Nip/Tuck
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From: seattle
Sorry for the length - but this will give you a pretty good idea of the show...
Provocative 'Nip/Tuck' puts FX on map
By Vince Horiuchi
The Salt Lake Tribune
HOLLYWOOD -- The makers of "Nip/Tuck" call the FX cable TV show "provocative." The Parents Television Council calls it "pornographic."
Somewhere in the middle is a new medical drama pushing the limits of what we can see on TV, while positioning FX as a network with buzz.
"Nip/Tuck," a dark, one-hour satire about two plastic surgeons, is getting critical acclaim for its character studies, complex storylines and riveting acting. But all that people want to gab about after watching the series are certain scenes: a loose liposuction tube spewing body fat all over the operating staff, or a facial reconstruction that shows every scalpel slice on a man's bleeding and bruised face.
Copious amounts of blood, profanity and a PG-13 sex scene in the series pilot help separate FX's bold new dramatic series from the pack.
With such groundbreaking series as the gritty Emmy-winning cop show, "The Shield," the funny profile of a Las Vegas gambler in "Lucky," and now "Nip/Tuck," FX is moving from a network of stale action-movie reruns to one with original and compelling series.
"We're going to look for distinctive voices. We're going to look for high-quality projects and we're going to try to keep one foot in a bold world," said FX Networks president and chief executive Peter Liguori at the recently concluded Television Critics Association press tour. "We want to continue to embrace the authenticity of creators' voices. I think 'Nip/Tuck' most especially addresses that."
The series, which premiered last week and runs every Tuesday at 11 p.m., follows two Miami plastic surgeons -- the playboy Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) who flirts with the ethical line as much as he does his beautiful patients, and Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh), who has begun to question his value to medicine.
But the stories dig deeper, revealing characters obsessed with transforming their appearance while others are driven to change their whole lives.
"The show that I wanted to do is not a show about plastic surgery," said creator Ryan Murphy. "Plastic surgery is the jumping-off point. The show that I want to do is . . . about how people transform their lives on every level."
The series is getting noticed. Houston Chronicle television critic Ann Hodges described the pilot episode as "one of the sauciest, edgiest, goriest, grossest and most engrossing openers of this TV year." And USA Today TV critic Robert Bianco called it "utterly fearless."
But two organizations are not praising "Nip/Tuck": the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), and the Parents Television Council (PTC), which monitors objectionable content on TV and is organizing a campaign to stop the nipping and tucking.
ASPS President James Wells, a plastic surgeon in Long Beach, Calif., called the series, "a waste of time, a waste of acting talent" that "totally misrepresents the specialty."
"It appeals to the most salacious aspect of any kind of entertainment venue -- sex, violence, drugs," he said after seeing the first two episodes. "Think of the most base aspects of our society and it's in there."
He also takes exception to the show's medical accuracy.
"They show inappropriate handling of tissue," he said. "They show blood spattering everywhere. They misrepresent how a liposuction machine functions."
Show creator Murphy, however, believes he is not giving the industry a bad name. "We're giving the industry a face."
"Plastic surgery is a very provocative, controversial arena," he said. "And I think that it will be equally split in terms of what people think of those surgeries and what the doctors think."
The Parents Television Council, a nonprofit group based in Los Angeles, believes viewers agree on one thing: The show is too gross and sexually explicit for prime time TV.
"This is the most outrageous thing I have ever seen on advertiser-supported basic cable," said Melissa Caldwell, director of research for the council. "We're going to be contacting FX to let them know our concerns about this content. I'm sure that we are also going to be contacting a lot of cable companies."
FX is part of the basic package on most cable systems but is not restricted by the same Federal Communications Commission restrictions as broadcast networks like NBC or CBS. Consequently, the network is only beholden to advertisers who support the shows. The network's controversial series "The Shield" initially lost sponsors after its debut because of graphic scenes that included semi-nudity, mutilation and a drug dealer who was burned on an oven grill.
FX head Liguori said keeping sponsors won't be a problem with "Nip/Tuck."
"We wanted to make sure that the choice to advertise in 'Nip/Tuck' was active and informed," he said. "As long as we're handling it responsibly, scheduling it correctly, putting on viewer discretions . . . it protects everyone along the line.
"Now whether this show is more offensive or not, I think, is in the eye of the beholder," he said. "We're not out here trying to push the boundaries of taste. We're out here trying to push the boundaries of creativity."
