Welcome to In A Lather. i'm sookie, and here you'll find my takes on celebs, tv shows and movies that are favs of mine, that i hope are or soon will be favs of yours too. Also events in the entertainment and fashion industry.Thanks for stopping by, and please feel free to comment.
Being a nurse is hard. Never mind all that science and medical stuff they have to remember. They have to deal with matters of life and death, suffering, disease, hazardous medical waste, impossible hours, and sometimes, doctors who aren't so appreciative of the work they do. Showtime has a great new show starring Edie Falco in the title role, Nurse Jackie. i love Edie Falco. She is one of my favorite actresses. Jackie Peyton fits Ms.Falco like a latex glove. The supporting cast and characters are an equally good fit. my favorite scene is when she tells a student nurse that she "doesn't like chatty people---she likes quiet, quiet and mean, those are her people".
i've known a few nurses and the writers and director of Nurse Jackie have done a superb job. i do have a bone to pick with the writers about the response a bike messenger has [he's not one of her patients] when Jackie showing genuine concern tells him to be careful. i've known bike messengers too, and that character's response was not only mean, it was on the whole inaccurate. But i'm willing to give them a pass on that. Because otherwise Nurse Jackie is real, raw, true. Jackie doesn't suffer fools gladly, has what some may say is a sick sense of humor [for my taste it couldn't be more normal], and she is compassionate despite her tough exterior. She is also human, and being human means she also has flaws. Jackie has more than a medicinal acquaintance with prescription drugs, is a recovering alcoholic, and is cheating on her husband. She also has been known to forge organ donor cards, pilfer doctor's pens, and commit other forms of petite larceny. That last one was kind of a Robin Hood deal, so i hope she won't be judged for that. i don't want to do a spoiler, but i will reveal that part of the Robin Hood action happens after Jackie does something with a severed body part that is totally justified, and avenges others who have been wronged. In another scene, a patient's fate is tough to take for anyone who is a fan of the late Natasha Richardson. But i'm glad they didn't sugarcoat the outcome. Nurse Jackie is in your face---and that's just fine.
Please be sure to check out the Nurse Jackie links at In A Lather. Showtime has fun giveaways, video, and they're offering free screenings in 10 cities of Episode 1 and 2 of Nurse Jackie on Wednesday June 3, 2009 for those who want to see the show before it airs nationally on June 8.
Nurse Jackie Series Premier Season 1 Episode 1 airs on Showtime Monday June 8, 2009 at 10:30pm [please check your local listings]
Ryan Murphy is a genius. Not the first time i've said that, and i'm pretty sure i'll be saying it again. Why? Because the Nip/Tuck creator's latest project, Glee, is not only terrific, it completely blows away any preconceived negative notion one might have when they think about a show about a high school glee club. It's no secret i am an admirer of Mr. Murphy, but i must confess that even i, months ago, when i first heard of this show had some concerns. The first fear i had was 'oh no! what if it turns out to be another cop rock'. Shame on me! For starters the cast do not burst into song and dance for no reason. Also, Glee is not as i'd said moments ago "a show about a high school glee club". Yes, the central characters are high school students, their teachers, and principal. But Glee is about more. It's about knowing who you are and if you haven't quite figured that out, not letting someone else decide. Glee is about seeking, striving for and following your dream. It's about knowing your place in this world, and if you don't like where that place is, doing what it takes to get where you need to be. That sounds kind of heavy and preachy, but it's really not. Glee has just the right mix of darkness and humor---Mr. Murphy's stock m.o.
All the kids have good voices, in particular Lea Michele as Rachel Berry---this girl hits notes that most mortals can only fantasize. And of course i love Jessalyn Gilsig as Terri Schuester, the wife of Matthew Morrison's Will Schuester. Will teaches Spanish and volunteers to shepherd McKinley High's glee club when the previous instructor loses his teaching position. Iqbal Theba as principal Figgins is delightfully manipulative. My hands down all time the contest ends here favorite character is Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester, gym teacher and coach of the cheer leading squad, The Cheerios. Lynch infuses Sylvester with a wit that's like an extra dry dirty martini---strong, potent, and completely intoxicating.
i was lucky and got tix to a promotional preview screening of Glee before it's premier airs Tuesday May 19th on Fox. Anyone who knows me knows i'm a homebody. Once i'm settled in, it takes a lot of persuasion to get me out of the house. Glee was worth the trip. It's production values are top notch and Murphy's take on the social microcosm that is high school [you'll pardon the expression] hits all the right notes.
Glee premiers right after American Idol, Tuesday May 19, 2009 at 9:00pm on Fox [please check your local listings].
Eureka! It's back. No, i'm not talking about the vacuum cleaner---i mean the show Eureka on the SciFi channnel. The network had a marathon of eps on Mother's Day.
Back in the '40's some of the greatest scientific minds collaborated to develop the first atomic bomb. The fictional town of Eureka is one result of the fallout. To ensure a secure environment for future generations of geniuses "a top-secret residential development in a remote area of the Pacific Northwest" was commissioned. And so the town of Eureka was born.
