Nip/Tuck: Season 1, Episode 8: Cara Fitzgerald Review

Cara Fitzgerald

Original Airdate: September 16, 2003

Writer: Ryan Murphy

Director: Jamie Babbit

I wasn’t crazy about this episode when I first saw it, but looking at it two seasons down the road, it has improved dramatically. What do you do when you do something horrible, but easy to hide? Matt, his friend Henry, Sean and Christian deal with three different crisis of conscience. This parallel action strengthens the writing of the episode while advancing the story.

Under the bleachers, Matt and Henry smoke weed. Prior to this episode, not much had been explored regarding Matt’s school life. All we knew were his relationships with Vanessa and Ridley, both of which are forgotten in this episode. Matt’s function on the show is focused on his interaction with Christian, Julia and Sean, which is appropriate since the practice is the center of the show. This seemingly ordinary afternoon will change their lives.

Before that, it’s important to establish Matt’s friend Henry’s beliefs and their stoner discussion about life. He believes that his strong Jewish faith will reward him with a good life. They are on the verge of starting their lives in college and beyond. Their faiths are tested hours after their talk.

While driving home, Matt is high and distracted by the radio and hits Cara, who was picking up her things on the road. In a moment, everything they’ve invested in has been wasted. The director does a great job establishing that initial shock and the panic that ensues with a brief silence. The camera serving as their point of view provided an excellent source of suspense as we didn’t know what was behind the car until they did.

Last week’s episode focused on the exotic side of sex; this week it was the dark side. One of their patients, Devon, wants her nose done so that it doesn’t resemble her father’s, who raped her when she was younger. Though Christian is blunt, he makes a valid point that changing her nose may not be what she needs to get over it. Unfortunately, victims of sexual violence are never done with the ordeal their perpetrators inflicted upon them. Even if she was given a new nose, Christian argues, she would eventually find another part of her body that reminds her of him.

Another patient, Mike Shane, is getting the bandages from his surgery removed. He had a birthmark from his genitals taken off, but a small red mark remained, which needed to go away quick for “his honeymoon”. Of course, this appeals to Christian’s ladies man, and they crack jokes to ease the tension as he gives him a bleaching cream which should expedite the healing process. When watching this for the first time it feels like an ordinary surgery, but now it can be paralleled to the pilot episode.

When Christian is watching the news, he finds that Mike is actually a priest and the procedure was meant to hide an identifiable mark so his accusers couldn’t confirm who he was. This is similar to Perez wanting to change his face to hide from Escobar, whose daughter he raped. Both incidents disgusted him, but in this episode, we go further to find it’s deeper than human decency.

This episode’s strongest scene was the corresponding action between Sean and Christian & Matt and Henry deciding how to deal with their respective dilemmas. Both could lose everything if they come clean. McNamara/Troy could hurt their reputation by going against doctor/patient confidentiality or stay quiet and let this pedophile go. Matt and Henry could go to the authorities and be arrested or stay quiet at the cost of their conscience. They fit together so well that dialogue segues between the two pairs seamlessly.

Matt’s way of redeeming himself for hurting Cara is to use his dad to repair his mess. This helps us not totally turn off from Matt, but this action is only a half measure. Henry knows that more than Matt does. By keeping it secret, he won’t be absolved of his actions. However, he thinks he can live easier if she doesn’t have the scars on her face to remind him. Cara is a Christian Scientist, who doesn’t believe in such treatment. It’s surprising how neither Sean, Christian and Julia noticed Matt’s sudden interest in her. Part of him is sincere, but most of it is to quell his guilt.

Sean’s affair with Megan continues to grow. Megan is in love with Sean and she wants implants to be able to enjoy their love fully. Their exchange is tender, but awkward as Dr. Santiago is in the room witnessing the whole thing. Grace isn’t stupid and can tell by the obvious signs what’s going on, so she informs Christian. She doesn’t have much choice professionally to tell him. It backfires when Christian, not surprisingly, takes his partner’s side. Christian has had contempt for her from the moment they met, whereas he has a bond with Sean that has survived almost twenty years.

During this confrontation, Christian and Grace’s fling is revealed. Sean hypocritically denounces Christian for his behavior even though he has used the office to conduct his affair. After Grace is dismissed, Sean tries to hard to make an argument as to why he wouldn’t have an affair, as if he was trying to convince both himself and Christian. Christian doesn’t call him out though.

We knew that Christian had problems with his father from the brief flashback in the pilot episode. In this episode, we find out what happened. When he was a child, a man named Mr. Troy adopted him and raped him. Mr. Troy gave Christian hush money and he didn’t tell anyone. With his foster father’s death, Christian thought he was done with it, but he never will be. This is the second time that a child molester exploited McNamara/Troy for his own benefit. Perez died before paying the penalty. The only way Christian could find redemption is coercing Father Shannon to do the right thing and confess. It’s an intense scene, both emotionally and violently, as Christian brandishes a scalpel, at one point stabbing Shannon in the leg, to get out the truth.

Afterward he is still haunted by his past as he cries in Sean’s arms. This continues what Ryan Murphy called a “love story between two heterosexual men”. Their bond is that deep so as they can reveal their secrets to each other and somehow overcome them.

This is an intense episode throughout. It deals with the many darker sides of humanity as a piece that explores conscience and what how humans deal with it when they have the option to hide the truth. “You’re going to jail, whether you go to hell is up to you,” as Christian says to Father Shannon, sums it up perfectly. The past will inevitably come back, how we handle it is our choice.

Score: 9/10

24: Season 4, Episode 19: Day 4: 1:00 AM - 2:00 AM Review

Day 4: 1:00 AM – 2:00 AM

Original Airdate: April 25, 2005

Writers: Howard Gordon & Evan Katz

Director: Bryan Spicer

I was worried about 24 coming into this episode. Of recent episodes, many were below their standards and two, one of them being the previous week’s, were among their worst. With six episodes left, how would 24 recuperate from the growing pains of the transitional arc and begin delivering on its promise? This week’s episode is a strong indicator that things are coming back to shape, which is a relief.

One of this episode’s flaws was the lack of continuity regarding Jack’s resignation. It appeared that it happened so he could get the information out of Prado, but in the opening minutes of this episode, we learn Jack is still working. Did he resign and reapply within three minutes? Being cheated out of another segment of Jack rogue was a disappointment. It does lead to consequences later on, which hurts their investigation significantly.

Audrey represents the way they should’ve handled last week’s torture debate. Instead of coming off like a babbling idiot or a bleeding heart that would rather help the terrorists than prevent future attacks, Audrey is thorough and strong rationalizing the consequences of Jack’s actions. It would’ve been better if they explored this further and had it do more than thwart the sting operation. This does seem to be a step in the right direction to get an effective dialogue going again. 24 blurs the line between good and evil, as the good guys end up doing deplorable things to prevent deplorable things from happening. In desperate times, they go extremely far and while it does help the dramatic impact, there needs to be a follow up.

Logan can’t win. His indecisiveness has been harshly criticized since his entrance. When confronted to make a choice, he calls Secret Service to arrest Jack for going against his orders. As Jack is finding Marwan, using a cool camera through the ventilation shafts (man I want to raid CTU’s toy chest), Secret Service arrive, which blows their cover and leads to another escape by Marwan (4^th since 6 PM). Jack really shouldn’t get so mad at them. They have no choice. He should be mad at Logan.

