You wouldn't think that after the first season things at McNamara/Troy could get any more exciting or action-packed. But with Matt's paternity in question, Julia and Sean's marriage completely in tatters and Christians ex's coming out of the woodwork with problems that he can't just hide from things have managed to get even more interesting. Add to that the mysterious Carver who is raping and disfiguring beautiful women with no obvious motive and you have the second thrilling season of Nip/Tuck, where the fun has only just begun.
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When/Where Is It Set?
Things haven't changed too much, we pick up pretty soon after the first season at the time of Sean's fortieth birthday. The clinic is still in the prettiest part of Miami and none of the main characters have disappeared (Or been replaced by other actors as has been known to happen).
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Anyone New?
As with the first season, there is an almost endless stream of patients that comes in but we also have a few big characters that are either brand new to the story or who appeared in the first season and have now moved into much bigger storylines.
Kimber Henry (Kelly Carlson): We've seen her since the pilot episode but Kimber really comes into her own now. She is Christian's ex/current girlfriend - depending on the episode as these two fall into bed with each other far too much. She was a model and now works firstly as a porn star before moving behind the camera to work as a producer. A complete narcissist and cocaine addict, Kimber needs a lot of reassurance about her looks which is never helped by Christian.
Gina Russo (Jesselyn Gilsig): A former member of the same SA group as Christian, Gina is an anger and bitter woman who can never take the blame for anything that she does wrong. Even after she gives birth to a child that is very clearly not Christian's she continues to be nasty to him, often using her child to get what she wants from him knowing how much he loves baby Wilber.
Ava Moore (Famke Janssen): A life coach who cares more about helping her own life than those of her clients, often manipulating and using them sexually. She is originally hired to help Sean and Julia's troubled marriage and Matt's bad grades but after seducing Matt and revealing a huge secret it is clear she is not one of the good guys. She is also the step-mother of very bitter teen Adrian Moore.
Quentin Costa (Bruno Campos): The plastic surgeon hired to fix Sean's face after he was attacked by The Carver, he is originally from Atlanta, is devilishly handsome and openly bisexual.
The Carver (I'm not going to tell you as that would ruin season 3!): A masked attacker who rapes his victims and then slashes their faces on either side of their mouth to resemble macabre smiles. He will attack many characters during seasons two and three before being revealed.
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Episodes
The second season has 16 episodes, a whole 3 more than the first season. The running time is still about the same and these too were shown in a post 10-pm timeslot on channel 4.
Erica Noughton: Sean hits the big 4-0, but that is nothing to worry about compared to the spasms that have begun in his hand. Julia's mother Dr Erica Noughton comes to Miami wanting a face lift, and causes stress due to things she did at her daughter's wedding (well to be precise it's who she did that is the problem). Meanwhile Christian is trying to be a good father to the baby that isn't his, but hires a nanny based on looks rather than her CV - something he comes to regret when he finds out how she has been getting baby Wilber to sleep.
Christian Troy: Christian's sex-life hasn't gotten any more mundane since the first season, but after one sneeze during a sexual act leaves him with a broken nose perhaps he'll learn. Sean's shakes almost disfigure a patient whilst his son Matt finds out that his part in the hit-and-run is known after his friend Henry is arrested for rape. Christian's nose finally gets fixed when he has Sean operate without anaesthetic so that he can help him medically and confidence wise. Will that shaky hand ruin the pretty face of the philandering doctor?
Manya Mabika: A Somalian model wants a clitoral reconstruction so that she can have orgasms after having been put through traditional female circumcision as a young girl, though the procedure is experimental and may not work the doctors proceed. After the operation Christian decides to help test it out but when he fails to get her to orgasm believes that there was something wrong with the operation (Because of course, it couldn't have been his sexual skills could it?!) but after some advice from a woman finds that his skills weren't as perfected as he had once thought. Sean meets life coach Ava Moore who suggests that Julia's stress inducing mother could be the cause of her problems (No, really?!!) and Christian turns out to be a better parent to little Wilber than Gina.
Mrs Grubman: Annie enters early puberty, panicking Sean and Julia as they realise that they are getting old and need to stop acting like children. After finding out that Gina has begun custody proceedings against him, Christian wines and dines ex-girlfriend Kimber who has been lined up as a character witness against him, in the process finding out that she is in a mess and addicted to cocaine. What will Christian do to get Kimber on side in order to gain full custody of Wilber?
