Issues addressed in Nip/Tuck
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Nip/Tuck is an American drama television series on FX. It has become controversial for addressing and exploring a myriad of taboo subjects.
Contents
General issues
Malpractice- In episode 1.03, Nanette Babcock, Mrs. Grubman threatens to sue Sean McNamara for malpractice after leaving a surgical tool inside her. She decides not to sue in exchange for a lifetime of free surgery.
- In 2x06, Bobbie Broderick, an older woman who has liposuction, and then experiences dimpling and bruising begins to stalk Sean and Christian, as well as bad mouthing them in front of prospective patients, and attempting to get a local journalist, Andrea Hall, to do a sweep story about them. Bobbie later reveals that the dimpling was self inflicted, due to her putting on weight soon after the surgery.
- In episode 2.12, Oona Wenworth, Merrill Bobolit creates his own form of Botox that causes a skin infection once it is injected. Merrill then kills one of his patients while giving her liposuction and attempts to dismember her body and put it in a suitcase.
- As a show about the lives of cosmetic surgeons, Nip/Tuck features many scenes of plastic surgery, which often serve as metaphors for episode themes.
- Every one of the main characters other than Liz has undergone some type of plastic surgery during the show.
- In episode 1.13, Escobar Gallardo, Christian delivers Wilbur and sees that the baby is black, meaning that Christian is not his father.
- In episode 2.08, Agatha Ripp, Sean learns that Christian is Matt's real father, throwing their lives into chaos.
- In episode 3.12, Sal Perri, a commercial airliner crashes shortly after take off, leaving many dead. Sean, Christian, Julia, and Liz volunteer their services, providing emergency care to injured survivors as Julia searches for her mother, whom she believes to have been on the plane. Julia proves herself to have great potential as a doctor, after performing a skin graft on a horribly burned patient.
Sexual issues
Illegal behavior
Adultery- In episode 1.06, Megan O'Hara, Sean begins having an adulterous affair with Megan after Julia miscarries her baby.
- In episode 1.01, The Pilot, Silvio wants plastic surgery after he slept with the boss's daughter, who was 6 years old.
- Christian Troy has mentioned on several occasions that he was molested by his foster father as a boy.
- In episode 2.12, Oona Wentworth, Ava sleeps with her son, Adrian.
- In episode 3.06, Frankenlaura, Silas Prine has sex with his dead sister.
- In episode 3.15, Quentin Costa, it is revealed that Quentin has a condition known as 5-alpha-reductase deficiency, the result of his parents being related.
- In episode 3.15, Quentin Costa, it is revealed that Quentin and Detective Kit McGraw are brother and sister. In episode 3.03, Derek, Alex, and Gary, Christian, Quentin, Kimber, and Detective Kit McGraw participate in a four-way. Quentin and Kit had sexual contact as they were paired off.
- In episode 2.02, Christian Troy, Matt's friend Henry rapes Cara Fitzgerald, who both Matt and Henry hit with a car resulting in her disfigurement.
- The Carver, a masked serial rapist, was a prominent character in seasons two and three. Rape has therefore been featured in a number of episodes.
- In episode 3.06, Frankenlaura, Silas Prine has been preserving body parts from people at the morgue and combining the parts to create a whole corpse. He had also been having sex with his dead sister.
- In episode 2.06, Bobbi Broderick, Ava sleeps with Matt, who was 17 at the time.
- In episode 2.12, Oona Wentworth, Ava sleeps with her son Adrian, who was 17 at the time.
Sexual acts
Anal sex- In episode 3.11, Abby Mays, Sean discovers Quentin receiving anal sex from a patient, a soldier with facial shrapnel wounds. Sean gives the patient two options: claim Quentin forced the act upon him (which would result in Quentin's medical license being revoked), or admit to being a homosexual and be discharged from the army. Quentin beats him to the punch, calling the soldier's superior and informing him of the act.
- In episode 1.01, Pilot, Christian receives oral sex from Kimber.
- In episode 3.03, Derek, Alex, and Gary, Sean and Quentin receive oral sex from college students whom they met at a fraternity party.
- In episode 1.09, Sophia Lopez II, Christian gives his girlfriend Kimber to Merrill in exchange for a Lamborghini. Kimber finds out, ties Christian to his bed, cuts him with a knife, threatens to kill him, and leaves him for his maid to find him a few days later.