Although this wimpy president is a little ridiculous, it does set the stage for the return of another old friend, Palmer. I was hoping to see him at the start of the season as a civilian friend of Jack’s, following up on their conversation in the season three finale, but the Audrey arc was more important to establish where Jack was when the madness started. Some may criticize 24’s decision last year to fire all the leads except for Kiefer Sutherland, only to bring them back later on in the season. I don’t agree with this. It helps to see Tony, Michelle and Palmer back. Their returns this season certainly were better contrived than Sherry and Nina’s last season, which were far more to please fans. If only Sherry had been scraped last year and put in this season.

While in the club, Marwan, unmasked, records a statement made to instill fear. I think it is safe to presume that that tape was what Terror Thug had when Jack killed him. This will soon be revealed to CTU when they analyze it. Although the chip Nabila found will probably be the most useful, the tape could provide some clue that we didn’t see when they shifted perspective to Jack and CTU. As for the threat itself, it was appropriately chilling. Vosloo, with those haunting sinking eyes, does a fantastic job at keeping his voice at a slow boil. Despite the incompetence of some of Marwan’s associates, he never raises his voice, which can be effective at scaring the audience.

If anything other than Jack is going to take out Marwan, it’ll be one of his stupid subordinates. Why did Sabir bookmark a terrorist website for his non terrorist girlfriend to see? That’s like a regular boyfriend leaving porn in the VCR or DVD player. I guess detachment works for both sides. Many of the terrorists have been brought down through some personal relationship (Syed Ali in season two, Stephen Saunders last season.) Maybe this will be the first step in Marwan’s downfall.

Nabila, Sabir’s girlfriend, succeeds where the “Look, We’re Not Racists” brothers failed. I think most people know that not every Middle Eastern person is a terrorist. Interest groups, offended by the terrorist’s race, pressured 24 for positive Arabic characters and the result was too over the top not to be an attempt to appease them. Although I believe the actress is Indian, it was a much more natural portrayal of someone who wanted to help prevent the attacks. This was far more important than her ethnicity.

Chloe and Edgar have to get together by the end of the season. Granted many fans are hoping for Tony and Michelle to get back, but Chloe and Edgar seems like there would be some potential. While there is still schoolyard bickering between the two, like when Edgar refuses to let Chloe use the computer to work on the only lead they have because he’s doing general work. But it’s clear that there is something, like when he tells her that he wanted to go, but couldn’t because Chloe is the best and compliments her. Chloe’s awkward “I know” still represents how she isn’t quite ready or sure how to handle whatever feelings they have. Next week will definitely feature the aftermath and hopefully the end of the pettiness between them.

After all of these missions where the bad guys surprise them, wouldn’t they want to bring some more reinforcements to obtain the only lead they have in capturing and preventing his next attack of a major terrorist who has already done a lot of damage. Two Red Shirts doesn’t make sense, especially in the middle of the night. After Curtis’ melee at McLennan-Forester not even twelve hours earlier, wouldn’t they take better care at retrieving vital information? I don’t know why they needed to access it there. It looked as though all the information was on the lap top.

How cool was it to see Chloe out in the field? This could be a major turning point for her character. As the socially awkward but technically (literal sense) brilliant analyst, she has never been in a situation where her life was threatened. I loved the fake out when the thug shot at the car they were in, only to have the bullets repel because of the bullet proof glass. It helped add to the suspense to have him standing at them firing with a shotgun. Then to have him get in his car and start ramming them, all the while Jack and CTU could only tell them the password to access the weaponry. When they got it open, it was beautiful. I was jumping out of my bed.

This episode makes up for last week’s awkwardness. They’re continuing to set up the pieces for the final part, but it seems as if the transitional phase is over. The last five minutes made this episode. Chloe blowing away that terrorist was one of the best things I've seen on 24 in a long time. I think my faith has been restored.

Score: 9/10

Nip/Tuck: Season 1, Episode 7: Cliff Mantegna Review

Cliff Mantegna

Original Airdate: September 9, 2003

Writers: Brad Falchuk

Director: Scott Brazil

Now at the mid-point of its freshman season, Nip/Tuck had proved it was willing to shock their audience in ways mainstream networks wouldn’t dare. Already they dealt with self-circumcision, teenage threesomes and porn. Despite this controversy, there was still artistic merit. Following this episode, things would only improve to an unforgettable season finale. This episode is provocative, but doesn’t have much dramatic impact as later episodes.

Cliff Mantegna is looking to boost his status as a swinger by having his man breasts removed. “Thirty women in one night” have rejected him because of them. Despite the pain that will come with the procedure, it’ll be the end of a lifetime of ridicule and the ticket to The Scene, an exclusive club for swingers. During a special blood test Christian ordered, he found that Cliff has Hepatitis C and won’t likely be allowed at parties like The Scene ever again. This storyline draws parallels to Christian and Kimber’s ongoing dysfunctional relationship.

It isn’t a good sign that they are already bored with each other. Now Kimber’s desperate to please Christian, role playing as a prostitute and a nurse to arouse him. Maybe this would work if Christian was more willing to fulfill one of Kimber’s fantasies, but Christian can be selfish. Although she is uncomfortable, she agrees to go to The Scene and fool around with a girl for Christian’s enjoyment. When they leave she thinks they’ll be alright, but we know they won’t.

Jude is a mid-twenties answer to Christian. Listening to some of their dialogue it could’ve come from either of them, especially regarding their stance on women. They use their charm to lure ladies. While Christian likes a variety of women, Jude focuses more on middle aged women. He makes Julia a fancy snack during their studying. When he is waiting to meet the doctors on the first day of his internship, he charms another woman enough that later she accompanies him to The Scene. Jude’s magnetism sent Julia over to McNamara/Troy to convince Sean to give him an internship.

Returning home, she discovers Matt’s threesome. Why didn’t they lock the door? Of course there is tension between Julia and Sean because their lack of communication over how to discuss sex with their son is still flawed. Sean’s secret urge to congratulate Matt doesn’t help either. Julia is right that there are consequences, explored later in this episode, but Matt doesn’t care because he thinks threesomes aren’t as destructive as drugs or violence.

Sean and Julia had a good idea to have an “intervention” to discuss Matt, Ridley and Vanessa’s threesome. An open dialogue is important to establish trust. They lose because the girls’ respective parents’ personalities are two extremes. Both are not realistic dealing with sex. Ridley’s mom believes that kids are going to do it regardless and doesn’t do much to interfere. She’s read about preteens giving sexual favors, so she thinks her daughter’s sexual experimentation is normal. Vanessa’s parents are the other extreme. Instead of encouraging a reckless attitude about sex, they prefer to repress and ignore it. They deny her lesbianism and prefer to believe she is still a virgin who will live a “traditional” life. Sean and Julia represent a moderate perspective, but their lack of connection with Matt didn’t help. If they had continued, perhaps these dialogues could’ve yielded positive results.

Matt took some advice from Christian about the three-way in the prior episode. His influence continues when Vanessa confronts Matt with the fact that he has been secretly seeing Ridley. Vanessa loves Ridley, even though Ridley was more into experimenting with girls than falling in love. Matt knew this and pursued Ridley anyway. Vulnerable, Vanessa is heartbroken when Matt betrays her and the trust they formed in this threesome.

Multiple partners aside, this episode also dealt with another sexual taboo, the less exotic, but still destructive adultery. The tension between Jude and Julia is getting strong in this episode. He’s attracted to her because he likes women her type and she’s attracted to him because of his resemblance to Christian. When she finds suggestive pictures, place conspicuously near their school books, she steals one, discovered by Sean later. This turns to be a pivotal reason for what he does with Megan next.

