Nip/Tuck: Not Dead Yet

It's a good thing Nip/Tuck's return last night started with some previously clips, cause otherwise I might have forgotten all of the insane things that happened in the first half of season 5. Let's see, there was Kimber returning to porn, Matt sleeping with his half-sister, fake agent Colleen Rose killing a man by turning him into a teddy bear, and everything and anything to do with Eden. Watching it all together, it's a wonder I got through it.

But last night's episode offered a fresh start. In the very first scene, Sean gave Colleen a permanent exit (we hope). Other season 5 storylines were brushed off with even less effort. Sean's career as a TV star got nary a mention. Matt's incestuous sister is off to New York. Eden and Olivia are nowhere to be seen. And Matt's decision to enter college may mean an end to his days as one man wrecking machine. Amazing what a four month time jump can do.

So four months after Sean's stabbing, he's in a wheelchair and teaching med school. Sean in a classroom makes more sense than Sean on TV, and I'm liking new apprentice Raj as a thorn in Christian's side. But please, do not let Sean sleep with any more teenagers. Three years in a row would just be way too much. Also, I'm not sure how I feel about Sean claiming season 4's peak into the future was all a dream. Kind of a weak move for the writers to weasel out of that promise, but it does free them up.

As for Christian, his breast cancer diagnosis made the episode a bit downbeat. Not the kind of thing we want to see on a guilty pleasure. But Christian has become so obnoxious the last few seasons he could use a bit of humanity. If this makes him a likable anti-hero again, then it's all worth it.

Last night's episode was no return to quality, but it was a step up from recent times. Getting rid of last season's stories is enough to keep me watching. Still, promos show that Kimber and Julia's absences are short-lived, meaning we'll have to suffer through Kimber's porn empire and Julia's amnesia. Last year started out even stronger, with Hearts & Scalpels bringing some fresh humor to the show, before Nip/Tuck slid back into its old lurid tricks. I hate to let Nip/Tuck fool me twice, but I'll keep watching until it all goes to hell again.