based on how adeptly she's handling being caught--seemingly without consequences of any gravity. What do you think? Will this be the season where Jackie truly is called on her drug abuse--where maybe she loses the title 'nurse' for however long it takes for her to clean up her mess?
There's no doubt that Nurse Jackie is a sharply funny, extremely well-acted 30- minute premium cable show. The subject matter is mature in that the show's namesake 'Nurse Jackie,' is a highly competent nurse--and pill addict, which has led her to do some pretty shady things. She doesn't feel good about doing them but her addiction at this point is stronger than she is--and that is saying something because she's tough as nails.
I love that Edie Falco has landed in a premium cable show that she's a perfect fit for. Her Emmy award-winning character, 'Jackie Peyton' is 100 percent not like the award-winning character Carmela, that she played on the late, great HBO mafia drama,'The Sopranos.' Not that I expected she would be. But even her appearance is so radically different.
Supporting Cast on 'Jackie' Rocks:
Not unexpectedly, the supporting cast on Nurse Jackie is fantastic. I especially like ER Admin 'Gloria Akalitis' (ANNA DEAVERE SMITH), Jackie's best friend 'Dr. O'Hara' (Eve Best), Jackie's husband, Kevin (DOMINIC FUMUSA) and lover, Eddie (Paul Schulze).
I can't imagine why you may not have watched Nurse Jackie in it's first 2 seasons but it is never too late to start. Go for it!
Nurse Jackie returns with new promotional art!: Full size supercool HQ Nurse Jackie mini posters: Download them here! The one at top is my fave. Scroll down and after the jump and have a peek at the other HQ concepts promotional Nurse Jackie art. CLICK 'em and they get bigger!!
Nurse Jackie: Season 3, Episode 1 - 'Game On'
In the Season 3 premiere, Jackie's marriage is strained, as is her relationship with O'Hara after the intervention; Akalitus warns the staff that nearby hospitals have closed down, straining the staff and resources; Zoey publicly confesses her affair with Lenny.
Nurse Jackie returns for season three beginning Monday, March 28th at 10PM ET/PT.
Showtime end-of-season 2 Nurse Jackie Synopsis:
The Showtime Original Series Nurse Jackie ended season two with the ugly truth closing in on super-nurse Jackie Peyton. Her lover Eddie threatened to come clean about their affair to his good friend Kevin, who also happens to be Jackie's husband. And O'Hara and Kevin put the pieces together about Jackie's pill-popping ways and confronted her about her addiction. But if the people in her life think one little intervention is going to stop her, they don't know Jackie. The great white liar returns for another hilarious season on March 28th.
Oooh. So excited! Nurse Jackie is soon to return, apparently with heels dug in against any kind of "help" for her drug addiction. As you may recall, the last we saw of Jackie both her best friend, Dr. O'Hara, and her husband Kevin staged an intervention upon Kevin's finding Jackie's drug expense sheet (her prescriptions bills) and putting two and two together. Of course Jackie's life is effed up on a number of levels so there should be much fertile new ground to mine in season 3. Stay tuned because I will be continuing with my giveaways of Showtime posters and S3 Nurse Jackie's is pretty cool. Have a peek!
SHOWTIME | February 08, 2011 The truth is catching up and the only way out is to dig deeper. Nurse Jackie returns for an all new season on March 28.
Hard to believe but we are nearly half-way through Season 2 of Nurse Jackie. It still has its acerbic-comedic-witty charm but a growing darkness is descending. Jackie's pill habit--she is described in her character bio as a 'functioning addict'--has taken a turn into deep desperation territory as in 'Caregiver,' the hospital puts a security guard at the pill-dispensing machine from which in Eddie the pharmacist's absence, Jackie has been stealing painkillers.
My prediction is that she is going to have to crawl back to Eddie who is now 'the boss' in the drugstore in which he now works.
Ever since Eddie followed Jackie after work last season to find that she appeared to have a happily-married-with-kids life outside the hospital he has been bent on revenge--a sort of death by a thousand cuts for Jackie.
Though he's been burned badly, it is my bet that he'd take her back in a Devil's bargain. We'll see how inventive Jackie can be in acquiring her daily fix.
'You're Making Things Worse'
Akalitus informs the nurses that there will be a security guard stationed by the Pill-O-Matix.
