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If you love Nip Tuck, you are sure to have anxiously waited for season five of the popular show. This season was supposed to be 22 episodes, but the writers strike caused only the first 14 to be shown. Those 14 episodes were however explosive and backed full of new twists, new characters, and lots and lots of sex. However, it was not all good for the boys and their friends.

The season begins with Christian and Sean moving their practice from Florida to Beverly Hills. As one would expect, there’s no lack of need for plastic surgeons in Los Angeles, but theres just one little issue for McNamara/Troy. No one has any idea who they are. To solve this, they bring in publicist Fiona McNeil. She wastes no time in getting them a gig as technical advisors on a television show based on, would you believe it, plastic surgeons!

As they work on Hearts n Scalpels, they meet its executive producer and various members of its cast, including Aidan Stone. The soap takes up a good amount of time in the beginning episodes of the season. While the self-centered, over the top Aidan is highly entertaining, there are times when it seems just a bit too much. Maybe it would be OK if we didnt follow some of the television crew off-set, but we do. When the studio executive in charge of the show heads off to visit a dominatrix to distress, I wasnt sure if the season was on track or jumping the shark. Even worse, I wasnt sure if I cared about these characters. They and their plots seemed to be designed to shock us, but they didnt do much to round out these new characters or move the existing characters along. While many things happened to the characters, few showed any lasting change. Even those who split and found new relationships, such as Matt and Kimber, still seemed to be the same people, unaffected by the events in their lives.

That, in fact, is the main issue of season 5, if not the entire show. The characters dont seem to evolve. Christian, in a particular, doesnt really change from the womanizing man he is. He continues to bounce from woman to woman with little regard for them, it seems. While this has been the norm for a few seasons, it seems especially apparent in season 5.

Of course, the celebrity guests kept coming in season 5, including Rosie ODonnell, Jennifer Coolidge, and Jai Rodriguez. In fact, they were sometimes the biggest draw of an episode, and I want to see what big names they pull in for season 6. The season cliffhanger, too, does make me want to watch the next season, if only the premiere, to see how certain storylines are resolved. Overall, while it was a disappointment, Nip/Tuck is still an interesting show to watch. However, there are only eight episodes scheduled for 2009 (the rest of season 5), so dont expect much development for the next year.