Ryan Murphy may be better known today as the man behind Glee, but it’s Nip/Tuck that will forever be my favourite.
FX in the UK is currently re-running each series back-to-back after midnight each weeknight, so set your Sky+! I haven’t watched the series since they first aired on Channel 4, I was expecting it to seem dated, but it still remains very modern and topical. It may be 8 years since the show began, but western society is still image obsessed, people want to look younger, thinner and more like their favourite celebrity. “Tell me what you don’t like about yourself?” sets the scene each episode.
Murphy often pushes the show to ludicrous levels – I had forgotten about the Carver storyline and I’ve still got the Rosie O’Donnell and Larry Hagman guest appearances to come!
But it’s the Christian/Sean/Julia dynamic that keeps me coming back. I think Julia would ideally like a combination of Sean’s intelligence and strong sense of family (although he veers off that path a few times!) with Christian’s masculinity, confidence and occasionally touching vulnerability. The casting of Julian McMahon, Dylan Walsh and Joely Richardson is perfect for these characters and I couldn’t imagine anyone else in these parts.
Matt is an intriguing character, even if he does appear to be miscast as a teenager in the early seasons as he seems quite a bit older! There’s the relationship with Eva, the explosive relationship he has with his parents and Christian – not just your typical grumpy teen.
The FX re-run is currently in the early stages of Season 3, so I’ve a fair bit to go to catch up. Nip/Tuck seemed to disappear off of terrestrial a few years ago, and I haven’t seen the final season or two – will McNamara/Troy have reinvented itself or closed down, I’ll just have to wait and see!
The Claik 