'I Get to React'
Jackie discovers that Kevin went to the movies with Grace, Fiona, Kaitlyn and Ginny Flynn.
E2.05 'Caregiver'
Dr. Coop becomes the hospital's face in a public marketing campaign.
Nurse Jackie - S2xE4 - 'Apple Bong' (Monday 9 pm Central - Showtime)
Jackie dispenses illegal medical marijuana to a needy patient.
Medical Marijuana
Dr. Cooper confronts Jackie about suggesting medical marijuana to a patient.
Disinfectant and Dip
Jackie learns about Zoey's heroics earlier that day.
Jackie refuses a friend's loan and is caught snorting drugs.
One of the most welcome shows running new episodes on premium cable television is IMO, Nurse Jackie.
I mentioned to my spouse more than once in Season 1 that this little half-hour dramedy was quite good and Edie Falco was fantastic yet even so he took no interest. Fast forward to Season 2, Episode 2 (last week) and he joins me to watch it. After it finished the first thing he said was "Why didn't you tell me it was this good?"
Why, indeed. LOL.
'Grace's Tuition'
I am My Boss
Dr. Cooper visits Eddie at the the drug store.
Behind the Scenes
'Liberated and Free': Eve Best
Eve Best discusses O'Hara's interest in Sam and some of Jackie's flaws.
After the confrontation with Eddie at the end of season one, it’s now a few months later and Jackie is on the beach with her family. She’s cut ties with Eddie and is determined to dive back in and spend more time with her family.
Back at All Saints, Jackie deflects blame about the narcotic shortage. She refuses Dr. O’Hara’s offers of financial help and endures Sam, the altered nurse and his newfound sobriety.
A thwarted Dr. Cooper lodges an official complaint against Jackie with Mrs. Akalitus, as she fights a deaf woman’s insurance company to cover her hand injury.
Eddie overdoses and is brought into All Saints just so he can get Jackie’s attention.
"
S2x2
"Walk of Shame"
Disheveled, Zoey gets out of a cab as Jackie and Dr. O'Hara look on.
S2x2
"Unplugging Appliances"
Gracie saves up her allowance to buy a smoke detector.
Melissa Etheridge "Nervous" Music Video
Paul Schulze talks about Eddie doing whatever it takes to get close to Jackie in season 2.
"...more drama, more comedy and more consequences that come from Jackie's (Edie Falco) double life."
The entire Nurse Jackie cast was at "The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Presents an Evening With Nurse Jackie," mouthful!) and it looks like Jackie's double life won't be so double anymore. As season two unfolds, the writers and the cast promise to go deeper into the characters, and it's definitely not rainbows and puppies.
Have you watched the first episode of Season 2, Nurse Jackie,"Comfort Food' of yet?
Do you remember how Season 1 left off--with Jackie having taken a huge overdose then going to an empty rook and lying down on the floor and drifting off?
This episode begins with Jackie coming out of (what appears to be) a light nap on the beach. She's with her family, It's a normal day at the (off-season) beach--maybe early fall.
Nothing about the overdose. How did she survive w/out someone rescuing her? Why is her family and the hospital staff behaving as if they don't know that she OD'd.
I may have a slight guess. I've only watched S2x1 once so far though but I thought when the discussion was revolving around drugs going missing that Merritt Wever's character, Zoey sort of shot Jackie a look. She also seems very intensely interested in catching whomever is responsible for the drug dispenser's shortages.
Oh well. Loved seeing the cast again. Edie Falco is a goddess.
"Things become more complicated. It's harder to keep secrets the longer you're in an addiction situation," says Edie. "Jackie gets a little more threadbare. In a sense, it's more of the same. She's not fixed yet."
As for Jackie's two men, Kevin and Eddie, they aren't just going to be crossing paths.
"We'll be spending a lot of time together, getting to know each other," Dominic Fumusa (Kevin) spills.
"By the end of season two, you're going to see my character start to change. He'll realize there are some things going down. He's not going to be Mr. Nice Guy 100 percent of the time," Dominic promises ominously.
(Thank gawd because he'd look like a complete sap otherwise.)
Paul Schulze, who plays Eddie, the pharmacist Jackie dissed and dismissed at the end of season one, is a more direct about his character's journey. "Eddie is a little pissed," he says simply. "That's how it starts. He loves him some Jackie, and he wants some more."
