I just finished watching this marvelous 6 hour miniseries on DVD, and I have to give HBO a round of applause. Make that an encore. This had to be one of the most refreshing, honest, realistic (and magical at the same time), and noteworthy productions that I have ever seen. All I can say is, thank God that a network TV station didn’t decide to take on this project. I can’t imagine the censored and stifled mess that would have resulted. HBO remained extremely faithful to playwright Tony Kushner’s original masterpiece–nudity, intimacy between gay men, the stark horror of the early AIDS epidemic and the Reagan administration’s total impotence in dealing with it, and its overall fascinating tapestry of human life in the big city circa 1985.

But as there are many reviews of the miniseries and of the original play, and since it recently won 11 Emmy awards it will no doubt take its place in television history, I’m not going to go into the details of the story. Rather, I just wanted to comment on one slice of it.

Nurses.

Yes, there are nurses in Angels in America. One has a small role, played by Emma Thompson (who also portrays a rather volatile angel and a homeless woman), and the other is a leading role played by Jeffrey Wright. Judging from her actions and responsibilities, I am assuming that Thompson’s nurse is actually a nurse practitioner, since she appears to have the power to admit a patient to the hospital. But she is sympathetic without being sickeningly sweet, does her job efficiently, and appears to care for her patients–without a shred of the martyrish attitude so often attributed to nurses. In short, she is a highly competent healthcare professional, and a very postitive character.

Wright’s nurse is more complex, as his role stretches beyond the confines of the hospital. His character is gay, but yet, never takes him into the stereotype of gay male nurse. Like Thompson, he is caring but not a martyr, he is strong and competent but sympathetic, does his job to the best of his ability. Wright also shows us that he doesn’t take crap from either high and mighty doctors or abusive patients, and stands up to them while retaining his own high standards and dignity. And beyond his role of nurse, Wright’s character of Belize is one of the most compelling and likeable in the story.

These are two of the most positive images of nurses that I’ve ever seen portrayed in the popular media. Of course, working conditions are quite different two decades later, and have taken a dive for the worse. But still, I was exceedingly impressed when I watched this miniseries, of how nurses were portrayed in a positive light, while still being extremely realistic.

If you didn’t get to see Angels in America when it showed on HBO, I strongly recommend renting the DVD. Especially if you happen to be a nurse.