74 replies to this topic

[TWoP Mars]

From Sho.com:

In episode 101, the series premiere, veteran ER nurse Jackie Peyton bends the rules to create something good from a patient's senseless death, while concealing her addiction to a pain killer she gets from her secret boyfriend, hospital pharmacist Eddie.

Written By: Liz Brixius & Linda Wallem
Directed By: Allen Coulter

[themollylama]

Its a female House - thus the pesky emotions. I get it. Yawn.

Edited by themollylama, Jun 8, 2009 @ 10:04 PM.

[Last Time Lord]

This was my second time watching this episode (saw it OnDemand).

I liked it better this time around.

[snarkella]

Really? I get the House comparison but I really liked the pilot. In fact, I thought it was great.

Her husband doesn't seem like a good physical match to me. Am I alone or did he look a lot younger than Jackie?

[rhys7]

The fellow who is playing her hospital pharmacist boyfriend is the same one who played Carmella's priest in The Sopranos, Paul Schulze.

I want her haircut!
Yes, her husband looked at least 10 yrs younger. I had no idea she was married.

ETA: correct info

Edited by rhys7, Jun 8, 2009 @ 10:21 PM.

[fadooski]

A hint of Madmen thrown in at the end too. That reveal made Jackie's relationship with the pharmacist a little icky, i.e. she's not even into him, she's just screwing him in exchange for the painkillers.

Its female a House - thus the pesky emotions

I don't think that's the only difference between her and House. She's not nearly as much of an asshole/misanthrope,yes, but the more important distinction is that she's religious. She seems to struggle with being good vs. doing good. For some reason she doesn't seem to think they're one and the same. I liked the references to St. Augustine and Eddie's haircut!

Yes, her husband looked at least 10 yrs younger

I was wondering about that! Could it be that she's simply aged more than he has? If Jackie is supposed to be a little younger than Eddie Falco(who's 45) then we could say that her life hasn't been easy. Did she make a reference to alchoholism? Years of drinking, smoking and stress might have aged her. Then again, some men do occasionally marry slightly older women. It might not be significant.

Edited by fadooski, Jun 8, 2009 @ 10:20 PM.

[valny]

Yes, her husband looked at least 10 yrs younger. I had no idea she was married.

Me either! I remember reading she had kids, but I must have forgotten about the husband part.

I liked it but didn't love it. Maybe because I never watch hospital shows of any kind. Too depressing for me. And I hate hospitals.
I think so far, I liked Zoe most of all. She seems like she's going to be a fun character. The ear thing was good. All the coming attractions they showed at the end looked pretty decent.

The female hospital employee(administrator perhaps?) who was talking to Jackie and asked about the double shift, is that the same actress who was in Rachel Getting Married? Kind of looked like her but I'm not sure.

Is the fellow who is playing her hospital doc boyfriend the same one who played Carmella's priest in The Sopranos?

I've seen him in a lot of things but damn if I can remember any of them right now.

Edited by valny, Jun 8, 2009 @ 10:15 PM.

[BlakeSpeare]

Yeah, that was the priest from the Sopranos, all right...so creepy to watch him and Carmela fuck.

Overall, I thought it was incredibly entertaining, but it just seems so unrealistic. How the hell could she ever get away with flushing the ear? Even if it never came back up, what's she going to say, that she lost it? That she never saw it? There would be a huge lawsuit, and an ensuing investigation.

I can buy forging an organ donor card, even though that's probably much, much harder than they made it look...but the ear thing was just too much.

[redbirds]

+ 1 for theme song . Threw a lot in there for the first episode.

[noregrets]

I have to give Edie Falco credit: I didn't see Carmela Soprano playing a nurse. I saw Nurse Jackie.

[frostedglass]

I watched the pilot onDemand last night while half asleep and I was convinced it sucked. But it didn't...I was just half asleep and missed a lot. I watched the pilot again tonight, while wake and really liked it. I also watched the 2nd episode, because it was available through onDemand.

I like her nursing student, is it Zoey? She has some funny and endearing moments in the pilot and a few more in the 2nd episode.

[divinemadness]

Normally hate any breed of medical drama, really only watched because it came on after Weeds but wow, glad I did.

I'm sure people are going to compare to House but I think that's bull. Because I've watched one episode of House and thought it was total overrated garbage. This one episode was intriguing enough to pull me in right away and make me care about this character. I'll be watching unless the medical stuff gets too icky or depressing for me, I tend to struggle with that. I'm hoping the Robin Hood-like theme will be enough to balance that.

[Aimoo]

I think there's potential here, but did anyone else call bullshit when she was the one breaking the news to the bike messenger's family? I don't think nurses get to do that.

[Miss Perception]

More of this. Fav line of the ep:

Cautionary tale? Enjoy. [pause] Holl-LUH!

Edited by Miss Perception, Jun 9, 2009 @ 12:51 AM.

[maatkare]

did anyone else call bullshit when she was the one breaking the news to the bike messenger's family? I don't think nurses get to do that.

Yes, but if she hadn't met the family, she wouldn't have had the sympathetic contrast when she met the girlfriend, which led to giving her 1-ear's money, etc. etc. I liked it a lot! Looking forward to more. It feels much lighter in tone somehow than Weeds, which is really sad. Edie Falco is fantastic.

The female hospital employee(administrator perhaps?) who was talking to Jackie and asked about the double shift, is that the same actress who was in Rachel Getting Married? Kind of looked like her but I'm not sure.

