I loved Nip/Tuck when it launched. I watched four seasons religiously– DVR-ing it when I needed to and watching reruns happily. What was not to like? Great casting, unique plot twists, and a two really cute guys– who had their own dark, deeply hidden secrets that begged one to ask these two characters “Tell me what you don’t like about yourself?”.
(This article was written originally for Blogcritics.org and can be seen there in a modified, shorter format)
FX scored again when it launched Nip/Tuck featuring two plastic surgeons at the top of their game in steamy Miami. This series positions two young, handsome doctors in partnership dealing with balancing life as talented surgeons at the top of their game doing cutting-edge surgery and surround them with an array of guest stars that push beyond the notion of face lifts but people who want plastic surgery to ‘make over’ their life. It got serious attention for gutsy, sexy drama that pushed its presentation so hard that it about split the seams of conventional television drama, yet did it with some taste, wit, and dark comedic turns.
The Shield and then Nip/Tuck was ground-breaking in its content and seemed to be a precursor for other shows (Californication, Weeds, Dexter, Damages, Saving Grace) to put more emphasis on adult-oriented content that involves both ‘name’ actors into series with intertwined storylines that rival those of daytime television but taken to an entirely different level.
Sean McNamara(Dylan Walsh) and Christian Troy (Julian McMahon), are the key figures who are colleagues, friends, even brothers but also bicker like an uneasily married couple. From episode one in the first season, Sean was the anal-retentive, perfectionist doc and husband while Christian was the ultimate bad boy who had reason to do it because he felt unloved by any and all, which he hid quite well. Joely Richardson is Sean’s wife Julia who was a med student with both Christian and Sean and while attracted to both men, wound up marrying Sean and quit school once she became pregnant. Eventually the marriage falls apart and Julia finds herself in a relationship with Olivia. Despite the ongoing Olivia relationship, Julia notes her continued attraction to Christian and then the plot-line gets dropped leaving me wondering about her orientation. Roma Maffia plays Liz, the gay, in-house anesthesiologist who is part-time referee and voice of common sense and reason for some dilemmas that these two competitive doctors face. Her orientation becomes interesting when Christian finds out he has cancer. From the baring of souls between Liz and Christian, they wind up getting married but that relationship dissolves fairly quickly. John Hensley is Matt McNamara, Julia and Sean’s son whose mishaps as a young man end up with him on meth, married and using the cover as a mime to steal. Kelly Carlson has a recurring role as Kimber, a model seeking to freshen her look who morphs into a porn star and sex toy entrepreneur as well revolving door girlfriend to both Christian and Sean. This series requires a score card to keep track of the regulars and how their personal and professional lives have become intertwined not to mention the array of guests stars that have paraded through various seasons including Oliver Platt, Rosie O’Donnell, Sharon Gless, AnnaLynne McCord, and many others who made this a ‘must see’ series.
With each season ending some storylines with cliff-hangers and others with resolution, viewers kept coming back for more. The numbers started dwindling simply because hearing the doctors ask patients “tell us what it is you don’t like about yourself” gets old and the doctors are turning into textbook examples of bad behavior
While I liked this show a lot in seasons 1-4, season 5 was a bit of a mess and season 6 — shorter than usual– tries to sort out the mess ,but one can tell that except for Christian and Sean, there is no love left for the other characters that usually play excellent foils and mirrors for the two key characters.
The story arc changed when the doctors moved the practice to Los Angeles, the playground of rich, famous and plastic surgery hungry people. The addition of a ‘tv show within a tv show’ was interesting and it brought interesting characters — and plot twists– into the mix. Yet the dynamics of multiple relationships, marriages come and gone and the continued rivalry between these two men continued.
As this series comes to a final episode and goes even darker than previous episodes and seasons, we see the race this show has run has lost its steam and depth. Though there is some depth left, the show’s inconsistent flow underscores the various characters de-evolution as the raw nature of each is revealed.
With no surgery turned away, Sean and Christian have compromised whatever integrity they had and in turn so did the writers by not giving either of the main characters any backbone even at the end.
The relationship between Sean and Christian has become score-keeping rivalry mixed with a bromance. The de-evolution of these two men are not learning anything from their relationships gone sour with women, children, colleagues and even patients. While watching these episodes I was disturbed that these doctors, these men did not see until too late that they starting to become ‘fun house mirror’ reflections of each other: distorted, twisted, bloated by disturbing behavior. Christian marries Kimber but regrets it. Sean ends up sleeping with Kimber yet again and it is truly rewind and repeat. I found this season left a bad taste in my mouth except for the justice meted out and resolution attained between Julia and her mother (played by real-life mother, Vanessa Redgrave). (This was probably my favorite thing in the entire series. Nothing else floated my boat)
While I liked this show a lot in seasons one through four, season five was a bit of a mess and season six tries to sort out the mess but one can tell that except for Christian and Sean, there is no love left for the other characters that usually play excellent foils and mirrors for the two key characters.
I am not one for spoilers, so do not look for them here. However there is a lot of justice long overdue that gets meted out. The series has lost its patina and not aged well. Too bad that the writers did not get a plastic surgeon to work on the scripts to see about doing a facelift for the show finale. I would suggest that unless you are a die-hard Nip/Tuck fan, rent this series and don't spend the money on this spend it on Burn Notice Season 3 which is just plain scorching hot.
You can find this on amazon.com,, Barnes & Noble.com best buy, target and other major mass merchants.
Technical information on Nip/Tuck Season 6 WARNER HOME VIDEO
5 Disc Set (4 episodes per disc)
Special Features: Tell Me What You Don’t Like About Yourself – The Psychology Behind Plastic Surgery
Stevie , LA-Story.com
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