Dylan Walsh

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

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

Don't those three make such a gorgeous family?
A whole bunch of people I like — Dylan Walsh of Nip/Tuck, Penn Badgley of Gossip Girl, Sela Ward of Once and Again, and possibly Adrianne Palicki of Friday Night Lights — have teamed up for a remake of the 1987 thriller The Stepfather.

Too bad their family is totally dysfunctional.
The story centers on a teenager (Badgley) who begins to suspect that his soon-to-be stepfather (Walsh) may be a psycho murderer who killed his previous family. Ward will play the mother; Palicki, who is still in negotiations, would play Badgley's character's girlfriend.

Will it be spooky?
I haven't seen the original, but Variety reports that this remake will be done in the style of a Hitchcock thriller.

Fun fact about the first Stepfather:
The role of the crazy stepfather was originated by Terry O'Quinn, now of Lost fame. He also reprised the role in a 1989 sequel, imaginatively titled Stepfather II.

Source

"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

It won't be long now till the Los Angeles offices of McNamara/Troy open for business. The fifth season of Nip/Tuck premieres Oct. 30 at 10 p.m., and I can't wait to see what "LA's newest implants" have in store for us after their move west.

I really loved the way FX promoted this season — first putting out a bunch of 10-second promos (like this one with the morphing birth mark or this one with the back tattoo) that played off the Miami-to-LA theme, then releasing a beautiful longer commercial that took my breath away the first time I saw it. Now there are all sorts of fun interviews and scenes of the good doctors getting way in over their heads as they try to navigate LA. Are you excited for the new season? To watch a few of my favorite promos, just read more