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]
2 comments:
Entertaining, but total fantasy.
Nurse Jackie would be out on the street in 5 minutes and unemployable.
Nurses do not have that much power with doctors, or in the health care system in general, nor can one function as sharply with all that
drug-taking; just ridiculous. Nurses cannot treat nursing students that way and stay employed.
Pure fiction. Probably should have been titled,
"Nurse Alice" because it is Wonderland with an drug-impaired Alice.
Hi Kim, fair enough. Even though Nurse Jackie had worked at the hospital longer than Doc Cooper, i did think it was stretching it a bit [the tone she took with him, however right she may have been]. i have known some nurses who did have problems with pharmaceuticals, but they were what i guess some would categorize as "functioning" addicts, in so much as they limited their intake to their down time, not while on duty. That said, "real life" nurses have a hell of a job to do, and i salute them all. Thanks Kim for stopping by and commenting. Hope you'll stop by again and often.
PS: love the hippos :-)
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