Anna Deavere Smith, yes, who was also on West Wing for a while, and who is a pretty accomplished playwright in her own right.

[Catgirl14]

I really liked it and generally I don't like many medical dramas. The only other one I like is House, so I'm psyched. I really like the cast, and from the scenes from the upcoming season, its could be really good.

Of course, the blood and gore quotient is going to be a problem. Its exactly why I told my GC in high school that I didn't want to be a nurse. Last thing sick people need is someone passing out from the blood or barfing. Thank goodness I stuck with sound design.

[Benedictine]

I really enjoyed this first episode. The use of Catholicism is very interesting to me, from the All Saints Hospital and Mother Teresa's nuns roaming the halls (they were the ones in the blue trim) to Jackie's use of St. Augustine's prayer, "Lord make me good, but not yet" and her recollection of her high school teacher/nun (smart f----- nun!). It will be very intriguing how they will continue with this, so I am completely hooked on this show!

[BC1795]

It had me at the theme to "Valley of the Dolls"

[MariaArg]

I can see how you could compare this show to House, but I find the differences stand out more than the similarities.

I didn't love the first episode, but I liked it and I'm looking forward to next week. Plus, Jacob's recapping and that's always a plus.

[EmbiggenedSoul]

I feel that the show has great potential, and I loved Edie Falco in the role. My criticisms of the pilot are largely the same as they are with all pilots - too much exposition, too much crammed in to show all the facets of the character, a bit of a shoehorning in of "shocking" material, etc.

And I can't believe I missed out on the meta-deliciousness of Carmella finally fucking the priest! Duh! I knew he looked familiar but couldn't remember him in that role, haha.

Also, Benedictine, I agree on the use of Catholicism adding an interesting flavor to the show.

[peachteach]

I didn't think I would like this show (I thought it would be like House and I don't particularly enjoy that), but I really enjoyed it! I hope they can keep this a character drama, fully fleshing out the conflict and moral ambiguity.

I even put "'Quiet and mean. Those are my people." up as my facebook status, because it describes me and my friends so awesomely!

[bchenowith]

Finally a show that is witty and with intelligent humor. I hope that showtime sticks with this one. I was suprised to find her married at the end. I loved Eve Best as her doctor friend. I loved the line about the wicked witch looking for her apparently you dropped a house on her sister.

Edited by bchenowith, Jun 9, 2009 @ 12:30 PM.

[jgriffin7]

One and done. Won't watch it again.
Yawn.

[isiscloud]

I think there's potential here, but did anyone else call bullshit when she was the one breaking the news to the bike messenger's family? I don't think nurses get to do that.

It was also because the doctor was too much of a dick to do it.

Loved when she was next to the bike messenger and she said, "be careful," and he said, "fuck off." Then she stabbed his tire when he wasn't looking.

The boyfriend did look familiar. I like that it's the priest from The Sopranos. Nice irony there.

I loved Eve Best as her doctor friend.

I liked her explaining the difference between doctor and nurse.

I'll keep it on. Not a huge House in first run fan, so many of them are the same but I hope this show isn't too dour.

[Catgirl14]

I don't know why people keep saying its like House. Maybe the drug abuse but to me they are two different shows, that I happen to like. I love Hugh Laurie and he makes the show for me. I really love Edie Falco and Peter Facinelli so I knew I would be watching Nurse Jackie. I know a lot of people love Grey's Anatomy but I've never liked it all.

I did love that part with the bike messanger.

[badabing]

I liked this episode a lot, but I thought that there was a bit too much drama/glaring ethical violations for one day at a hospital. Forging an organ donor's sig and flushing an ear (albeit the ear of a despicable person) during one day of work? I also would have found it more believable had she shown any qualm or hesitation about doing either.
That said, Edie Falco is amazing! I never watched the Sopranos so this was my first exposure to her work, but I loved her portrayal of Jackie.
Dr. O'Hara is also awesome. Coop is a dick.

[frostedglass]

I like Jackie's lack of qualms or hesitation in the ear flushing and organ forging. I think the religious overtones were her confessionals of some sort. Plus the care and attention given to her drug use leads me to believe that her long-time injury and prolonged drug use will be explored as reasons for her lack of remorse.

In episode 2 Jackie crushes percocet, purposely to heighten its impact. Pours the powder in a sugar substitute packets and super glues the packets back together. Then she puts them in her coffee right at work at intervals. Her admin/boss gets a hold of one and it's kind of funny.

[kathy999]

I loved the pilot, of course I love anything Edie Falco does. I felt terrible that the idiot doctor didn't listen to Jackie and the patient died. That stuff happens all the time, unfortunately.
I was shocked when I found out she was married! Didn't expect that at all.
I loved how Edie genuinely called people honey and really cared about the patients.
I'm looking forward to the season.

[isiscloud]

Yeah, the husband was a surprise. And the dreariness of the outside of the house didn't match the cozyness of the inside.

I was wondering though if it hurts so much to be on her feet so much, why not a desk job or working in a doctor's office? Pay?

[Mia Nina]

I liked this a lot. I was surprised about the husband, but her kids looked adorable.

Not going to lie, I'm suffering a little fatigue from addiction storylines, but I wasn't so put off to keep me from watching. The patient who died being named Peter (Peter Michael, if I remember correctly) was also an obvious religious link. I'm wondering if the Catholicism here is just for Pilot purposes or if Jackie's struggle to "be a saint, but not yet" will be a series long theme, I wouldn't mind seeing it play out.