Provocative 'Nip/Tuck' puts FX on map
By Vince Horiuchi
The Salt Lake Tribune
HOLLYWOOD -- The makers of "Nip/Tuck" call the FX cable TV show "provocative." The Parents Television Council calls it "pornographic."
Somewhere in the middle is a new medical drama pushing the limits of what we can see on TV, while positioning FX as a network with buzz.
"Nip/Tuck," a dark, one-hour satire about two plastic surgeons, is getting critical acclaim for its character studies, complex storylines and riveting acting. But all that people want to gab about after watching the series are certain scenes: a loose liposuction tube spewing body fat all over the operating staff, or a facial reconstruction that shows every scalpel slice on a man's bleeding and bruised face.
Copious amounts of blood, profanity and a PG-13 sex scene in the series pilot help separate FX's bold new dramatic series from the pack.
With such groundbreaking series as the gritty Emmy-winning cop show, "The Shield," the funny profile of a Las Vegas gambler in "Lucky," and now "Nip/Tuck," FX is moving from a network of stale action-movie reruns to one with original and compelling series.
"We're going to look for distinctive voices. We're going to look for high-quality projects and we're going to try to keep one foot in a bold world," said FX Networks president and chief executive Peter Liguori at the recently concluded Television Critics Association press tour. "We want to continue to embrace the authenticity of creators' voices. I think 'Nip/Tuck' most especially addresses that."
The series, which premiered last week and runs every Tuesday at 11 p.m., follows two Miami plastic surgeons -- the playboy Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) who flirts with the ethical line as much as he does his beautiful patients, and Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh), who has begun to question his value to medicine.
But the stories dig deeper, revealing characters obsessed with transforming their appearance while others are driven to change their whole lives.
"The show that I wanted to do is not a show about plastic surgery," said creator Ryan Murphy. "Plastic surgery is the jumping-off point. The show that I want to do is . . . about how people transform their lives on every level."
The series is getting noticed. Houston Chronicle television critic Ann Hodges described the pilot episode as "one of the sauciest, edgiest, goriest, grossest and most engrossing openers of this TV year." And USA Today TV critic Robert Bianco called it "utterly fearless."
But two organizations are not praising "Nip/Tuck": the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), and the Parents Television Council (PTC), which monitors objectionable content on TV and is organizing a campaign to stop the nipping and tucking.
ASPS President James Wells, a plastic surgeon in Long Beach, Calif., called the series, "a waste of time, a waste of acting talent" that "totally misrepresents the specialty."
"It appeals to the most salacious aspect of any kind of entertainment venue -- sex, violence, drugs," he said after seeing the first two episodes. "Think of the most base aspects of our society and it's in there."
He also takes exception to the show's medical accuracy.
"They show inappropriate handling of tissue," he said. "They show blood spattering everywhere. They misrepresent how a liposuction machine functions."
Show creator Murphy, however, believes he is not giving the industry a bad name. "We're giving the industry a face."
"Plastic surgery is a very provocative, controversial arena," he said. "And I think that it will be equally split in terms of what people think of those surgeries and what the doctors think."
The Parents Television Council, a nonprofit group based in Los Angeles, believes viewers agree on one thing: The show is too gross and sexually explicit for prime time TV.
"This is the most outrageous thing I have ever seen on advertiser-supported basic cable," said Melissa Caldwell, director of research for the council. "We're going to be contacting FX to let them know our concerns about this content. I'm sure that we are also going to be contacting a lot of cable companies."
FX is part of the basic package on most cable systems but is not restricted by the same Federal Communications Commission restrictions as broadcast networks like NBC or CBS. Consequently, the network is only beholden to advertisers who support the shows. The network's controversial series "The Shield" initially lost sponsors after its debut because of graphic scenes that included semi-nudity, mutilation and a drug dealer who was burned on an oven grill.
FX head Liguori said keeping sponsors won't be a problem with "Nip/Tuck."
"We wanted to make sure that the choice to advertise in 'Nip/Tuck' was active and informed," he said. "As long as we're handling it responsibly, scheduling it correctly, putting on viewer discretions . . . it protects everyone along the line.
"Now whether this show is more offensive or not, I think, is in the eye of the beholder," he said. "We're not out here trying to push the boundaries of taste. We're out here trying to push the boundaries of creativity."
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Mar 12, 2003 05:26 AM