Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Nip/Tuck, or How the Doctors are IN







Nip/Tuck (FX)
Tuesday
10:00pm


The first scene in nip/tuck's season 5 premiere episode consists of shots of lights being turned on. Not only are Dr Troy and Dr McNamara being welcomed to the spotlight that is Los Angeles, but they're also turning the heat on (can we have gratuitous Julian McMahon nudity every episode, please?)
Premise: The move from Miami to Los Angeles turns out to be more trouble than either of our metrosexual, homosocially bonded himbo-plastic surgeons ever anticipated - watch them deal with their problems as they hire a publicist, become consultants on a trashy ER/Greys/Chicago Hope retread that looks oddly like nip/tuck (self-aware IS in, see here and here for more on that) and introduce an obscene amount of new (and soon to be returning) guest stars (Tia Carrere as a dominatrix? Bradley Cooper as an arrogant actor diva? Jennifer Coolidge as a mediocre actress? Oliver Platt as a flamboyant producer? Yes to all of the above).
Overall it was a pretty good episode. A much better start than what we have come to expect from the last couple of seasons where storylines were getting out of hand and characters were taking weird and unwelcome turns (who else is glad Julia is now miles and miles away?) I enjoyed the fact that the show is getting back to its roots: the slightly homoerotic (okay, okay... homosocial) relationship between Sean and Christian and yet they are shaking things up. What we saw in this episode is the move from seeing Christian as a main 'player' to him being relegated to a supporting role for the now more successful and in demand Dr Sean. If the end of the episode is any indication of where the season is going, this change in direction will create a good tension between the doctors that will prove fruitful for both characters and give the audience a good season ahead.
All in all, the show's move to LA did wonders for the characters (who knew what this show needed was a facelift of its own?) - of course the doctors were scrumptious as ever and as usual any show that is as obsessed with the male body as nip/tuck is, is welcome in my weekly tv watching routine.

Favourite line of the show: "I feel like I'm selling semen at a whorehouse"



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