TV SERIES NOTEBOOK: “Nurse Jackie.” “Major Crimes.”

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“Nurse Jackie.” Medical comedy-drama. 7 Seasons. This series is more of a drama than comedy. Jackie Peyton’s condition as an incurable Oxy addict while “ably” functioning as an emergency department nurse isn’t funny at all. For Jackie, "every day is a high wire act of juggling patients, doctors, fellow nurses, and her own indiscretions." 



       Indeed. Edie Falco is, as usual, superb as Nurse Jackie. The Finale sequence pretty said it all, her only liberation is the extreme route, which is to my opinion, unacceptable—if this is real life. Jackie can still reform as many in my life, family and friends, did. 

       A remarkable support role is rendered by Merritt Wever as Jackie’s subordinate nurse. “Nurse Jackie” is definitely one of the best medical dramas that I’ve ever been addicted with. 📺📽📺


“Major Crimes.” 6 Seasons. Police procedural, continuation spin-off of “The Closer,” set in the same Los Angeles police division, now headed by Mary McDonnell's character, Sharon Raydor. This series, if I may, is lodged somewhere between the highwire earnest of “24” and the inyourface realism of “The Shield.” Maybe my comparison is off? 



       I mean, “Major Crimes” is easy viewing, relatively. Yes, you may watch this with your thirteen year old, I reckon. As others in the cop-story TV genre, “Major Crimes” is standalone anthology with a lingering backstory sewn around it. Although Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) of “The Closer” is a more colorful character than McDonnell’s Sharon Raydor, the ensemble chemistry here seems more interesting and compelling. 📺📽📺


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