Tuesday November 1, 2005
2T5957
Seeking fulfillment in his life, Sean becomes a surgeon for the Witness Protection Programme. A man suffering from Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) threatens Christian's life in order to force him to amputate his perfectly healthy leg. Julia, Gina, and Liz develop a new skincare product that uses semen as the main ingredient. They keep the main ingredient a secret though. Joan Rivers is the first to test the product and loves it so much she decides to endorse it.
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Otra vez pongo nueve porque banco a esta serie y le doy otra oportunidad. Sean se recontra harta de su clínica (parece que el actor está bastante cansado de su personaje) y se va al FBI para hacer de su trabajo algo un poco más humano. Julia sigue con su negocio que (qué raro) funciona de mil maravillas y Christian decide ayudar (operándolo) a un hombre que siente que una de sus piernas está de más. Cosa rara, yo siento que me sobra gran parte de lo que debería ser mi vida.
Serán las series que se están tornando aburridas o seré yo?
Christian and Kimber are one of those few TV couples I consider myself a huge shipper for, so I unsurprisingly loved their scenes together in this episode. The dialogue for Kimber was truly beautiful, especially her scene discussing Sean's departure and comparing him to an unneeded appendix (... long story). Christian's proposal was also great, and a marked improvement on his season premiere attempt.
The Ben White story was very intriguing. I'd never heard of this "condition" before, but it sounded pretty legit. Like he said, if Christian would have no problem operating on a transsexual client, why not operate on him? There are obviously differences, but the basic idea (removing an individual's body part that wasn't supposed to be there) is undeniably similar.
The "semen face cream" subplot was undoubtedly the worst story of the episode. Plain embarrassing and featuring some god-awful dialogue, even Joan Rivers couldn't save it. As if the whole idea wasn't stupid enough anyway, no investor would want to back a product without knowing all the ingredients first, let alone put it on the market. And if Betty Rubble of Chicago, Illinois found out she'd been rubbing strange men's semen into her face for the past x-amount of years, the lawsuit Julia and Co. would face would be insane...
Some great character moments and an interesting surgery case end up spoiled by a terrible subplot and the sleep-inducing Anne Heche story. Still, it was at least better than Frankenlaura...
Director: Jeremy Podeswa
Writers: Lyn Greene, Richard Levine
Rating: B-
Julia: “All these years I really believed I couldn’t do something without you”
Sean: “Maybe we both needed it to be that way”.
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De La Mer is having a hard job gathering clientele, so who better to help them out with business than Joan Rivers; who, I have to say, was just fantastically whimsical and comedic as her last guest star stint. (Joan: “Don’t think of me as a celebrity. Think of me as a familiar face that changes every couple of weeks.) I found our spa trio’s use of semen as an anti-aging product, while very outlandish, amusing, and Julia and Liz's shocked faces when they were first presented with the idea, as well when Joan tried out the cream, were priceless.
I thought Sean taking on a job with the FBI was fitting. He’s finally getting to help people and he is finally feeling more self-worth. He and Julia both received a moral boost today, and I’m happy that their period apart is helping them grown more as individuals.
The only problem with Sean’s new line of work is the “no emotional attachment” rule, which I predict Sean will have a hard time following. Sean’s shown in the past that he puts a large emotional investment in his cases, and Nicole (played nicely by Anne Heche) and her son Austin’s case appeared to be pulling at his heartstrings. Was I right in also sensing a romantic attraction between Sean and Nicole?
Final Notes and Quotes
- Christian’s proposal to Kimber was sweet, and I really am rooting for their relationship to work out.
- Gina: “Look on the bright side, the tabloid will go nuts: ‘Spa Trio Gives **** to Joans’. We’ll be famous! Well, she’ll be famous; we’ll be stoned out on the streets."
Liz: “That’s the bright side?”
I really am enjoying Jessalyn Gilig’s addition as a series regular. She has developed quite a comedic flare.