- In episode 3.11, Abby Mays, Christian goes to various lengths to humiliate a patient who comes to him for liposuction. He invites her to his apartment and offers to have sex with her only if she'll wear a brown paper bag over her face. She later reveals she enjoyed it, and that she has figured out she's a masochist and that Christian is a sadist.
- In episode 2.09, Kimber Henry, Kimber reveals that she is performing in pornographic movies and aspires to be a director.
- In episode 1.05, Kurt Dempsey, Christian attends a "Sexaholics Anonymous" meeting for people with a hypersexuality problem.
- In episode 1.07, Cliff Mantegna, Christian and Kimber attend 'The Scene', a sex/swingers party. Here, to make Christian happy, Kimber engages in sexual contact with another girl, as Christian watches on.
- In episode 1.05, Kurt Dempsey, Matt has a three way with his ex-girlfriend and her lesbian lover.
- In episode 2.09, "Rose and Raven Rosenberg" Christian and Sean have a three way with a woman named Renee who looks very much like Julia.
- In episode 3.01, Momma Boone, Kimber walks in on Kit and Christian having sex, and then joins in, starting a 3 way relationship which continues for some time.
- In episode 3.03, Derek, Alex, and Gary, Christian, Quentin, Kimber, and Detective Kit McGraw participate in a four-way.
- In episode 2.02, Manya Mabika, Sean catches Julia masturbating soon after they have had sex.
- In episode 2.06, Bobbi Broderick, Matt is caught by the police masturbating in public to Ava as she undressed in front of an open window.
Other
Puberty and menstruating- In episode 2.04, Mrs. Grubman, Sean and Julia have to deal with Annie getting her first period.
- Liz Cruz, a regular character on the show, is an open lesbian.
- In episode 1.05, Kurt Dempsey, Matt's ex-girlfriend, Vanessa, has a lesbian partner, Ridley.
- In episode 1.07, Cliff Mantegna, Kimber engages in sexual contact with another girl at a swingers party.
- In episode 3.01, Momma Boone, Kimber and Kit engage in sexual contact as Christian watches on.
- In episode 3.03, Derek, Alex, and Gary, Quentin is revealed to be bisexual.
- In episode 1.04, Sophia Lopez, the title character wants to become a woman.
- During season 2, Matt dates and sleeps with Ava, who is (unbeknownst to Matt) a transgender woman.
- During season 3, Matt meets a transgender woman, Cherry Peck, who he beats up, and later becomes friends with.
- In episode 3.15, Quentin Costa, it is revealed that Quentin has a condition known as 5-alpha-reductase deficiency, the result of his parents being related. This effectively means he has no penis.
Personal issues
Illegal behavior
Drug smuggling- In episode 1.01, Pilot, Christian gives a Colombian drug lord a new face.
- In episode 1.01, Pilot, Christian snorts cocaine off Kimber's back
- At the end of Season 1, we see that Kimber is a cocaine addict while living with Merrill Bobolit.
- In episode 2.04, Mrs Grubman, it is revealed that Kimber is still a cocaine addict, and Christian repairs the hole in her septum.
- In episode 2.12, Oona Wentworth, Merrill Bobolit is addicted to anesthesia and is performing surgery while high.
- In episode 3.09, Hannah Tedesco, Quentin performs a facial transplant while high on cocaine.
- In episode 1.03, Nanette Babcock, Nannette kills herself after Sean and Christian choose not to operate on her.
- In episode 1.10, Adelle Coffin, Megan commits suicide by consuming large quantities of pills with a glass of milk.
- In episode 2.16, Joan Rivers, Adrian Moore commits suicide before his mother, Ava Moore, leaves to Paris.
- In episode 1.08, Cara Fitzgerald, Matt and his friend Andrew Leeds Henrey hit Cara with Henry's car while driving under the influence of marijuana and then quickly leave the scene of the accident.
- In episode 2.04, Joel Gideon, Sean is involved in a car accident and is hospitalized.
Self-image
Aging- In episode 1.01, Pilot, Christian gives Botox to a series of women.
- In episode 2.01, Erica Noughton, Christian gives Sean Botox for his 40th birthday. The doctors then perform reconstructive surgery on another patient's face, which was disfigured after her friend shot her when they attempted mutual homicide because they were afraid of aging.
- In episode 3.04, Rhea Reynolds, an elderly woman has plastic surgery performed on her face to make her more closely resemble a younger version of herself so that her Alzheimer's-stricken husband will recognize her.