Merritt Wever also gets an exciting development for her once-timid Zoey. "She tries to go stealth and do some covert operations. Be a bit of a badass," she teases. "I don't wanna say whether she succeeds or not," laughs Merrit. ..
And the best news yet:
Coop got a Twitter account. Seriously, you can follow him here.
'Candy Machine'
Jackie talks to the nursing staff about missing drugs from the Pill-O-Matix.
Last time we saw Jackie, she was working at the hospital and all the potentially bad things that could go wrong in Jackie's universe (and the there are many) did go wrong. She calmy walked to the "Pill-o-matic" and, using the secret 'backdoor' that the former human pharmacist with whom she'd been having an affair showed her, purloined enough morphine/morphine-like drugs to kill a horse. Then she calmly walked to the nearest empty hospital room, locked the door, and sucked down all the drugs. She was spinning off into another reality, which will be the reality that she is dead unless intervention occurs.
Obviously, someone came to her rescue which is a very good thing as this little slice of funny (30 mins) is must-watch-tv beginning Monday, March 22 @ 10 p.m.E/9 p.m.C.
Edie Falco interview about season 2, how people react to Nurse Jackie off screen, her opinion of her character, Jackie Peyton, more.
From the Showtime site "'Nurse Jackie' examines the complicated heart and soul of a functioning
addict, a loving wife, mother, and a first-class nurse."
Jackie spends the day at the beach with her family.
Yay. Something to look forward to on premium cable. With Dexter and True Blood on hiatus it feels like a massive waste to me to pay for it each month. You really need to watch Season 1 of Nurse Jackie if you are going to start watching it now (and I stro
Excellent behind-the-scenes with much mini spoilery stuff about Nurse Jackie, Season 2. Did you know that they completed filming season 2? By the time we get to the end of the Season 2 run the episodes will be more than 6 months old! I just wonder how they are going to deal with the time continuity issues as they relate to Jackie's two young daughters--because you know they are going to pick up Jackie for a season 3. (Cont. after video)
I love what Edie Falco (Jackie) has to say about being known by the fans as 'Carmela' for so many years and how she reacted to the first time she was acknowledged as Jackie (as in 'Hey Jackie. Love you on the show!'). Doesn't diminish the superlative work she did on 'The Sopranos,' but it is a nice validation that an acting career goes beyond one break-out role.
Well,cool! Now we can say that Nurse Jackie returns to Showtime next month!
And since this is the shortest month of the year, we have that much less time to wait, right?
Anyhoo, Peter Facinelli is doing his level best to keep Missing Jackie Angst to a minimum by putting together Dr. Coop Video Diaries. Here are parts 1 & 2.
Dr. Coop Video Diary Part One
"Peter Facinelli, Dr. Fitch Cooper on Nurse Jackie, takes viewers behind the scenes while shooting the second season of Nurse Jackie."
"Peter Facinelli continues his behind the scenes tour and gives us an inside look as the crew wraps up the second season."
Hey, fellow Nurse Jackie fans! Can't believe that we have come to the last episode of Season 1 already! :(
I'm still in Canada (going home this weekend) where much of U.S. television preview content is unavailable to share, but hopefully the stuff I'm posting is viewable to the U.S. I'll find out in a few days!
"HEALTHCARE & CINEMA"
Season 1: Episode 12
Kevin invites Jackie for a midnight rendezvous, where he plans to surprise her with a new diamond ring. She promises to be there. O’Hara asks Jackie to help her admit her mother, who is being flown in from London. Jackie promises to be there. The movie critic wakes up – his taste in movies has been altered (suddenly, he loves "Showgirls"). After spending the day drinking at Kevin’s bar, Eddie makes a scene at All Saints, threatening to tell everything.
Written By: Liz Brixius & Linda Wallem
Directed By: Scott Ellis
Stripped of My Powers
Depressed, Zoey starts to wear only gray scrubs, and is only slightly cheered by the arrival of a model patient.
And a bit of what to expect from the Season 1 finale of "Nurse Jackie."