- Outstanding Performance of the Week: While I had a hard time relating to our patient of the week’s Body Integrity Disorder, I still thought John Billingsley did a great job with the role. It would have been very easy to overplay it.
Final Rating: Better then last week’s but still…. 2 out of 4 stars.
- Tim Bronx
Find this and many other reviews at: www.motionpicturereviews.com
From the ridiculous to the sublime. In my opinion, Ben White goes a long way to redeem the season after the utter train-wreck of an episode that was Frankenlaura. The theme of this episode is lost and found; many characters are losing things (or want to, in the patient-of-the-week's case) but are often finding themselves whole in the process, a point that is unfortunately hammered home repeatedly towards the end of the episode. The writers obviously didn't trust us enough to pick it up even though it's pretty apparent. This is a problem as there are portions of the script that really work and are really strong, but others aren't. This episode has also had its fair share of detractors again claiming that the storylines are too extreme and disgusting. But hey, compared to a corpse bride made by a man who wants to bang his sister, a guy wanting to lose a leg and semen facemasks barely make it on the radar.
We have another great guest cast member as the patient of the week. John Billingsley brings a quiet and assured performance as Ben White, a man suffering from Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) who wants to have a healthy leg removed, as it doesn't feel right for him to have it. In an interesting change of positions, it is now Christian who refuses to do the procedure. Well, someone's got to step up and fill the position left by Sean and Liz. Without a voice of reason and some morals, the place would really slide. Quentin's all for doing the procedure, showing shades of Christian's earlier character. Christian is interestingly conflicted, going to see Ben at his house and finding out that Ben has a contingency plan involving a trunk of dry ice; Ben is determined to lose his leg 'one way or another'. Christian phones Sean and gets short shrift from him. Eventually, Christian decides that McNamara/Troy will not amputate Ben's leg. The scene between Christian and Ben, which ends with Ben shooting himself in the leg, is one of the many wonderful scenes throughout and I can't help but feel moved by Ben's plight (in part due to the script by Lyn Greene & Richard Levine, and John Billingsley's moving performance). But eventually, Ben loses his leg and becomes whole. After dealing with this, Christian goes home to Kimber and asks her to marry him. Christian feels like a part is missing since Sean left the practice, but realises Kimber is the one to complete him. And I have to admit it, I did have tears in my eyes during the proposal - both Julian McMahon and Kelly Carlson are excellent in that scene, and throughout the episode. The two of them together when Kimber likens Sean to an appendix also ranks as one of my favourites of the series.
Speaking of Sean, he's off helping the Witness Protection Program. As you do when you're not sure where to go next. He is interviewed by Dr Sagamore (the excellent Bob Gunton, giving a similar no-nonsense performance as he did on Desperate Housewives) and is accepted to the scheme. His first consult is Nicole Morretti and her teenage son, Austin, who have entered the programme after her husband was gunned down. Whilst Nikki is fully aware of what's happening, they haven't told Austin about the plastic surgery. Sean lets the cat out of the bag and Austin flips out and runs away. Sean confronts Dr Sagamore who explains the situation as no-nonsense as possible; lives are at stake and sometimes it's better the kids don't know until afterwards. Austin agrees to the surgery as long as Sean does it. Already, the plans are being laid for a relationship to occur despite the fact it shouldn't. And on that subject... arguably, this is the strand of the episode that doesn't work so well. The whole Nikki subplot seems very misguided and sadly miscast- Anne Heche is just plain wrong for the part. Tanner Richie is a little better as Austin, but they both suffer from rather simplistic scripts that sound too earnest or sappy. The surgery is done and Sean delivers the motto of the episode, written in such a way that it could be a tagline for an inspirational made-for-TV drama: 'Sometimes you have to lose who you were to find out who you are'. It's a noble sentiment but please... the audience are not idiots. We do not need sledgehammering over the head with something so obvious, delivered with such saccharine that you need an insulin shot afterwards! The final scene, where Sean phones Julia, has much the same effect. Whilst the closure is great, a little less sentiment would have been nice.