Before finding Jude’s picture, Sean had been indirectly hinting at wanting to see Mrs. O’Hara again. While complaining of back pain, Christian suggests seeing her, since she’s a chiropractor. Sean pretends that he forgot her profession. We know this is a lie because Megan’s impact last week was too big for him to forget. His back problems are a way to get him to see her, even though the ulterior motives were clear. Perhaps he subconsciously slept irregularly or exaggerated his back problems.

During his first appointment, he gets an erection, an obvious sign of his feelings for her. Initially he doesn’t want to admit this, which ties into his back problems because he has tension accumulated from repressing his emotions. He has kept his feelings for Megan to himself, along with many other issues in his life. Starting an affair with Megan is the only way he sees to address this. Dramatically this affair turns things around, even if it isn’t the best thing to do morally.

While Sean is drawn to Megan, Julia is turned away when she learns of Jude’s lifestyle. Jude is trying to get into The Scene as well, which explains the body shots Julia found. She finds out about this when she seeks advice about how to deal with Matt’s threesome. Her appalled behavior contrasts with Jude’s indifferent attitude towards her son’s experimentation. This revelation is what keeps Julia from straying, although she still has thoughts about it.

Jude going to the party draws the ire of Christian, especially since his date was the woman he charmed on his first day as an intern. The next day, Sean and Christian decide to fire Jude. Christian reason isn’t much for going to the swingers’ party, since he too was there with a patient, but because of this patient’s resemblance Julia obviously knew that when she confronts him at the end. He did it because he wants her but can’t have her and a guy who is much like Christian is trying to. Because he hurt her friend, she hurts him back by kissing him, leading him on and saying he was thinking about Jude when it happened.

This episode deals with sexuality and the consequences. It can break hearts (Vanessa), make you literally sick (Cliff), divide your relationship (Christian and Kimber) or drive someone away (Julia) or towards someone, even if the conditions are morally reprehensible (Sean). The second stage of the show is complete. Although the threesome plot was suddenly dropped after this episode, it won’t be the last interesting thing to happen to Matt. Megan and Sean’s affair, while on the surface not encouraged, is understood because of all the sadness and lack of fulfillment in his life, and it would serve well for future episodes. Many of the more controversial elements of season one are featured here and while it isn’t one of the best episodes, it is still a worthy establishment to advance the story.

Score: 7/10

24: Season 4, Episode 18: Day 4: 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM Review

Day 4: 12:00 AM – 1:00 AM

Original Airdate: April 18, 2005

Writers: Joel Surnow and Michael Loceff

Director: Jon Cassar

After the last few episodes, it looked as if 24 recovered for the final arc of the season. Unfortunately, they needed another episode to waste before that. This episode is padded with a lot of filler material. Even worse is that this was extremely preachy and seems to be another in a continuing trend of over the top right wing messages this season, almost as if they’re compensating for the left wing messages from the second season.

They have done a better job of characterizing Logan in these few episodes than Keeler in his entire run, even though Logan’s been portrayed as a total wuss. To be fair, he was called upon following an assassination attempt on his predecessor on the worst day in American history. He does have a fair case to go to the bunker. Even though they attacked Keeler, Logan is still a viable target. Taking out two presidents in succession is a horrifying premise that could be one of their operations to destroy the morale of America and create mass panic. However, he needs to remain composed. He can take a few moments, but it needs to be displaced until the job is done, like what Jack does.

Yosik’s stupidity comes off as very contrived. Why isn’t he using cash to pay for his gas? Why didn’t he ditch the car and car jack someone else? What assurance does he have that Marwan won’t blow his head off for committing such a stupid error? This dim-witted incident, which should’ve been scrapped or retooled, serves to propel the episode’s regrettable storyline.

Could Paul just remain stable for a little bit? Please? This is another problem 24 has with its real time format, where a storyline is resolved, or close to it, with hours to spare, and 24’s producers and writers scramble to concoct another storyline to take up the rest of the season. It’s inevitable that Audrey (who seems to be at a loss for something to do since the early afternoon) will leave Jack, but we have to wait until the end of the season for that to happen.

I'm still grateful that the emotional drama at CTU was limited to that brief scene and those between Tony and Michelle, although this one is stalling before their inevitable reconciliation. I hope that Tony will stick to his promise and keep their personal drama to himself until this situation is over. Personal problems at CTU have allowed Marwan’s success. Then again, Marwan would simply kill anyone who gave him attitude.

Following Yosik’s blunder, Marwan sends Joe Prado to help him out of the country. Yosik is rightfully paranoid, even without knowing that tactical teams are only a hundred feet away. This is when it starts to get murky. As the team surrounds the boat, Yosik is told by Marwan to kill Prado then himself, but Prado kills him first. CTU takes Prado into custody.

Desperate to keep CTU from interrogating Prado, Marwan calls an associate to report the incident to Amnesty Global, a thinly veiled reference to Amnesty International. The first problem with this scenario is that why he would hire more Americans than necessary. He needed Anderson to steal the F-117 and his appearance wouldn’t go noticed. Whenever they’ve been caught this season, the terrorists have killed themselves before being captured. Perhaps Prado was useful in providing passports and aiding in the terrorists travel routes, but wouldn’t there have been a safer choice for them? Second, why couldn’t Marwan send one of his cells to suicide bomb CTU or sabotage it otherwise? A bombing would’ve been tough to do without mimicking “Day 2: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM”, but it could’ve provided a distraction to allow Prado’s escape.

Marwan sending a lawyer via a human’s rights group was insulting and preachy. To be fair, I don’t like when a show discusses one side of an argument aggressively, be it right (24), left (Six Feet Under) or other. Through this season, they’ve portrayed several people with liberal perspectives as blithering idiots (Richard Heller), people in the pockets of terrorists (Amnesty Global) or both. Although, they have had their share of left wing subtexts, like season two’s evil oil men and season three’s euthanasia in the hotel of doom. Perhaps they’ll lose regardless of however they try to tackle a controversial topic like this one, but maybe they should explore this issue more regarding the innocents that have been torture. The show could improve if they didn’t give CTU all of the benefit of the doubt. CTU’s portrayal isn’t as flattering either, but their incompetence is frustrating to watch too.

Edgar is justified in being upset, but why is he wasting his energy getting mad at a flunky like Prado? His delivery was unconvincing. If Marwan was captured, it would make more sense, but this felt forced. Early in the season I had liked Edgar a lot, but in the last few hours he has grated on me. Whether he agrees with it or not, he shouldn’t let his feelings for revenge interfere with their investigation. Buchanan was right to turn down firmly Edgar’s outbursts as unprofessional (if only he had recommended this earlier). I'm hoping that this is only the result of the episode’s shoddy writing.

The Prado filler plot diminishes the impact of what should’ve been the center of focus this week; the interception of a nuclear warhead. Having it occur in Iowa (Iowa?) also makes it feel more detached, but they may need a few hours for the warhead to travel so that it’ll be close to its target (likely LA) when the season ends. They have said there is no way to stop these warheads when they begin their mission, so whatever option Jack and CTU have when it’s launched is unknown.

Jack’s solution is probably the only way they could’ve gotten the information from Prado. But why didn’t Jack consider how suspicious it would be that his resignation and Prado’s assault occurred within 10 minutes of each other? Although CTU didn’t permit or know in advance what Jack did, Buchanan did know that Jack was resigning to do it. Jack may have been better off going AWOL or being unclear of his reasons for resignation and left Buchanan a note or something.

Now Jack is rogue once again. While snapping Prado’s thumb was tough, he can still return to CTU by season’s end. Considering some of the prior things he’s done rogue, this isn’t the worst. However, Jack alone is usually a lot of fun to watch.