Q: What can you tell us about the season finale of Nurse Jackie?A: We've seen the Nurse Jackie finale and could spill on everything, but that's no fun for you. Instead, here's what Peter Facinelli (Dr. Cooper) can reveal: "I can say that nothing gets tied up in a neat little bow for the end of this season. It's like life. The end of the day is not wrapped up in a neat little package. You have to wait to tomorrow to see how today really was. That's how it is with this show."Source: E! Online
It's getting ever more difficult for Jackie to pretend that all is well in her life. On the way to one of her trysts with Eddie she almost forgot to take off her wedding band until prompted by O'Hara who earlier had apologized for her gaff (in Jackie's over-reactionary opinion) and given Jackie a peace offering of magazines, candy and gum. Jackie and Coop also had a stand-off in regard to her signing off on a donor whilst he was "unavailable" to do so. He threatened to take her to the mat but with some confidence building from Dr. O'Hara, Jackie bullied Coop into one of his "Tourette's-like" moments--only this time she held his hand to her breast and kissed him all the while speaking encouragingly to him. Coop quickly put his problem with Jackie aside but has Jackie brought on more than she intended?
Still unable to remove her wedding band, Jackie convinced Dr. O'Hara to cut it off which led to Jackie having to come up with a story to tell spouse, Kevin. Not wanting to appear so careless as to lose it, she instead took a hammer to her own ring finger. Having gotten the ring off, Jackie engaged in her daily tryst with a self-medicating, about-to-be-fired Eddie, only to have Zoey walk in on them in flagrante. I thought this was an average episode of the show. Obviously we are setting the stage for something bigger to happen as there are many nasty secrets and lies that if came to light would land Jackie in a whole mess of trouble. Somehow Edie Falco manages to make a woman who,
on paper, seems pretty awful, quite compelling to watch.
Nurse Jackie: S1 E11 - PILL-O-MATIX
Kevin decides to buy Jackie a new wedding ring. At work, the automated pill machine replaces Eddie. A movie critic (played by Victor Garber) is admitted with a broken elbow. Zoey gives him the wrong dose of painkiller, resulting in a coma. Coop dumps his new girlfriend. The parents of the baby Akalitus has been taking care of come forward to resume custody. We learn that O’Hara’s mother has slid into a coma – she believes that her stepfather is responsible. Eddie follows Jackie home, and sees her with Kevin and the girls.
Written By: Rick Cleveland Directed By: Scott Ellis
'She Likes Gum' - Newly infatuated, Coop asks Zoey about what Jackie likes.
'Same Machine. Half the Price.' The Pill-O-Matix is getting installed and Eddie is about to be out of a job.
Jackie admits a patient she has treated before. As his condition worsens, Zoey questions whether Jackie did enough to help him on his previous visit. Jackie’s drug use starts to cause spontaneous nose bleeds. O’Hara tells Jackie that her sister, who lives in Paris, has benefited from Jackie’s ability to juggle a job, family and affair at the same time. Jackie feels betrayed that O’Hara broke her confidence. A car accident victim is pronounced brain-dead, and rather than wait for Coop to certify legal brain death for organ donation, Jackie lies and says Coop signed off.
Written By: John Hilary Shepherd Directed By: Paul Feig
This week was the first that I started to feel sorry for Jackie. Despite her snappy comebacks, her instantaneous recovery from what would leave many of us flummoxed, and her appearance to others that she "has it all"--she really doesn't. As she said to Dr. O'Hara when O'Hara was innocently mentioning having praised Jackie to her sister in France at how seamlessly Jackie seems to manage her life, Jackie shook her head, quietly saying, "It's hard."
And, it is getting harder. Jackie's pill snorting is causing her to be sloppy in her nursing work, to be jumpy and snappish and over-reactive--all things that the people closest to her can see and are beginning to have concerns about. Jackie herself does not seem to indulge in taking the time to have a good look at her life. If she did she might see what a mess it truly is. Speed habit and nosebleeds aside, making ever larger mistakes and poor decisions at work aside, turning on her best friend O'Hara for a ludicrous reason, which of course wasn't the real thing Jackie was reacting to but still ended with a gulf that Jackie has created. Putting all this stuff away for a moment, Jackie is supposedly happily married. He seems like a great guy, great father to their two daughters so WTH is she doing having quickies with the hospital pharmacist?!? Of every self-destructive thing Jackie does this has to be the most potentially lethal.
Everything else makes sense when you look at her painkiller addiction. Maybe she is a sex addict as well? That's the best I can come up with. Of course, if Nurse Jackie were simply a story of a messed-up nurse it wouldn't have many viewers. I'm quite sure Edie Falco and Co., the snappy dialogue, the tight directing--the whole package pulls the viewer in. Despite her very large flaws, Jackie is a character that you can care about. I've no idea how her story will run it's course but I do really enjoy the thirty minutes I spend watching it each week. Just a few more episodes of season one left!
Wasn't Even There Coop starts to ask questions about an organ donation Jackie approved without certification of brain-death.
She Has Taste Still angry with Dr. O'Hara, Jackie commiserates with Mo-Mo about the rudeness of doctors.
RING FINGERJackie and Grace begin mother-daughter tap class. Coop threatens to expose Jackie for falsifying a donor’s record. Jackie has forgotten to remove her wedding ring, and needs to get it off before meeting Eddie for a quickie. She can’t get the ring off and asks O’Hara to saw it off. To distract Coop from hassling her about the donor, Jackie baits him into grabbing her breast -- and rather than admonish him, she kisses him.Written By: Liz Brixius Directed By: Paul Feig
I'm just realizing that Steve Buscemi is directing almost every episode of Nurse Jackie, Season 1:
That can't be a bad thing. I think the show is finding it's stride. There's only so much obviously,that they can cram into a half-hour show. Generally, I think dramas are more suited to a 60-minute format and sitcoms 30 minutes but I guess "Jackie" is a dramedy which means 45 minutes might be just right? Regardless, last week's eppy with a former longtime nurse-colleague of Jackie's who was in her last stages of terminal lung cancer was well-played. Judith Ivey was the nurse and she hit just the right pitch. Blythe Danner and Swoozie Kurtz were also nice additions, guest starring as Coop's mothers. Guess which one is his favourite mom? Between the ice queen and funny lady, really no contest. Looking forward to this week.The clips are good, especially the first with Dr. O'Hara having something obviously very wrong (in her personal life) but declining at this point anyway, to confide in Jackie.
"Edie Approaches the Mound" Edie Falco throws the ceremonial opening pitch at the New York Mets' Citi Field. New episodes of Nurse Jackie Mondays 10:30pm ET/PT, on Showtime.
Dr. O'Hara offers to pay for Jackie's daughter's education, but Jackie refuses her help.
Unisex, right?
Coop makes obnoxiously friendly conversation and Eddie decides to give him an expensive bracelet.
Nurse Jackie: Episode 1.07 - STEAK KNIFE
A man is admitted with a steak knife sticking out of his chest. He was on a first date with a woman whose ex-husband stabbed him. Eddie gives Jackie a Cartier bracelet for their one-year anniversary, but she rejects the gift. A baby is left in the nurses’ station and Akalitus takes the infant to her office. O’Hara, who is usually on her game, is beginning to crack – there’s a crisis in her private life. Jackie invites her to spend the night in Queens. Grace begins school at Immaculate Virgin, and her parents are hopeful that private school will ease her anxiety.
Written By: Nancy Fichman & Jennifer Hoppe Directed By: Steve Buscemi
'Afraid to Cry' Dr. O’Hara facetiously encourages Zoey’s overly sympathetic instincts.
Nurse Jackie: episode 1.06 - TINY BUBBLES
Jackie is caught off-guard when a nurse (Judith Ivey) she used to work with, who is dying of lung cancer, asks Jackie to help end her life. Meanwhile, Coop’s mother (Blythe Danner) is admitted with a gall bladder attack. We learn that he is the only son of lesbians…a fact that delights Jackie and O’Hara.
Written By: Rick Cleveland Directed By: Craig Zisk
'People Eat So Late' Dr. O'Hara takes Zoey out to dinner - much to Zoey's excitement and O'Hara's embarrassment. (From Episode 5 "Daffodil")
First off, apologies to any/all Nurse Jackiefans for the lack of video sneak peeks or promos. I was diligently scouring my Showtime YouTube subscription which, in the lead-up to series premiere, Showtime was posting video on. Then the videos disappeared and I thought it strange but I did not think that they were instead posting them exclusively at the Showtime website. Now I know and so do you. :)
Above, you'll find a clip from Episode 5, "Daffodil," and below one each from E4 and E5. In characterizing Nurse Jackie, I've seen the phrase "just a summer series" used in a few reviews. I'm not sure what that really means especially in the context of DVRs and DVDs and the fact that the "highly acclaimed" HBO series True Blood is airing in the summer, too. As much as the television landscape has changed perhaps we should chuck the old-school way of judging a series by when it airs?
