My Wife Hired My Nurse review

The setup

Our hero has managed to break both hands, which rules out most of life's basic tasks and, he complains, a few private ones. His wife cheerfully reports that the agency is sending a nurse in her sixties, so his flirting days are safely on hold. The woman who walks through the unlocked door is nowhere near sixty. She changes into something she calls more suitable, starts her checkup, and makes a pointed joke about pressure that has nothing to do with his arm. The episode ends with her promising special treatment.

Episode 2

The full exam begins with reflexes, then the wife phones mid-appointment with a question whose double meaning writes itself. He assures her the nurse is very thorough; she promises to be home by seven. He protests that he is married, the nurse already knows, and she points out how many hours remain until seven. She repositions for a clearer view, notes his pressure has climbed since morning, and closes on a promise to explain what special treatment means.

Who's who

• The patient: a married man with two broken hands and very poor means of defending himself
• The nurse: a home caregiver with a clinical tone and decidedly unclinical intentions
• The wife: breezy, trusting, and at work all day, phoning in at the worst moment

Verdict: 6.1 out of 10

The broken-hands premise is a genuinely funny engine, because it makes the hero helpless in a way that is both practical and absurd. The wife's opening joke about the agency sets the trap neatly, and her phone call in the second episode is the best scene in either one. Beyond that, it is a pun parade with a stethoscope. Two episodes in, the formula is clear, and the countdown to seven gives the rest a modest pull.

Episode guide