The third strand of the episode provides much of the light relief in the episode. Julia, Liz and Gina are struggling with De La Mer. They appear to only have one patient recovering at the spa, Gretchen Carr (a very game performance by Gigi Rice, I might add). Ms Carr looks good for her age, which she puts down to putting her sons' semen on her face at night. I cannot begin to tell you how wrong this is. It's incredibly sick and disgusting, yet hilariously funny at the same time. Hey, who says I have to be highbrow all the time? After a discussion about the medical properties of semen, the girls decide to concoct a signature product for the spa: a facemask that has semen as its active ingredient. As they package it up, Joan Rivers comes to stay at the spa. That is the Joan Rivers, eagerly playing herself for the second time in the series. Her scenes with the girls are great and a nice lift to contrast with the angst going on around. Joan tries the facemask and is so pleased with its effects that she is cancelling her surgery. She offers the girls a 50/50 deal but wants to know what is in the mask. Julia plays an absolute blinder in the negotiation, avoids mentioning sperm at all, and seals the deal. After Joan's glowing endorsement on an infomercial, De La Mer skyrockets. The scenes of Julia, Liz and Gina together work really well- Joely, Roma and Jessalyn really have a good chemistry together. Sadly, this is the last time we see it as inexplicably Jessalyn Gilsig all but disappears from the season after this episode (she appears twice more, but her performance in Quentin Costa is very much blink-and-you'll-miss-it).
All in all, I find Ben White to certainly be the strongest episode of this block of five. A script that is mostly good, guest performances that are mostly good and some good work from the series regulars makes this a solid example of what Nip/Tuck can do. The only thing that really detracts from it for me is that we know the series is capable of so much better.
Find Yourself
Written by Lyn Greene And Richard Levine
Directed by Jeremy Podeswa
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With Sean’s unexpected departure last week, you’d almost be expected to believe that by the end of this hour he’d be back at McNamara and Troy with his tail between his legs. Well hate to break it to you but he’s not.
A week since “Frankenlaura” and even now I think that Sean may have been a little rash in his decision to throw his livelihood but instead of sitting at home, downing beers and feeling sorry for himself, he’s nabbed a job at the FBI changing faces for people on the Witness Protection Programme and aside from dealing with an abrasive but ineffectual boss, it’s not long before he starts on his first case.
Enter Nicole Morretti and her son Austin who are on the run from a dangerous mob boss who had her informant of a husband killed. Recently on Everwood, Anne Heche is surprisingly adept at playing Nicole and is literally unrecognisable. You can bet by next week when we see her post surgery, I won’t be saying that any more but props to the prosthetic used on Heche. I was a bit wary of Anne in the role of Nicole but like I’ve said she’s actually quite good and there’s a lot of subtlety with Nicole too.
This makes up for the slightly less subtle attraction between her and Sean. Although not much is revealed from her perspective when I watching this episode. I definitely saw a glimmer of lust from Sean’s end. Sean definitely likes a certain type of kindness and depth in his women – both Julia and Megan O’Hara proved that point.
However while even genuinely believe Sean could do some good work for the FBI and his new type of clientele, I really can see having problems with following the “no emotional involvement” guideline though. Not only did he bond with Nicole but he took a rather fatherly shine to Austin. He acted a little too parental with Doctor Sagamore over Austin not knowing about the surgery and he did use the best friend approach to coax Austin into agreeing to the surgery. While it’s great Sean cares for his patients, I get the feeling his emotions will cloud his judgement. I do like Nicole but I also have the feeling there’s a lot to her we and probably the FBI don’t know about her.
New vocation aside what I really liked about Sean in this episode is the new hope he gained. While he was quite dismissive with Christian around the first half, I liked the civility between him and Julia during their phone conversation. Both of them really needed their self-esteem boosted and they got it here. Also business wise, both Sean and Julia’s plots were far more interesting to watch.