Regardless, Nurse Jackie is only a half hour show, which come to think of it is why perhaps that critics seem to need to remind us of its summertime status, so even if it is "not perfect" as my least favourite critic called it 30 minutes is not much time spent (or wasted). I like Edie Falco a lot and as expected, as Jackie she is nothing like the character of Carmela in The Sopranos. Jackie is flawed quite badly in a couple of areas except in her nursing abilities. There, she is a star. Audiences that want to make her "St. Jackie" are not going to be able to put her on that pedestal if they have a problem with her ongoing infidelity to her spouse or to her drug addiction to painkillers.
Still, the show has some solid acting, if not always the most original characters. If I do have a criticism, it's that the characters, nurse Jackie excepted, are mostly caricatures. They are paper-thin. I realize that I've only seen two-hours of the show but that's longer than a movie-of-the-week so these things could've been established.
Instead, I fear that the supporting cast are mostly one-note and that we may tire of that tune. Even so, I'm staying tuned to Nurse Jackie and hoping for a bit more depth.
'Not At All Pleased'
One of Coop's elderly patients is admitted, and Zoey asks to treat her.
SCHOOL NURSE (above)
In episode 104, Jackie and Kevin consider enrolling Grace in private school; the stoic Dr. O'Hara must endure the emotional thanks of a boy whose twin brother she saved; Zoey loses her a patient for the first time. Written By: Christine Zander
Directed By: Steve Buscemi TV-MA (D,L) - Adult Content, Graphic Language
Haaz Slieman (Mohammed "MoMo" De La Cruz) and Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie)
Edie Falco-led drama part of Showtime's "biggest ever premiere night":
Woah! That was even faster than Dexter! Dexter, another Showtime original series got picked up for renewal after just two episodes.Yesterday, after just one airing of "Nurse Jackie," Showtime said that it was part of the "biggest ever premiere night." That was followed by the announcement that "Showtime has ordered a 12-episode second season of the Edie Falco series. Production on season two will begin at the end of the summer. About 1.35 million watched last night's series-premiere installment of Nurse Jackie, along with 1.7 million tuning in for Weeds..." Um. Wowzers! Good for Edie!
Hollywood 411 continues its conversation with NURSE JACKIE star Edie Falco. Edie talks about her first above the title televison role, the allure of playing a character you don't identify with and seeing herself on billboards.
I have an opinion about Falco's hair and it's not to criticize it. Ms. Falco has worn her hair short off-screen at various times in her career. The ' Jackie' character probably has little-to-no time to fuss with her hair ala "Carmela Soprano" and it's a matter of ease and practicality that she keeps it short. If all you can say when asked your opinion of the show is that you "hate her hairdo" you are not intelligent enough to watch the show. This is me being very annoyed by and swearing to never again read the comments in Kristen's E! column. "What do you think of the show?" "Duh, I hate her hair."
P.S .There was a time, long, long ago when only smart people had access to the Internet. <sigh> De-evolution.
EDIT/ Just read today that Edie Falco is a single mom to a one-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy. The star of Weeds, Mary Louise Parker is in a similar situation (single mom to 2 younger children) and has commented that working on a the 30-minute cable show makes it much easier for her to do her other full-time job of mothering. Hopefully, Ms. Falco will share the same experience of having life made a little easier to juggle with the knowledge that she's got steady work for the next 2 years. E! calls Nurse Jackie "a well-written and brilliantly acted new dramedy." (info SourceE!) To get thumbnail descriptions of the main characters and an idea of what to expect from Nurse Jackie in it's inaugural season, read more after the jump.
Eve Best as Dr. Elenor O'Hara, Edie Falco as Nurse Jackie
Edie Falcoas nurse Jackie Peyton Where You Know Her From: Ex- Carmela Soprano . What to Expect: The pilot might lead you to believe that this show is about the battle for Jackie's soul, but in short order you will see that Jackie's soul is exactly where it needs to be (the woman is all heart), it's just some of her behaviors could do with a little tweaking. Quote: Regarding the "hot" career of costar
Peter Facinelli: "I don't have my finger on the pulse of anything, so I wouldn't know that he was hot right now. Outside of this show, I am blissfully ignorant.
