The first season of "nip/tuck" went for shock and awe, and while some of the visuals in the second season still manage to churn that night's spaghetti, it is far more story driven all while capping off storylines left open in the first outing and opening up new wounds as relationships are torn apart, brought back together and severely mutilated.
The major story idea that sparked my interest was the introduction of the serial killer referred to, and known only, as The Carver. Mutilating what he considers his beautiful victims, Drs. McNamara (Walsh) and Troy (McMahon), McNamara in particular, take it upon themselves to treat the victims and help them back to the way they looked before the tragedy... all of this is offered at no expense to the patient. As you can most likely surmise this offers up more than a few thrills and chills as "nip/tuck" moves into the third season set to premiere on Sept. 20th on FX.
Taking the ability this show has in keeping you 100 percent enthralled, this DVD set is far lacking the special feature content the first season did. This one doesn't even come close to appealing in that sense, not by a long shot.
The most noticeable difference being there is nothing in the way of a making-of featurette or at least a makeup effects feature. The first season release went into extensive detail on the prop and makeup effects for the show and this season includes such surgeries as separating conjoined twins, and there is nothing... a major void is left here. On top of that, it would be nice for one commentary, the season finale is just begging for a chatty Walsh, Richardson and McMahon chat fest, yet nothing.
What you do have are show specific deleted scenes, the best way to go in my opinion, as well as a mini featurette on three of the women in Dr. Troy's life, hardly worth a mention. The deleted scenes run about 45 minutes total and work because they accompany the show's they were deleted from, but it isn't enough to get too carried away with.
The second season DVD set of "nip/tuck" is not big on features, but it is big on drama. FX is the place to go when it comes to hardcore, brutal drama. With "nip/tuck", "The Shield" and "Rescue Me" there is little room for more when it comes to television in the way of shock.
Along with introducing some cliffhaning storylines, this season also included some major guest stars including Famke Janssen, Vanessa Redgrave (Joely Richardson's real-life and TV mother), Joan Rivers, Aisha Tyler (awesome performance) and even Alec Baldwin for a short turn.
Overall this show definitely turned it up a notch from its first season and left a major cliffhanger that just may have me tuning in on September 20th when I would normally just wait for the next DVD release. If you have the time definitely check out the third season preview here, the official site here and our special third season gallery here.