For those that have seen episode 6, who played the dying cancer patient/former nurse? Cause whoever she is, she's winning an Emmy.

quote:

Originally posted by MissyGal:
For those that have seen episode 6, who played the dying cancer patient/former nurse? Cause whoever she is, she's winning an Emmy.

It's a past Emmy-nominee Judith Ivey. And yes, she was very good.

I third the mention of Judith Ivey.

I've been critical of this show since the beginning, but episode 6, "Tiny Bubbles," is the show's best thus far. However, it would be very, very hard to justify this episode as a comedy submission. It's almost entirely dramatic, and I say, all the better. The show improves whenever it stops trying to force-feed us quirkiness.

Episode Title: "Tiny Bubbles"

Synopsis: A former nurse coworker asks Jackie to help in an assisted suicide; Coop's mother has a gallbladder attack and is admitted to the hospital, where Jackie and Dr. O'Hara uncover a surprising secret about Coop's family.

Guest Stars: Blythe Danner, Judith Ivey, Swoosie Kurtz

Discuss.

Judith Ivey was spectacular in this episode. Major Emmy-bait. Everything about that performance was so real and memorable. Great support from the cast even with Edie Falco and Eve Best kind of taking a sideline from their usual storylines. Loved seeing Blythe Danner again, and I hope they show more of both her and Swoosie Kurtz in the future. Stellar episode.

Grade for "Tiny Bubbles": A

This is the kind of show that "United States of Tara" should have been. NJ is offbeat, quirky, yet very funny and, at times, heart-breaking. This show and Edie Falco are lending contenders for Emmy nominations next year and rightfully so.

I am bothered by some of the comments from people who, like Jackie, but don't like the fact that she's a cheater. So what? I don't see anyone here complaining about Jon Hamm's cheating character on MAd Men, and no one ever got on to Tony Soprano and all his women.

I like that Jackie cheats, does drugs, lies to get things done, etc. It's called character development and I love it. Jackie isn't trying to come off as saintly like all the other doctors and nurses on t.v. past and present. It's refreshing to see such a flawed, three-dimensional, yet highly enjoyable character on t.v.

But the difference between Jackie's infidelity and Tony and Don's is that their respective shows laid the groundwork to justify theirs. I can see why Don does what he does in the era that he's in and I always gathered why Tony did what he did. But the show has muddled why Jackie's infidelity is taking place. It's not character development when it feels more like a plot contrivance. And I say that loving the series and loving what Edie Falco is accomplishing week after week on it. The cheating element I just don't like, and I'll wholly stand firm and justify that opinion until the writing does something to change that.

Episode Title: "Steak Knife"

Synopsis: In a typical slice-of-life day at All Saints Hospital, the staff treats a man with a steak knife stuck in his chest, compliments of the ex-husband of the woman he has taken on a first date; on their one-year anniversary, Eddie gives Jackie an expensive gift that she feels she can't accept; an infant is left at the nurses' station, and Mrs. Akalitus cares for the baby in her office; Dr. O'Hara deals with a personal crisis; Grace begins her stint in a private, Catholic school.

Discuss.

I have to say that I am loving this show every week. I, too, believe that Falco and the show are leading contenders next year.

Falco's Jackie is a complex character and we do not know specifically why she cheats. I have figured that she cheats with Eddie simply because of he gives her Vicodin whenever she needs it. That's not justifiable, but probably the main reason she does it.

Where Jackie's cheating is concerned, sometimes cheating is not about the actual sex. No, that just comes with it. Have you ever noticed how Jackie is all smiles and swoons whenever her pharmacist(I forgot his name now) is around and how she doesn't around her husband? There's a reason that has yet to be revealed, if it even is. But in saying that Don and Tony's cheating can be justified while Jackie's cannot, is once again, sexist.

quote:

Originally posted by flaming tail:
Where Jackie's cheating is concerned, sometimes cheating is not about the actual sex. No, that just comes with it. Have you ever noticed how Jackie is all smiles and swoons whenever her pharmacist(I forgot his name now) is around and how she doesn't around her husband? There's a reason that has yet to be revealed, if it even is. But in saying that Don and Tony's cheating can be justified while Jackie's cannot, is once again, sexist.

