If you love Nip Tuck, you are sure to have anxiously waited for season five of the popular show. This season was supposed to be 22 episodes, but the writers strike caused only the first 14 to be shown. Those 14 episodes were however explosive and backed full of new twists, new characters, and lots and lots of sex. However, it was not all good for the boys and their friends.
This season begins with Sean and Christian packing up and moving their practice from Florida to Beverly Hills. As you would expect, theres no absence of need for plastic surgeons in LA, but theres just one little problem for McNamara/Troy. No one has any idea who they are. To combat this, they recruit publicist Fiona McNeil. She wastes no time in getting them a job as technical advisors on a TV show based on, would you believe it, plastic surgeons!
As they work on Hearts n Scalpels, they meet the executive producer and assorted members of its cast, including Aidan Stone. The soap takes up a good amount of time in the first episodes of this season. While the self-centered, over the top Aidan is extremely entertaining, there are many times when it seems just a bit too much. Maybe it would be OK if we didnt follow some of the shows crew off-set, but we do. When the studio executive in charge of the show heads off to visit a dominatrix to unwind, I wasnt sure if the season was heading the right way or jumping the shark. Worse yet, I wasnt sure if these characters were worth caring about. They and their plots seemed to be designed to shock us, but they didnt do much to round out these new characters or advance the existing characters any further. While the characters did go through a lot, few showed any enduring changes. Even those who split and found new relationships, such as Matt and Kimber, still seemed to be the same people, unchanged by the events happening in their lives.
In fact that is the main flaw with season 5, if not the entire show. The characters dont do enough to evolve. In particular, Christian does not really change from the womanizing man he is. He continues to bounce from woman to woman with little concern for them. While this has been normal for a few seasons, it seems remarkably apparent in season 5.
Celebrity guests, of course, have a big part in season 5, including Rosie ODonnell, Jennifer Coolidge, and Jai Rodriguez. In fact, they were sometimes the best reason to watch an episode. What I want to see is the big names they pull in for season 6. The season cliffhanger, also, does make me want to watch the next season, if only the start, to see how any open storylines are resolved. Although it was a disappointment overall, Nip/Tuck is still an fascinating show to watch. However, there are only eight episodes scheduled to air in 2009 (the rest of season 5), so dont expect much news for the next year.