TV Review: Nip/Tuck – Manny Skerrit

Posted by Michelle Graham (michelle@filmschoolrejects.com) on February 11, 2009

Nip/Tuck, F/X, Airs Tuesday 10pm E/P

Episode: “Manny Skerrit” (Season 5, Episode 19)

Synopsis: The newest addition to McNamara/Troy proves herself quite the troublemaker and even brings out the nastier side of Sean, who is struggling with the idea of his own life story being filmed as an Aidan Stone feature. Meanwhile, Kimber takes drastic action to ensure baby Jenna’s future. In the episode’s main case, a yogi with an addiction to himself requests that McNamara/Troy take a bit off the top to leave him just out of tongue’s reach.

Review: No sign of a definite plot direction, but at least we had a light, enjoyable episode to fill the void. Starting the episode with so much back story was a little lazy, perhaps the writers couldn’t come up with enough content to stretch to 42 minutes. Although if nothing else, it certainly showed how much Aidan was changing Sean’s story. Perhaps that was the point?

There were a few interesting threads this week, but really the best and most fascinating occurred as soon as Starbuck joined the team. I’m aware her character’s name is not Starbuck and that Starbuck exists only on Battlestar Galactica, but this is like saying that Patrick Stewart should not be referred to as Picard in all things he’s in. True, he has played many other characters and yes he is a talented actor, but damn it he will always be Captain Jean Luc Picard and she will always be Starbuck. End of story. It may not be a good reflection on the show or me, but seeing her on N/T was probably the best part of the episode. Starbuck is the epitome of cool, and apparently “Teddy” is no different.

Coming in at a distant second would be the related thread of Sean’s slip and slide over to the dark side, with his attraction to “Teddy”’s wild child approach to life. Usually the straight laced half of McNamara/Troy, it’s refreshing and a little unsettling to see him relaxing the stick up his ass enough to joke around, particularly in theatre. As long as she’s around, his approach won’t be as rigid, and it’s entertaining while it lasts. With his tales of woe and teddy stuffing from the Colleen Rose days going towards a Lifetime Movie of the Week, perhaps it’s best that he’s relaxed.

On the even more twisted side of the street, there’s baby plastic surgery. To be honest, I didn’t even consider such a thing as possible to exist up until I watched this week’s episode. Babies are babies, for crying out loud. Kimber’s cavalier attitude to her baby’s body is atrocious, but completely in character. It’s Christian that surprised me. I guess the cash was a good enough argument for her case. That and the fact that lopsided lips aren’t at all attractive.

I’m starting to care less and less about a cohesive overall plot arc to end the season on, after all some shows work well in the stand-alone episode format. However, I would like some loose ends tied up before we move on to season 6. Liz is gone, Julia has left for New York and Eden is a free agent. Liz and Julia are acceptable, though having Liz back before season 6 would be nice. The main issue is that Eden is walking around, free as a bird. Everyone knows that secrets don’t keep on tv, and the fact that it was her that pulled the trigger on Julia and not her dearly departed mum cannot stay buried forever. Someone has to find out eventually! It’s just too good a possible storyline to miss out on.

Up Next Week: “Budi Sabri” – Sean and “Teddy” (Starbuck) explore their relationship. Christian relates to a patient with a unique condition.

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Did you watch Nip/Tuck this week? If so, feel free to discuss below.

Read more articles by Michelle Graham