Nip/Tuck

Kiki

Season 3, Episode 2, Aired 9/27/05

Episode Summary

Sean hires Quentin Costa for six months during Christian's convalescence. The two remove tattoos from a former MS-13 gang banger using cutting edge laser technology. Matt finds Adrian dead in Ava's house when searching for a plane ticket to Paris. The police thinks it's suicide. Julia calls Erica to help Matt deal with questions regarding his sexuality. Christian and Liz operate to repair a scar on the face of a female gorilla, Kiki.moreless

8.9

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Cast & Crew

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Dylan Walsh

Dr. Sean McNamara
Julian McMahon

Dr. Christian Troy
John Hensley

Matt McNamara

Fan Episode Reviews (18)

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Choices

9.0

"Superb"

By napen, Oct 09, 2008 Report Abuse

Matt est devastado por no tener a Ava y decide ir por ella. Al encontrar a su hijo muerto (gusaneado) cae en la polica y ah se entera por boca de Sean que en realidad su amada era un transexual. Eso lo hace replantearse su eleccin sexual. Aclara que le calientan los trans y va a un bar en busca de uno, con consecuencias desastrosas.
Julia y su madre al fin tiene una noche de paz fumando marihuana. Delirante, relajante.
Quentin hace sus primeras armas en Troy/McNamara (ser the Carver?).
Christian regresa al bistur con un pobre gorila.
Nip/Tuck, season 3, episode 2: Kiki 8,8.moreless

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Show Me the Monkey

8.4

"Great"

By maxpower03, Feb 08, 2008 Report Abuse

Erica continues to be one of the best characters in the series, completely stealing the show in just two scenes. Her talk with Matt was both honest and believable, and I loved how she later bonded with Julia over the bong. It's a great scene featuring real-life mother and daughter, and you can tell Joely Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave had a ball filming it.

Matt's breakdown is excellently written. You can completely understand his initial frustration, but his behavior with Cherry is plain uncomfortable to watch. And I doubt anybody can see the closing moments and not root for the group of transsexuals acting out their revenge on him. I really loved Matt's interaction with everybody in this episode. His visions of Ava were great, especially when dream-Ava challenges him over his sexuality, and learning to be man enough to figure out what he wants. Famke Janssen (in her last appearance, as of 2008) brought so much to this show, it's a shame her movie career stopped her from sticking around longer.

The medical subplots were pretty average. The KiKi story never really interested me, but I did love the Ramirez plot. It was pretty clear that something bad was going to happen to him, and I liked how they left it open-ended, with Sean left having to operate on him again, despite probably knowing he'll never be able to escape his past.

Director: Elodie Keene
Writers: Lyn Greene, Richard Levine
Rating: Bmoreless

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Christian: “Look, maybe Kumba can see past Kiki’s scar to her inner beauty. Maybe he’s not a shallow bastard like the rest of us”

8.5

"Great"

By Tim_Bronx, Sep 17, 2006 Report Abuse

This episode made me uncomfortable on many levels.

First, we have Matt learning that Ava is a man (that scene where he finds out, I have to say, was truly excellent drama), and beginning to question his sexuality. He goes to a transsexual bar ready to experiment (guided by his imaginary Ava, to which I might add Famke Janssen looked radiating this week), only to cruelly beat up a transsexual named Cherry when, after making out with Cherry, he sees her/his penis. (I'm sorry if I'm misusing my pronouns here).

Matt knew exactly what he was getting himself into by going to the bar, so his spontaneous fury and anger towards Cherry was out of line. Matt's notion that Cherry "tricked him" is just an excuse he made to comfort himself because, really, Matt's too scared to admit the truth.

Okay yeah, what happened to Cherry was an injustice, but I think ganging up on Matt, beating him to a pulp, and then urinating on him was a little too much. Despite my desire to turn away at one point during the scene, I have to say the editing was well done as during Matt's pounding we got inter cuts of Marlon (the patient of McNamara/Troy who wanted his gang scars removed) getting beaten by his gang as well. It was fitting, as it showed that no one can escape their actions, and the two scenes complimented each other.

I understand why Julia was furious at Sean for telling Matt the truth about Ava, and I actually somewhat agree with her. The news upset Matt very much, and consequently set him off on a downward spiral into trouble. It was very understandable Matt's fury and pain, as that information would be very hard for any teenage male to take; teenage years are confusing and painful enough as it is. It is better for Matt to find out now, though, and keep away from Ava, rather then discovering the truth later after years of sexual intimacy.

On to the main patient the week: Kiki, a gorilla, needed a scar removed so she could mate. I found it fitting that Liz could relate to Kiki's outcast place in her society, and I was gad Liz stood up for Kiki by convincing Christian to perform the operation. It was unfortunate that Kumba, despite no physical scarring on Kiki, was still able to sense that something was different about her and attacked. The case provided a good parallel to human societies, especially when you consider that we share 98% of our DNA with primates, and made a good, thought-provoking statement about many societies' disapprovals for anything outside the norm.

Final Notes and Quotes

- Matt's haircut symbolized his want to change, and the new transformation he took today into "the dark force" (sorry I've been watching a lot of Star Wars lately).

- Erica: "That's what's wonderful about being young. There are no mistakes, only research."

- I loved Erica in this episode, and it was a hoot out of watching Erica and Julia laughing uncontrollably while high off weed. Interesting mother-daughter bonding activity.