The episode suffers from the need to draw things out so Marwan and his team can prepare for the last phase (or the penultimate phase) of their operation. Surnow and Loceff fail to refresh the interrogation storyline because it feels manipulative in favor of torture. Constitutional rights are important, but they’ve been brushed aside easily. Granted, most of the suspects have been guilty, but even those who were innocent didn’t get much in the area of an apology for what they endured. Yes torture helps amplify the stakes involved, but I couldn’t be enthused by the stolen warhead below the preaching. I'm still hopeful that we’ll see the other side. Perhaps Jack will wind up on the other end of the torture machine like in season two. While I was quick to say that 24 regained its momentum in the last few weeks, this week was discouraging. However, this could be just one bump before a stellar finish.

Score: 4/10

Nip/Tuck: Season 1, Episode 6: Megan O'Hara Review

Megan O’Hara

Original Airdate: September 2, 2003

Writers: Jennifer Salt

Director: Craig Zisk

Can a physical change improve a person’s emotional life? That’s the central question to the episode. Bliss seeks help to change her physical shape so she can fit the lie she told someone on the net. Sean wants a vasectomy to avoid future pregnancies. Megan wants to get breast implants to reward her husband for staying through her cancer nightmare. Vanessa wants a threesome so Ridley will love her. As they learn, it isn’t as easy to find a solution to their problems.

Bliss’ procedure, getting excess skin removed following a dramatic weight loss to impress a man she’s been dating online, is the comic relief of this episode. Internet relationships can be difficult as many people can take advantage of the anonymity of the web. It doesn’t matter if you’re obese, scarred or unusually tall or short. On the internet, you can be attractive and charismatic. She lied to Isaac and tried to conceal it with the weight loss and having her skin tightened. Ironically, Isaac deceived her too, but he didn’t do anything about it.

The consequences of Christian’s actions continue as his new car and his beloved Boatox are vandalized. Christian’s mix of business with pleasure is strong, as he and Grace have sex in the break room, but the results spill over like when Nico comes to the office with a baseball bat. Again, Sean tries to convince Christian to keep his indiscretions private, but by the end he contradicts himself by kissing Megan, which is enough reason for Christian to give Kimber another chance, just as she is about to perform more vandalism.

Kimber has problems. Her engagement to the photographer months after her one night stand with Christian is a good indicator of instability. We saw bits of it when Christian tried to dump her following Nico’s rampage in Troy/McNamara’s office the night after Christian sleeps with Kimber. Christian has been cruel to her. Using her for sex and surgery in the pilot and discarding her afterward was a horrible thing to do. She is still vengeful. Like Gina, Christian pushed her beyond her limit.

Gina has changed already from what we saw last week. Even things like her smoking and greeting him with her trademark “Hey Asshole” showed how bitter she is. Outside of the program, she is cynical, which is one reason why she has turned to sex to make her feel better. When she had her life in order, Christian came and she lost her grip on sobriety. She blames him entirely for it. When confronted about the spray paint, she doesn’t deny it, even though we learn Kimber was behind it.

Christian can be a heartless human being for those who give him pleasure. We see this in a humorous light as he calls his various partners to figure out who was behind who wrecked his cars and boat. Often he doesn’t find out the woman’s right name, and he instantly regrets insincere comments like wanting to be friends with them.

The lack of continuity involving Nanette Babcock’s suicide three episodes earlier aggravated some fans, but it was better to hold it off until this episode because it had heavier implications. With the return of the vandalizing, she would’ve been a prime suspect. Her suicide only added to Sean’s depression. Not being able to help her made him feel like things were further out his control.

His gloomy mood started with Julia’s miscarriage. Since she put the kid at risk without his knowledge, his trust in her has been compromised. His plans for a new start with a new kid have been dashed so that Julia could go forward with her dreams. Getting a vasectomy seems to be the only solution to his problem so that he won’t go through another miscarriage. Megan’s arrival triggers a major change in his life. She has experienced loss through medical treatments for her breast cancer. Her husband doesn’t want to feel for the sake of being strong for her. However, she needs to cry about her ordeal so she can move past it. Sean hasn’t given himself the time to feel for the loss of his miscarried child.

Megan persuades Sean not to get the vasectomy because it is an external solution to a personal problem, which is why she cancels her implant procedure. Helping Megan helped Sean because he felt like he could serve someone after failing with Nanette and his wife. His solution to his problem is the beginning of an affair with Megan. Unlike Julia, Megan is much more positive and unrestrained.

Threesomes are taboo, as is teenage sex. When Nip/Tuck combined them, they solidified a special spot among South Park and HBO as TV’s leading provocateurs. While a preliminary glance indicates that this is just smut for the sake of ratings, it clearly isn’t. This encounter, Vanessa last attempt to keep Ridley, is supposed to be awkward. They don’t know how to begin and sit around confused. This threeway only further divides Vanessa and Ridley. Many couples who engage in experimental sex as a last resort generally fail miserably in getting their relationship back on track.

It was clear in the beginning of the episode that Ridley was only into experimenting and unfortunately led Vanessa along, who mistook it for something more serious. Vanessa is a typical hopeless romantic teenage, but Ridley is also the typical “wants to have fun” teenager. She had a lesbian fling, but now is attracted to men. What was intended to keep them closer together only broke Vanessa’s heart.

This episode continues to expand upon complications that would make up the rest of the season. Elements such as a vengeful Gina, Megan and Sean’s relationship, Kimber’s return and Matt’s sexuality will continue to be important pieces of the show. All the people trying to make physical changes to solve their emotional problems was strong through most of the episode. The threesome is shocking, but tastefully done. Knowing that the best is still later in the season is encouraging with good episodes like this one.

Score: 8/10

24: Season 4, Episode 17: Day 4: 11:00 PM - 12:00 AM Review

Day 4: 11:00 PM – 12:00 AM

Original Airdate: April 11, 2005

Writers: Duppy Demetrius

Director: Jon Cassar

Following last week’s episode was an easy task because they didn’t need to live up to the hype Fox generated for 10:00 PM – 11:00 PM. It would have to answer why they would target the president, but it didn’t have to deliver on a promise of a mind blowing twist. It looks like they are finishing preparations on what will be the season’s final act.

Hearing the transmissions from Air Force One made me think that while it was powerful in itself, it would’ve provoked a more potent reaction had Palmer been on the plane. Even the resulting search for the president (poor Kevin) would’ve been agonizing if we were awaiting Palmer’s fate.

By replacing Keeler with Logan, they’ve reset the role of president as the season prepares for its climax. Keeler was at best a background character who kept the plot moving when necessary. They must have big plans for the president since they have gotten a new guy to fill that role as opposed to throwing Keeler to the center suddenly. Also having the president switched in the middle of a crisis adds to the stakes involved. They should utilize this opportunity to develop Logan’s character.

In a rather unceremonious return, Mike Novick comes back after being gone since the season two finale. This reentry should’ve been better prepared. He hasn’t been on 24 for so long that having a casual return hurts the dramatic impact. Only Mandy has been away from 24 for longer, and most fans remember seeing her pop up to give Palmer a handshake, as anticlimactic as the aftermath was. Granted Novick doesn’t have the cult following of Mandy, but even not showing his face as he walked into Logan’s office and playing a dramatic sound when they did would’ve worked effectively.

Another problem with his comeback is the logistics involved. When we last saw him, Palmer had fired him for conspiring with the vice president to throw him out of office. Now he is in a new administration and it seems as if nothing has happened. Sherry also has been dead since before Keeler’s election, so he didn’t have that card to help him. He does have an ally with Walt, the suspicious aide we saw at the end of the episode. Maybe Keeler really hated Palmer and wanted Mike on his team. I hope that they clear this up in the next episode. This does help if or when Palmer returns to the show.

