Nip Tuck
released 2003 – 2010
www.ink2quill

“Nip Tuck” is an American, medical drama with a bit of sinister humor sprinkled in. This project was made literally by an army of producers, directors, crew and very talented actors which include Roma Maffia, Joely Richardson, John Hensley, Julian McMahon, Dylan Walsh, Linda Klein, Kelly Carlson, Kelsey Batelaan, Jessalyn Gilsig, Bruno Campos, Valerie Cruz, Sanaa Lathan, Annalynne McCord, Josiah Henry, Famke Janssen, Vanessa Redgrave, Portia De Rossi, Robert LaSardo, Eli Jane, Mario Lopez, Jacqueline Bisset, Peter Dinklage, Paula Marshall, Julie Warner, Ruth Williamson, Joey Slotnick, Phillip Rhys, Rose McGowan, Oliver Pratt, John Shneider, Willam Belli, Larry Hagman, Rhona Mitra, Brittany Snow, Seth Gable, Sharon Gless, Nancy Cassaro, Katee Sackhoff, Georg Stanford Brown, Rosie O´Donnell, Kate Mara, Bob Gunton, damien Leake, Adria Dawn and so many others. This project was created by an army of the most talented people in show business.

Nip Tuck IMDb webpage

“Nip Tuck” is the story of two successful plastic surgeons living their crazy lives in Florida. Dr. Sean McNamara, played by Dylan Walsh, is a more conservative, highly moral person who does not practice his religion of Catholicism but lives his life by its moral values. For the most part. Dr. Christian Troy, played by Julian McMahon, is the complete opposite and does everything to excess regardless of the consequences or the impact it has on others around, even Sean. Furthermore, does not have the work ethic Sean has and we learn later in the series that he relied on Sean to get through medical school. Christian is a man who consistently chooses shortcuts over hard work.

Theirs is a funny relationship at times and a shocking one at other times. Watching Christian´s lifestyle will shock you and even make you chuckle sometimes. The way he changes women every night and seems to associate himself with the most damaged people in society is uncanny. He really is a trolley net for dysfunctional people that enter his and Sean´s life and just wreak havoc. When people say that so many of a dysfunctional person´s problems are their own making, watching Christian you see that there is at least partial truth to that expression. I feel sorry for Sean at times who tolerates Christian and pays the price for it. Not to give away any spoilers but that is why I loved the ending.

So, the story of “Nip Tuck” sounds simple. Throw a family man and a playboy together as partners in a high end plastic surgery office and see what you get. Will you get a lot of things. Like drama, chaos and instances that are just funny and weird but this is a well written story so for all you story lovers you really have to peel the layers of the story, so to speak. On the one hand the two men complement each other but on the other hand they are a terrible fit and this becomes more and more apparent as the story develops. Christian is a man out of control. A train wreck. Sean is a man paralyzed by a sense of duty who dares not do the things in life he wants, even though such decisions would be beneficial to him. Decisions like leaving the practice with Christian and working in Africa even though he would earn less money. If he dared do what he wanted he would grow into the person he wants to be. It´s almost as if Sean needs a push to get his life going in the direction he wants it to go. He ultimately needs to get himself out of and away from the toxic relationship that is Christian.

This TV series really is an excellent commentary on the people we let into our lives and the impact those people have on us and our future. I think of the expression “Tell me who your friends are and I´ll tell you who you are.” Some of the people in this story are devastated by the people around them and it´s the people with the healthiest relationships that fair the best. In my opinion. This story also includes characters who seek out the more positive relationships and that is a nice thing to see.

Another thing I liked about this series was how we got a constant fresh flow of people with their stories via the practice´s patients. Some of the patient´s stories were interesting, some were strange. So many professions where you deal with a lot of people or help a lot of people on a personal level can expose you to some pretty strange things that can make a person cynical if they are not careful. As the story progresses the patients just get weirder.

This is a dated TV series but it´s very good. You´ll find yourself chuckling at things you shouldn´t be and enjoying the character arcs as the story progresses. This really is a gem and definitely worth a marathon watch, say on a rainy Saturday or overly humid Sunday. So check it out and enjoy folks.

John

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