I guess even J.J. Abrams needs to lighten things up now and then. With shows like Fringe, Lost and Alias, and movies like Star Trek, Cloverfield and Mission Impossible III on his impressive resume, maybe he needs a break from the sci-fi / action / drama genres.
Now he's exec producing an untitled, half-hour comedy for Fox. It's written by Mike Markowitz (who's worked on Becker and It's All Relative), but other than that, details are few and far between. The tagline is that it'll be "a comedic medical show." Hmmm, so maybe like Scrubs?
NurseJackie-related stories
J.J. Abrams producing comedy for Fox
Continue reading J.J. Abrams producing comedy for Fox
Nurse Jackie: Health Care and Cinema (season finale)
(S01E12) "I've never been a fan of movies where idiots talk to people in comas." - Mrs. Akalitus to a comatose Mr. NuttermanWell, things didn't go as wrong as I thought they might have, with the whole Eddie hanging with Kevin at the bar business. Yeah, it wasn't good, and Jackie downing three vials of morphine was just ... not sure what to think of it. Was she trying to kill herself, or just numb the pain from everything?
My favorite part of the episode was Zoey and her sweetness at wearing the gray scrubs and being all mopey after getting sacked from dealing with patients. I was glad when she put on the bunny scrubs again, but things don't look good for movie critic guy losing his memory. "Oh my god, I broke him," she says.
Continue reading Nurse Jackie: Health Care and Cinema (season finale)
Nurse Jackie: Pill-O-Matix
(S01E11) Nothing really jumped out at me about this episode ... well, ok, the spider scene. And the end scene. That opened up a big can o' worms for Jackie that I'm sure will have big consequences for her one way or another. And I appreciated seeing Victor Garber as the movie critic patient, and the mess Zoey made while caring for him. But that's how Nurse Jackie operates. There usually aren't any major "wow" scenes; the episodes just sort of float along, one playing off of the other in more of a real-life fashion.
In case anyone hasn't seen the episode yet, I'll get into more details after the jump.
Continue reading Nurse Jackie: Pill-O-Matix
Nurse Jackie: Ring Finger
(S01E10) "Just for the record, I'm officially questioning your judgment." - O'Hara to JackieThis episode of Nurse Jackie drove me a little nuts. All through my notes are little messages to Jackie, like I think she's going to see my notes and take my advice -- before she ruins her life even further.
I mean, I've commented before how difficult it must be keeping her personal life completely separate from her work life, and this episode was like a time bomb waiting to go off.
You just know that sooner or later, she's going to be so fried that she'll forget who knows what, and say something to reveal her secret -- just like she almost did to Mo-Mo when she started talking about the mother-daughter tap dance class.
Continue reading Nurse Jackie: Ring Finger
Will James Gandolfini ever be anything but Tony Soprano?
I watched the feature film In the Loop the other day, a documentary-style comedy that looks behind the scenes of the British and U.S. governments. James Gandolfini plays Lt. Gen. George Miller, and all I could think was, "Hey, there's Tony Soprano in a U.S. military uniform." I think his character may have even said something along the lines of, "I'll break your kneecaps if..." I know James Gandolfini has done a lot of projects since The Sopranos, but Tony Soprano is so cemented in my mind, I wonder if I'll ever see him as anything else. I have the same reaction when I see Steve Schirripa playing Leo on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. "Hey, that's Bobby Baccalieri!"
Continue reading Will James Gandolfini ever be anything but Tony Soprano?
Nurse Jackie: Nosebleed
(S01E09) "She's just a nurse." - Dr. Cooper to Melissa, talking about Jackie
Sometimes I think Dr. Cooper is starting to be a human being, and then he turns around and says something really stupid. Females are naturally more empathetic than guys, so I would think that having two moms would have made him a little bit more sensitive. Guess not.
He really was a jerk in this episode, and I imagine Jackie having to make the decision about the organ donor (the PETA card!) will come back to haunt her. But what's a nurse to do? Get another doctor maybe? I don't care if he DID stay awake for 53 hours once.
Continue reading Nurse Jackie: Nosebleed
Nurse Jackie: Pupil
(S01E08) "Honey, I know I'm pretty, but you just wasted 30 seconds staring at me." - Mo-Mo, to a male nurse who needs to get back to work
Well, there are certain things about Nurse Jackie that you just know are going to come into play. Like the assisted suicide story we had recently, and tonight's chilling opening scene where Jackie's daughter accidentally gets Jackie's drugs mixed into the sprinkles on her doughnut (loved that slo-mo camera work, though).
Sooner or later, Jackie's not going to catch stuff like that, and it'll be disastrous. I know we've talked about this before, but you have to wonder how she can function so well doing all those drugs. And what would happen if she suddenly didn't have access to them.
Continue reading Nurse Jackie: Pupil
Nurse Jackie: Steak Knife
(S01E07) "I am God, and you are an asshole." - God
Oh, the times I've wanted to say that in my life. I'm sort of living vicariously through Nurse Jackie these days. She does stuff that everyone else wants to do, but doesn't because they don't have the guts. Like:
- Yanking the catheter out of the repeat sex-offender, then telling Mo-Mo, "He's a fucking pedophile!"
- Giving the Cartier bracelet that Eddie gave her to the morphine-drugged, steak-knife guy to give to the girl who's really just looking for a nice guy.
- Telling God to get back on his meds.
Yes, I want to be Nurse Jackie when I grow up.
Continue reading Nurse Jackie: Steak Knife
What's On Tonight: The Closer, Torchwood, Dating In The Dark
TCM has moon and space movies all night.- At 8, ABC has a new episode of The Bachelorette, followed by the series premiere of Dating in the Dark.
