Review: Showtime's Nurse Jackie/United States Of Tara

By Kent Gibbons -- Multichannel News, 3/22/2010 12:09:08 PM

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Showtime’s dynamic female duo returns for a second season of comedy-drama on Monday nights, with their characters still trying to keep their family lives from disintegrating.

First up, at 10 p.m., is Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie. Having ended season one laid out on a bathroom floor in a morphine-induced trance, the acerbic R.N. opens season two on a blanket on the beach, her marriage still intact and her two kids nearby.
This is significant as season one left said marriage much in doubt. In addition to not knowing about her addiction to pain killers, Jackie Peyton’s husband, Kevin (Dominic Fumusa), is unaware Jackie has had a sexual relationship on the side with Eddie Walzer (Paul Schulze), the pharmacist at the New York City hospital where Jackie works. Eddie, though, found out Jackie is married, despite her efforts to keep those worlds apart. He has also befriended Kevin and is insinuating himself into her family in a way that seems to risk bodily harm at the hand of Jackie, the kind of woman who’ll shove a teenager onto the ground without a word of warning for using foul language around her kids.
Season two has many classic Jackie scenes while giving her female at-work sidekicks, Dr. Eleanor O’Hara (Eve Best) and novice nurse Zoey Barkow (Merritt Weaver), room to grow. Tensions are rising at the Peyton household and at work, but at All Saints Hospital, at least, Jackie still knows best.
At 10:30, Toni Collette returns in United States of Tara after winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her first-season portrayal of Tara Gregson, a mom with dissociative identity disorder.
Season two begins with Tara seemingly having overcome her penchant for yielding her body to alternate personalities. A neighborhood tragedy, though, stirs up buried memories of childhood trauma and the “alters” start to return. A new one appears, too, who’ll share consciousness with Tara, another avenue of the disorder for creator Diablo Cody (Juno) to explore.
Where Jackie is blunt and often ferocious, Tara is silky and passive until her “alters” emerge. Partly in her absence, husband Max (John Corbett) gets immersed in a neighborhood investment (ignoring Tara’s reluctance) until it’s revealed that Tara’s alters are getting her in trouble and he begins to get exasperated. Her young teen son, Marshall (Keir Gilchrist), is exploring his sexuality and older teen daughter, Kate (Brie Larson), adopts an online fantasy persona, guided by exotic artist Lynda P. Frazier (guest star Viola Davis).
These two dynamic lead actresses and their characters’ complicated lives are completely compelling television.

Showtime premieres the sophomore seasons of Nurse Jackie and United States Of Tara on March 22 at 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., respectively.