Nip/Tuck - The Complete Seasons 1-4 (2003)

I wouldn't nip a thing.

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Oct 10, 2007 | 1 out of 1 found this Nip/Tuck - The Complete Seasons 1-4 (2003) review helpful

Pros: Cerebral, masterfully written, beautifully filmed.

Cons: Not appropriate for children.

I am one of the biggest fans of this show in existence. That's remarkable because our household doesn't have cable; I obtain each season all at once, invite a friend over, and we have marathons after she's done with work until we've watched the entire season. When a new season comes out, we watch the past seasons again to "rejuvenate" our memories of it.

Yes, the series is graphic in terms of sexuality. Yes, people use drugs. Yes, plastic surgery takes place rampantly that I don't personally endorse. To those who don't want to see this, I urge you to change the channel. Enough numbers exist for us to all have our choices, and enough remote controls exist for us to prevent children from accessing channels without parental consent. As the show proves, enough batteries also exist for those remote controls.

This show is as educational as it is entertaining. Watching Julian McMahon play a man who was molested by his adoptive father is an eye-opening experience for anyone not entirely familiar with the subject of male sexual victimization. Watching women struggle with the challenge of being physically attractive to a world governed by unnatural expectations while somehow continuing to like themselves is educational to anyone who thinks "just like yourself" is a reasonable statement of comfort or encouragement. People can shout at a television when a couple obviously bungles their marriage, but an active audience can watch Julian and Sean's marriage develop and gain insights which can prove personally useful.

As much as the main characters' plotlines are profoundly well-written and absorbing, other characters make the series work too. Patients bring staggering issues into play: blindness, weight, mental illness, age, racism, religion, parenthood, custody, commitment, and numerous issues related to breast cancer are just a very few of the ones that come to mind.

The music is also phenomenal. Anyone with a sense of humor that can frolic a little on the dark side will want the soundtrack as quickly as possible. I adamantly want a complete series soundtrack, and I'm willing to pay for multiple volumes. As a matter of fact, I'd also like a set with ONLY the tracks played in the operating room as well. Wickedly delightful, and music to listen to often.

People may write this series off as a dazzle of sex, drugs, and money, but that's about as superficial as a teenage "sweet 16" rhinoplasty. What you get out of this exists in direct proportion to how actively you put your brain into it.