Nip/Tuck centers on the lives of two successful Miami plastic surgeons, Dr. Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Christian Troy (Julian McMahon), best friends and partners in a successful practice. Though they are both very skilled surgeons, Sean and Christian are polar opposites. Sean is a family man with two children who sees his work as a way to help people with disfigurements lead normal lives. For the single Christian, the job enables him to meet beautiful women and sculpt them into his ideal.
Season three continues the history of dark, sinister themes Nip/Tuck watchers have come to expect. The season continues with the return of the Carver, who attacks mostly gorgeous women and leaves his mark by making deep cuts from both ends of the mouth up to the ears (reminiscent of The Joker in the Batman series), while muttering the phrase, “Beauty is the curse of the world.”
As season three opens, Christian is struggling with the effects of being a victim of the Carver. As he struggles to recover, Christian finds it nearly impossible to work and neglects his live-in girlfriend Kimber (Kelly Carlson), whose confidence has grown with her success as a porn director and entrepreneur. Christian and Kimber’s hyper-sexual relationship takes an unexpectedly erotic turn with the introduction of bisexual Detective Kit McGraw (Rhona Mitra), who is brought in to head up the Carver case. Kit McGraw seems to be the replacement for season two’s Ava Moore (Famke Jassen). Kit is the dark and mysterious femme fatale with lots of secrets to hide.
The hopelessly neurotic, stressed out Sean has his own problems to face. Julia (Joely Richardson), is asking for a divorce. She decides to open a spa with Christian’s ex-girlfriend Gina (Jessalyn Gilsig), where patients who are recovering from surgery can come to convalesce. (Watch for a funny guest appearance by Joan Rivers.) Meanwhile, Sean’s son Matt (Jon Hensley) has turned into a very angry young man after finding out Christian is his biological father and Ava was transgender. While the top notch storylines and writing contribute to making Nip/Tuck one if the freshest and engrossing shows on television today, Matt’s constant whining throughout the season wears thin somewhere around episode nine. Note to the producers — either have Matt mature a bit or cut back his story line. Better yet, do both.
With Christian unable to focus on his work, Sean decides to bring on a new surgeon, Quentin Costa (Bruno Campos), to help out for a few months. Quentin adds his own brand of sexual heat and depravity to the lives of the people around McNamara/Troy. He blows into Miami like a hurricane (fans will recognize Quentin from a season two appearance), and leaves destruction in his path.
As the season commences and the characters deal with other issues, the Carver is never far from our minds as his victim list continues to grow. Tension builds as the identity of the Carver is revealed, but as is the tendency with all well-written shows, things don’t necessarily turn out the way you expect them to. The season three finale is one of the best I’ve seen in the last few years. Nip/Tuck continues to be one of the best adult-oriented television dramas on television, unafraid to push the envelope and explore new territory.
The six-DVD set is presented in anamorphic widescreen, measuring 1.8:5 and subtitles are available in Spanish and French. The sound is Dolby Surround in English. Nip/Tuck: The Complete Third Season includes limited special features. “The Perfect Look: The Set Design of Nip/Tuck” is a short segment explaining how the set designers achieve the sleek and modern look of the show. “In Chasing the Carver,” series creator Ryan Murphy explains how a brief season two appearance by the Carver grew into a major plotline in season three. Viewers shouldn’t watch this segment unless they have watched the season finale. Four of the episodes also include a couple of deleted scenes. Despite the lack of extras, Nip/Tuck: The Complete Third Season is a worthwhile purchase.