Eddie, I'll remember him as Chappy though.

quote:

Originally posted by flaming tail:
Where Jackie's cheating is concerned, sometimes cheating is not about the actual sex. No, that just comes with it. Have you ever noticed how Jackie is all smiles and swoons whenever her pharmacist(I forgot his name now) is around and how she doesn't around her husband? There's a reason that has yet to be revealed, if it even is. But in saying that Don and Tony's cheating can be justified while Jackie's cannot, is once again, sexist.

I never said once that Jackie's cheating can't be justified (while Tony and Don's could). It's that Jackie's infidelity hasn't been explained yet, and that it's a failing in the writing that it hasn't yet.

Just wait it out. I'm sure the answer will come. The season is far from over. Just give it time and enjoy the rich, Emmy-worthy work Edie Falco and the rest of the cast is doing.

What was with the crazy guy?

anybody think Eve Best or Merrit Weaver have a chance for a nomination next year? they've been pretty funny.

I liked this episode, looks like they're slowly revealing why Jackie does what she does.

I thought that the writing was fairly weak in this episode. At first I thought that Dr. O'Hara was going through a medical crisis, but the way they revealed that this had something to do with her stepfather could have been done better, though it was nice to see Eve Best showcased more than usual. Jackie and Eddie's scenes were good, but as I've said already, I think they could handle Jackie's infidelity much better than what they're doing. Anna Deveare Smith deserves much more than an episode where all she does is say "Whose baby is this?" I think it's a bit extreme too to handle Grace's anxiety problem by sending her to private school. That's not dealing with her problems. It's just putting another coat over them in a new environment, and the same issues would surface there too. The crazy guy spouting off the obscenities from the window was the funniest part of the episode, especially for Zoey's reactions to him talking about her "bald spot", and then the end with him with Jackie and O'Hara. "Who's that old whore you're with?" LoL. One of their weaker episodes of the season so far.

Grade for "Steak Knife": B-

I must say that the scene with the catheter hurt like hell just watching it.

Episode Title: "Pupil"

Synopsis: A woman is admitted to the hospital with a head injury and her attractive daughter catches the eye of Dr. Cooper; Zoey suspects that a temp nurse is on drugs, but when Jackie confronts the nurse, he accuses her of the same; Grace has a panic attack while attending classes at her new school; Coop's gossipy ways reveal a secret about Jackie to Eddie.

Guest Star: Andrea Martin

Discuss.

This was best episode of series hands down.

I loved all character development. Nurse Jackie has been busted with her kid now. Cooper and Jackie's scene was dynamic and who else bets Cooper ends up going out with the other daughter? I really was impressed with actor who plays Cooper tonight the whole stuff with elastic band was great.

I love the nurse on drugs. The whole sl with her child is growing nicely and Falco singing at the end was nice touch. Falco is at her best when she gets to make a lot snarky, great one liners and she had plenty tonight.

I think this is Falco's emmy tape so far.

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

Another superb episode by a series I hope gets nominated for Comedy Series next year. Everyone clicked in this episode, especailly Merritt Weaver who continues to impress as Zoey, especially with her scenes with the temp nurse and Jackie, but this episode belongs to Edie Falco. She deserves every award she gets for this show.

"Pupil" was a great episode for her because it showed what a complex character she is: sarcastic, comedic, hiding various parts of her life, and her drug use. Her scenes with Zoey and Cooper were all brillliantly done and her one liners were perfect.

Grade for "Pupil": A

Unless Jackie worked at another hospital prior to All Saints or no one on the current staff worked with her in the past, it'll be hard to explain out how no one knows that Jackie's been pregnant twice, and at least for tax-filing purposes, someone in employment or HR doesn't at least know and let it slip that she's married. But the way that Coop blabbed to Eddie about Jackie's secret was well-played, and I could buy that the truth would come out in that offhanded sort of way. Loved the scenes with the drugged-out nurse and Zoey recognizing that there was a problem with him. Merritt Wever was great in this episode. I knew that switching Grace to another school woudln't solve the underlying problem of her anxiety, and sure enough, this week she has a panic attack in a new environment. Coop's storyline with the daughters of the face scar lady felt like setup and were somewhat uninvolving. Edie Falco juggled all of the demands of this episode beautifully though, and I could see this as a tape possibility beyond some of the plot contrivances. I missed seeing more of Eve Best here, so it was nice getting that one scene of Jackie and O'Hara at the restaurant. Next episode looks like a big one for the two of them as their friendship finally hits a detour.

Grade for "Pupil": B/B+