TV Review of Nip/Tuck

MediaCorp Channel 5, Friday, 11pm

Perfectly Disturbing

By Michelle Tan · UrbanWire

Never before have I seen a show that’s as graphic and disturbing as this one.

Unlike its fellow feel-good cosmetic show brethren like Extreme Makeover and MTV’s I Want A Famous Face, Nip/Tuck doesn’t exactly aim to make you feel good at all. This ‘disturbingly perfect new drama’ about a pair of chic South Floridian plastic surgeons delights from un-desensitizing you from all the feel-good notions from a makeover show, while intriguing and grossing you out along the way.

The owners of plastic surgery center McNamara/Troy are not only best friends-cum-business partners, but are also the epitome of chalk and cheese: Straight-laced Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh, We Were Soldiers), whom his partner deems to be the “talent” of the duo, takes his profession very seriously, while suave playboy Christian Troy (Julian McMahon, last seen as Cole on Charmed) utilizes his ‘talent’ to sweep female patients from the operating table into his bed, and vice-versa.

Despite the status and money that comes with their job, the men’s personal lives are not the least smooth going. While having to deal with sudden work disenchanment, Sean also has to deal with fractures within his own family: headstrong wife, Julia (Joely Richardson, The Patriot), resentful at Sean’s flourishing career while her life takes a backseat, insecure son Matt (John Hensley), who’s much closer to Christian than his own father, and sweet daughter Annie (Kelsey Lynn Batelaan).

It would be too easy to dismiss Nip/Tuck as a show that’s as superficial as the people who go under the knife. But the truth, as the show tagline goes, is really skin deep. Peel away the layers from the show’s surface and you’ll find the depth that lies quietly beneath it – which, to creator Ryan Murphy, is finding personal satisfaction and security from perfection. “We are living in a world that, if we could take care of every last imperfection… everything will be all right,” he said in an interview with The New York Daily News.

Don’t expect any feel-good fluff from this show. Instead, expect full-on graphic surgery procedures, much blood and gore, with a few sexual trysts on the side. This show is certainly not for the faint-hearted or conservative, but hopefully its premise is intriguing enough for you to continue hanging on. Just remember to keep a cushion with you at all times, to hide from those gory scenes.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars