Wednesday, February 13, 2008

"Nip/Tuck" Recap & Review - "Kyle Ainge"

Nip/Tuck
"Kyle Ainge"


Original Air Date: January 29, 2008

Tom R - TwoCents Staff Writer

Welcome back to The Dark Place. It’s nice to visit, but don’t stay too long.

Granted, this show is no stranger to Creepytown. No need to go back to The Carver or Escobar Gallardo…Look at some of the earlier flaky moments from this season, beginning with the fish hook torture in episode one. But as David Lynch proved with Twin Peaks, you have to gauge the limits, or it’s just being weird for the sake of being weird. And this episode takes just one step over that fine line.

1 comment:

  1. Nip/Tuck
    "Kyle Ainge"

    Original Air Date: January 29, 2008

    Tom R - TwoCents Staff Writer

    Welcome back to The Dark Place. It’s nice to visit, but don’t stay too long.

    Granted, this show is no stranger to Creepytown. No need to go back to The Carver or Escobar Gallardo…Look at some of the earlier flaky moments from this season, beginning with the fish hook torture in episode one. But as David Lynch proved with Twin Peaks, you have to gauge the limits, or it’s just being weird for the sake of being weird. And this episode takes just one step over that fine line.

    We begin with Kyle Ainge, who was trapped with his wife for ten days in a crashed car that landed in a crevice. Since his wife is diabetic, the lack of food became critical to her chances for survival, so Kyle cut off some of his flesh, cooked it with the car’s cigarette lighter and fed it to her. After the rescue, she is traumatized and haunted by the scars. When Kyle is in recovery, he develops unforeseen complications that no one seems to be able to diagnose. His wife finally reveals that in his time of need, she has been returning the favor he did for her. Only since she is not sterilizing things, he is developing infections.

    In the wake of Gina’s death, Christian is finding it difficult to broach the subject with his son Wilber. According to Wilber’s teacher, this is resulting in him acting up in class, since students are being bitten during naptime. Christian is unable to break the news, and the attacks continue. But during a tryst with the teacher, she bites Christian, who starts to wonder if the bite marks are really from any of the students. When he calls the police to compare marks, she tells him in confidence that with her caps, they won’t be able to match.

    Creative Artists, the top agency in Hollywood, sends a team to sign Sean to a major deal after his increased exposure on Hearts ‘n Scalpels. At the same time, Colleen Rose is recovering from a minor procedure. While in recovery, she has made a teddy bear to represent Sean, including a recording of his voice. Sean lets her know about the other offer. The creepiness peaks here, with the constant repetition of the words “Tell me what you don’t like about yourself” over and over as the batteries inside the bear lose their power.

    As agent Bob meets with Colleen, he comments that no one has ever heard of her agency. She rattles off a list of clients, only to find that at least one is signed with Creative Artists, and Bob is actually on the support team. He is about to leave the apartment when Colleen comes up behind him and clubs him over the head.

    It should have ended right there. Poetic justice for an agent, and we see how whacked Colleen really is. A knife in the back would make even more sense. But Colleen ties Bob to a chair, wakes him up and wheels out an enormous device to stuff him like a teddy bear. It’s overkill, and the size of the bloody thing, the sheer unwieldiness, is what kills the scene. Better for Bob to just disappear, and maybe we find out later what really happened. It felt rushed, which is rare for a show that has always been willing to take its time to build dramatic reveals. Case in point: We still don’t know what the hell was in that fruitcake.

    The worst part is, that moment overshadows the brilliant scene at Gina’s funeral, where she is eulogized by recovering sexaholics who knew her, and who recall her prowess over and over again. Just as the scene is getting too outrageous, a man steps to the podium to announce that he only had sex with Gina once, and he wishes he didn’t. He’s the one who gave her AIDS. The contrast is beautifully abrupt, and it works perfectly.

    Tune in next week as Kimber gives Eden a new purpose in life.

    Nip/Tuck is created for mature audiences.
    The show airs Tuesday nights at 10 PM on the F/X Network. Repeats air immediately and over the following weekend.

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