Nurse Jackie – Season One (2009/Lionsgate Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C+ Episodes: B-
I have
been interested in viewing Nurse Jackie
– Season One for quite a while and it in no way disappoints. It is a fresh series about a nurse named
Jackie Peyton (Eddie Falco) who plays by her own rules to get what needs to be
done accomplished. Before you going
thinking this is a female HOUSE;
quite the contrary. Whereas Dr. Gregory
has his issues on his own series, he is quite cool, collected and
condescending; Jackie on the other hand puts up a tough front on the surface,
but we as viewers see her life falling apart one pill at a time.
Once
again like Dr. House, Nurse Jackie is addicted to pain pills. Supposedly she hurt her back and is in constant
pain, but we never truly get the story behind that and instead it seems she is
just unwilling to cope with her problems.
On top of the pain pills she is a workaholic, never getting home to see
her family; which shapes up to seem like she is avoiding them anyhow. She has hid her family life from her
co-workers (removing her wedding ring each day) except for her one trusted
confidant Dr. Elenor O’Hara (Eve Best).
We presume her secretive demeanor is because she is trying to keep her
personal life separate from work; but as she has been sleeping with the
hospital’s pharmacist for over a year to get pain pills, it is hard to say what
her true intentions are. The series is
less a hospital drama and more an exploration into the psyche of a woman whose life
is slowly crumbling around her. The
series is interesting to say the least with brilliant performances and an
engaging setting.
My
problem with the series is that I never felt too invested in the
characters. I flew through the 12
half-hour episodes with ease; never truly caring what was going to happen
next. A part of me was curious, but that
slight curiosity was where my interest stopped.
I did not hate the character of Nurse Jackie for her wrong doings, nor
did I sympathize with her; overall it was a wash. The series was well directed and acted as
previously mentioned; but nothing kept me on the edge of my seat to stick
around for more. I may or may not
partake in future seasons, as I like Eddie Falco, but the series has to
definitely step it up.
The
technical features are nicely presented, but nothing that knocked me off my
gurney. The picture is presented in a
1080p High Definition, but does little to showcase itself on Blu-ray. Since this is a brand new series, I would
think it would have been stunning, but instead is rather blasé. The colors, contrast, clarity and all in
between is merely adequate; so if they were going for a sterile, unthrilling
hospital vibe; they got it. The sound is
a lossless 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio that is just as ‘blah’ as the image
quality. There are very few moments that
the full speaker range is utilized and instead mostly everything comes from the
front. With that said the dialogue is
crisp, clean and clear but with only the occasional music burst using the rest
of the speakers, I was unimpressed.
The
extras are few and include Cast and Crew Commentaries; “All About Eddie”
Featurette; “Unsung Heroes” Featurette; “Prepping Nurse Jackie” Featurette;
Nurse Stories. I found the commentaries
uninteresting as Eddie Falco and the production crew give little noteworthy
insight into the Four featured episodes; also the featurettes did little to
thrill me as they were short and seemed to blend together into one useless
mess. I did enjoy Nurse Stories as real
life nurses recounted some of their favorite past patient interactions; the
kind of stuff I live for.
I may or
may not watch Season Two, other
Showtime series have picked up pace in the past; so only time will tell if Nurse Jackie has what it takes. At the moment Eddie Falco is a far cry from
the brilliance she portrayed on The
Sopranos; I know she has it in her, I am just waiting to see it.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
