Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck
Some random She likes Doctor Who. Some random He bangs his head against the wall if he doesn’t make it on time to watch Supernatural. They put on weight sprawling on the couch and watching so tedious and trite stories about the E.R. doctors.
Well, some let their jaws drop while watching Nip/Tuck.
I’m not one of them. I keep my jaw closed - feeling the upper teeth slowly touch the lower ones.
Nip/Tuck. That’s the show’s original title. Yes, two words separated/attached with slash. It premiered back in 2003. During these 4 long years it won Emmy and Golden Globe for the best television series - drama.
Maybe we can start off with that noun -
Drama - dra•ma [drä'mə, drăm'ə] - out of a spate of high worthy definitions, I dared to choose only one - an episode that is turbulent or highly emotional.
But in this case, drama means so much more than just a noun stuffed with turbulence and emotions. In this case, 2 incredibly close friends, 2 incredibly talented plastic surgeons have been dragged into drama of their lives; choices; work.
Sean McNamara, portrayed by Dylan Walsh, is a middle-aged married man whose routine, whose operation room-house route sometimes switches off that powerful voice inside our heads that tells us what’s wrong and makes him do things he regrets afterwards. Sean is in love with his wife Julia and completely adores their 3 kids - Annie, Matt and Conor.
His insecurities, little secrets and dummy moves frequently come to surface as he tells his best friend, Christian, every single move he makes. Christian (Julian McMahon), whom he has been friends with since high school days, is completely opposite to Sean. Even though they make a great plastic surgeons duo, Christian’s hard childhood has left marks on his emotions, behavior, thoughts. He cannot find an appropriate way to express his feelings but unlike Sean, he does express them.
Episode by episode, they come across a variety of weird natured people, willing to do some physical changes to feel beautiful. Nothing awkward, you may say, huh? Nothing awkward for some well off fellow to spend a few bucks on themselves? Literally. Frankly, it wouldn’t be so odd but the lives of the two Miami plastic surgeons frequently experience the turbulence motions - the requests of the people willing to be operated on are hilarious – a convict wants an utter face change, a 70 year old mistress wants the breast implants with the ashes of her lover inside, etc.
This show has a lot of things stuffed in. But heaps of things don’t make it messy, au contraire, they make it disturbingly watchable. It contains first class humor, inside jokes you feel like stealing from the characters, an amazing plot. Even though it follows the lives of Sean and Troy, all of their dirty little secrets come to surface. As a matter of fact, we do know the way they think, we know their points of view but knowing that doesn’t mean they’ll do it the way we think they will. I’m trying to say that the show is unpredictable which only adds up to its greatness.
You have an insight into human psyche, you get to see the surgeons in actions, you get to peek in their private lives without being detained or getting a restraining order. There's so much that this show can give. But to the grown ups. Yes, every single critique is aimed at its violence, explicit sex scenes and similar. Various movie reviewers, as well as the parents themselves, were so eager to ban the show. They didn't succeed. They couldn't. Why would they ban it? Every single episode comes with a 'Viewer Discretion Advised' warning - meaning, think twice before watching, you may not be strong enough to withstand it.
Also, the show is shown at a late hour. If they banned Nip/Tuck by any chance, they would have to rearrange the whole television system. Therefore, movies like Halloween or Hostel that contain a bigger dose of violence, call out to be banned as well.
Frankly, the show E.R., has more bloody scenes than Nip/tuck. True, the latter shines with violence and sex scenes, as well as with the operations that are portrayed so well, so vivid. True, people playing in Nip/Tuck sometimes make pointless and wrong decisions but don't we all? Nobody told you that Christian Troy or Sean McNamara should be your role models, right? If your parents couldn't stop you from watching the show, why would the TV networks?
Unlike other reviewers, I reckon that this show has a point. Episode by episode, it struggles, it fights demons in human's shape, trying to tell us that money cannot buy everything. Sean and Christian seem to have everything by having a lot of money. But do they? As we know, Christian's childhood still haunts him. Sean cannot find his inner peace. Can money buy it? No. But it can buy you a face lift.
"Beauty is a curse on the world. It keeps us from seeing who the real monsters are." Is it really? It's not. What's beauty anyway? What is its definition? Beauty is part of us, something that we carry with us, just like the feelings. Are they a curse on this world? No. To be beautiful, first we have to learn to love ourselves 'cause beauty is not always in the eyes of the beholder - sometimes it's hidden deep inside of us.
