The second season of FX's racy and controversial doctor drama, "Nip/Tuck," has hit shelves just in time for viewers to play catch up before the start of the third season on Sept. 20th, especially after the cliff-hanger season finale.

The show's theme song — the Engine Room's "A Perfect Lie" — begs for perfection in beauty, soul and life through its words over a melodic and haunting backdrop. Christian Troy and Sean McNamara (played by Julian McMahon and Dylan Walsh) are famous for making their patients' lives perfect, but their own lives are the furthest thing from it.

Season two shows that as they slice and shape each of their patients in every which way possible to achieve flawlessness, the more dysfunctional they become. When you're in the plastic surgery business it's obvious that beauty is only skin deep while everything else is a bloody mess.

If a television viewer randomly turned on an episode of "Nip/Tuck" there would be a lot confusion. The show's intertwining plot lines and characters can be hard to follow, but it's too intriguing and addicting to turn off.

When a show encompasses a never-ending love triangle, infidelity, several cases of child loss, pedophilia and, of course, plastic surgery just with its lead characters, it cannot be passed up.

All these story lines were brought in through 16 episodes, each roughly an hour long, but then there is an ever-changing aspect to the show. Sean and Christian are doctors; their patients become part of their lives. Every episode features at least one patient and their problems, and most of the time the episode is named after them.

"Tell me what you don't like about yourself," is the first question the doctors ask their patients. The answers can be as superficial or as heart-wrenching as possible.

The patients can be some of the most absorbing characters on TV: Natasha Charles was born blind and wants acrylic eyes (Rebecca Gayheart of "Beverly Hills, 90210"), Naomi Gaines was attacked by a serial rapist (Leslie Bibb of "Popular") and Manya Mabika was disfigured from genital mutilation (Aisha Tyler of "CSI"). Although the "Nip/Tuck" guest stars have played their characters especially well in the second season, they have tragically not yet been acknowledged by any awards show.

The character and actress that most deserves a nomination is Famke Janssen, who plays Ava Moore. Moore is hired to be the life-coach of Sean's 17-year-old son Matt (John Hensley). Instead, she becomes his lover and actually turns out to be a transsexual. Janssen plays her character with such passion that it's hard to accept that she is a villain on the show.

"Nip/Tuck" doesn't disappoint on the special features. Every disc has at least one deleted scene included and the last disc has a vignette called "Recurring Pain: Three Women and Their Man."

The deleted scenes are not short nor are they ones that should be missed. Every scene provides a little insight on what could have been for several characters and would have fit in perfectly with its episode if the show was allotted more than an hour's time. But each scene's exclusion also adds to the mystery of the characters or patients after they are gone or to the lead plot line of the show.

"Recurring Pain" is a highly interesting feature about Christian and the three women who try to become a stable part of his life — Kimber Henry (Kelly Carlson), Mrs. Grubman (Ruth Williamson) and Gina Russo (Jessalyn Gilsig) — but ultimately are unable.

Grade: A

Special Features: B

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 8, 2005.