Warner Bros. | 2010 | 785 mins. | Not Rated
When we last saw the gang at McNamara/Troy (headed by two of Los Angeles’ most successful plastic surgeons), Christian (Julian McMahon), had discovered he wasn’t dying of breast cancer. Despite this good fortune, he went on his honeymoon with Liz (Roma Maffia) without telling her. Predictably, as the season opens, he tells her he doesn’t want to be married to her now that he’s not dying. Liz is less than pleased, and for awhile, makes it her mission to make Christian’s life a living hell. So, I guess in a lot of ways not much has changed for McNamara/Troy’s resident Lothario (that’s putting it mildly). Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh), the more level-headed of the two, is about to have huge marital problems.
Meanwhile, both men are feeling the economic crunch. Not long ago, they were making money hand over foot without a care in the world. But with the economy tanking, the luxury end of plastic surgery has dried up; the rich folk in Los Angeles are no longer coming in for a tummy tuck, face lift and other “improvements.” Faced with financial ruin, the guys are forced to reinvent themselves. Heck, even Kimber’s (Kelly Carlson) line of “adult toys” is in the toilet, forcing her to carve out a new career as an interior decorator.
Having said that, it probably wise that show creator Ryan Murphy and others decided to make this season the shows last. While commenting on the current economic crisis was a wise move, other decisions make Nip/Tuck seem like a show that was more than ready to hang up the scrubs. Firstly, who thought that Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), who memorably played Sean’s girlfriend Teddy in season five, could be replaced by Rose McGowan and no one would notice or care? Yes, it’s been done before, most famously with a change of Darrin’s on Bewitched, and later (though with a funny transition), a new Becky showed up on Roseanne. The biggest issue with the Sackhoff to McGowan switch is the fact that the two actresses bring a completely different energy to a psychopathic character.
Secondly, I’ll admit I grew tired of Matt McNamara’s antics may two seasons ago, but what the heck were producers thinking with his latest twist? He decides he wants to be a mime on the boardwalk—I thought, okay Matt, whatever floats your boat—but when then doesn’t work put, he turns into a mime that robs people! I don’t want to give this whole storyline away, but suffice to say, this new career choice gets Matt into a heap of trouble.
While Nip/Tuck has always had an undeniable ‘over-the-edge’ quality, The series always managed to keep one foot grounded in semi-reality. In this final season, any attempts at maintain the least bit of reality have been squelched. Here’s a few examples: After stealing his long-time sexmate (and former daughter-in-law) Kimber away from Dr. Hamoui (Mario Lopez) and getting engaged to her, Christian has sex with an overweight but confident nudist, claiming she gave him the best orgasm of his life; Christian has sex with a transsexual (Candis Cayne) who wants to go back to being a man…then wants to go back to being a woman; patients Tracy and her husband Skip request surgery to remove Tracy’s nipples, in their continuing pursuit of becoming exact Barbie and Ken replicas. There’s more, but I’m guessing you’ve got the idea.
It’s my understanding that the last third of the sixth season’s 19 episodes were originally set to air as a seventh season. However, executives at F/X decided to just run all the episodes as one season. This is really no surprise, since ratings have been plummeting over the past two seasons or so. While I thought the final episode had little emotional resonance, Nip/Tuck: The Sixth and Final Season isn’t a complete loss. For longtime fans, this batch of episodes offers some new twists and bringing back some old friends (some might refer to as few as enemies).
Nip/Tuck is presented in a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio. The transfer is solid, and the images crisp. The show teems with rich colors. The scenery always looks great with the vivid backdrop of Hollywood vistas. Viewers will be happy with the quality of the presentation here.
An English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track is the only available spoken language option, but it sounds great. There’s lots of bass, especially in the music, but there is also a good balance of everything else. While the show isn’t necessarily one that thrives on the use of surround sound, It remains average. Subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish.
We get only one special feature:
• Tell Me What You Don’t Like About Yourself: The Psychology Behind Plastic Surgery (18:06) – Cast, crew, writers, psychologists, and real-life plastic surgeons talk about the ideas behind plastic surgery and what it means to people.
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