Episode Title: "Sweet 'n All"

Synopsis: Jackie substitutes a narcotic for artificial sweetener, and administrator Mrs. Akalitus mistakenly dumps it in her coffee; ER mayhem causes student nurse Zoey to second-guess her choice of career; Jackie and her husband, Kevin, become concerned that their older daughter Grace is suffering from anxiety disorder; an unruly patient stirs things up in the hospital.

Discuss.

I just caught the first two episodes, and while I'm not entirely convinced yet I do see early signs of promise. It suffers a bit from excess quirk combined with excess cable edginess. I sense the show trying a bit too hard as it works to establish and distinguish its characters, but the actors are there if and when the writing catches up to them: Edie Falco of course, but also Haaz Sleiman (a happy sight after seeing his work in "The Visitor"), Paul Schulze, and the gravely underappreciated Anna Deveare Smith.

But I do like how Showtime is establishing itself as a home for strong female characters in interesting milieus: Nancy Botwin on "Weeds", Belle from "Secret Diary of a Call Girl," and the title characters of "United States of Tara" and "Nurse Jackie." With characters like these and others on shows like "Big Love" and "Damages," it's no wonder TV attracts more top-shelf actresses than movies these days.

Grade So Far: B

I can watch over and over that scene of the girl finding the ear and running to throwup over and over

The actress who plays student nurse has great comic timing.

Still on the fence with this one. Watched both eppys and Falco is very good here, not shocking. I'm by no means hooked but I'll stick with it for now.

Caught up with the first two episodes and I'm liking the show so far. I'm one of the biggest Edie Falco supporters here, and so its hardly a suprise that I find her fantastic here, but she is. I enjoy watching this woman so much, she's so amazing, and I am thrilled that she is back on tv as soon as she is. I didn't think she would come back to another series so soon but I'm happy that she did to say the least.

I did like the second episode more. Edie is a great comic actress as well. I watched the scene where she confesses to Dr. Cooper that she thinks hes actually a good doctor three or four times...she was hilarious. Also the administrator laking mistaking Jackie's narcotics for sweetener...very funny too.

Also...Father Phil! LOL It took me a while to realize that was him, but how neat is that little reunion. "College" is one of my favorite Soprano episodes that I watch quite frequently.

I liked the second episode as much, if not more, than the pilot. Now I get the tone that the show's trying to go for, and I'd classify this as a comedy series for the Emmys. This role fits Edie Falco like a glove, and I'm finding Jackie to be more and more fascinating as her scenes progress. There's some things about her character that I find offensive (like the adultery), but then she has a knowingness to her work and a world-weary demeanor that endears her to the audience too. I loved Jackie's matter-of-fact pep talk scene with Zoey. The ensemble's excellent, and this was the first time that I noticed how much potential Eve Best could have on this show with the right material. I think that Merritt Wever's character is more earnest that outright annoying, and the show needs that kind of character to offset its darker characters somewhat. They played Anna Deavere Smith's Percocet scenes a bit too broadly though, and one of the big hopes I had for this series was that it would use Smith properly and showcase her talents again. After the ranting guy slapped Jackie, I thought it was great that the big male nurse that she used to scare him off ended up being so gay and asking her if Mo-Mo was still with his boyfriend.

Grade for "Sweet 'n All": A-

See I find the adultery angle fascinating.

Nurse Jackie probably comes from working class family and would be a doctor presently if it weren't for the money factors. Her marriage to the bartender was probably all about attraction physically and now she has kids and is probably very conflicted. Thats her life in Queens

Her relationship with Manhattan and guy she is sleeping with in hospital is all intellectual. I don't think she gets that in her home life with bartender.

I just hope they make Eve Best character more balanced; she is very good actress ( won Tony) and can play much more range.

The adultery angle makes her character more complex, but it's still a vile character trait, particularly when Jackie hides her wedding band when she gets to the hospital. Best's character might be the only one at the hospital to even know that she's married. She's actively lying to her family, co-workers, and to her pharmacist lover. She claims to love him and her husband, so it'll take a bit more than her being an addict or needing a bit here and there from both men to justify that.

Eve Best has won an Olivier, but not a Tony yet (though she was nominated in lead actress in a play for two consecutive years).

