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)
UV digital copy
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Emmy Awards might seem like an odd broadcast to have to offer spoiler alerts, aside perhaps from people live Tweeting the list of award winners to people who aren't watching the broadcast and want to save the "surprise" until later when they open up the contents of their DVR. But this year’s outing caused some umbrage when one of the little tributes included as interstitial "entertainment" showed a montage of the final moments of several long running series, in the process giving away at least the hint of a surprise or two in the process, at least for those who hadn’t yet seen those wrap up episodes. For Nurse Jackie fans who hadn’t yet watched the final seventh season, there may have therefore been some angst fostered by a snippet from the series’ last episode that seemed to suggest a certain fate for its struggling heroine. That image won’t be outright spoiled here (though clever readers will be able to read between the lines, so spoiler phobes consider yourselves warned), though it’s notable that within the context of the entire series, the last look at Jackie may or may not portend what its brief moment in the Emmy Awards sun may have implied. Jackie has of course been on a roller coaster for years with her “little problem”, and that proclivity continues to inform this set of twelve episodes. For every serious downturn the character has taken over the preceding six years, there have been moments of saving grace and maybe even the hint of a more lasting salvation, respites in an overarching turmoil that admittedly tend to take ensuing spirals downward when Jackie’s fractured psyche can’t stand the pressure of the “real world” intruding. And so while the final deportment of Jackie will be left undecided (at least in the verbiage of this review), the watchword might best be, “It ain’t over till it’s over,” and, considering the character’s resilience, maybe not even then.
Nurse Jackie: Season Seven is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This last season continues the generally excellent presentation that has defined Nurse Jackie on Blu-ray, though this season engages in what is either occasional color grading or at least unusual lighting schemes on a couple of occasions. Interior scenes, like some scenes of Jackie in church or some of the shrouded areas within All Saints, can look fairly murky at times, with only baseline shadow detail. In brightly lit environments, even under the less than flattering fluorescent schemes in the hospital, detail and fine detail pop quite commendably.
Once again, Nurse Jackie: Season Seven offers a perhaps unnecessary 7.1 mix delivered losslessly in DTS-HD Master Audio. The surround channels spring to life in busy moments within the hospital, offering excellent immersion in the process, but a lot of the series plays out in quieter environments, where scenes like Jackie talking on her cell phone or even in dialogue in person with another character simply don't offer much in the way of surround activity. Dialogue is always presented cleanly and clearly, and the track boasts excellent fidelity.
Disc One:
Nurse Jackie has been a rather unusual entry in the "dramedy" sweepstakes, one that started life encountering substantial resistance from actual real life nurses who objected to the series' depiction of a drug dependent medical professional, but which weathered that storm to provide a showcase role for Edie Falco in her post The Sopranos: The Complete Series career. The series has had its ups and downs, with perhaps a bit too much reliance on Jackie's inability to get this particular monkey off her back, something that continues to inform the final season. Once again, though, performances are genuine feeling and rather raw at times, and the series manages to toe a very fine line between trauma and some pretty black (and bleak) humor. Recommended.
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