Joel Gideon: Proof that you shouldn't talk on the phone and drive, Sean causes a serious car accident when doing exactly that in this episode. Though he is unharmed his outlook on life seems to have changed dramatically - he's gone a bit adrenaline junkie. This is fine until he tries to get Matt to eat a potentially lethal form of sushi in a Japanese restaurant, prompting Julia to take Matt and walk out. Perhaps the episode's patient, Joel Gideon, will be able to snap Sean out of it when he comes in to have the dead tissue from his nose removed so that he can go back to the mountain that caused this damage and climb it again.
Bobbi Broderick: Sean gets a stalker when he operates on Bobbi, a mature lady who had liposuction done in order to better compete for a job selling clothes at Saks but wasn't happy with the results. This isn't the only problem in Sean's life however as after hiring life coach Ava to help Matt with his problems she starts playing games with him, offering sex for good grades. He of course becomes obsessed with this older woman and stupidly gets arrested outside her home, causing Christian to have to help him and ends up getting tangled up in Ava's madness himself. The best part of this episode is patient Allegra Calderello, who after burning her lips off in a kitchen accident is bemused to find out that the best skin to replace them with comes from her other set of lips - this is highly amusing because her husband is a very old-fashioned Sicilian - therefore in order for the operation to go ahead Allegra gets the doctors to pretend the skin has come from elsewhere.
Naomi Gaines: In the start of a reoccurring plotline, Sean performs surgery on a model that was raped and slashed across the face by a serial attacker called The Carver. Bobbi continues to make Sean's life hell and at the McNamara house there is a very awkward dinner with Ava and her teenage son Adrian, where all the secrets that have been kept so far just come tumbling out.
Agatha Ripp: Another pro bono case comes into the clinic by the name of Agatha Ripp, a prostitute who inflicted stigmata style markings on herself and not only wants to repent for this but also asks the doctors to convince the church shelter she stays at of this fact. Julia tells Sean news that rips him in two, causing him to lash out at Christian and throw Julia out. Christian's day doesn't get any better when Liz gives him some awful news regarding the selfless act he performed recently.
Rose And Raven Rosenberg: Following the revelations of the previous episode Sean and Christian make plans to separate their practice and partnership for good, but that has to be put on hold for a very special operation - teenage conjoined sisters who are joined at the forehead who need separating because one needs chemo. The operation is not a success by any standards and Sean and Christian, smarting from this fact share a night with a prostitute who looks just like Julia. They are later bought to their senses by the twin's mother, who makes them see that not being alone is important.
Kimber Henry: In sharp contrast to the heart-breaking story of the conjoined twins, the clinic's latest patient is Christian's ex Kimber, who is now a very famous porn star. Upset with the vagina on the sex doll about to be distributed in her image she asks the doctors to correct it, with Sean taking this much too far. Julia meets a handsome stranger but after it turns out that he has a very strange fetish and thought she was a hooker Sean has to save her. A writer also comes to the clinic asking for breast implants - he is writing a book about the experience.
Natasha Charles: Christian is very attracted to new patient Natasha, who blind since birth would like new eyes as her own do not look like everyone else's and make her feel less attractive. Julia gets breast implants after seeing Sean with porn-starlet Kimber and her mother Erica finds out that since the separation things haven't been easy for her daughter and takes it upon herself to try and make Sean see this. Her help is too late though as Julia falls through a glass door after OD-ing.
Julia McNamara: Julia has surgery to fix the scars on her face caused by the glass of the door she fell through and also asks for her implants to be removed. While she is under her mind wanders into an alternate reality where she marries Christian instead of Sean, and the whole experience makes her realise exactly what she wants.
Oona Wentworth: Christian has a run in with scalpel-jockey Merrill Bobolitt after her finds cases of women severely disfigured due to his cheap botox treatments from the back of a salon. But Bobolitt's antics run to far more dangerous procedures and once Christian discovers to the full extent of the operation he is kidnapped and faced with the mad doctor trying to steal his face to replace his own.
Trudy Nye: Kimber asks for an operation to change the love line on her hand after visiting a palm reader - I suppose that's one way to cheat fate! Christian decides to break up with blind ex-patient Natasha and the doctors are shocked when a patient comes into the surgery asking for her nose to be fixed after it was broken years before by her husband, who is soon to get out of prison. After finding out that not only did he abuse his wife but also his child to the point of death Christian refuses to have anything to do with the operation he wants to make his face different so he can hide from his past.
