Nurse Jackie 3.01: Game On

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I am tragically addicted to Nurse Jackie. I’ve been waiting for season 3 for such a long time, and I’m thrilled that the time has finally come. I wasn’t madly in love with the season premiere, but I definitely enjoyed it. I liked Jackie’s fierce bitchiness with her husband. I’ve never liked their relationship; maybe I’m looking it the wrong way, but to me it always seemed like they were just going through the motions. She seems much more in her element at the hospital than she does at home, and I just can’t get past that. Regardless, I love it when they fight because it’s so unsettling and messy and real. It’s almost hard to watch.

I love Zoey as usual, but the other more minor characters were less vivid than usual which made me sad (although I did love the scene with Coop, Eddie, and Zoey in the pharmacy). Resentful O’Hara is totally boring; I can’t wait until she’s fabulous and crazy again. I can’t really blame her, though. She’s so guarded when it comes to having any emotions, so staging an intervention for her best friend kind of seems like a huge deal for her. Which would make it pretty upsetting to get pushed away. It’s another uncomfortable but realistic thing that made me feel a little weird about the episode.

Totally random addition: This show is so great when it comes to casting really talented actors from the NY theatre scene, and Gregory Jbara gave a really fantastic performance as the father of a character who died in a heavy lifting accident. He plays the “average guy” so well. (Remember when he was on Friends?)

Overall, I enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to see how the characters develop during the rest of the season. We’ll see.

Sam: All I remember was being really shitfaced, and you and Jackie like…tap danced for me?
Thor: Yes, yes we did.
Sam: Why?
Thor: To punish you.

I love Thor. That is all.

- by Kelsey Norwood

Mid-Week TV Thoughts: B&S, House

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I fail at watching TV on time, but so far I have watched this week’s episodes of Brothers & Sisters and House, both of which were at least moderately enjoyable.

Brothers & Sisters
Is it just me, or are Nora’s romantic storylines always the exact same thing? A ruggedly handsome, slightly flawed (but mostly handsome) man flirts with her, and she’s all “Oh no I can’t be in a relationship with you; my life is too complicated already. And I have a family that drinks and fights all the time so you wouldn’t understand it.” Then the guy says “Oh I can handle it because of our love.” And then they all discover that they don’t love her enough to deal with it, or they just don’t like her enough in general. Or they cheat on her with Holly. I’m sure she had some good relationships in previous seasons, but I feel like they all ended because they were overwhelmed with her life. Maybe I’m just saying that because she just finished that arc with the guy from Lost. Anyway, Beau Bridges was ruggedly handsome and perfect and everything, and yet I couldn’t really motivate myself to care because it seems so obvious that they will inevitably meet the same tragic end as Nora/everyone else. Nora Walker will be single forever. End of story. I just enjoy her manipulative motherness more than the predictable relationship drama, so I prefer that she go back to that.

Although the episode was kind of low on other things, I most definitely enjoyed the whole thing where the sack of flour was an imaginary baby. This show is somehow totally fabulous when it comes to making ridiculous, pointless storylines into awesome things. Kevin was quite humorous despite his minimal screentime. I did not find Justin’s storyline particularly intriguing, nor did I find myself interested in the whole Tommy-might-be-moving-away thing. Because that too has happened about a zillion times, and I still don’t find Tommy that interesting. I feel like if you want your viewers to be shocked and saddened about a character leaving, they should probably be around for more than 2 or 3 episodes first.

I miss Scotty. And Saul. (I’ve been watching Alias all week and I’m having a really hard time not calling him Sloane.) And also Rebecca, and Holly, and that girl Justin was dating a few episodes ago. And Kitty. And Rob Lowe. *sob* I enjoyed the episode, though.

House
I loooooved this episode. Sorry to sound like such a fangirl, but I totally did. I love when House is put into strange environments where he totally thrives, like telling a bunch of private school kids an extremely offensive story about his job. I thought the flashback format was really well-done; I felt like they revealed everything in the exact order I wanted to hear it.

I loved House’s rewrites using different movies, and the cute snobby kid who always figured it out. All the kids were wonderful; I loved the different ways they responded to House’s story. The scandalized, naive perspective is always good, but I was getting a little sick of getting it from Martha every episode. The kids had some fun with it, rather than being utterly horrified like she usually is.