I love this show. Edie Falco is perfect as Jackie.

I loved the scene with the cab driver when the lady asks if the cab is free and Jackie is like, "are you f-ing nuts?!" LOL

Loved when the uppity HR lady took some of Jackie's special Sweet n' All packet!

I thought last night's episode was HILARIOUS.

I couldn't help but laugh when Jackie got slapped.

And the following exchange is absolutely hysterical:

WOMAN: Is this cab free?

JACKIE: Are you f*cking nuts?

Just give Edie the Globe, SAG and Emmy now!

Pretentious, self-conscious claptrap. And if I never hear another piece of emo music, it'll be too soon.

IMO.

Someone dared me that after second episode I change my mind and consider "Nurse Jackie" a comedy. So I've just watched second episode and I still think it's a drama (I didn't laugh even a once!). A very similar one to "House M.D.". Falco is good (was she ever bad?) and sadly is going to get every single nomination known to U.S. television. I still hope she won't win because there are other actresses much more deserving than her. I know this sight is full of her fanboys but I'm not afraid of having an honest opinion. As for show itself I'm still going to watch it because it's quite interesting, but I'm not sure yet where the things are going. Oh, and it's better than "Weeds" which are declining nowadays.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Scout,

I definitely love this show! I don't know if I'd classify it as a comedy, but it definitely had some laugh out loud moments. The adultery aspect of it makes me a little uncomfortable, but I'm anxious to see what's in store.

quote:

Originally posted by Scout:
So I've just watched second episode and I still think it's a drama (I didn't laugh even a once!). A very similar one to "House M.D.".

Um, how is it similar to House?

quote:

Originally posted by MissyGal:

quote:

Originally posted by Scout:
So I've just watched second episode and I still think it's a drama (I didn't laugh even a once!). A very similar one to "House M.D.".

Um, how is it similar to House?

The action takes place in a hospital. The centre (very strong) character is a nurse (on House it's a doctor). All other characters work around her. She's a drug addict. And sometimes there are slight parts of humour (just like on House). But it's a DRAMA (just like House).

I wouldn't classify the show as a drama, and if the series wants some strong Emmy play for next year, they'll rightfully go comedy instead of drama.

Some notes after episode three (no spoilers):

- The supporting characters seem to have regressed from one-dimensional to about half a dimension. A stethoscope subplot made me want to strangle all involved.

- Jackie's pain-killer addiction and snarky demeanor make her too much of a House clone, and I'm not yet convinced that her extramarital affair is intended as any more than edgy window dressing for a premium cable character.

- As for the comedy/drama argument, I'll reserve judgment until the show has more time to play out. I think it will definitely compete as a comedy at the Emmys; the increasingly annoying supporting characters are definitely pitched at broad comedy, and though the protagonist is more grounded in reality, her wisecracks and sarcastic wit make me lean so far in the direction of black comedy.

The show hasn't won me over yet, but I remember "United States of Tara" took me about five or six installments before I was fully on-board, so I'll give it more time.

Episode Title: "Chicken Soup"

Synopsis: Jackie and her husband fret over their 10-year-old daughter's nervous behavior; Jackie's pharmacist-lover tells her he may be replaced by a robotic pill-machine dispenser; a dying man refuses medical treatment, claiming that all he needs is his wife's chicken soup.

Guest Star: Eil Wallach

Discuss.

This episode felt a little slight compared to the past two episodes, but the scenes between Edie Falco and Eve Best were wonderful, and I'm liking their friendship more and more when they're on screen together. It was funny to see Zoey trying and failing to get her stethoscope back until the end. Eli Wallach and Lynn Cohen were nice in their scenes together, but I hoped for a stronger resolution for them both. Not enough of Haaz Sleiman, and I wish that they would use Anna Deveare Smith better than what they're doing now. Jackie's daughter with her anxiety problems could be interesting, and with Eddie possibly being replaced, Jackie's going to struggle in getting her pain meds fix satisfied. I hope they explore what led to this affair and what's so lacking with Jackie's marriage that's leading to this double life of sorts, or maybe that there's nothing wrong at all and she's doing it anyway, which is more unnerving.

Grade for "Chicken Soup": B