Sean McNamara: Sean becomes the latest victim of The Carver when he is attacked by the masked fiend, whilst Gina has some news for Christian that could mean the end of his playboy days for good. She is HIV+, forcing him to have to trace every lover he's had and little Wilber and his biological father (Because after all, what are the chances Gina will do the right thing and tell them). Kimber has moved from the front of the camera to behind it as she starts a new career directed porn films and gives Christian comfort and support when everyone else has left him.
Joan Rivers: In the season finale featuring guest star Joan Rivers as herself, things come to a head. Joan Rivers comes to the clinic wanting all of her previous surgeries reversed whilst Matt and Ava are planning to run away together after Matt steals some pills from the clinic for Ava. Thankfully Christian finds out and confronts Ava, finding out that the pills weren't for depression and that Ava is hiding a big secret from everyone. Sean, Christian and Ava decide to find out more about Ava and stop Matt from leaving with her. The victims of The Carver seem to be being left in an even worse state than previously, and Escobar in dream tells Sean to kill him. After everything is resolved, and not all in a happy fashion Sean settles down to sleep with a loaded gun awaiting The Carver, but will the attacker come back to get Sean when there are so many other targets?
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Why Should You Watch This?
Simple enough reason is that if you watched and enjoyed the first season you'll enjoy the second, it is more of the same sex, confusion and surgeries. In this season however there is the added intrigue of the serial attacker menacing the beautiful people of Miami, this gives the second season (and the third as it continues through) a continuous storyline even though it is often running in the background rather than the foreground. The problems that both surgeons face have certainly gotten more complicated with Christian now desperate to be a father to the child he feel in love with before even being born, and Sean trying to keep his confidence and prove his worth. If you enjoyed watching the characters in the first season then seeing their progression will interest you.
For those who are newcomers to the show, the second season is not somewhere I would recommend you begin. Though you will be able to pick up on what's going on so much happened during the opening season that it's going to make it more difficult to keep up. I'd suggest watching the first season to get up to speed (Or if you are desperate to jump right in at least read reviews/episode guides for the first season to catch you up on important events.
As with the first season I wouldn't suggest this as viewing for anyone under 18 or squeamish, it has a lot of sex in it - and we're talking kinkier stuff than you would usually see on TV. Also with the introduction of The Carver anyone who is very nervous of seeing people with their faces slashed should probably skip both this and season three - you will see up close The Carver's victims. Which for horror fans like myself isn't that big a deal but I know plenty of people will not like viewing this and young teens shouldn't be watching it. Don't say I didn't warn you!
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Final Verdict
For me this season tops the first due to the intertwining storylines and the introduction of the mysterious attacker. It again raises ethical and moral questions as you watch and makes you really think about how far you think it is right to go in the pursuit of beauty and happiness.
This second series had a lot more sad and heartbreaking moments than the first which made me feel more connected to the characters involved that before. The patients are even more varied too, and it was good to see main characters as patients in the story.
The alternate reality bit during Julia's episode was a bit silly I have to admit, but it was appealing to see how she fared when married to Christian rather than Sean in that drug-induced world - pretty much proving that no matter what she has she wants the other option! So you can stop worrying about whether she will have a happily ever after because if this season is anything to go by she will never be happy with what she wants and will always be chasing something new
The reoccurring characters from the first season that were picked to become main players in this one were very well chosen, Dr. Merrill Bobolit shows you the path McNamara/Troy could have taken if they didn't work together or have Liz around to kick their backsides, Kimber was the best choice of ex to bring back as a big character because she is just so messed up bless her, whilst keeping Gina around showed how it isn't always the father who is a bad parent - Gina shouldn't be allowed to look after a pet rock whereas Christian really does try.
This season made me see many of the characters in a different light and therefore gave them more depth, the surgeries performed during the show were more complex and experimental than previously and the wider range of patients allowed for more interesting stories to be told - the stigmata one was very good viewing.
In essence the second season of Nip/Tuck is more of the same but with more depth and variety (and a horrific mystery attacker to ponder). The first season seems a little shallow in comparison but that's no bad thing.
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DVD Information And Special Features
The second season can be bought for £9.93 on amazons website, the price has only gone down by a few pennies over the last couple of years so it must still be a popular purchase. The 16 episodes are spread over 5 disks which total to 720 minutes approx. Now unless I need my eyes testing again my copy doesn't have any special features - a shame but if I didn't already have this season it wouldn't put me off buying at such a low price.
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