'Don't Trust the B---' script smells of desperation

Our drug-addicted heroine is suffering the tortures of the damned in Season 4. She entered rehab, left early, and now faces losing her kids while trying to keep up her duties at the hospital. Despite the grim scenario, the series retains its low-key comic elements. This week, in fact, the comedy is veritably high-key, thanks to guest star Rosie Pérez. Pérez plays Jule, a live-wire patient who, with only a few months left to live, grabs for all the gusto she can. She makes even Jackie smile, and that’s quite a feat these days. (Question: Why doesn’t Pérez have a sitcom vehicle of her own?)

As they part ways, Jule hands Jackie a bottle of Vicodin she doesn’t need anymore. Jackie pockets it, then throws it in a trash bin, then jumps into the trash bin to retrieve it, then reluctantly decides to leave it in there.

Yep, it’s going to be that kind of season.

American Experience (8pm Tue, PBS)

I’ve always considered Jesse Owens’ triumph at the 1936 Berlin Olympics one of the most beautiful sports stories ever. Adolf Hitler had planned the event as a showcase of Nazi superiority, and the African-American track star ruined it for him by winning an astonishing four gold medals against Germany’s finest. On top of that, Owens represented the U.S. with grace and eloquence. As I said, beautiful.

But I didn’t know all the details until this week’s American Experience. It turns out that the head of the U.S. Olympics Committee was a fan of the Nazis. When Hitler requested that the U.S. remove Jewish sprinters from the 400-meter relay race, the team complied, subbing in Owens. The racial ugliness continued when Jesse returned to the States after his victories expecting to be treated as a hero. Instead, New York City hotels refused to put him up because of his skin color.

Man, this country sure has a way of spoiling a beautiful sports story.