The last time I watched Nip/Tuck was around 6 or 7 years ago, the same time I last watched The Shield (not counting my most recent marathon). Not sure why I always seems to watch these two series back to back, but that seems to be the pattern here. When I fired up the first season of Nip/Tuck a few days ago, I was still going through withdrawal from The Shield. But because Nip/Tuck has so many fascinating characters and juicy story lines, the withdrawal was only minimal because you get sucked into the salacious world of plastic surgery and all that it comes with.

Sean and Christian may be the focal point of the series, but for me, it's the secondary characters that actually make the series alive and what it is, especially the patients that have some major issues, be it psychological or criminal. The sand box is huge and seeing who shows up each episode adds to the awesomeness of Nip/Tuck. Along with the f*cked up patients, there are a handful of great recurring characters that add to the charm / seediness of the series: Kimber, Gina, Bobolit, Escobar, Liz all bring something to the table. As for Gina, I actually hate both the character and the actress with a vengeance. Can't stand her, but she makes a great foil to Christian. Can't stand her "Hey,  a s s h o l e " catch phrase that populates the series either. I actually stopped using that specific profantity because of Jessalyn Gilsig. Ack!

Since it has been such a long time since I've watched the series, I didn't realize while watching Dexter that this makes a great companion piece to Nip/Tuck given that they both take place in Miami and stylistically it looks and feels as if they both occupy the same universe. Having Valerie Cruz (Dr. Santiago) in both adds to that feeling I get watching both. The season finale, along with the Pilot comes off as something you'd get out of a Quentin Tarantino flick, especially the twist at the end that gets both Sean and Christian out of deep sh*t. If you're into the Crime genre, which this has elements of, and you've never hopped aboard the Nip/Tuck train, by all means give this one a shot. Definitely worth a Rent.

I don't like Gina either.  But I guess that's the point.

I haven't seen Dexter so I can't comment on the stylistic similarities, but that's an interesting idea.  I haven't found out who the Carver is, but how crazy would it be if that dude showed up in Dexter as well?

I do like that there's business concerns in the series as well, that they have to compete with other surgeons like Bobolit and make enough cash to stay afloat, it's uniquely American (much like Walter White needing cash for his cancer treatments).

I like the Tarantino reference as well, I definitely got the impression of a crime movie in the first and last episode... I wouldn't say Tarantino per say, but definitely along those lines.  Tarantino isn't as obsessed with sex and style as this series.

My updates on watching season one, compiled:

ONE:

Watching Episode 1 of Nip/Tuck right now... still too early in to make a definitive read of it yet (I'm at the "AmI really this ugly?" moment).  I finished the third series of Sherlock last night, not sure if I mentioned that here, but it was good.  Im definitely more interested in seeing Elementary now because Sherlock has really shifted:  the mystery used to be the central story, and now the characters are front and center and the mysteries surround them.  It's sort of the opposite of what you'd expect from a procedural, but it's effective.


TWO

The first episode was cool.  One of those "a pilot is a standalone movie" type approaches.  I definitely got this... not Breaking Bad vibe, but more of "a dark side" vibe.  It's the ugly twin brother of medical dramas, you know?  Which is great, because it's a mentality I want to tap for a project that I've had a recent breakthrough with.  So I'm TOTALLY in the right mindset to gleam the most from this.

And Sean, I can't think of the actor who plays him, I know I've seen him some other stuff, but he keeps making me think of Jason Bateman, which is making me chuckle.

There's one scene I heard about that I'm anxiously awaiting, the scene with Kate Mara and Sophia Bush.  In case I drop out of interest, when does anyone remember when that happens?


THREE

I'll be anxiously awaiting.  Hopefully/maybe I'll forget about it and be pleasantly surprised.

It's so weird to see Kate Mara in this, she's young but she's also kind of exactly the same, I mean, her first appearance in House of Cards what, ten years later? She looks only one year older there!

This show might also give me the emotional capacity to finally watch "Orange Is The New Black," prison just-- it's one of those things that it's hard for me to watch.  Usually it helps if it's stylized (Shawshank Redemption is no problem for me, for example), but modern day, where they rock hospital scrubs (I also have an issue with hospitals) and those white cinder blocks that make prisons look like my elementary school?  Can't do it.  And I know I'm missing out on something awesome.  Maybe this will help me build my resistance.


FOUR


So I watched the first six episodes of Nip/Tuck (which included the Sophia Bush/Kate Mara scene.  I knew it happened early but that was pretty d*mn early).

The show... I like it.  I don't feel filthy after watching it, there's definitely a sense of naughtiness to it, but it's not as potent as Breaking Bad was, probably because BB was making more of a bridge from the real world to the underworld, whereas Nip/Tuck plants you right into this gross world: p*rn parties, lurid sexual encounters, dark interiors (there's almost no exterior shots-- it makes the whole thing feel like this is happening in a dark room buried somewhere, a place you can't find and shouldn't want to stumble on), lesbian cheerleaders, sex addicts...

Something struck me: they can show all this gross surgery, scars, liposuctions, bruising and blood (fantastic effects work, all of it) but they can't show nudity.  Which is real weird, I noticed when we saw the masectomy patient.  We have all these patients on the show who want to achieve these bodies, and they talk about them, but we never see any of them.  I know it's because this was FX and not, say, HBO, but also because this was the infancy of MA programming, and sometimes it's effective: the shower scene with Kelly Carlson and the three-way that's all kissing all work wonderfully, but after a while, I imagine that's going to become more distracting.

I definitely dig the balance between the two doctors and that tension about the soul of their practice, the constant conflict over the types of patients they'll accept, the amount they'll let themselves be sullied in order to continue doing good or living their lives.  It feels almost like they're on the cusp, one wrong step and they're screwed.



FIVE

Okay, I finished the first season of Nip/Tuck, and I have to say, despite how dark that show is, I was smiling by the way they ended, I thought that was just brilliant.

On the whole, I'm enjoying the show more than I thought I would, so I'm happy about that, and the effects... for all the gruesomeness of it, there really hasn't been anything that made me feel sick or truly repulsed.  I'm more impressed.  The more shocking thing is how roughly the bodies are treated, but that's medicine, after all.

The only thing I'm getting a little tired of is Matt, it seems like he has a crazy new f*ck-up every couple of episodes and honestly it's wearing thin, and there wasn't much to dig about the character in the first place.  I hope that gets resolved and he gets to do something meaty and not just plot-twist-y.

And hey, is there an opposite of "natural beauty," because that's Kelly Carlson.  I have no idea what she looks like in real life, but she's always perfectly made up in everything I've ever seen her in, I don't think I've ever seen her dressed down or anything. It's strange.

Just started season four.  Had a realization about the theme of the show, and they kind of reinforced it (the daughter rehearsing Puss In Boots for her school play-- that's a pretty deliberate choice, in my mind).