From the Queue: "Nip/Tuck" Seasons 1-6

My long weekend gave me the chance to plow through the rest of the Nip/Tuck series available on Netflix (currently through season 6). I was going to find somewhere online to watch s7, but decided against it as I needed a break and I figure that eventually it'll be on the queue anyway.

For the most part, I loved this series. Not for the characters though. The plot lines were interesting and got weirder as the series went on. Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't seen this series and would eventually like to. Stop here if you want to be surprised.

For anyone not familiar with the premise, the show starts in Miami and centers around two plastic surgeons who own a business together. Christian is womanizing and vain, the Sean is sort of like a lost puppy dog who wants to be a good person but somehow always ends up just being weak. Sean's wife has a thing for Christian, Sean's oldest son turns out to be Christian's kid, Christian's porn star girlfriend is nutso and at some point during the series ends up having an affair with Sean and marrying the oldest son, Matt. Matt's a trainwreck from the very beginning and gets caught up in all sorts of bad situations: older girlfriend turns out to be a transsexual who likes young men, same age girlfriend comes from a white supremacist family, third girlfriend/wife drags him into Scientology, then gets him hooked on meth, then leaves him to be a porn star again, fourth girlfriend ends up being his biological sister, fifth girlfriend is his prison cell mate. When he finally does find someone who seems normal, he leaves her at the alter to run away with the transsexual. Did I also mention he becomes a mime at one point in time?

His storylines are probably the most tragic, but the rest of them are just as messed up. Season 2-3 brings us the Carver storyline, where a serial rapist is disfiguring people. Season 4 has a ring of organ thieves as their main conflict. In season 5, the doctors re-open their business in Beverly Hills and hilarity ensues when Sean takes a role on a television show. The cameos are pretty good in that season, my favorite being Alanis Morisette as Liz Cruz's (the nurse at the practice) short term girlfriend.

For me, the show jumped the shark in season 6. The fun tone from s5 disappeared and it turned into a bunch of dark, angsty plotlines and fighting. Plus, the same storylines seemed to be recycled and the characters were only proving that they were never going to learn anything and were just going to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. It was fun the first time around. The second time it was just annoying.

I think season 7 ends it and I do plan on watching that one when it comes on Netflix. Even with the fact of having to crawl through s6, I would definitely recommend this show if you're okay with darker, more graphic shows. Be warned...they show the surgeries so there's alot of cutting, scalpels, and needles. And alot of sex, so send the kids to bed before watching.

ALF