Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Jumpin' The Shark

One of my guilty pleasures--and I say "one of" 'cause, well...I have quite a few--is the TV show Nip/Tuck. (By the way, when you talk about this show, do you call it "Nip. Tuck.? Or, as I do, Nip and Tuck? Just curious.) Anyway, my wife turned me on to the show in it's second season, and I got hooked.

It's like crack to me, except the people are pretty and the drama is over within the hour.

I hate it when a show becomes a caricature. It happens way too often, when writers use up all their ideas and end up bringing in a kid actor to freshen up the plot. Or, when they allow the lead actors to sleep together to satisfy the tension built up within the audience. Or, when a show starts bringing on guest star after guest star. This, more than the others, reeks of desperation, and a lazy approach to boost ratings. And it's exactly what Nip/Tuck is doing this upcoming season, which begins September 5.

C'mon...I mean, Catherine Deneuve, Richard Chamberlain, Jacqueline Bisset, Melissa Gilbert, Rosie O'Donnell, Peter Dinklage. Brooke Shields, Larry Hagman and Kathleen Turner are in the first episode alone! Don't believe me? You can read it here, yourself. (Update: Anonymous #2 from my comments section is correct about one thing. All these folks are not in the first episode. I misread two sentences in the article.)

I still smell the blood in the water. The shark is about to jump.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nip/Tuck is great!!! Ever watched Rescue Me?

Anonymous said...

If you read the whole article, you would see that some of the guest stars are fans who love the show so much, they called and asked to be on the it. And..it does not look like these stars will all be on the opener, just seen in the new season at some point. Julian, my favorite actor on the show, says last season was not his favorite and that this season is "revitalized". This is not a "jump the sharK'....it is a great, sexy show getting better and better!

The Film Geek said...

Hey Anonymous: I did read the whole article, and did see that folks asked to guest on it. But my point isn't how they get on the show, but that the show allows it...They don't have to, of course. And in my experience, when shows start using loads of guests they get away from the core of what made the show great to begin with.

I'm still calling a watch for sharks. Hope not, though.

The Film Geek said...

hey Anonyous #1: Yep, I've seen it too. And really liked it.

JD Byrne said...

I'm afraid Nip/Tuck jumped the shark for me last season. The whole "Carver" thing was just too much (not to mention the Michael Jackson-lookin son's problems). I'll probably check out the first few episodes this season to see where it's headed, tho'.

In a similar way, Showtime's Huff suffered the same fate. Great first season with lots of interesting characters who got pushed over the edge in the second. Oh well, it got cancelled, anyway.

Anonymous said...

Having watched all seasons of Nip/Tuck, one thing is clear. The show is always over the top.....always has been. It dares to go where we as viewers don't think it is possible to go and that is what separates it. Jump, Shark, Jump. And give me a front row seat to see the Fonz not make it across and die in shark infested waters, which is clearly what Nip/Tuck would not be afraid to do for us, knowing we all wanted Mr. Cool not to make it.

The Film Geek said...

Hey Anonymous #2: Yes, dear.