Merritt Weaver as trainee nurse Zoey BrakowWhere You Know Her From: She was Matt Albie's assistant on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. What to Expect: Zoey remains adorable and earnest and scared witless for most of the season, but there is one moment when she dares to face down a doctorly dragon (albeit in a very different way than Jackie would) and she wins the fight. Quote: "She wears scrubs all the time because she's a nurse. Pink scrubs, pink bunny scrubs, pink butterfly scrubs. She likes pink—it helps her battle the day."
Peter Facinelli as Dr. Fitch "Coop" Cooper What to Expect: His Tourette's-like sexual-harassment thing gets worse before it gets better. Where You Know Him From: Anybody else remember that show Fastlane? Otherwise you might be familiar with a blonder Facinelli as Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the Twilight movies. Quote: "People keep asking me, they say, 'You know you played a doctor in Twilight and now you're playing Dr. Cooper,' but they're completely 180-degree people. They have the same occupation, but they really are worlds apart. Dr. Cullen is a really calming force and Dr. Cooper is a bundle of nerves on the inside, even though on the outside he tries to appear calm and cool and confident."
Haaz Slieman as nurse Mohammed "MoMo" De La Cruz Where You Know Him From: He started opposite Richard Jenkins (the dad from Six Feet Under) in last year's Oscar-nominated indie standout The VisitorWhat to Expect: Momo brings the funny, partly via his workplace non-fling with fellow nurse Thor and through his always in-flux relationship with boyfriend Ricky
Eve Best as Dr. Elenor O'HaraWhere You Know Her From: This is her first major American TV project; she's otherwise a big-deal British theater actress. What to Expect: Even though she'd never admit it, O'Hara would do anything for best friend Jackie, including risk her career. Also, she reaaaaaally doesn't like New York City street food.
Paul Schulze as hospital pharmacist Eddie Where You Know Him From: He was sacrificial lamb Ryan Chappelle in the early seasons of 24. What to Expect: It turns out that pharmacist Eddie is just like that sleazy drug dealer in high school, but now available in new and improved adult form with Kung Fu Grip and a license to dispense narcotics.
Anne Deveare Smith as hospital administrator Gloria AkalitusWhere You Know Her From: She played National Security Advisor Nancy McNally on The West Wing. What to Expect: Expect to be surprised to see this great actress doing so much slapstick comedy work! Dominic Fumusa as Jackie's husband, Kevin PeytonWhere You Know Him From: He's done a number of TV guest gigs, but he's best known for his theater acting. What to Expect:
In episode 102, Dr. O'Hara and Jackie vents to Jackie about Dr. Cooper's instincts diagnosing a patient with an abdominal aneurysm. New episodes Monday's at10:30 PM ET/PT starting June 8th on Showtime.
I can't help recalling Edie Falco's character Carmela in The Sopranos always offering food whenever anyone is upset, using the same technique of "You'll feel better after you eat something."
In episode 102 Eddie explains antimatter to Jackie. New episodes Monday's at 10:30 PM ET/PT starting June 8th on Showtime. "It's the God particle." lol
SWEET-N-ALL
In episode 102, Jackie and her husband, Kevin, become concerned that their older daughter Grace is suffering from anxiety disorder; hospital administrator Mrs. Akalitus drinks Jackie's Percocet-laced coffee. Written By: Liz Brixius & Linda Wallem
After the jump: Photo stills from this episode and 'Pilot' --BTS Video Edie Falco!
Jackie confronts Dr. Cooper after losing a patient during surgery.
It's not what Nurse Jackie says to "Coop" that resonates as much as how Edie Falco plays her and thus it's the unique-to-Edie style of delivery that really makes this scene pop. "What you need to know is that I know you. I've seen hundreds of jerk-offs like you blow through these doors..."
Jackie sends Zoey home after a long day at the hospital only to realize she's been overworking herself after nearly killing a patient.
We see completely different sides to Nurse Jackie here than in the "Coop" scene. Quite awesome I think that in the space of less than 30 minutes the character of Nurse Jackie is already so rich with potential that the viewer is hooked. She's almost like heroin. In a good way. Student nurse Zoey is also given a chance to show a side of herself that we would not have expected to be there based on her behaviour throughout episode one, but there it is. Another character to expect the unexpected from.
