Nip/Tuck: Season 3, Episode 1: Momma Boone Review

Momma Boone
Original Airdate: September 20, 2005
Writer: Ryan Murphy
Director: Elodie Keene

When Nip/Tuck left us last 11 months ago, Christian received a surprise visit from psychopath The Carver, who gave him a slash we almost could feel. It was easily the biggest shocker on a show known for provoking. For almost a year fans speculated whether Ryan Murphy would be willing to kill off one of the primary characters while the show was only going into its third season. It would require audacity that we know Nip/Tuck has. However, Christian plays such an integral role on this show, it would be hard to imagine the show without him.

As the curtains rise, you think they went through with it. Sean arrives at Christian’s apartment to find his partner and closest friend’s throat slit and his blood everywhere. Then the funeral, where those closest to him eulogize (except for Matt oddly). When the coffin is being set into the ground, it stops before it can go all the way. We find out that this has been Christian’s recurring dream since his attack. We’re spared a cheesy shot of him waking up relieving not to be dead. While this scene may be considered to be a cop out or overlong, the final image, of Christian’s casket being unable to move on, is integral to this episode.

Christian is dealing with moving on after the attack. Since the attack, Christian has been far more subdued. Not even a cozy place and doting Kimber are enough to make him happy. However, we don’t know the full story yet. During the attack, The Carver raped Christian. Sexual abuse isn’t new for Christian, as we know from “Cara Fitzgerald”. As the second season ended, he appeared to be a man approaching peace, even being tender towards Gina after her HIV diagnosis. With this action, he is reset to where he was as a kid.

It has affected him personally, as he lays there stoically while Kimber shows him her new porn movie, something he would’ve loved. His distance has made Kimber incredibly lonely. Christian makes a half hearted proposal at marriage, but Kimber doesn’t buy into it. This scene is juxtaposed with Julia requesting that Sean and her finalize the divorce proceedings. This type of parallel action is common with Murphy penned episodes, and he tends to do them very well.

This fear also stems into the investigation, where Christian doesn’t answer the questions of a sexy detective investigating the case. Despite the fact that she knows Christian is hiding something. The only person he has told about the rape is Sean. He wouldn’t let such a secret out to anyone aside from Sean and maybe Julia. Christian isn’t willing to admit weakness to anyone except for Sean, even after a trauma like being slashed and raped by a sociopath.

Instead, he stays at home, which causes Sean to be more tightly wound than usual because he is working more than half of his week while patients are being bumped back. Sean sees little choice but to ask Dr. Quentin Costa, the doctor who came in to help Christian after Sean’s attack, for help keeping up. Obviously it doesn’t go well with Christian, but having Quentin come in is enough to get him to get back to work.

Christian isn’t the only one dealing with letting go. Julia, who has cast aside the guy she was seeing last season for Jude (!), is now faced with going through with the divorce, something she has been putting off for almost a year. Sean too is reluctant to admit that the marriage is over. Though the audience has a good feeling that they will get back together sometime, they do need to stop avoiding how their lives are now. On a lesser scale, another woman thought ignoring her leaking implants for three years was better than getting them fixed.

But the most extreme case would be the title character, Momma Boone. Morbidly obese, she has remained on her couch for years because of chronic back pains for which she’s never gotten help. Because of that, her exposed skin has fused into the couch, rendering her immobile. Some shows, like Rescue Me, have used this premise for comedic purposes, but on Nip/Tuck, we’re given a more tragic look into Mrs. Boone’s circumstances.

We also see another shot of how deep Sean’s compassion goes. Momma probably didn’t expect to have any of the emergency workers come in and not wince at the stench or stare at her. He doesn’t wear the mask, which doesn’t isolate him from her. In addition, he respects her wishes not to have yokels gawk at her by getting some of the workers to use a tarp to block their view. When Momma gets too scared on the truck, Sean sits with her, holding her hand on the way to the hospital.

When Momma’s husband, Denny, arrives, Sean is quick to condemn him for allowing her to get to this point. Denny informs him that she had much more to do with it. He couldn’t make her get off the couch. While letting go may be tough, it is necessary for the person letting go to want to do it. For example, Christian won’t be able to recover fully from his attack until he wants to get help.

Through Momma’s dialogue, we are given a sympathetic portrait of a person who couldn’t face her problems, and because of that, her life ends tragically. When the doctors inform her of her husband’s arrival, she doesn’t want him to come in because she doesn’t “have her face on”. This could’ve been played comically, but instead, we feel bad for her. Make up and manicuring are the only things she has control of anymore. In the end, she decided against resuscitation, which was appropriate for her character.

Momma clearly affected both of our doctors, who move ahead in their lives. Christian invites Kit, the detective, over to analyze the crime scene. It soon becomes clear that Kit has some issues, as she uses this moment to seduce Christian. The interrogation quickly turns to angry sex, which an angry Kimber bears witness. Initially she’s appalled, but when she’s reminded of how this is how Christian normally acts, she jumps in bed with them. Christian is back to living his life as a Skin-e-max movie, but this likely isn’t enough of a remedy for him to get over what he experienced.

Sean also is motivated to finalize the divorce, but Julia has a sudden change of heart. While reviewing the case with her mother (the terrific Vanessa Redgrave), Erica recommends that Julia go after Sean with everything they got, including a ruthless NYC lawyer. Julia must’ve known asking her mother for help was a bad choice, but perhaps this could indicate that she never wanted to go ahead with it because she still has feelings for Sean. Nevertheless, Sean acquiesces his ring, and fades out.

While the overall theme of letting go was well established with the tragic story of Mrs. Boone, there wasn’t nearly enough action from The Carver. For a 90 minute premiere, it didn’t seem to be enough content wise to warrant it. There are many lingering questions about why he attacked Christian and didn’t kill Sean as he threatened. Perhaps they could’ve done more about having The Carver’s presence more noticeable. Has he attacked another person since the finale? I'm sure we’ll find out soon. However, I do appreciate that they decided to give this storyline enough time for a solid pay-off, and clearly we’ll have to wait for that.

Score 8/10

Lost: Season 2, Episode 1: Man of Science, Man of Faith Review

Man of Science, Man of Faith
Original Airdate: September 21, 2005
Writers: Damon Lindelof
Director: Jack Bender

The X-Files has ruined the way people look at serialized shows. As that show progressed, it became clear that the writers hadn’t fully thought out the long term storyline and were making it up as the series progressed. By the end of the series, the mythology and long running storylines were destroyed, leaving fans betrayed (assuming they had stuck around to the end.) Lost shares many of the stylistic and narrative structures X-Files had. Because of that many viewers, some of whom have been swayed by the urge to be the first to declare a show dead, were quick to claim that Lost had no ultimate direction; that the twists, allusions and mysteries were all a bunch of garbage and that the writers didn’t know the answers they claimed to be withholding.

Those who fell into this mindset felt that “Exodus”, the season finale, vindicated those suspicions because many of the questions lingering throughout the season were not answered. While I understand such frustration, the fact that because Lost was such a major hit gave the writers leeway to tell this story over a longer period, as opposed to providing a lot of closure out of cancellation fears. Also, mystery is a major element of the series. If they gave away all the answers in the first season, there wouldn’t be much point in a second season.

The ending didn’t feel like a tease for me. I had felt that “Exodus” was merely a jump off point for a much bigger saga. Could this episode convince the skeptics that this was the case? Judging by the reaction I've found, it has for now. A major reason for that is that we finally get a glimpse of contents of the mysterious hatch, which has been an element of the show since midway the first season. If they can continue to reveal little bits of the mystery like this, it may be able to satisfy these fickle fans.

Man, what a fantastically misleading prologue. Not showing Desmond’s face until the end of the episode added mystery to the scene. Like many other viewers, I assumed this was a flashback. The fact that most of the equipment in this bunker had to be thirty to forty years old added to that. Knowing the episode was about Jack, I assumed that it was him, but my friend thought it was Sawyer because of the scruffy hair, even though it was black. It could’ve been a young Locke too considering the age of the electronics. Then the scene takes shape when Desmond injects himself with an unknown substance, with a label containing Hurley’s numbers. Immediately afterward, we hear a boom. He puts on a uniform, snatches a weapon, and peers into a telescope, which through a series of mirrors leads us directly to Jack and Locke, staring down into the hatch as we saw them last season.

Above ground, the four deal with the ramifications of the hatch being blown open. Hurley, having just seen the numbers on the hatch, is genuinely scared, as his awkward jokes show. Locke is obviously eager to explore the hatch, but Jack isn’t. Since the ladder is broken eight rungs down, there’s little chance for them to get all forty castaways down there to protect them from the others.

Throughout season one, there has been a lot made of the difference between Jack and Locke. Obviously, Jack’s the man of science and Locke’s the man of faith, but through the episode, Jack transitioning towards accepting that logic and reasoning can’t explain everything. Of course, the story of how he met his wife would detail this transition, as she somehow can do what Jack’s science can’t explain.

Therefore, we go back a few years (and at least one hairstyle) to see it. Some people I've talked to about this episode didn’t recognize Sarah until the last act. Following an early morning collision, Sarah, along with a man in his fifties are both wheeled into the ER. The man, Alan Rutherford, could be related to Shannon, and the fact that her brother ran a wedding business would add further weight to this connection. Jack works on Sarah first and Mr. Rutherford dies at 8:15, two of the numbers.

Back at the camp, Charlie tries to assuage the worries of the other castaways, who still have less to go by than the principal characters as to what’s going on on the island. During the commotion, Shannon searches for Vincent, who has run off. Sayid is concerned for her well being since she hasn’t eaten or slept recently. But Shannon, who has matured a lot since the first episode, wants to make good on her promise to protect Vincent until Walt returns. You couldn’t imagine the same girl who was painting her toenails while everyone else was working would turn out this way.

Easily the creepiest scene is the meeting between Shannon and Walt. It’s up for debate whether that was really Walt, Walt’s ghost or Walt having an out of body experience, but the warning is eerie, made so by playing it backwards. Those who re-reversed it found that he was warning them about a button, like he warned about the hatch. Some believe this button is the execute button on Desmond’s computer, which he used to punch in the numbers in the opening. This would be a logical next step since the computer is in the hatch.

Although it would probably have been better to confide in Locke about the numbers, Jack was the one who heard him screaming it when Locke lit the fuse. Hurley details the events from his episode “Numbers” (along with the new addition about the chicken shop) to Jack, who doesn’t believe them. Now it seems that most of the characters believe to some degree that there is something about this island that can’t be reasoned away. Another thing about scene is that we find out that Hurley was at the psyche ward as a patient. It should be interesting to learn how he got there.

In the flashbacks, we see Jack’s bedside manner is with Sarah, and his father disapproves. Jack knows that Sarah is unlikely to walk again and during his meetings, he reinforces that. However, Jack’s dad believes that any hope, even if it is a one percent chance, deserves the emphasis for her sake. Jack takes the advice, but his rational side hits his conscience later. While taking out his confusion on a run, he runs into Desmond, who is preparing to race around the world. Desmond serves to plant seeds of belief in a troubled Jack.

When the four return to the camp, Jack tries to assure them that they will wait until the morning to formulate another plan. This doesn’t seem to go so well, as Shannon begins telling everyone about her experience in the woods and Jack tells them Arzt has died, but doesn’t give any specifics. Arzt’s demise could be a big part of the second season. Locke doesn’t want to wait. The two butt heads and Locke heads out with a cable to the hatch again. Kate comes with him. She’s sent down and initially things are fine, but once her flashlight drops, she realizes that there is something down there, but she’s snatched up before she can be pulled out. Of the four people, Kate’s motivations were the least clear, but they do serve as motivation to get Jack back to the hatch for his epiphany.

After his run, Jack returns to let Sarah know the truth that she will never walk again. However, the science doesn’t work with the truth, that Sarah has been healed. This miraculous return of ability is reminiscent of Locke’s backstory. This will obviously be a big part in Jack’s spiritual journey, as Locke’s regained legs did for him. This isn’t quite enough for him yet, as Jack explores the bunker, he only finds a mural, some old pipes and computers. Then Locke, at gunpoint, advises Jack to comply. When Jack realizes who has a gun pointed at him, it pushes him further.

