6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Comedy | 100% |
Drama | 42% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Can a show which has been built around a nurse who is a major substance abuser survive if that substance abuse is
supposedly no longer an issue? That’s the most salient question facing Nurse Jackie as it enters its fifth season.
The series has been built on the conceit that Jackie Peyton (Edie Falco) is able to perform her nurse duties in a rather
spectacularly professional way despite having “issues” with various pills. At least the first two seasons of this now long
running series dealt with the tightrope act Jackie performed, teetering precariously between dangerous bouts with
prescription medication, a reckless sexual appetite, and her continuing duties as an emergency room nurse at All Saints
Hospital. The third season seemed to finally take Jackie over the edge, figuratively speaking, as parallel addictions—to
sex and to drugs—finally undermined her to the point where even longstanding allies were no longer willing to simply
look the other way while her various bad behaviors spilled over into her professional life. The fourth season of the show
seemed to mark a turning point for Jackie, who managed to endure a fairly rocky road through rehab, but whose
continuing struggles ultimately led to her at least temporarily lose her job and it would seem permanently lose her long
suffering and almost annoyingly supportive husband Kevin (Dominic Fumusa). And so we come to the fifth season of
Nurse Jackie, where instead of a lingering drug or sex issue (which still do lurk just beneath the surface),
we get more of a soap operatic journey for the character as she attempts to live a clean and sober life while also
adjusting to her newly single state. Whether this defeats the show’s entire purpose remains to be seen, but this is a
somewhat different Nurse Jackie than we’ve been used to seeing. For those who want to catch up on some of
the story threads from previous years, our reviews can be found here:
Nurse Jackie: Season One
Blu-ray review
Nurse Jackie: Season Two
Blu-ray review
Nurse Jackie: Season
Three Blu-ray review
Nurse Jackie: Season Four
Blu-ray review
Perhaps because this season gets Nurse Jackie out from under those annoying fluorescent lights a bit more than in previous season, the AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 (courtesy of Lionsgate Films and Showtime) is marginally though noticeably nicer looking than in previous seasons. Directors this year have a few stylistic flourishes up their sleeves, like some careening overhead shots (see screenshot 5). As with previous seasons, the image is nicely sharp and well defined and close-ups in particular provide excellent fine detail. Contrast and black levels are both solid and consistent throughout the season and there are no overt compression artifacts to speak of.
I frankly continue to be just slightly baffled by Nurse Jackie's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mixes, though truth be told this season presents a few more noticeable opportunities for discrete channelization. The show certainly has well above average surround activity, but without any spectacular chase scenes, bare knuckle fight scenes or horrible car crashes (well, okay, there is a fender bender in this season), the series hardly seems like appropriate fodder for such an over the top sonic array. As with previous seasons, the busy hospital activity provides some nice use of the side and rear channels for ambient environmental effects, and dialogue continues to be presented very cleanly and clearly. But this is frankly one series that would have sufficed perfectly well with a 5.1 surround track.
It's understandable why Nurse Jackie has gotten to this point, but it's also undeniable that the character has lost at least a little of what made Jackie so compelling (if reprehensible at times). The series continues to offer some great writing, brought to life by a dedicated and appealing cast. I personally could have lived without the protracted subplot involving Akalitus, but Jackie's halting romance with Frank hits some awkwardly sweet notes. It's hard to see Nurse Jackie maintaining much momentum if the character doesn't experience some kind of major trauma next season, which may send her scurrying back to those pharmaceutical remedies. This Blu-ray release continues to offer the solid technical merits of previous seasons, and comes Recommended.
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