Novick never learned the consequences of his deceptive actions from the second season and Logan must not know about them either. Assembling the cabinet without Logan’s knowledge isn’t much different from what he did in season two. While he paid dearly, losing his position and Palmer’s trust, he never faced the penalty for Lynne’s fall. They need to address this, even if it is the only reason they brought him back for.

My first impression of Jason and Kelly, the couple camping out who find the football among the wreckage, wasn’t good. Considering 24’s history with stories involving civilian lives, notably Maya’s arc this year, this had some weight. The sound of Anderson’s missile striking Air Force One would’ve been unmistakable. Even the crashing debris must’ve made a loud noise. They wouldn’t have second guessed that something big happened. Second, these people on 24 tend to have a lifespan of about 2-3 minutes. However, this became the best portrayal of ordinary people caught in a terrorist situation since Andrew Paige at the beginning of the season. Both actors and much of their dialogue were believable. Jason reading about, but not knowing the Football’s name and his casual language talking to Jack (“You know those terrorists…they’re here”), made me sympathize with him.

Paul needing follow up surgery starts another look into Jack and Audrey’s psychologies. Audrey has been thinking a lot about her relationships with Paul and Jack and what men they are. Jack knows well that to do his job, he needs to remain detached while he’s doing it, which is something Audrey can’t do. Not to say Jack doesn’t care. Hours before Paul took a bullet intended for Jack. Jack will be grateful for that for the rest of his life, but he has to think about the job now.

Their relationship draws parallel to the camping couple. Kelly can’t think Jack’s way when her husband is cornered by Marwan and his thugs. I can’t blame her. She’s not trained to handle a situation like that, few people are. Though she is handling a major piece of the terrorists plans with her, seeing her husband be shot and to have them put pressure on the wounds is too much to ask for. Thankfully, Jason kept quiet figuratively about the location of the Football. Both acted out of love for the other. Jack showed his compassion by not giving them a hard time for doing so. Her scream did help lead him to them.

The personal drama has been toned down to the point where it is hardly noticeable. Two weeks ago, it reached excruciatingly annoying heights with Chloe and Edgar’s pointless bickering. Jason and Kelly weren’t overblown and it worked as a personal story of average people in impossible situations in addition to contrast between Jack and Audrey. CTU was brief in personal drama when Buchanan told Tony Michelle still had feelings for him. Many fans have been disappointed with whom Michelle and Tony rebounded. I hope that the writers and the lovebirds can make amends.

One of the more frustrating things was Jack being caught in a shoot out with a gunman for ten minutes of the episode. This is more realistic than prior Jack gun fights, but for dramatic purposes, it’s best to keep these brief and exciting. I liked how Jack cleverly threw some of his bullets into a coffee can and started a slow burning fire to make it sound like he was firing back, giving him time to sneak up on him. His line “Hey” before killing him almost feels like Jack wants to branch out into one-liners.

The unmanned plant set was great. I loved the coarse yellows featured throughout, and since it looked uniform throughout, aside from a few corridors, the main set could’ve doubled for various other places in the plant. It really felt like it was the middle of the night in a scary, empty power station. You couldn’t account for where any of them were, which added to the suspense. Some could argue that Jason and Kelly could’ve rerouted their path to be near the station in case they were already tracked (which we knew they were), but they are not professionals, and it did lead to an ominous locale.

Marwan’s becoming the Road Runner of 24. He has escaped from CTU’s clutches 3 times in 5 hours that I count. Since he has part of the Football, he should find a stationary hideout of doom to conduct the next phase, because constantly getting close to Jack, but narrowly escaping is getting old. Of the villains of 24, he has some of the most wasted potential. Maybe that will change since he is no longer constantly running around grabbing the tools he needs to complete his operation (at least for now).

With some of the nuclear playbook in Marwan’s possession, they now have set us up for the final arc of the season. This should end some of the sillier elements we saw in the episodes following the end of the override plot. The lack of mystery about what the terrorists wanted helped after last week’s mystery most of the viewers knew about hours earlier. Only seven hours are left. While this episode may have been only a point A to B exercise, it seems to approaching the level it was in the beginning of the season.

Score: 8/10

Nip/Tuck: Season 1, Episode 5: Kurt Dempsey Review

Kurt Dempsey

Original Airdate: August 19, 2003

Writers: Lynnie Greene & Richard Levine

Director: Elodie Keene

“You can be amazed what you can do if you want something enough.” These words spoken by the McNamara’s doctor during their ultrasound couldn’t better represent this episode. David smashed his wife’s nose with a hammer so she could get one more procedure. One of their patients covered his body with tattoos to show his love for his ex Latoya. Kurt underwent a procedure so his eyes would look like his Japanese fiancé's to get her xenophobic mother to approve. Julia had a miscarriage because she attended class against doctor’s orders so she could pass.

David’s efforts to “ease [Ellie’s] pain” were the most disturbing, and I'm still not sure that their explanation was the truth. It seems too dark for love, but love does make people do crazy things for it. His affection for her during their consultation looked genuine. Grace’s is probably right that couples that are willing to share their darkest parts to each other can be capable of things most of us can’t understand.

Julia’s pregnancy comes at another inopportune time. Her first time with Matt made her drop out of school to be a stay at home mom. Being a mom gave her an excuse to put off doing what she wanted. Then she had Annie, which renewed it. She’s in denial about it, comforted by Sean’s promise to be a more active father, but Matt makes her see that the baby is another excuse. Did she ever want it? She risks the baby so she can pass the class and ultimately miscarries. Unfortunately, she didn’t talk about this with Sean. Such passive aggressive measures are careless and selfish, especially knowing the risk involved in heavy activity that her doctor told her.

Kurt’s procedure is worthy of debate. I have heard of procedures for Asian people to make their eyes look “European”, but I never seen it the other way. While it’ll get Kurt in, how will he explain his family? They must’ve not thought long about this. Making him appear as a minority also has ethical consequences as Liz mentioned. Although he is doing it to get her mother’s approval, not to receive any special treatment, he is still changing his face to resemble a minority.

Most of this episode’s plot focuses on Christian’s lifestyle. Even this early in the series Christian’s womanizing was one of his dominant traits. He’s with a different woman each episode, sometimes more than one. In this episode, he has sex with three women. So Grace suggesting he go to sex therapy to handle his addiction isn’t too soon. Plus, it provides the venue to introduce Gina, who’ll be a great foil to Christian throughout the series.

Christian is often cruel with his sex partners. One night stands are common, and he discards most of them without a second thought. The closest he gets to intimacy is getting business out of them. Gina is payback for those countless women. They encounter each other at the Sexaholics Anonymous meeting. While Gina devoutly follows the lifestyle of recovery, Christian goes more to forget about one woman who propositioned him in a bar. His experience doesn’t convince him, and he is able to persuade her to spend the night, an experience that she regrets. Humans are “a walking pile of ashes” to Christian, so he spends his life pursuing pleasure instead of seeing it as a problem. Gina resents this callous nature of the philosophy she had been living by for eight months prior. Her appearance in this episode is a prologue to the vengeance she wreaks on Christian.

It was clear that Christian and Grace would sleep together since there was tension from when they first met. In retrospect, this was the only thing Grace’s character had to do. After their affair subsided, she was hardly seen on Nip/Tuck and not mentioned during the second season. This could be simply because of something behind the scenes or the producers felt she, like Christian’s friends in the beginning, was detracting from the major drama of the McNamaras and Christian.