- In episode 1.02, Mandi/Randi, the title characters are identical twins who wants to look different. After their surgery Randi is emotionally scarred because she thinks she is uglier than her sister.
- In episode 1.03, Nanette Babcock, Nannette wants Sean and Christian to perform liposuction on her so she can look skinny for her 10 year high school reunion.
- In episode 3.01, Momma Boone, the title character is morbidly obese and has become fused with a couch she has been sitting in for years. Sean and Christian are commissioned to surgically remove her from the couch.
- In episode 1.02, Mandi/Randi, and episode 1.03, Nanette Babcock, Matt attempts to circumcise himself using a guide he found on the Internet. He passes out because of the pain, and Sean has to surgically complete the circumcision.
- Episode 3.04, Rhea Reynolds, ends with Sean cutting his arm with a large kitchen knife, reflecting an episode sub-theme of expressing emotional pain through physical pain.
Family issues
Divorce and separation- In episode 1.01, Pilot, Sean leaves Julia during his mid-life crisis, and moves into his own apartment. They reconcile, but then in episode 2.08, Agatha Ripp, Sean discovers that Christian is Matt's father and he kicks Julia out of the house. Finally, in episode 3.03, Derek, Alex, and Gary , a conversation between Sean and Christian reveal that Sean and Julia got a divorce in between episodes.
- In episode 1.05, Kurt Dempsey, Julia miscarries her baby after not following the doctor's orders to remain bed-ridden for nine months.
- In episode 2.08, Agatha Ripp, Liz, who was artificially inseminated by Christian, aborts her baby because she thought it would have health issues.
- In episode 3.13, Joy Kringle, Julia discovers she is once again pregnant. She and Sean go to an abortion clinic together, but both change their mind at the last minute.
Other
Christian Science- In episode 1.08, Cara Fitzgerald, Cara's mother believes that her daughter can be healed by praying. Sean obtains medical custody of Cara and saves her life since praying was not helping her.
- In episode 3.10, Madison Berg, Matt becomes involved with Ariel, a white supremacist. It is suggested in episode 3.11, Abby Mays, that Ariel was involved in a case of vandalization that involved spraypainting a swastika on a Jewish student's locker.
Diseases
Mental disorders
Multiple personality disorder- In episode 1.11, Montana/Sassy/Justice, the title characters are contained within one person. Sean and Christian must perform surgery to appease certain personalities in order to prevent the more disruptive personalities from appearing.
- In episode 3.07, Ben White, the title character asks Christian and Quentin to perform a cosmetic amputation on his leg. When they eventually turn him down, he shoots himself in the foot so that amputation of the leg will become necessary.
- In episode 3.04, Rhea Reynolds, the title character comes to McNamara/Troy claiming to be a victim of The Carver. She is later revealed to be a fraud by Christian and admits she was seeking attention. She eventually becomes a genuine Carver victim, as well as his first known murder.
- In episode 3.14, Cherry Peck, Kimber is found after having been held captive and tortured by The Carver. When she begins to seemingly agree with her attacker's views on beauty (and, by extension, his justification for attacking her), Christian speculates that she's suffering from Stockholm syndrome, which causes hostages to sympathize with their captors.
Physical disorders
Stigmata- In episode 2.08, Agatha Ripp, Agatha comes to Sean and Christian with a case of stigmata. She eventually confesses that the stigmata was inflicted by a nun at the church.
- In episode 1.06, Megan O'Hara, Megan had both of her breasts removed due to cancer. Sean reconstructs them.
- In episode 2.15, Sean McNamara, Gina tells Christian that she is HIV positive. Christian then calls all of the women he had slept with since Gina and tells them to get tested.
- In episode 3.08, Tommy Bolton, the title character, a boy with Down syndrome, requests a plastic surgery so that he can look more like the other members of his family.
- In episode 3.13, Joy Kringle, the doctors find a dead fetus inside of Joy's body cavity while performing lipsuction.
See also
| Nip/Tuck |
|---|
| Characters |
| Main characters: Sean McNamara > Christian Troy | Julia McNamara | Matt McNamara | Liz Cruz | Kimber Henry |
| Minor characters: Annie McNamara > Gina Russo | Adrian Moore | Dr. Barrett Moore | Quentin Costa | Kit McGraw |
| Villains: Escobar Gallardo > Ava Moore | The Carver | Ariel Alderman |
| Other |
| List of Nip/Tuck episodes > Issues addressed in Nip/Tuck |
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