Nip/Tuck/Thoughts: The Breast of Friends

You know what I like about "Nip/Tuck"?

After five and a half seasons of wonderfully creative and deprived insanity in Miami and, most recently, Hollywood, there's nothing the boys (as long as they insist on acting like kids, they'll be "boys") at McNamara/Troy can do that would surprise me. Yet, in a time when TV viewers are more seen-it-all jaded than ever, the show somehow still finds a way be consistently shocking. I mean, did you see those previews for upcoming episodes? Kimber injects baby Jenna with collagen?! A son being asked by his father to perform a penis enlargement surgery?! Christian and Liz having sex?!

I think the reason it's worked for "Nip/Tuck" is because the show's cast and crew have long ago realized they're not working on a serious drama (I'm still waiting for the people behind "Grey's Anatomy" to realize this). As a result, the humorous moments are funny ON PURPOSE, while the most ridiculous aspects of the show are played with the same straight faces you see on a lot of daytime dramas.

Of course, the main difference between this show and "General Hospital" is that, in my opinion, "Nip/Tuck" one of the most stylish and best-produced shows on TV. It simply looks and sounds better than most other shows on TV (and a lot of movies).

This was on display during the opening sequence of last night's episode "Ronnie Chase."

If you recall, it was almost a year ago that we were left hanging after Sean was brutalized by his crazed former agent Colleen. The show wasted no time in addressing many fans questions of how Colleen could've slipped in unnoticed and whether or not Sean would survive.

While I question the idiotic security guard who would allow a person with their face covered in bandages into the building, despite the fact that everyone was on the lookout for Colleen, I thought the opening sequence was pretty terrific. I particularly liked the use of The O'jays "Backstabbers" (see what they did there). It was also good to briefly see the great Sharon Gless (she deserved that Emmy nom) back on the show briefly as Colleen.

At first, I thought it was kind of a waste of time to rehash the attack on Sean, and I felt like the episode was a bit subdued, especially for a season premiere. Then I remembered last night's episode wasn't exactly a season premiere, but more a continuation of season 5's story. We also learned that Sean used his last bit of strength before blacking out to stab and kill Colleen.

The action picked up four months later with Sean in a wheelchair and not ready to get back to surgery. It was a shame because his first patient was going to be Liz who wanted a breast reduction. I was delighted to see this, not just because the crude/caring relationship between Christian and Liz (pictured, right) is one of my favorite things on this show, but because it meant more screen time for Roma Maffia.

During an examination by Christian, he noticed a lump in her breast which brought about the breast cancer scared. Turns out she was right to be scared, though she wasn't the one with the disease. It was Christian, who'd also noticed a bump in his pecs who was eventually diagnosed with stage 2 cancer, which is apparently very serious (sorry, I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on TV).

I've seen the "breast cancer on a guy" thing before on "Oz", so the plot twist wasn't necessarily shocking. However, for the uber-macho Christian it seemed fitting that he would end up with "tit cancer", even though I don't believe there's any chance he'll actually die from it, the same way I never believed Sean would die from his stab wounds.

Meanwhile, Sean seemed to be enjoying his teaching gig, and especially took a shine to Dr. Raj (Adhir Kalyan), a junior, talented, arrogant know-it-all. I enjoyed watching him pester Christian during a procedure and I'm glad to see Dr. Raj is in upcoming episodes, because I think Kalyan will be a good addition to the show.

Another interesting development in last night's episode was Sean's description of an LSD-fueled flash forward, which fans of the show recognize as the future episode "Connor McNamara, 2026." I absolutely hated this episode when it aired because I thought it was a stab at cheap humor, but now that that future scenario seems plausible (Matt seems on his way to becoming a doctor) I find it to be considerably more tolerable.

Between the cancer and the proud poppa moment between Sean and Matt, I almost didn't recognize this show for a bit. Then, the boys picked up to young women at a bar, took them back to their place and had sex with them in a vintage "Nip/Tuck" sex montage. (Major tip for the fellas: Giving a girl a breast exam during sex is not as helpful as you think — apparently, it's a turnoff.

Two final thoughts about Sean. 1.) He had my favorite line of the episode when he showed up at Colleen's wedding ("I just wanted to make sure she was dead.") 2. Oh yeah, it looks like he's completely faking about being able to walk!

So what'd you think of last night's episode? I thought it was nice of FX to sprinkle in some "Nip/Tuck" in between the footage from "Bride Wars" and "Damages" (honestly, could those commercials have gone on any longer?) Why do you think Sean is rolling around in his wheelchair? (He's going to have to do the reconstruction on Christian's jacked-up chest, right?) Finally, which storyline or character's return are you most looking forward to this (half) season?