Review - Nurse Jackie

Via the miracle of iTunes I got a chance to watch the first episode of Nurse Jackie a week early. I've got to admit that I'm impressed. It was a very strong debut.

Nurse Jackie stars Edie Falco as the title character, a NYC ER nurse. On paper Jackie seems like the standard New York archetype; headstrong, vocal and world-weary. But the she's infused with enough nuance and faults to transcend stereotype and become an intriguing dichotomy...




For instance Nurse Jackie abuses drugs. But she doesn't do them to get high, she does them to get though. She's got a bad back and a demanding job, which necessitates a bit of help.

Jackie also strives to do what's right. In the pilot she not only provides a silver lining for a needless death, but also becomes an instrument of justice for an unpunished crime. But in the same episode she also ignores a choking woman because she wants to enjoy her meal break. Falco goes from being helpful to spiteful in the blink of an eye. See what I mean about a dichotomy?

Nurse Jackie's supporting cast just barely avoids cliché. There's the cocky resident, the gay nurse, the demanding boss and the naïve newbie. The performances are strong enough to overlook the stock characters.

The show has a very stylized look, which works in it's favor; it doesn't look like anything else one the air. It doesn't look, feel or move like what we've come to expect from a hospital show. The humor is dark, but still funny and the injuries aren't over the top like they are on some medical shows. In fact the injuries play the back to the character interactions.

The writers crib wisely from the Mad Men playbook by offering up a "last scene reveal" designed to cause the viewer to reevaluate how they view the lead.

All in all, it's a very strong pilot. The characters were fleshed out enough for be engaging and hook me. Jackie is fascinating as a character and I genuinely want to get more. I really do want to see how high she'll fly and how low she'll go. Nurse Jackie has all of the makings of another Showtime hit.