The House/Cuddy drama was okay, but a little too similar to the theme of previous episodes. I was happy for a little reprieve from the team, though. I do think that more Wilson is necessary, though. More Wilson is always necessary, am I right?

- by Kelsey Norwood

5 Shows I Loved In 2010

Community
I will seriously watch any show about group of loveable misfits. And Community is about a group of very, very loveable misfits. The humor relies on a combination of group dynamics, completely bizarre situations, and mixed satire, with several episodes that are somehow a parody of 3 different movies all at once. (Half the time it barely makes sense, but as long as you’re in on the joke it’s okay.) I’ve found the current season to be particular delightful, with Senor Chang joining the study group and even more ridiculous parody episodes.
Favorite characters: Troy, Pierce, Shirley, Senor Chang.
Favorite episodes: “Basic Rocket Science” – the group tries to get through a KFC-themed spaceflight simulation. “Cooperative Calligraphy” – the group turns on each other as they try to figure out which one of them took Annie’s pen.
Favorite quote:

“Hello during a random dessert, the month and day of which coincide numerically with your expulsion from a uterus.”
- Troy (reading his birthday cake)

Lost
I am one of those people who loved the series finale. I am all about existential life experiences where love and friendship are all that matters. I enjoyed the show immensely when it was on, not because of the mystery, but because of the characters and the torture they endured in pursuit of answers (or freedom). I love shows that effectively tell a story to present an idea, whether it be about the meaning of friendship, politics, or whatever. And I’ve never seen a show that’s said quite so much about the nature of humanity and the meaning of life and death. It’s very profound, but also very reassuring.
Favorite characters: Juliet, Ben, Jin & Sun, Miles, Hurley, occasionally Sawyer.
Favorite episodes: “Ab Aeterno” – Richard Alpert flashback, set in the 1800′s. “The End” – series finale.
Favorite quote:

Jacob: I died an hour ago.
Hurley: Sorry, dude, that sucks.

Nurse Jackie
I discovered this show a few months ago, but I always wanted to watch it because I love Edie Falco and I’m convinced that she can do no wrong. After watching a few episodes, I immediately became obsessed. It’s so snarky and bitchy, and the strangely believable shenanigans are so much fun to watch. I love almost all of the characters, even when they annoy me (which they often do).
Favorite characters: O’Hara, Zoey, Akalitis, Thor, sometimes Coop (when he’s not tweeting).
Favorite episodes: “Apple Bong” – Jackie goes behind Coop’s back and recommends that a cancer patient start smoking pot. “Years of Service” – Jackie’s secret is discovered by Kevin and O’Hara. Oh snap.
Favorite quote:

Akalitis: You know, Dr. O’Hara is from Britain.
O’Hara: Yes, I’m from the whole of Britain.

The Big C
I had a really hard time getting into this show at the beginning, but I just finished the season and it has totally won me over. Laura Linney is amazing, obviously, as are all of the supporting cast members. The story is so simple, which is something I don’t usually go for, but it’s just beautiful and peaceful. I’ve never seen another show with such a casual approach to death, but somehow this one pulls it off without a hitch.
Favorite characters: Kathy, Todd, Adam (totally a douche at first but he won me over in the finale).
Favorite episodes: “Summer Camp” – Kathy keeps Adam from going to soccer camp. “Everything That Rises Must Converge” - Kathy goes on a road trip to Canada to try an alternative treatment that involves bees (and Liam Neeson).
Favorite quote:

Cathy: You know, you can’t hate black people, right?
Marlene: I don’t. I just need to get angry sometimes.

Archer
This show is just…perfect. The characters are all so pathetic that I can’t not laugh at them, and it’s endlessly entertaining to see the catastrophic scenarios they get themselves into. I don’t know how I’m supposed to calculate this, but the dialogue is just the right amount of inappropriate to be simultaneously shocking and hilarious. It doesn’t seem to matter how offensive the dialogue is, because the characters are animated and can therefore get away with it.
Favorite characters: Archer, Cyril, Woodhouse
Favorite episodes: “Diversity Hire” - everyone falls in love with the new guy. “Honeypot” - Archer goes undercover in Cuba’s gay scene.
Favorite quote:

Malory: The thought of me dead gives you an erection?
Archer: No, just half of one! The other half would have really missed you.

- by Kelsey Norwood