Nip Tuck

• Just days away from the start of shooting, Columbia has pulled the plug on Moneyball, Steven Soderbergh's baseball drama starring Brad Pitt. — The Hollywood Reporter
• Here's the track listing for the American Idol season eight album. — Entertainment Weekly
• A 10-gallery museum devoted to the life of Walt Disney will open in San Francisco on Oct. 1. — AP
• Simon Cowell has addressed the Susan Boyle situation and other controversies from this season of Britain's Got Talent. — Daily Mail
• Nip/Tuck has filmed its 100th and final episode — though it may not air till 2011. — LA Times
• Playing in Britain and Japan ahead of its worldwide release on Wednesday, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen premiered at No. 1 on the international circuit during the weekend, with a total of almost $20 million. — Reuters
• True Blood tops a new index of shows that fans love to talk about online. — The Hollywood Reporter
• British singer Estelle will replace Lauryn Hill as the headline act at this year's Stockholm Jazz Festival. — AP

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Another victim of last year's writers' strike was the oh-so-delicious Nip/Tuck. What was meant to be one of the series' longest seasons was cut short, with just 14 episodes airing — the last all the way back on Feb. 19, 2008! Luckily, it's a new year, and Nip/Tuck is picking up exactly where it left off, with the second half of season five beginning tonight.

For those who need a refresher, we last saw the doctors at their practice in Los Angeles. Sean was preparing for a solo surgery on his daughter, who was injured in a car wreck with Christian. In walked Colleen Rose, Sean's former agent and current stalker, who stabbed him multiple times, leaving him for dead in the operating room. Can you say cliffhanger? Sure, there were other story lines at the end of the last batch of episodes, including Julia's relationship with Olivia (and her deranged daughter Eden) and Matt's dysfunctional life (drugs, incest, etc.), but tonight's episode focuses mostly on the aftermath of Sean's stabbing.

If you're tuning in, you can look forward to an intense opener that rehashes the gruesome attack (and fills in some missing details) and then jumps four months into the future. To avoid spoilers, let's put it this way: Things have changed dramatically for McNamara/Troy. However, it's hard to say how much is different in the lives of Julia, Matt, and Kimber, as none of them is a focus in tonight's episode. Hopefully that changes soon. Regardless, I'll be watching the rest of season five; how about you? To check out the trailer, just read more

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue.

Nip/Tuck: Season Five
Season five finds Sean McNamara and Christian Troy making the leap from Miami to Los Angeles. While the new city provides a welcome change of scenery, the satisfaction is for the viewer only as business isn't exactly booming at the McNamara/Troy office. In fact, the two men find themselves without any clients at all and must resort to hiring a publicist to get their practice rolling. The publicist (played by Lauren Hutton) tells the duo that they must perform surgery on celebrities to create buzz. Guest actors that pop up in this DVD include Portia de Rossi and Oliver Platt.

Special features include unaired scenes and a gag reel titled "Severed Parts."

One more up next so read more

Add Nip/Tuck to the growing list of reasons to watch TV in January. The scandalous FX show returns Jan. 6, with a few new characters (and several old friends) there to stir up trouble.

One new face I was happy to see in these clips from the upcoming season is Adhir Kalyan, who played Raj on the CW's short-lived Aliens in America. He joins McNamara/Troy as a young protégé (think Doogie Howser) who's helping out Christian after Sean's stabbing in last season's finale. I always liked him on Aliens, so I'm glad to see he's getting more work. Other faces, like Kelly Carlson's Kimber, are more familiar — and I'm pretty sure I spotted Eden (90210's AnnaLynne McCord) in one shot, though I wouldn't swear to it.

The show was recently renewed through 2011 and will produce 100 total episodes before it ends, so we can go into this next batch of episodes knowing there's plenty more Nip/Tuck in our future. Are you ready to see the show return? To check out some clips of the new season, just read more

• Can you match the famous hair with the TV star? — The TV Addict
• Apparently, Alan Rickman is already mentally prepared to play the hookah-smoking caterpillar in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. — Popwatch
• Joss Whedon says Dollhouse is going great; too bad he sounds miserable. — Vulture
• The stars of Zack and Miri Make a Porno have a funny/strange conversation with Ben Lyons. — E! Online's Lyons Den
• Hey, it's new promos for Nip/Tuck. — TV Squad
• Sean Connery says he's definitely retired from acting on the big screen. — MTV Movies Blog
• Congrats to the bloggers and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia writers who just sold a pilot to Fox! — Give Me My Remote
• What are some movies that shouldn't have scared you. . . but did? — Cinematical

• 30 Rock's newest high-profile guest star: Steve Martin! — New York Magazine
• Jack Osbourne is producing a documentary about his father, Ozzy Osbourne. — Variety
• Ex-Veronica Mars writer Diane Ruggiero has quit her job as showrunner of the CBS show The Ex List — and lashes out at CBS in the process. — The Star-Ledger
• Screen Gems is putting together a team for Operation Checkmate, a drama based on the recent rescue of hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). — ComingSoon
• American Idol winner David Cook's debut album will hit stores in November. — Billboard
• Pink Floyd keyboard player and founding member Richard Wright has died at age 65. — Reuters
• Nip/Tuck's stars want to double their salaries for the show's final season. — TV Guide
• Ready for a XXX sequel? Yeah, me neither, but Vin Diesel is. — Variety

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• Cinematical lists their top seven freakiest children from horror movies.
• TV Squad rants about Jerry Seinfeld's tireless Bee Movie promotion on NBC.
• Head over to Stereogum to hear The Arcade Fire covering The Smiths' "Still Ill."
• The interview on MTV Movies Blog reveals that Ben Foster has a man crush on Justin Timberlake.
• The TV Addict shares some thoughts on how to fix Heroes.
• Pop Candy tells you how to have Nip/Tuck's McNamara and Troy call your friends and invite them in for a consultation.
• Want to hear all of "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" from 30 Rock? Check out the complete song over at TV with MeeVee.
• RetroCrush actually lists the 100 scariest movie scenes of all time. Not movies, scenes.
• Buddy TV writes an eloquent defense of Journeyman.
• Popwatch goes on a tirade against EMQs, or Excessive Movie Quoters.

"LA's newest implants" aren't of the silicone kind; they're Sean McNamara and Christian Troy, who are making the leap from Miami to Los Angeles in tonight's season premiere of Nip/Tuck. And while the new city provides a welcome change of scenery, the satisfaction is for the viewer only as business isn't exactly booming at the McNamara/Troy office. In fact, the two men find themselves without any clients at all and must resort to hiring a publicist to get their practice rolling. The publicist (played by Lauren Hutton) tells the duo that they must perform surgery on celebrities to create buzz.


Celebrities creating buzz is a mantra that the show has certainly taken to heart. Tonight's episode has bevy of celebrity cameos including Hutton, Tia Carrere, Bradley Cooper, Oliver Platt, and Craig Bierko, but it is Jennifer Coolidge who steals the show. She plays a patient on the TV show the doctors are hired to consult for called Hearts 'N Scalpels. It's a show-within-a-show format that is smart, funny, and, best of all, a satire of Nip/Tuck itself.

With the move to LA and the onslaught of celebrity cameos, I'm hoping that there is enough realistic drama to save Nip/Tuck from the strained slump that was season four. Tonight's episode is definitely a step in the right direction, which is good, as I know I'm not the only one who misses the good ol' Carver days!

Photo courtesy of FX