Nurse Jackie
Stars: 4.5 out of 5

Stars: Edie Falco, Merritt Wever, Eve Best, Paul Schulze, Peter Facinelli, Haaz Sleiman and Anna Deavere Smith

The Big Idea: Jackie Peyton (Falco) is an excellent New York City nurse, a nurse who truly cares about her patients and is willing to go the extra mile to help them when she can, or to exact a bit of karmic healing when she can’t. Jackie’s got her own issues, though, namely a secret life and, thanks to a bum back, a raging painkiller addiction.

To Watch or Not to Watch: The dark comedy is must-see-TV, in fact. Falco wisely held out for another quality series after her Emmy and Golden Globe-winning turn on The Sopranos, where her Carmela was always, at best, second banana to hubby Tony. Not so for Jackie, whose commitment to her patients makes her a fierce heroine, while her double life (the details of which are too good to spoil here) and her drug jones make her a flawed one.

Jackie is surrounded by an equally compelling round-up of co-workers, from her hospital BFFs, the flip Dr. O’Hara (Best) and sardonic fellow nurse Mo-Mo (Sleiman), to nervous hotshot doc Cooper (Facinelli), pharmacist Eddie (Schulze), ball-busting administrator Akalitus (Smith) and Zoey, the scene-stealing, overly eager nurse trainee who wears scrubs covered with bunnies, bakes muffins to try to win over the staff and immediately takes to Jackie as her healer role model.

TV Screener Tidbit: Showtime provided the first six episodes of the series for review, and that batch contains a number of clever twists that, again, are too delicious to spoil. Suffice it to say they involve a bloody ear, the hospital’s plumbing system, a house in the ‘burbs, an unrequited Sopranos love that becomes quite requited, and that, during a joint guest appearance by Swoosie Kurtz and Blythe Danner, we learn Heather isn’t the only one who had two mommies.

Nurse Jackie premieres Monday, June 8, at 10:30PM ET on Showtime.

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• Tags: Anna Deavere Smith, Blythe Danner, Dark comedy, Edie Falco, Eve Best, Haaz Sleiman, Heather Has Two Mommies, Merritt Wever, New York City, Nurse Jackie, Paul Schulze, Peter Facinelli, Showtime, Sopranos, Spoilers, Swoosie Kurtz, Twists

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Last night’s Chuck season (NOT series!) finale rocked, but I am sooo happy I gave up on Heroes before this ridiculous season finale, though, like most of those who are still watching, prolly wouldn’t have understood what the frick was going on anyway.

– Next week’s Scrubs season finale may not be the series finale after all. Talks continue to bring back the show – likely with some new cast members – for a ninth season.

– Lisa Rinna doesn’t want to go back to Melrose Place. She’s got cougar aspirations instead.

– Big Love‘s recently concluded third season was far and away the show’s best, but yes, Roman (Harry Dean Stanton) really is dead and staying that way.

– FX is already one of my favorite cable destination – Sons of Anarchy, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Damages … – and it’s only getting better: Timothy Olyphant is starring in an upcoming FX drama pilot based on Elmore Leonard‘s Fire in the Hole. Go and Deadwood star Olyphant will play a U.S. Marshal who returns to his Kentucky hometown.

– The Jonas Brothers are hosting the Teen Choice Awards in August. Ahhhh! Squeal!

– Wondering what Matthew Bomer, the almost-Superman and former Guiding Light star, will do now that his Bryce Larkin bit the dust on Chuck last night? He’s signed on to star in what promises to be another character-driven hit on USA.

– J.J. Abrams says ‘Down with spoilers!’

– Tribbles were TV’s first bisexuals?! Seems so.

– All of a sudden, American Idol watchers are jumping on the Kris Allen bandwagon. Why? Methinks they’re bored by the fact that Adam is so far and away the best performer – and the only one consistently worth tuning in for – on the show. As for Kris, he’s not terrible, but he’s kinda the equivalent of a mayonnaise-and-processed American cheese sandwich on two pieces of Wonder Bread. Though perhaps not as doughy.

– Adam, BTW, has sparked his own dictionary.

– Life-size wax figures of the Seinfeld cast … me want.

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• Tags: Adam Lambert, American Idol, Chuck, J.J. Abrams, Jonas Brothers, Scrubs, Seinfeld, Spoilers, Star Trek