Is it just me or is Nurse Jackie somewhat off the boil this season?

We’re now several episodes into the show’s third season and while I’m still enjoying the show as a whole I’m not loving it in the way I did in year’s past. For me something just seems off about the show this time around…

Now don’t get me wrong Nurse Jackie is still entertaining and compared to sitcom slop like Outsourced and Mike and Molly it’s a work of genius. But by the lofty standards the show has set for itself I can’t help but feel that Jackie is falling short.

What’s the problem? I’d say the biggest issue is that Nurse Jackie has hit creative stasis, recycling the storylines of old. Jackie is still snorting crushed up pills and hiding her stash. Her affair with Eddie is still under wraps. Sam and Coop are still barely speaking following last year’s bust up. And Zoey is still in her own little world (and dating the dullest character on the show, Lenny)

For a show to grow it needs to progress and for me Nurse Jackie’s forward progression has been on hold since the season began. Season 2 ended with a terrific cliffhanger as Jackie’s best friend O’Hara and husband Kevin teamed up to stage an intervention on their drug addicted loved one. It was a great end to the season and could have spun the show off in so many different directions.

But sadly it didn’t. Jackie was able to explain her way out of the situation – as Eddie says, she’s a world-class liar – and we’re back to business as usual. Which means that creatively Nurse Jackie is pretty much in the same place now as it was in Season 1.

Hey, I’m a fan of serialized, drawn out storylines but even I have to admit Jackie is pushing it a bit at the moment. Personally I’d love to see what happens when Jackie’s drug habit and affair with Eddie spills out – they’re moments we’ve been waiting for from Day One… and who knows maybe we’ll see some major developments in the coming weeks. But so far this season little has happened on either front. And given that Jackie’s ratings have slipped somewhat this season, maybe I’m not the only one who’s noticed?

I wouldn’t mind so much if there was lots happening elsewhere in the show but again stasis seems to have set in. I love Zoey but her relationship with Lenny is a total snooze. Gloria is campaigning for Michelle Obama to come visit the hospital but since we all know that’s never going to happen – on screen at least – the story feels pointless. The fabulous O Hara’s had little to do but glower at Jackie and give her the cold front. Thor is just window dressing. And Coop and Sam need to just get over it and move on…

Sure the magic is still there at times. Jackie’s recent dissection of a rude diner while at lunch with O’Hara was vintage Jackie… but then we also had the dreadful return of ‘God’, the mentally unstable neighbor who this season stole a piano and rambled on for most of an episode.

Creatively the show just isn’t exciting me this season and in this day and age of quick cancellations no show is guaranteed future series. I would hate to see Nurse Jackie face a sudden exit and for the writers to have to wrap up the show in a hurry. The show deserves better.

But what do you think? Are you a Nurse Jackie fan – and what do you make of this season? Do you think the show is treading water at the moment? And what would you like to see happen next on the show? Start commenting everyone…