This scene with Christian and the two other middle aged men seems to be a typical experiment in trial and error of a new series. Early in many shows runs, characters, storylines and actors are switched or written out to enhance the long term show. Christian womanizing alone better represents loneliness and his quest for someone who will make him feel what he does towards Julia. This feels more like a male Sex and the City. Luckily, they scrapped this.

Their encounter is much tenderer than the previous liaisons he’s had on the show. There isn’t loud music and the lovers take it slow instead of rapid thrusts and frantic gestures. Oddly enough, Grace gets up and leaves without looking at Christian. Juxtapose this against the earlier scene with Gina and we can see how both genders use sex to get what they want. Grace and Christian aren’t different in this regard. Both characters mentioned they were “absolutely exhaust[ed]” looking for someone, but Christian wasn’t serious. Grace wants to avoid feeling miserable about being a thirty something single woman, even for a few moments. This characterization could’ve been interesting to explore further had the season not been packed with other storylines.

Unlike Sean and Julia, the other relationships (aside from Latoya’s ex) seem to work because of the heavy sacrifice they make for the other. While her xenophobia may still exist, Leigh’s mom accepts Kurt because of what he was willing to do. Similarly is David, who was willing to do what it took to make his wife happy, even if it meant hurting her to do it. Julia wasn’t willing to put her dreams aside, nor tell Sean her feelings about it. So the rift grows, which provides the stage for the rest of the season.

This is another good episode, marred only by some failed experiments common in the first batch of episodes. Christian’s womanizing is given the focus. Along with Gina’s introduction, this will set the tone for his story. Grace and Christian sleeping together was predictable and the consequences were small. But things are starting to move towards what is to come.

Score: 7/10

24: Season 4, Episode 16: Day 4: 10:00 PM - 11:00 PM Review

Day 4: 10:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Original Airdate: April 4, 2005

Writers: Howard Gordon and Evan Katz

Story: Robert Cochran

Director: Bryan Spicer

After a four episode slump where the writers were desperate to fill time while behind the scenes creating what would become the final arc of the season, 24 seems to be back on track. Many of the elements that hindered the post-override episodes are gone or diminished. CTU’s schoolyard bickering was downplayed from last week’s absurdity. Jack’s story had a sense of direction and moved forward instead of plodding in one element for an hour. For the first time in weeks, I was involved in the story.

From the opening shot, it was clear that Keeler would play a big role in this episode. After fifteen episodes, they finally address that Keeler has been in the air since before the beginning of the season. It makes me wonder how much thought they’ve put into what to do with the president. Last season they had difficulty with Palmer’s storyline so this season they wrote in Keeler’s victory, but had his function has been only to move the story along.

Most people I've talk to can tell that Audrey will go to Paul by the end. Even though she still has feelings for Jack and he is concerned about Paul’s condition, he still tortured him only five hours earlier. Audrey saw how dark Jack could get on the job, and a few hours later, Paul’s heroic gesture deeply touched her. Acknowledging his sacrifice to him certainly added to the inevitable.

Had this been the last four hours, it would’ve taken the full episode to get to the raid of Marwan’s hideout. Luckily, they were smart and moved the pace to get to the action sooner. The shoot out, while fun to watch, was routine aside from the opening and Jack surprising the dumbfounded guy while he was reloading. Blowing up all the hard drives was a good way to end it, but it makes me wonder why Marwan didn’t set the explosives so that nothing could be found afterwards. Marwan seems only concerned about himself as he left the compound without informing anyone of the discovery of the wiring.

Personal politics still abound in CTU, but they kept a far lower profile than prior weeks. Chloe and Edgar have to get together at some point. They bickered pointlessly about trivial matters last week. However, since Chloe was reminded of the suicide of Edgar’s mom, she took the blame for Edgar’s mistake. When Edgar confronted her about it, she dismissed him in her normal fashion. This weird office relationship is destined for romance.

On that note, it was disappointing to find out Michelle rebounded with Buchanan while Tony was in prison. Tony was facing treason charges and the death penalty for her and she goes to another man. It makes her appear shallow. However, most fans still hope they’ll rekindle their relationship by the end of the season. It could happen.

Nicole pretending to be an agent was a great touch, even though it was clear that Jack was suspicious when they met. She wasn’t convincing telling Jack that the ransacked apartment was done as an FBI procedure. However, he still went along. One thing that bothered me was why Jack didn’t inform Agent Hart of his suspicions. Jack could’ve saved his life had he known to be careful when around her. But then again, we got another “stabbed in the brainstem” kill. Nevertheless, there was a great sense of suspense knowing that they’re working with the enemy in a different dynamic from the “mole” storyline.

Now we see another layer to this conspiracy as Marwan contacts someone upon escaping from the CTU perimeter. How they are connected isn’t clear, but I'm guessing Marwan is the subordinate because he gave the person on the line an update. However, the person was ready to deploy, so it could be another one of Marwan’s soldiers. I'm sure we’ll learn more as the season progresses.

This episode’s biggest weakness was how Fox publicized the “twist that would change everything”. Granted, 24 doesn’t have much choice regarding what is used in promo material. They must’ve thought 24 fans wouldn’t know about the intended target until they revealed it. Since Marwan told Anderson three hours before that the president had a tight schedule and they couldn’t be late, it was clear the president was somehow involved in the threat. 24 is one of the most analyzed (sometimes overanalyzed) shows on TV right now. The fans didn’t forget that line, especially since it was placed at the end of Day 4: 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM.

Even without the hype, it felt clear Keeler was doomed. When he appeared in season three, the writers probably didn’t think they would let him win and his character since then hasn’t been utilized beyond executive orders. In this episode, they did more character development for Keeler than in all of his prior episodes combined. I did like the addition of his son. He made Keeler more human as they were facing how to tell America about the threat and later with imminent death. You could draw a parallel between Kevin Keeler and Richard Heller. Both are sons of powerful men, but Kevin stayed with his father while Richard rebelled.

What really signaled the end was the introduction of Charles Logan, the Vice President. Why else would they throw in the vice president unless he would become president? It’s similar to when Prescott was introduced in season two. In the end, the impact of the attack isn’t as strong as it should be because of the last minute characterization. Had Palmer been on the plane, it would’ve been devastating even if he were a background character this season. Keeler’s last minute characterization was good, but not enough for a truly devastating loss.

We learned about Anderson’s history as Jack tried to talk him out of firing at Air Force One. Unfortunately, 24’s format doesn’t allow flashbacks to Anderson’s military days, so we have to rely on his background file which has to be brief to keep the action going. However, characterization comes out during Jack’s monologue to him. This is an intense scene as Jack uses his psychological knowledge to try to reason with him, even though it doesn’t work. Anderson doesn’t say a word, but his face expresses so much. Perhaps then he realized what the possible consequences were for what he was about to do, but had to proceed because of the dangerous men with whom he was allied or he may actually believe in Marwan’s cause. While the terrorists are Middle Eastern, they’ve kept religion low key. This could be because of pressure from interest groups or it could mean that there is something else behind their acts.

The terrorists this season have had the highest success rate ever. While last season the virus was unleashed and hundreds died, it was contained before a major outbreak occurred. So far, the terrorists managed to derail the train, take control of the override, kidnap one of the world’s most powerful men, meltdown a nuclear power plant killing a large number of people and now they’ve likely killed the president, his son plus a considerable section of his cabinet and advisors. Killing Heller was the only major thing they didn’t accomplish, and they could brush that off since Heller’s trial was part of the meltdown plot.