The town's residents are a bunch of quirky eggheads and a smarter than you might think sheriff. Aside from protecting the peace, sheriff Jack Carter is a divorced dad, raising a teen daughter, Zoe. Having car trouble, they stumble upon the town of Eureka. They inadvertently see classified activities, so the solution is to become Eureka's newest citizens. As it happens, Zoe is quite gifted mentally, so for her, the relocation is a pretty smooth one. For her dad, not so much. While he does find a new best friend, engineer Henry [yea Joe Morton], Jack is 1/3 of a romantic triangle, with 2 smarties, Allison Blake, and her ex Nathan Stark. They both work for the DOD's think and research tank, Global Dynamics.
Jack is not only sorting out his love life, he's no longer sheriff. A general fired him. And technically Allison and Nathan are not exes. They're only estranged, because Nathan would not divorce Allison. When we last left our trio, Nathan had proposed again to Allison. After much consideration, she did say yes. Even so, she's having second thoughts, because she still likes Jack. Oh yes, i forgot to mention there's a baby on the way too.
But, an unexpected pregnancy is a minor hiccup compared to what the scientists are usually dealing with: a prototype military drone that goes rogue and threatens to wipe out the townsfolk. A second sun that has the potential of going supernova. And a doomsday weapon from the '40's that's leaking toxic matter that can kill those who come in contact with it within 21 days.
Now to those who've not seen Eureka, those plot lines might seem kind of heavy, but the show is lighthearted, funny, and, well, smart. There's even a smart house. That's where sheriff Carter and Zoe live. The house is a Self Actuated Residential Automated Habitat, S.A.R.A.H for short. S.A.R.A.H is self cleaning and is also a companion to Zoe and her dad---in one ep S.A.R.A.H develops a crush on sheriff Carter.
This show makes it easy to understand why a human could become an inanimate object's object of desire. Everyone on this show is hot. i am beginning to wonder if it's an unwritten rule of science fiction that physical appeal is a given. Even the nebbishy characters Fargo and Vincent have a certain cuteness about them.
Eureka returns for part 2 of season 3 on the SciFiChannel Friday July 10, 2009. For scheduled times, please check your local listings.
i'm a gemini from wash.dc, married 35 yrs to an aries from san antonio texas.
i'm sookie, he's tex, together we are sookietex.
Many people think i adopted the name sookie after HBO's TrueBlood heroine Sookie Stackhouse.
Nope. It's not my birth name, but my older brother gave me the nickname sookie when i was a baby.
Best and might i add most prescient gift bro' ever gave me ;D
hubby and i live in nyc and even though we like it here, we dream of the day when we'll pull up stakes and move to austin, or maybe some other town in the lone star state.
a bit more about me and In A Lather public domain image credits
library of congress prints and photographs online: secession bubbleknow nothing soap
i am a child of the south, a "boomer", born in 1958, a child of the television age. This was a time when "African-Americans" referred to themselves as "colored". In fact on my birth certificate under racial description, "colored" is the word that is used. Today i still affectionately refer to myself as a "colored child". my paternal great grandpa was Blackfoot Nation, and my maternal great grandmother was also Native American, [but i have not found out which Nation]---i affectionately refer to that part of my heritage as 'injun'---hey i'm never going to be described as politically correct and have no desire to be.
my mother was a woman who was far ahead of her time in terms of "feminist" survival. Long before it was fashionable, she was a single parent. She did have support, and not just financial from my pop, but they did not live together as husband & wife. In fact they never did take that walk down the aisle...but that's another story. Mom was a woman who worked outside the home long before most women of her generation would have even thought of making that choice, much less do it. She fully appreciated the value, neccessity, and strength of a loving extended family. She did not need anyone to tell her it "takes a village".
When mother was at work, i, the youngest of 4 (2 sisters 1 brother & me), was alternately cared for by mother's eldest sister, "auntie" as we used to call her, and our nextdoor neighbors. They were like family to us. We called the elder woman 'grandma' (to this day I do not know her given name), and her daughter Miss Elsie, or more usually 'aunt'Elsie. They were very religious folk. God fearing, bible reading, honest, and i and my family loved them dearly. 'Aunt'Elsie always made sure my days were full of activity, but one of my favorite times of the day was when she would look at her watch and say "oh my, we'd better hurry, it's almost time for my stories". By her 'stories'
she of course meant the day's soap operas. For Elsie and her mother, watching the soaps was sort of a guilty pleasure, but at the same time they made it seem sacred. It was a ritualistic activity. Her favorites were The Edge of NightThe Secret Storm and General Hospital
Paul Harvey would say i am giving you "the rest of the story" so that you may better understand its importance, and how it relates to the spirit of this blog. Which is to say we all have drama of some level going on in our lives, so sometimes the plotlines of our favorite shows may seem either tame, empathetic, or absurd, depending on where life may take you on any given day.
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