FX nips and tucks on Tuesday nights
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
Scrambling to find something unusual on TV, viewers sometimes discover cable's FX network.
Occasionally, they'll find a strong new movie taken from real life.
"RFK" and "The Pentagon Papers" were recent examples; "Redemption" (coming this winter) has Jamie Foxx as Tookie Williams, who went from founder of the Crips gang to author of children's books.
Easier to find are distinctive series. Those take turns at 10 p.m. Tuesdays and they include:
"Nip/Tuck," focusing on two partners in a Miami plastic-surgery clinic. The first few episodes seethed with pain and violence. "It is a provocative show," says Julian McMahon, who stars with Dylan Walsh. "So it's meant to provoke as many things as it can."
"Lucky," which just ended its run in that time slot, and tried to juggle drama and comedy in the world of Las Vegas gamblers. Peter Liguori, FX president, says he isn't sure if the series will be back. "We've been a bit disappointed by the ratings. We have not been disappointed by the show."
"The Shield," whose highly anticipated return won't come until January when the drama about crooked cops returns for its third season. Not only did it garner high ratings, it also scored its star Michael Chiklis a best-actor Emmy. He's up for another in September.
FX, which started nine years ago and reaches 80 million homes, has other original programs, including "The Orlando Jones Show" (a new variety/talk show), and some experimental reality shows, which will rotate on Fridays. Still, it's that one time slot — 10 p.m. Tuesdays — that sets the tone.
"Nip/Tuck" offers slick visuals and a cast with quite a pedigree. McMahon's father (Sir William McMahon) was Australia's prime minister (1971-72); Joely Richardson's parents (Vanessa Redgrave and the late Tony Richardson, the "Tom Jones" director) were both Oscar winners. Richardson plays a surgeon's wife.
Critics have praised the show's look and its performances. Audiences, however, may have trouble with its cynicism.
Plastic surgeons can do wondrous things, says Richardson, who has had two childhood scars removed. "Definitely, there is an up side."
They can also play to the world's vanity, says Valerie Cruz, who plays a psychologist on the show.
"We're in a city full of breast implants, so I think you think about it a lot. The media really pumps out images of women, that we're supposed to be beautiful and thin. I think women are just prone to be more insecure about their appearance, because of the way society dictates it."
Dr. Christian Troy (McMahon) preys on that insecurity. He's on the prowl for new patients and bed partners. Dr. Sean McNamara (Walsh) is indecisive about everything, including his wife (Richardson) and his teen son (John Hensley). There is loud rage and quiet agony. Surrounded by beauty, people fume and fret. Like it or hate it, "Nip/Tuck" is an FX kind of show.
But we'll see how the ratings fare in that 10 p.m. time slot on Tuesdays. It may get battered by another ratings success story — "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," which airs at the same time on Bravo.