Having so many victories adds to the dramatic impact of the show. 24’s never been a show to play it safe and often its risks are rewarding. Most of season three’s best episodes detailed the aftermath in the Hotel of Doom. Seeing people dying agonizing deaths with no cure is devastating, but it worked well on 24. Many of the episodes following the nuclear bomb detonation are among the most underrated. Now we’ll see a country dealing with a presidential assassination or at least an attack for now. I wasn’t born when Kennedy was killed, but I know how much it affected the country since it was compared to 9/11 in terms of how it affected the country.

There were several 9/11-esque moments in this episode. Jack discovering the files of the F117, the detailed blueprints and interior shots, on the terrorists back up drive was scary, but Chloe’s line about how the technology for the stealth fighter is working against them hit the mark. What helps separate 24 from a lot of what’s on TV is their daring to show our worst post-9/11 nightmares and not revolt the audience. Who else would shoot down even the fictional Air Force One during wartime?

The president could’ve survived the initial attack and that the end purpose wasn’t to kill the president, but to bring down the plane. Chloe mentioned that the plane suffered an indirect hit. Also following the cliché rule, since Keeler didn’t tell his son he loved him, they’ll live.

It’s great to see 24 recovered from the mid-season rut, which now feels like a normal phase for a season. Thankfully, they toned down the insignificant fights at CTU and focused more on accelerating the pace of the show, which was lagging. As the final third of the season begins, they’ve established something intriguing and horrifying but still mysterious. I hope that as they reveal the next part of the plan they don’t wait too long to reveal or else most fans will have figured it out beforehand. I can’t wait to see what Marwan has planned next.

Score: 8/10

Nip/Tuck: Season 1, Episode 4: Sophia Lopez Review

Sophia Lopez

Original Airdate: August 12, 2003

Writers: Sean Jablonski

Director: Michael M. Robin

While shows like Nip/Tuck have a reputation to shock and offend their audiences, what differentiates them from mere shock value is that they also use it to discuss issues other shows are too afraid to handle. A transgender character will offend some and cause some in their community to look closely for stereotyping. However, Jablonski and Jonathan Del Arco do fantastic jobs writing and portraying (respectively) the title character. Sophia’s a woman who is desperate to reflect outside how she feels. She and her other friends are discriminated when they look for medical help. Whereas everyone else sees her as a freak, her son respects her decision to undergo gender reassignment.

Prudish Sean, sheltered from alternate lifestyles, is apprehensive when he first meets Sophia, but other events in his life allow him to see Sophia beyond her appearance. This begins when porn star Shyanne (nice pun) arrives. He is mortified and fears a contract with her company would turn Troy/McNamara into a brothel. Christian tells him to relax and offers some advice about women to help his marriage. Like many people, he tries hard to prove that he isn’t a prig. He does so by trying anal sex, but stumbles because he didn’t warn Julia first. The aspect of bringing in porn stars to work initially mortifies him, but soon he takes Christian’s advice and takes the porn gift basket Shyanne’s studio gave them to bed when Julia and Jude come home to study.

His new open mindedness allows him to see Sophia as a human, so when she calls him for help when her friend is hemorrhaging, he takes charge and gets her treated, calling one of the nurses out for ignoring them despite blood loss. Because of his change, she is able to tell him who did this to her friend and who botched her original neck surgery, the man who taught and inspired Sean, Marcus.

Marcus’ office is appropriately disgusting. From the opening shot of the worn sign and the sounds of dogs barking and car alarms to the interior with the bloody rags, some brown with age, it is an office only the desperate would go to for help. It’s unfortunate this storyline wasn’t pursued longer than it was because it was left open and it could’ve been used to deal with Sean’s growing mid-life crisis. Marcus warned Sean that this is what would happen to him, even though he was very successful now. Sean doesn’t want that to happen, so he tries to help Sophia by becoming her doctor.

Marcus, along with Bobolit, this is the first episode where we discover how other local plastic surgeons work. In his first appearance, Bobolit shows what Christian could’ve become had he not met Sean. Bobolit and Christian both have a lot in common. They’re womanizers, they’re showmen and they’ve been able to coast despite not being as talented as surgeons like Sean. Bobolit offers Christian a position in his practice, which has overshadowed Troy/McNamara because of flashy gimmicks and the willingness to sign contracts with porn studios.

Christian is willing to join him, but soon he realizes that this is a problem when Matt contracts an STD from a one night stand. Because he took Matt to a “porn party”, Julia kicks Christian out of Matt’s life. He realizes the cost of allowing this into his work and aligning himself with someone who lives that way. What best represents this compromise is the Lamborghini. Bobolit has a blue one and it shows how he has compromised whatever ideals he had, which will later produce dire consequences. He doesn’t have the friend Christian has in Sean, nor does he have a family he is close to like the McNamaras. In the prologue, it is presented like a commercial for the car, but in the end, the glamour is gone because it costs him what he loves.

Oddly enough, Christian and Sean switch views. In the end, Sean is OK with the porn contract because the money flow would allow for more pro bono work, but Christian doesn’t want it because he realizes what compromising their ethics can cost. Such parallel action fortifies the writing of this episode.

Bringing porn into the office not only offended Sean, but also it drove one patient to leave and caused Grace to side with Sean against Christian. While Christian is OK with arguing with Sean, he still resents Grace being there and her questioning of his life doesn’t sit well with him either.

The other plot advanced this week is Julia’s return to medical school. As soon as she arrives to class the fact that she’s twenty years older than most of the students intimidates her. In addition, one of her former classmates who has the life Julia wants is teaching the class. The writer needed to have a reason for Julia to stay, so Jude appears. They find something in common when he reveals that he is older than most of the students there, even if it is only five years and a bond forms. He also flatters and flirts with her, making her feel better about her age. This arc is interesting when you parallel it with an upcoming storyline.

The first three episodes served to establish who were the major characters and what were their dilemmas, but with “Sophia Lopez”, the plot is in motion. The next few episodes will further move and complicate things as this season’s story gels. We get the first episode featuring a recurring patient, the introduction of Jude and Bobolit, in addition to Julia’s stint in medical school. The reversal of viewpoints between Christian and Sean is one of the strongest pieces, as is introducing a multi-layered transgender character.

Score: 8/10

Nip/Tuck: Season 1, Episode 3: Nanette Babcock Review

Nanette Babcock

Original Airdate: August 5, 2003

Writer: Ryan Murphy

Director: Lawrence Trilling

What do you do when you can’t equal what society deems as beauty? The media exerts so much pressure on everyone, especially women, to look a certain way. They need to be thin, have big boobs and little body fat to be good-looking. Few women fit that mold. It is particularly rough for someone like Nanette to live with a mental illness, and to have a negative body image. Add the constant criticism and the result is deadly. It is her obsession, as we saw with the model collage lining one of her apartment walls.

I feel bad for Lindsay Hollister, who played the titular character. In her previous roles I've seen, she has always played someone whose weight was an overwhelming part of her character. She’s not the only heavy actor to be typecast as “the fat one”. While I'm sure they’re well paid for their performances, it must hurt sometimes only to be cast in roles because of some aspect of yourself like your height, weight, etc. Although on Nip/Tuck, being fat is an important part of her character because appearance is a major theme of this show.

Grace’s intervention didn’t help; Nanette became even more frustrated since Grace is what Nanette wants; beautiful and thin. Prior to this episode, her appearance has been dealt only through Sean’s crush, but this is far more disturbing. The doctor handled it well even as Nanette became further upset and started pointing her knife threateningly when she talked. She must’ve dealt with numerous violent patients in her work.

Because of her behavior, Nanette is the suspect in vandalizing Christian’s car. Nanette denies it, and it only furthers her hostility. Whoever did it (we’ll learn later) clearly has severe emotional problems and places the blame on Christian. While it could’ve been easy to have Nanette be responsible, they make it more complicated by having the culprit be unknown.