All businesses start slow, they need time to build a network of clients, maybe even have a signature product that makes them stand from their competitors. In this show and its love for the outlandish, we have the use of semen as an anti-ageing product. I kid you not and watching Julia, Gina and Liz’s reaction to the discovery is comic genius, especially with the normally irrepressible Gina irked at the idea at first.
It gets even better when Joan Rivers pops up at De La Mer and gets a hold of the product. The women are worried about a lawsuit but the dread quite simply isn’t there. Luckily for us, Joan only wants to flog the stuff at a 50/50 deal and we get to see some killer bargaining skills from Julia who manages to get De La Mer on the map while retaining the secret ingredient to what will be the most sought face cream in Miami. This is easily the best plot of the episode and watching Julia, Gina and Liz negotiate and bicker like kids is amusing to say the least.
It’s a good job the Sean plot was interesting and Julia’s the highlight because Christian and Quentin running McNamara and Troy is the low point of the hour. Especially when you add in extremist’s Ben White’s desperation to get his leg amputated. Ben suffers from B.I.I.D (Body Integrity Identity Disorder) and although his plight is sympathetic, I found former Star Trek: Enterprise actor John Billingsley’s performance not that convincing. It wasn’t over the top but after watching the episode twice I still can’t really understand Ben’s condition. I’m also really surprised that either Christian or Quentin didn’t consider talking to him about plastic surgery or something instead of a Misery type hobbling.
And as for Christian and Quentin as a team, I’m not loving it and I’m also unsure about the obvious transition of roles with them either. Within the space of the hour, Quentin has become the unscrupulous one while Christian takes the moral high ground but between them, there at least seems to be a steady flow of business.
Also after being missing for a week, Kimber is back. I didn’t exactly approve of her “get over it” attitude in regards to Sean’s departure to Christian, even if she did have a point. The most important about her tonight was her accepting Christian’s proposal of marriage. I’ve never been a huge Christian and Kimber and while she has gotten some nice characterisation this season enough to make me care a bit for her, what are the odds that this wedding will actually happen? Not very high but Christian’s proposal was sweet and that’s never a bad thing.
Also in “Ben White”
Patients of the week: Besides the Morretti family (Sean/FBI) and Mr White (Christian/Quentin), a liposuction patient named Miss Carr who stayed at De La Mer was responsible for the semen face cream idea.
Dr Sagamore: “So is your shit together, Dr McNamara?”
Sean: “No my shit is definitely not together”.
Gina (re “face cream”): “No-one here could ever accuse me of being a prude, right?”
Liz: “No-one anywhere”.
Character bits: Ben White is a prize winning architect, Julia studied advertising (which explains her kick ass sales pitch last week), Mrs Grubman got reference but we got nothing on The Carver and Kit.
Christian: “I took an oath as a physician, do no harm”
Ben: “That’s a hypocritical oath”.
Sean: “Just what you always wanted. No ethical boundaries and a shit load of money”
Christian: “You left out sexual depravity and devil worship”.
Three episodes in and still no Matt. It’s not like he’s a favourite of mine but c’mon, where the hell is he?
Kimber (to Christian): “If you need a mirror to tell you who you are, then look at me”.
No chronological reference in this episode.
Joan (to Julia): “Your husband is a schmuk for dumping you. A schmuk”.
I take it from their conversation Julia is unaware of Sean’s new position. Didn’t Christian (if he knows) at least give her the heads up?
Julia: “All these years I really believed I couldn’t do something without you”
Sean: “Maybe we both needed it to be that way”.
Standout music: There was a lot of instrumental numbers in this episode, so the only main song was Broken Social Scene and Feist’s “Lover’s Spit”.
Marginally better than last week’s instalment, “Ben White” still has that hit and miss factor with it. There’s a lot of fun to be had with the De La Mer plot but everything else isn’t as addictive and the man patient plot lacked the surprise of previous ones we’ve had this season. It would also be nice for The Carver plot to resurface among the character drama.
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