Watching this episode made me think that this episode would’ve been much better if it was presented as the first part of a two hour event. While many of the revelations were great, we didn’t hear anything about the raft. Considering last time we saw it it was blown up and its passengers were scattered, it is a bit loose of a loose end to leave out of the premiere. Otherwise, this episode was a great opener. The misleading prologue was great and the story of Jack’s transition to being a man of faith is a major part of this series.

Some may find it hard to believe that this guy who Jack happened to run into one time years ago would find himself on this island. However, this is Lost, where coincidences abound. How a jovial guy on a trip around the world became (or hid) this intense shut in with extensive training for some mission. Also, why is the quarantine label on the inside of the door? How did all of this happen? I can’t wait to find out.

Score: 9/10

It's Been A While, SCAN Updates, Katrina and Nip/Tuck: Season 2, Episode 8, Agatha Ripp

Well, it's been almost a month since I've written a review. Unfortunately I haven't had as much time to devote to reviews lately. My part time job and full time student life is incredibly busy, in addition to now being the PR Director of SCAN.

For those of you lucky to live on Campus, Damn That Television!'s second season should start around early October. We're busy getting a new digital switcher online, which will allow much more time for programming and less time for black screen or MUB Cam. Updates will come up in a few weeks once we have a more concrete schedule. I will probably be on 8:30 on Wednesdays after ASSS-TV.

As all Americans are, my thoughts go out to the people in the Gulf Coast reeling from the devastating attack. Hopefully this nightmare will end soon and those who need help and food get them promptly. I encourage everyone to give as much as they can, be it money, items, food or time. Probably the most reliable source for people who need more information would be The Red Cross. Regardless of politics, these people need help now.

On a lighter note, I have a new review for Nip/Tuck. It may not be likely that I will have reviews for the 2nd season done by the time S3 airs, but I'll try to squeeze in a few more.

Agatha Ripp
Original Airdate: August 10, 2004
Writer: Ryan Murphy
Director: Michael M. Robin

While it is an interesting exercise to have an episode revolve more around the patient’s story, it didn’t fit at this point. This episode is a critical point in the season and the series. All the major characters, except for Matt, who is inexplicably absent from an episode, are changed and. This story should’ve received more coverage in the episode. However, Agatha’s story of faith, lies and manipulation nails (no pun intended) what the main characters go through, as they find themselves losing the things they believed in.

We meet Agatha, and learn about her troubled history: prostitution, drug abuse, arrests and multiple abortions among them. Now she has turned to religion, but it’s not as honorable as it sounds. She inflicted stigmata wounds on her wrists so a local church would allow her to stay there. One major problem is that she is being paraded as a genuine source of their faith. She begs them to remove them and tell the church that has taken her in that she is a fraud. Although they are offering her a place to live, she can’t take the pressure of being idolized by the parishioners, knowing that she isn’t for real.

Agatha’s situation ties into what Julia and Christian have been feeling for the last few episodes. Julia is succumbing to the pressure to keep Matt’s parentage a secret. But it has spilled out to Christian and Matt, so it’s inevitable for Sean to learn the truth soon. However, their lies have made their lives good. Agatha isn’t safe outside the church, and Julia’s entire life has been built on the lie that Sean is Matt’s father.

It’s more about Agatha, since we’ve seen the pressure growing among Julia and Christian in the last few episodes. Because of Agatha’s visit, parishioners have rallied in front of McNamara/Troy in hopes of having her help them. One couple asks Christian to let them see her so she can heal their son, who was born with a tail. Though they do help the couple, Sean goes to the church to appeal to the father.

Sean requests that the father admit to his flock that Agatha is a fraud. Sean believes they may have excessive amounts of clients requesting pro bono work on afflictions they believe to be miraculous in origin. Unfortunately, the man of science and the man of faith can’t agree. The Father believes that Agatha has genuine stigmata because she wouldn’t have known the proper way to inflict them. Sean doesn’t believe any of it, dismissing it because it lacks scientific explanation. Sean hubris will provide his downfall when he discovers later in the episode the truth about everything he believed.

