Showtime Has Two New Winners in "United States of Tara" and "Nurse Jackie"
By Ed Martin TV / Video Download Archives
Showtimethis season is launching two extraordinary new scripted series that will go a long way toward quieting ongoing concerns about the viability of half-hour comedies, not to mention projects with enticing roles for actresses over a certain age: United States of Tara, starring Toni Collette, and Nurse Jackie, starring Edie Falco in her first series project since HBO’s The Sopranos ended its run. The fact that both of these series are simply sensational as showcases for their leading ladies is reason enough to call attention to them, but it must also be noted that, like all of the original series on Showtime, they are breathtaking in their fearless originality. They don’t just push the envelope, they shred it. In every way they are perfect additions to the network that is home to Weeds.
United States of Tara, which debuted two weeks ago, offers the most fun of the two with the most unlikely entertainment subject matter at its center: The ongoing problems faced by people living with Dissociative Identity Disorder and the challenges that confront their families and friends. There is nothing funny about DID, and series creators Steven Spielberg and Diablo Cody (Juno) do not suggest otherwise, even as they work for easy smiles and the occasional big laugh. The strength of this show comes from the humor and heart with which afflicted wife and mother Tara Gregson (Collette) and her family cope when DID tips their lives sideways. As Tara’s adolescent son Marshall puts it, “We’re lucky, mom. Because of you, we get to be interesting.”
That may prove to be the understatement of the year. Marshall, his teenage sister Kate and their sympathetic dad Max must be prepared at any moment to deal with sudden appearances by Tara’s three alters: Thong-rocking teen tart T, flawless Fifties housewife Alice or tough guy Buck, a raucous redneck male. The first few episodes don’t explain why Tara suffers from DID, nor do they instill any particular need for the viewer to learn about her past. Tara’s DID is what it is, and while it was once controlled by drugs, Tara didn’t care for their side-effects and is trying to stay off them and perhaps get to the core of her problem. In the episodes provided for review her family shows remarkable love and support, especially Max, who has assured Tara that he won’t have sex with T or Alice and remains impressively good-natured even when his wife becomes bad boy Buck. The kids, meanwhile, seem to accept and adapt to their ever-surprising mom even when she’s a real handful, perhaps because they are distracted by their own all-important youthful pursuits. They are at times bothered and bruised, but their overriding grace under pressure elevates them far above those typically annoying television teenagers, even if the dialog Diablo gives them sometimes sounds like the unreal verbiage of a Hollywood adult straining to be hip.
Collette is great fun to watch as she moves in and out of all four personalities, but the real splendor of her multi-faceted performance is the sense of unease and discomfort she locates in each one of them. Tara, T, Alice and Buck don’t feel altogether right, as if something different is missing from each one of them. I imagine that would not be uncommon under such circumstances. Happily, each of the four is fascinating to watch, and there isn’t a one-dimensional stereotype among them.
Also outstanding is John Corbett as Max, Tara’s long-suffering and endlessly understanding husband. Outside of a little sexual frustration, which is memorably addressed in the third episode, Max is consistently resilient, even when his lady becomes a man. Corbett excelled at playing sweet guys in Northern Exposure and Sex and the City, but in those shows he was always a supporting player. Here, he is a tower of sensitive strength at the center of it all; I would argue that the entire narrative structure of this show would collapse if Corbett didn’t play Max (and Diablo didn’t write him) exactly as he is. If ever there were circumstances that would bring out the inner asshole in a man they are the ones Max manages on a daily basis. But it is his inner angel that holds the Gregson family together and maintains a loving environment for characters and viewers alike, even when the show is at its most rude and raunchy, which is much of the time. When integrated, the many quirky components of Tara become uniquely irresistible.
Nurse Jackiewon’t debut for a few months, and for those of us who have seen the premiere episode that will be an eternity to wait. Edie Falco plays the title character, an overworked and deeply flawed medical professional at a struggling New York City hospital who does everything she can to save her patients (and herself) from the uncompromising realities of a criminally overtaxed and underfunded health care system (and the oddballs with whom she works). The first episode is gritty and gripping right from the start, placing Falco firmly on track toward a fourth Emmy win (after three for The Sopranos), and it ends with a truly startling twist (actually more of a turn) that nobody will see coming. It’s one of those you-thought-you-had-it-all-down-and-then-realized-you-didn’t-know-diddly moments that leaves you sitting quietly in front of your screen, completely uncertain of what will happen next. I won’t say anything more until I see additional episodes, but I can comfortably predict that Nurse Jackie will be one of the most talked about new series of 2009.
Ed Martin
Ed Martin is the chief television and content critic for MediaVillage. He has written about television and internet programming for several Myers publications since 2000, including The Myers Report, The Myers Programming Report, MediaBizBloggers a…