From their meeting there is tension between Christian and Dr. Santiago because she replaced Dr. Pembleton without him knowing. He also sees this as hypocritical since Sean chides Christian for his womanizing while and then hires a woman because he is attracted to her. Later we’ll see a lot more tension between the two as Grace learns about Christian’s lifestyle.

“Pilot” served as a prologue to Mrs. Grubman and this episode thoroughly explores her role in their world. Using “Blue Danube” with the slow motion shots of her surgery show this isn’t an ordinary patient. Mrs. Grubman has a lot in common with Nanette; both women are desperately trying to achieve beauty and seek help through surgery. Only Mrs. Grubman’s frequent visits have helped propel Troy/McNamara to success and she hasn’t shown violent tendencies. However, Christian referred to her as the “Crypt Keeper” and to her neck skin as a “waddle”. While they appreciate her business, they resent her entitlement attitude. The part of her that thinks it’s OK to schedule surgery with the receptionist instead of them.

She can be tender as we saw when Christian and she were alone. Inside she is insecure following her husband’s death. However, in public she is callous, behaving rudely to the airport security (karma hurts sometimes), emphasizing how much Troy/McNamara needs her (even though she needs them more) and threatening them with a $10 million malpractice suit. This puts them in a difficult situation like in the pilot, but to another extreme. Their lives aren’t at risk, but their livelihood is. They don’t want to deal with her any more than with the drug dealers. Everything they’ve worked for is put into jeopardy by this.

Julia has decided to return to school. A character finally decides to commit to making a change in her life. This will influence most of this season. Although they won’t nearly be as content as they appear to be. There are still communication problems, such as Julia not telling her husband she killed Frisky.

Sean has made improvement trying to talk to Matt. After his impromptu “surgery”, Sean had to face that communication was worse than he thought. He did slip a little by saying that Matt should come to him for advice about the clitoris, but he helped a lot. Matt feels like he has gotten away with it, even when Sean reminds him he’s only doing it to correct what Matt did. By the end Matt lies and doesn’t tell his dad about his discovery of Vanessa’s secret. We know they are further from the ideal father-son bond than they thought.

As his circumcision storyline ends, so begins Matt’s arc, which relies largely on his awakening sexuality. It’s only hinted at briefly this episode as he catches Vanessa kissing another girl, but this twist will be integral to his character development this season.

This episode is the first disturbing portrayal of those who will go too far to look what society deems as beautiful, especially the toll it takes on those with enough problems as it is. The opening segment with the Michael Jackson impersonator was a good piece of comic relief before Nanette’s tragic story. They make you believe that she might be willing to help herself. Her suicide is a shock, but expected simultaneously. This episode holds well, but its weakness simply is that it isn’t what is coming.

Score: 8/10

24: Season 4, Episode 15: Day 4: 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM Review

Day 4: 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Original Airdate: March 28, 2005

Writers: Joel Surnow & Michael Loceff

Director: Bryan Spicer

When I saw this episode, I thought it was one of the weakest installments. I didn’t hate this episode as much on second viewing, but it is still highly flawed. They’re in the slump started a few weeks ago, but it looks like next week will be improved, especially with the announcement that they will replay next week’s episode twice after the initial airing.

It’s unlikely even 24’s lapses in time that they would be able to find the van with Dina’s body within minutes of it happening considering the terrorists had three minutes to abandon it.

Audrey has little to do this week, which isn’t different from her role in the last few hours. Now she can react to Jack’s kidnapping. I hope that Paul gets out of surgery soon so she can have more to do or else maybe she should not appear in an episode as Heller did this week.

Jack’s speech is appropriately corny, but not exaggerated. Luckily they spared us the theatrics and patriotic music during this scene. It also shows the difference between Jack and President Keeler. Keeler doubts the public resolve if another attack happens since he’s contemplating declaring martial law. Marwan believes people will remember seeing Heller captured on American soil, but Jack believes they’ll remember that they stopped 130 of the plants from melting down. Marwan also forgets that Jack almost single handedly rescued Heller before his execution, even if the web cast kidnapping allowed the override to work.

CTU hypothesizes two reasons for why Marwan would want to exchange Jack for Behrooz; because he has a personal connection or Behrooz has valuable information. What they don’t consider is that this trade is a distraction. They are in the middle of a crisis and they devote an hour to this deal. Meanwhile Anderson can, unimpeded, murder and impersonate a mechanic, convince the boss the plane is OK and be cleared for take off, with a half hour wait to fly.

Behrooz was characterized as a decent kid caught in unfortunate circumstances. When Curtis tortured him, we can’t sympathize with CTU because we know he isn’t cold blooded as his parents were. In addition, since Behrooz is a distraction, it doesn’t help us identify with CTU’s brutality this time. Most of 24’s torture scenes can be defended by saying that to show how vital the threat is, the agents have to go far to prevent it. Since this isn’t going to yield helpful information, it’s unnecessary.

One major problem at CTU is the personal politics. Edgar was likable until Chloe returned. Now he has gotten clingy with his tasks if bringing her back was meant to be a personal remark on his work. The terrorists are far more efficient than CTU is. There’s no pettiness. CTU needs to stop worrying about power plays and focus on the threat. Luckily, Jack is far more concerned with getting the job done than how he is paid or whether he remains in the power for the sake of having it.

Bill Buchanan, the new CTU division head, is a wasted character. They could’ve used the opportunity to solve some of the personal problems. Through the years, prior division/district heads have served some purpose, but since most of them are dead (Walsh, Mason and Chappelle), they should’ve done a better job establishing who he is, unless he was meant to be a background character.

This episode fails with the contrived CD story. CTU’s never distributed information between co-workers through discs. They may analyze confiscated hard drives or pursue renegade chips, but it’s more convenient and space efficient to send the data through the company system. The CD exists to keep CTU from the missing family report long enough for Anderson to get airborne. Had they acted on Meg’s tip, they could’ve been ready a half hour before Anderson left. During the episode, Edgar almost takes it out when Tony interrupts him as if this was the disruption before two characters kiss on countless TV shows and movies.

When Tony and Audrey are talking about Jack, he reveals a lot about their personal relationship. Jack is the last friend Tony has following the ordeal last season. They always have been the closest thing to a best friend to each other. Few people can understand and live with the sacrifices and schedule of a government agent. This works alongside Michelle talking to Tony earlier in the episode about saving Jack and Audrey, even though this probably would’ve fit better in “Day 4: 7-8 PM”.

Jack and Behrooz’s swap reminds us of Jane Saunders and Michelle’s from season three, only without as many pyrotechnics. Something was going to stop the sniper from killing Jack since he wasn’t as expendable as the previews indicated. Why is it that no one aside from Jack thought it would be a good idea to be more aggressive in pursuing Marwan other than giving them Behrooz with only two tracers on him that were found quickly? Had Jack not done some electrical work, they would be lost.

I hope that they explore Behrooz’s feelings following learning of his mother’s death. Through this, he could bring down part of Marwan’s operation out of revenge. While Dina was evil and believed in murdering Americans for her cause, she was his mother, and she was willing to put her cause aside if that meant sparing her son.

Unfortunately, we have another episode where little happens. Jack spends most of the episode lying in a van or chained, but he did take a moment to prove he could still kick ass with his hands tied. Anderson’s in the air and by short circuiting some of the phone lines, Jack tipped off CTU to where Marwan is. That is enough indication to believe next week will be the start of something stellar. I hope CTU can compose themselves for it.

Score: 4/10