Julia, like Agatha, lied to give herself a better life. However, her guilt is becoming too much for her. This guilt has manifested in painful shingles in her side. When Sean checks her out, he thinks that it is from the betrayal from Ava. Although it is wrong, Ava’s betrayal does add another aspect to the theme of the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” theme several of these characters have. Christian, Ava and the clergy all came in with a benevolent façade, but each had a dark side that ended up warping the lives of those who bought into it.

Another major aspect of this episode is the lack of faith and disillusionment of the main characters. Sean’s is the most profound, but Liz’s gets the most attention this week. Pregnant and over forty, she is worried about the health of her child. As the mother’s age increases, so do the chances that the child will have a birth defect. It doesn’t make it any easier when Sean and Christian operate on the child with a tail. Later she learns that her child may have Down Syndrome and the doctors are unable to give any definite answer as to those chances. Because of her fears, she has another anesthesiologist take her place during the surgery.

As they prepare, Sean discusses the “sheep’s clothing” quote Agatha said during her consultation. They did hammer in the point of Sean being unaware of Christian’s deception and Christian’s guilt a little too hard. We get that Sean can’t see the truth in his face and Christian feels horribly against it. However, it does set up for the great musical queue, “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones, during the surgery scene when Liz alerts them that Agatha has been punctured again. Of course, this choice leads us to think a certain way about the “devils”.

The doctors inform the Sister, who takes on a position more reflective of Sean’s than the Father’s. In a shocking moment, she ponders an atheist stance. Seeing this episode again, this act is merely appealing to the doctor’s view of scientific explanation. Before she leaves, she plants the notion that they test the blood to see if it is Agatha’s. Since the Sister planted blood on Agatha, this would appear to prove that the stigmata are genuine.

As Liz collects a blood sample, she tells Agatha about her worries. In her desperate need, she turned to a fraud for something to believe in, which is a bad sign for what will happen next. Liz is more likely to believe someone like Agatha, especially when Agatha reassures her. Agatha’s confidence proves to be very effective, especially when she declares the baby is a boy.

To the frustration of the doctors, the blood from Agatha’s wounds is found not to be hers, so the church allows her to stay with them longer. Despite this discovery, Sean refuses to give them the results as evidence that it is genuine. The Father reminds him that science isn’t everything, and that beliefs are important too, further setting up the revelation later.

Liz decides to have the abortion after recently having her faith restored. Murphy here didn’t do a good enough job establishing Liz’s realization that her faith was placed in a false prophet. Of course, it has a lot to do with the central theme, but with that, Liz’s disillusionment needed to be further explored for this to be effective.

Julia’s scabs have healed over, but after her ordeal, she feels that it is time for her to be honest to Sean. It probably was an even worse decision to tell him this after the day he had. Many wondered why Julia even needed to know, much less let others who didn’t have a clue know either. However, this needed to happen to culminate all the actions of the first half of the season. It’s unfortunate that so much of this episode dealt with Agatha considering how potent the scene where Sean finds out the truth is. It’s terrifically acted, but the emphasis on Agatha detracted from the importance of this episode.

At the office, Christian asks about the baby, and is devastated to learn what Liz did without his knowledge. Only a few weeks earlier did he lose his son Wilbur to the biological father. Despite the reassurance she got from Agatha, she still doubted Christian’s commitment to the child if it came out with a birth defect. He isn’t given a moment to take it in before Sean enters, punchin him several times in the face. After losing another child, his betrayal has been found out by his best friend, who “loved him the most”.

Now without anything to believe in, he finds himself at the church where Agatha is staying. She sees him, and she admits to being a fraud. She did it because the church was in danger of closing and as we know, she desperately needed a place to live. Like Liz earlier, Sean turns to her for some kind of hope, only to be told that there is nothing to believe in. Now everyone is demoralized enough to allow the story to get even more interesting.

Despite the pivotal moment of Sean learning that he isn’t Matt’s father, it is bogged down in Agatha’s storyline. While it helped to have the patient tie in to this week’s themes of faith, lies and belief, the shifted focus hurt the impact. And where the hell is Matt in the middle of this? Considering he’s the offspring involved in this conflict, it’s not as if he’d have nothing to do. Still, it’s a bit of a let down for what should’ve been a major moment. At least the remainder of the season makes up for it.

Score: 7/10