Thank Heaven for DirecTV’s Channel 101! It’s allowed me to enjoy Episode 1 of Nurse Jackie over and over again. Plus, I watched it one more time on Showtime Saturday night and enjoyed it just as much.
While Dionne Warwick sings “Theme From the Valley of the Dolls” (buy this song from iTunes right now and listen carefully to the words), a dreamscape rolls in with star Edie Falco (who plays the title character, Jackie Peyton) laying on the floor, flat on her back talking … what do you call a nurse with a bad back … unemployed.
As the red grains of oxy float across the screen, the hospital scene comes into focus and the first episode rolls and you’ll be forever capitvated until it ends approximately 29 minutes later.
“What would you serve with a head?” asks Mo-Mo. Without missing a beat, Jackie says, “Cole slaw. No, Mac n’cheese. No, potato salad.”
Steve Buscemi directs the first episode plus two more, and the assembled cast — Eve Best (Dr. O’Hara), Peter Facinelli (Dr. Cooper), Paul Schulze (Eddie), Haaz Sleiman (Mo-Mo De La Cruz), Merritt Wever (Zoey Brakow) — is absolutely fabulous at keeping you shocked, surprised, giggling and hysterical from one moment to the next.
Check out this interview with Haaz Sleiman as he discusses getting the part of Mo-Mo, a gay, muslim nurse at the hospital where Nurse Jackie works.
Well, I need to go research if there truly is a sexual component to Tourette’s syndrome, so I’m signing off for now. Enjoy Nurse Jackie. Don’t forget to write in and let me know what you think. See if you can tell me where you know Zoey Brakow from.