- Outstanding Performance of the Week: John Hensley did an excellent job this week; he took Matt's teenage woes to a whole other level.

- Sean: "I'm not sure changing how you look, will make you change how you feel inside."

Matt: "I needed change. I guess I just got tired of looking at myself."

Final Rating: 2 1/2 out of 4 stars.

- Tim Bronx
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The Shape Of Things

9.1

"Superb"

By queerlybeloved, Feb 28, 2006 Report Abuse

It's been quite good to watch 'Kiki' again, as I think I initially did this episode a grave injustice. Seeing it only as a slightly bizarre hour involving surgery on a gorilla and Matt getting pissed on by a bunch of transsexuals initially, I find the episode has more to offer with another viewing.

The overriding theme of this episode appears to be 'the shape of things'. Apart from the scar surgery on the gorilla, there is a former MS-13 gangbanger who wants his tattoos removed so he can clean up his life. Of course, both of these surgeries go awry- the gangbanger Marlon finds that whilst his skin is clean, his past crimes still count against him and ends up getting beaten up by his former friends at the end. It is interesting to note that perhaps Marlon's subplot is perhaps the weakest link in the episode. Kiki's scar surgery removes the imperfection but the male gorilla that is to mate with her still senses it and attacks and kills her. Perhaps the major storyline of this episode belongs to Matt who not only finds Adrian's putrid and decomposing body (a scene it is not advisable to be eating during) but also finds out that Ava was a man. Obviously the kid goes a bit nuts, goes to a tranny bar, picks up a nice girl called Cherry (Willam Belli) but freaks out when he finds out that 'she' is pre-operative and still has 'the best of both'. In rage, he beats her in a scene that is uncomfortable and hard-hitting (excuse the pun). But the transsexuals get their revenge by attacking and urinating on him after school.

There is a lot of good stuff in this episode, not least a brief but welcome performance by Famke Janssen. She completely dominated the second season with a brilliant performance as the seductive, manipulative Ava and it was nice to get shades of that here, even though she only appeared in Matt's dream/vision. Another knockout performance by Vanessa Redgrave as Erica; her scenes with John Hensley and Joely Richardson are particular highlights of the episode. I never thought I'd ever be writing the words 'Vanessa Redgrave' and 'bong' in the same sentence, but to see her getting stoned is an absolute joy.
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"Kiki" is barely a classic Nip/Tuck episode that is so ahead of its time in case of pure originality.

8.8

"Great"

By bahabasaran, Jan 09, 2006 Report Abuse

"Kiki" is barely a classic Nip/Tuck episode that is so ahead of its time in case of pure originality. This episode is a deep digger on sexual and personal character of Matt. As young people, we made so many judgements in our minds to evaluate our relations with anybody interacting with our inner side such as our family, our lovers and our friends. We don't want to be left out and manage every single way to be a normal person in everyone's eye!

Matt is on that journey for this episode and he is shaken up to his core in the process. The editing of the ending with that other ex-gang member and Matt running away from what they had done, is inspiringly visual with that music on the background.

Besides Matt, there are another plots going around Kiki, an ape to have her face fixed to mate with another gorilla, Julia and her mother having a bonding after Matt's situation and so on...

Anyway, this episode is informative about our freaky side that no one knows! It is a revealer what if we caught up with it!
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- During the interrogation at the police station, Matt reveals that he wanted to go to Paris in order to see Ava again. Why would he want to pick up a ticket that had expired the day Ava went away? Edit
- Music: "The Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (Marlin's laser surgical removal of tattoos w/Quentin & Sean / Kiki's scar removal w/Christian & Liz) "Sick Like Me" by T. Raumschmiere (Julia finds 'book' in Matt's bedroom) "If You Want It" by Scream Club Matt smoking pot with Erica and talking about Ava) "Strawberry Letter #23" by The Brothers Johnson (Matt at club imagining Ava speaking to him) "Since I Fell For You" by Nina Simone (Matt meet Cherry at club, goes to her apartment, beats her up) "World of Pain" by Shaper (Matt shaving head) "Swan Lake" by Tchaikovsky (Christian/Sean argue during surgery/Liz interrupts notifying Christian that Kumba killed Kiki post-surgery) "Makambo" by Geoffrey Oryema (Cherry and gang chase Matt / Marlon is chased by gang members / simultaneously both Matt and Marlon are beaten) Edit
- They wanted Kiki to mate to see if she could pass on the language skills she had learnt to her offspring. They say they were fearful that the mate she picked, Kumba, may kill her because of her scar. Well why didn't they just use artificial insemination, then Kiki could have conceived without the risk of Kumba attacking her. Edit
Notes
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- International Air Dates: Czech Republic: August 13, 2008 on TV Nova Germany: April 20, 2006 on Premiere Edit
- Vanessa Redgrave (Erica) and Famke Janssen (Ava) were credited as "Special Guest Stars". Edit
- Although listed in the opening credits, Kelly Carlson does not appear in this episode. Edit
Quotes
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- Ava: (to Matt) At least I have the courage to be who I am. Do you? Edit
- Erica: (to Matt) Enjoying anal stimulation doesn't make you a homosexual. Are you worried you might be? Edit
- Erica: We're all terrible mothers. You go into the enterprise expecting your child to be a better version of yourself and then the little bastards turn out to have souls all their own, destinies to be fulfilled, dreams and desires that have nothing to do with us or our DNA. Edit
Allusions
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