Synopsis
Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon are Sean McNamara and Christian Troy, plastic surgeons.Sean is the suave ladies’ man, who has ethics only when convenient and/or profitable. Christianis the better surgeon and the (by no means perfect) family man. Neither man is a prize (they areplastic surgeons, after all), but Christian at least tries to be better than he is. Models, gangsters,porn stars, and transsexuals are but a few of the characters whose live intersect with thesurgeons.
…p>Early in the pilot, Sean draws diagrams in red on the body of the model he has just slept with.The beautiful woman gazes in horror in the mirror and moans, “Am I really that ugly?” There, ina nutshell, is the satiric missile the series launches at the plastic surgery industry. The theme iselaborated on in stories both humourous and dark. Nastily funny as much of the show is, thereare harrowing moments of pain (such as the conclusion to Episode 3).
Audio
Alarmingly harsh sound for a contemporary series. The 2.0 track is plagued by terrible hissand sharpness on the dialogue, which, to make matters worse, is also hit by indiscriminatesurround. The same is also true when there are vocals in the music score. The effects are what Iassociate with remixed mono, not original stereo.
Video
The picture, presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, is better than the sound. It isn’tperfect: there is some artifacting and a fair bit of grain. The colours are strong, however, as arethe flesh tones and the blacks. The image is reasonably sharp, as well. A decent TV transfer,then, but not in the top ranks.
Special Features
All the discs have deleted scenes accompanying all but two of the episodes. Disc 5 has anumber of featurettes. “Giving Drama a Face Lift” is a 23-minute promotional exercise.“Realistic Expectations: The Practice of Plastic Surgery” is less than 8 minutes long, but is moreinteresting. It intercuts interviews with plastic surgeons with depressing statistics about cosmeticsurgery, making some rather sharp points. “Are They Real or Fake?: The Miraculous Make-upEffects of Nip/Tuck” is a short look at the gruesomely convincing surgery effects. Also here are amusic video by The Engine Room (“A Perfect Lie”), a gag reel, and the teaser for Season 2. Themenu’s main screen is animated and scored.
Closing Thoughts
An effecient workplace drama (à la ER) but mixed with a healthy dollop of sleaze.Too bad about the sound, though.
Special Features List
- Deleted Scenes
- “Giving Drama a Face Lift” Featurette
- “Realistic Expectations: The Practice of Plastic Surgery” Featurette
- “Are They Real of Fake?: The Miraculous Mak-up Effects of Nip/Tuck” Featurette
- “A Perfect Lie” Music Video
- “Severed Parts” Gag Reel
- Second Season Teaser
