Written by Alexis Quinn
If Nip/Tuck were in the dictionary, chances are you’d find the word “controversy” somewhere close by.
With its raunchy, over the top sex scenes and somewhat offensive plot lines securely intact, season 5 is split up into two separate parts which aired about one full year apart. Because of this, instead of selling the season as a complete DVD set, it’s currently only available as part one and part two, leaving you wondering why they didn’t just wait to release the entire season as a whole.
This year, Nip/Tuck writers must’ve had one goal in mind: to shock its viewers more than ever before. Part one of season 5 left viewers hanging with multiple cliffhangers, and part two began with a bang: a deranged, obsessed talent-agent impersonator tries to murder Sean (Dylan Walsh), putting him in a wheelchair; an affair gone wrong leaves Julia (Joely Richardson) without her memory; and, after fleeing the paparazzi, Christian (Julian McMahon) and Annie (Kelsey Batelaan) wind up with several injuries as a result of a tumultuous car accident.
Trust me, if you hadn’t been an avid viewer in the past, the first episode’s “previously on Nip/Tuck” will make your jaw drop, leaving you wanting much, much more.
Okay, let’s start with Christian. For a brief moment, Christian leaves behind his degrading ways, becoming almost human. Finding out he has breast cancer, Christian bonds with Liz (Roma Maffia), ultimately leading to a bizarre sexual experience and marriage proposal no one would’ve ever—and I mean ever—expected. Christian’s vulnerability doesn’t last long, however, as he quickly returns to old habits after enduring chemotherapy, surgery and a pectoral reconstruction. At the end of the season, Christian’s life is as hectic as ever as he weds Liz and considers cryogenic freezing to survive his spreading cancer as everyone prepares for his inevitable death.
Sean’s life is no less hectic than Christian’s. After being stabbed by Colleen (Sharon Gless), a suicidal woman who posed as a talent-agent to get closer to Sean while starring in the life-imitating series Hearts ‘n’ Scalpels, Sean winds up in a wheelchair and faces several obstacles: Julia plans to move to New York City with her girlfriend; he hallucinates during a surgery on said girlfriend, causing a fatal accident; becomes involved in a career-threatening relationship with the new anesthesiologist; and gets an offer to sign over his life story for a made-for-TV movie.
Although the show generally focuses on everyone’s favorite plastic surgeons—Christian and Sean, of course—the side characters’ lives and requested surgeries are equally as unusual, adding to the show’s controversial element.
To sum up this season’s outrageousness, Kimber (Kelly Carlson) seeks surgery to inject collagen in her baby’s lips to break into the baby modeling industry, an 18-year-old looks for a way to appear older after marrying his former elementary school teacher who spent time in prison for rape, and a yoga instructor wants a smaller penis to further assist with his addiction of self oral pleasure.
Basically, this show is absolutely insane.
Video
With only three episodes on disc on and two, and two on disc three, each episode of Nip/Tuck is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio with exceptionally high-quality picture. The colors tend to be a bit dark sometimes, but it matches the equally as dark, disturbing plot lines. The editing is quick and abrupt in both the high tension and surgery scenes, which works wonderfully.
Audio
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track sounds fantastic. None of the scenes appear to be obviously voiced over, and despite music being in close to every scene, the dialog is always clear and audible. The music in each episode is ironic and completely fitting to what’s going on; it’s especially fun and interesting in the surgery scenes, leaving you wondering what they’ll play next.
Special Features
Unfortunately this season only has one feature, which is a little disappointing. You’d think since the season is split up into two parts, there world be something more to lure viewers into buying the separate parts.
Disc 3:
Nip/Tuck: The Science of Beauty Featurette: This feature focuses on beauty in our society and what’s currently considered both attractive and socially acceptable. It seems kind of unnecessary and made me feel like I was watching a documentary for school.
Final Thoughts
Have you ever been an avid watcher of a specific soap opera and accidentally missed an episode or two? It seems as though a handful of characters have died and mysteriously come back to life, leaving you completely and utterly clueless as to what’s going on. That’s kind of like what watching an episode of Nip/Tuck is like, but worse. Although a shocking, well-written guilty pleasure, Nip/Tuck takes a lot of time, patience and dedication.