- NBC has a new Great American Road Trip at 8.
- ABC Family has a new Secret Life of the American Teenager at 8, then a new Make It or Break It.
- At 9, PBS has a new History Detectives.
- USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
- TNT has a new episode of The Closer at 9, followed by a new Raising the Bar.
- BBC America has the premiere of Torchwood: Children of Earth at 9.
- ESPN2 has the World Cup Softball final at 9.
- At 10, NBC has the series premiere of The Wanted.
- Showtime has a new Weeds at 10, then a new Nurse Jackie.
- TLC has a new Cake Boss at 10.
- VH-1 has the series premiere of The T.O. Show at 10.
- Travel Channel has a new Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations at 10.
- Also at 10: Bravo has a new Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: The Closer, Torchwood, Dating In The Dark
Poor Showtime: It looks like vampires are putting HBO back on top
For a while there, it looked like Showtime, with buzzworthy shows like Californication, Weeds and Dexter, was dominating headlines and getting all kinds of praise. In response, their ratings were rising. Meanwhile, HBO had struggled to replace The Sopranos, Deadwood and Rome when all three left the airwaves in 2006-07. New "big" shows like John From Cincinnati and Tell Me You Love Me failed to make waves with audiences.Really, it was Dexter that started swinging the ship toward Showtime, and in so doing, brought attention to the rest of their lineup. With HBO floundering, Showtime saw an opportunity and took full advantage, offering bold new entries. Apparently there's an audience that looks almost exclusively for premium cable original programming. And everything was going so well ... until HBO managed to snag a piece of America's current fixation on vampires.
Continue reading Poor Showtime: It looks like vampires are putting HBO back on top
Nurse Jackie: Tiny Bubbles
(S01E06) "Nonsense. Nothing is better if I leave." - O'Hara to Nurse Jackie
Come on, people! I'm not getting much comment love on my Nurse Jackie reviews. Is no one watching the show? Because I'm sort of loving it at this point.
Well, I guess it had to happen. It was a sure bet that we'd get a storyline where Jackie plays Dr. Kevorkian and helps a patient end their life. I have to think there's no way that crusty old Nurse Korsenowski would have done well in palliative care. Why not let her go out in dignity?
Jackie is all about breaking the rules for the good of the patient, but was this really for the good of the patient? I think it was, and the "do no harm" thing would have been if she hadn't helped her die. It would have done more harm for her to go into hospice. Thoughts, please!
Continue reading Nurse Jackie: Tiny Bubbles
Nurse Jackie: Daffodil
(S01E05) "It wasn't even my money. I got it off a dead guy in the morgue." - Nurse Jackie to Zoey, after giving a surly woman money to buy a pregnancy test at a drug store
Lots of interesting stuff in this episode, the above quote being one of them. Jackie told Zoey she was kidding, but I'm pretty sure she wasn't. Giving a woman money to buy a pregnancy test at a drug store -- rather than clog up the emergency room because she doesn't have enough money or is too cheap to buy a pregnancy test herself -- is classic Jackie. Getting the money from a dead guy in the morgue? Spot on. Hey, that money might as well be used for the greater good.
Continue reading Nurse Jackie: Daffodil
Nurse Jackie: School Nurse
(S01E04) I liked Nurse Jackie from the first episode, and I continue to like it more and more each week. I like that the characters look like real people, not stick-thin Hollywood types. And even though Jackie is worn down by life, she seems to thrive on the hospital stuff and caring for patients. I guess that's the sign of a good nurse (ya think, Jane?).
Let's take the scene where Dr. O'Hara is telling a young patient's mom and brother all this scary stuff about his lung collapsing. She's not all that great with kids, is she? When the brother hugged her, I just wanted to smack her for not hugging him back, after all he'd been through that day with his twin getting shot. Meanwhile, in the background, Jackie is mouthing to the mom and brother that it's not that bad, that he'll be alright. It's this kind of hope that families need when they're going through a trauma.
Continue reading Nurse Jackie: School Nurse
Nurse Jackie: Chicken Soup
There were some awesome guest stars in this episode of Nurse Jackie! Eli Wallach played Mr. Zimberg, the old guy who refused treatment for his heart issues. Wallach was born in 1915 (!) and has been working steadily since the 1950s. I mean, what a life he's had and what a piece of film history he is. His credits include The Misfits, The Magnificent Seven, and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. It's such a pleasure seeing him on Nurse Jackie.
Playing his wife was Lynn Cohen, who played Magda on Sex and the City and Uncle Pete's wife on Damages, not to mention dozens of other film and TV roles.
And then there's the wonderful Anna Deavere Smith (pictured above), who plays the ongoing role of Doctor Akalitis. She's such a great actress; she makes me despise her character, but in a good way.
Continue reading Nurse Jackie: Chicken Soup
Nurse Jackie: Sweet-N-All
(S01E02) Nurse Jackie is such an interesting show. Just about every scene has both drama and humor, though sometimes it leans more one way than the other. Like the opening scene with Jackie cutting her hubby's hair that ends up with them having sex on the kitchen floor: Kevin: "What am I rolling around on down here?"
Jackie: "Fruity Pebbles."
Kevin: "Feels more like Cap'n Crunch."
You do have to wonder how Jackie is able to function so well doing all those drugs. I guess she's built up a tolerance level, but it sort of drove the point home when hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus accidentally swiped some of Jackie's Percocet-laced Sweet-N-All and ended up loopy.
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