Nip/Tuck: Season 1

I've finally finished watching the first season of "Nip/Tuck", FX's extremely entertaining sidekick to "The Shield". FX is quietly becoming the HBO of cable TV. High concept drama like "The Shield", "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me" are all the caliber of show you come to expect of HBO, but get on FX for free. Somehow, I had managed to avidly watch "The Shield" and yet never see "Nip/Tuck" which was on right after it through it's first season. After much prodding from a buddy of mine to give it a chance, I scooped up the first season of "Nip/Tuck" and decided to give it a whirl. 13 episodes later, I am ready for season 2 to hit DVD. The show seems vain at first, it's shot and edited flashy and all the characters are pretty, but the more you watch the more you realize that the flashy exterior to the show is just window dressing (a lot like the characters). In truth "Nip/Tuck" is exactly what the shows creator, Ryan Murphy, said it was in the DVD extras. It is a deep show about a shallow world. And that is what makes it so fascinating. The show hinges on the relationship of partners/best friends Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Christian Troy (Julian McMahon). They are about as opposite as any 2 people can be, but that's why they need each other. If this central relationship didn't work so beautifully, the show just would not work. Walsh and McMahon really do great work here as the yin and yang that make this show work. Both turned in Emmy caliber performances in this season. The supporting cast can sometimes get lost in the shuffle but they all do solid work as well. Two supporting characters who really stand out are Sophia Lopez (a transexual who teaches everyone else a thing or 2) and the Columbian drug lord. I am sure I could continue to run off at the typewriter about why "Nip/Tuck" works, but I am hungry and you have already heard enough to make you go out and rent it. So get on it and go out and give "Nip/Tuck" a shot.