Escape with Nurse Jackie

This summer, Showtime is airing a new dark comedy called Nurse Jackie staring Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton, a no-nonsense nurse who works at Manhattan's All-Saints Hospital. She is tough, she knows the system, and she works it in everyway she can to help her patients.

Jackie is an immediately likeable character.  She is smart and doesn't take crap from anyone around her. In the second episode, Jackie plays Robin Hood, stealing money from a rapist, who is going to walk free, and giving it to a low-income pregnant woman whose boyfriend has just died.

I especially like Jackie's policy on talkative co-workers:  "I don't like chatty. I don't do chatty. I like quiet. Quiet and mean. Those are my people."  It's fair to say that Jackie is also my people.

The hospital in which the show is set appears to be inside of a church. There is an elaborately decorated hallway with stained-glass windows and warm lighting where Jackie and her friends (Dr. O'Hara, played by Eve Best and Mo-Mo, a fellow nurse, played by Haaz Sleiman) contemplate the moral and ethical implications of their choices - both at work and in their personal lives. The contrast of the warm church setting with the stark and bright hospital side of Jackie's life is an example of what this show has done well in its first five episodes.

Nurse Jackie explores how its titular character negotiates two different worlds.  At work she is the best, she knows what she is doing and heals people, but at home, she is an overworked mother juggling a marriage (and a boyfriend at the hospital), two young kids (one of whom is having problems with a possible anxiety disorder), and a dependence on pain killers. She is the mythical modern woman, able to hold everything together, but sacrificing her own wellness in the process.  She takes painkillers because of a back injury that is never fully explained, and while she does not seem to abuse them, they are a necessary part of her day. She lacks the time and energy to heal her own body and soul, but she spends her days doing just that for those around her.

It is no coincidence that she works at the All-Saints Hospital, and no coincidence that she is put in the dubious position of healer. It is this enormous weight that she carries everyday (the juggling of professional and personal problems, the roles of mother, healer and friend) that drives Nurse Jackie to use drugs to escape her own pain. She isn't an addict, she uses the drugs (carefully portioned) to keep herself afloat and allow her to work her miracles.

Nurse Jackie neatly showcases the forceful talent of Edie Falco (most notable for her complex portrayal of Carmela Soprano, wife of the New Jersey mob boss). Falco has an impressive television and film resume, and I personally loved her as Jack Donaghy's liberal girlfriend C.C. (Celeste Cunningham) in the second season of 30 Rock.  Falco's Nurse Jackie combines a serious and dramatic role with spot-on timing in brilliantly written dark humor.

The show also features a relative newcomer, Merritt Wever (Wever had a role on the short-lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip), as a nursing student named Zoey, for an unwilling Jackie. Wever's portrayal of Zoey is endearingly raw and geeky...the poor girl bakes muffins in her first week in a sad attempt to make friends with the jaded and invariably cooler nursing staff.

Also impressive is Anna Deavere Smith (best known for her work as Nancy McNally on The West Wing), playing Jackie's boss, Mrs. Akalitus. Mrs. Akalitus was once a nurse like Jackie (rule-breaking, system-screwing), but she has been promoted to an administrative position.  Mrs. Akalitus represents Jackie's possible future, whereas Zoey gives us a look at her (naïve) past.

The series is still new, but it shows definite promise. The spate of actors involved, along with the quality of the dialogue and quirky humor, give me hope for its continued success.  Of course, it will have to make it through the summer season and into the fall schedule (certainly a tall order).  Hopefully Falco's name, the reputation of the cast, and some decent advertising will help the show through the difficult first year.

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