Episode
Nip/Tuck: Joan Rivers
Overview
Joan Rivers consults with Sean and Christian to have all of her plastic surgeries undone, because she wants her grandson Cooper to learn that you don't have to be perfect. When she ultimately learns what she will turn out like after the work has been finished, she decides to give up on her original plan and asks the doctors to schedule her for a facelift the next morning. Matt is concerned about Ava, who seems obviously depressed. He suggests they go away to Paris and start a new life together, which she reluctantly accepts after some convincing. Matt goes to McNamara-Troy to steal drugs for her to take with them. Christian finds him, and gets upset when he learns Matt is going to Paris. Christian goes to have a talk with Ava, and when trying to make a point using sex, he learns that Ava is really a transsexual. Julia, Sean, and Christian spend the night researching, and trace their way to Maryland and a Gender Reassignment center.
Details
- Series
- Nip/Tuck
- Season
- Season 2
- Episode
- Episode 16
- Air date
- 2004-10-05
- Runtime
- 56 min
Episode context
Joan Rivers is Episode 16 in Season 2 of Nip/Tuck. It aired on 2004-10-05. The runtime is 56 min.
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More episodes from this season
Episode 14: Trudy Nye
Sean and Christian repair the face of a woman abused by her husband; Sean and Julia confront Ava about her relationship with her son Adrian.
Episode 13: Oona Wentworth
Maids and servants of a wealthy woman have a party while she is out of town, and they hire a cheap plastic surgeon to give them all Botox -- Merrill Bobolit. The women all have adverse reactions to it, and one of them comes in to have it fixed because bulges have formed on her forehead. Bobolit has now partnered with Madam Rose, who owns a chain of beauty salons. He performs unsanitary plastic surgery for lower prices in her basement, and they proudly promote this new invented "Bobotox". Christian tries to talk some sense into him, and eventually learns that Merrill is hooked on the anesthesia, and is constantly high on it - even during surgery. Christian acts as his sponsor in an AA-type rehabilitation group. Merrill becomes furious with Christian after a girl he wanted flirts with Christian.
Meanwhile, Matt gets upset at Adrian for wearing his leather coat to school while soliciting drugs to other students. After Adrian refuses to give him the coat back, they get into a fist fight. Since the coat belongs to Matt, the drugs in the pocket are pinned on him. Christian is called in instead of Sean along with Ava, and Ava comes up with the idea to bribe the principal, Ms. Wentworth, with pro bono plastic surgery. After getting off free because of the surgery, Adrian and Matt decide to be friends. While having a conversation in the bathroom at school, Adrian urinates in one of the soap dispensers, and both Matt and Adrian get called to the principal's office again. Sean comes in this time along with Ava, and he forces the truth out of Adrian and Matt, and snaps at Ava. Sean punishes Matt by sentencing him to spending his afternoons at the office doing handiwork and cleaning. Matt realizes he likes spending time there.
Adrian has had the last straw with Ava's harsh treatment, and they share a meaningful moment as mother and son, but it turns weird when they begin to make out.
Episode 12: Julia McNamara
After Julia's accident in the previous episode, Julia turns to Sean and Christian to fix her face. Sean resists at first, but eventually decides to do it after Christian lies to him and says the woman that was going to fix her face botched several jobs. Sean tells Julia that he keeps trying to forgive her and wants to try to love her again, but that it wouldn't happen right away.
Julia has an adverse reaction to the anesthesia and dreams during her surgery. Ava shows up in her dream as a different form of life coach, and guides her through this surreal life. Julia is married to Christian, which seems happy on the outside, but is really falling apart on the inside. They run the Troy/Troy partnership firm. When Christian decides to leave the practice, Julia interviews another doctor - Sean, someone she knew from high school. Trying to catch up on old times, Sean invites Julia and Christian to dinner. They meet his wife, Megan O'Hara, and their son Matt, who is on the nerdy side and has a bug collection. Megan is three months pregnant with a girl they plan on calling Annie, named after his grandmother. Julia is upset after a visit to Liz, an OB/GYN in this world, who has two kids. Julia cannot have kids with Christian, who wanted to have a biological child since he was adopted. Kimber, Julia and Christian's three-way partner becomes pregnant, and Christian refuses to get rid of it. We are revisited by several characters, including Mrs. Grubman, Jude, and Julia's friend Suzanne.
When Julia wakes up in recovery, Sean is there waiting for her. She has realized that things would never work out with Christian, and that Sean was always the one she loved.
Episode 11: Natasha Charles
Natasha Charles, a blind woman, comes into have work on her eyes so she won't appear blind. Christian begins to fall for her, and he learns a great deal about beauty from her. In an attempt to get Sean back, Julia goes to a female plastic surgeon to have breast implants. Erica visits Julia in her new apartment, and has become upset with her new lifestyle. Erica talks to Sean, and he gets mad at her also. Natasha goes out on a blind date (no pun intended) with another blind person. Christian, at the same restaurant, tells him that she is not pretty like the man had hoped, and he leaves. Christian joins Natasha, and they go home together for an intimate night.
Episode 10: Kimber Henry
A man visits with Sean and Christian in order to be given breasts because of the fact his wife lost a breast to cancer. They refuse the job at first, but Liz talks them into doing it. After a while, his wife is overwhelmed with them, and the man wants them taken out, which eventually happens. The wife seems to enjoy them too much, which causes her to question her sexuality.
Kimber has turned to the porn business after impatience caused her to turn back on her acting aspirations. A Real Doll (used for sexual purposes) of Kimber has been made, but Kimber thinks the vagina is too generic, and wants the doctors to fix the doll. Christian blasts the job and tells Sean that it's a bad idea, but Sean wants to follow through because Kimber offered a lot of money, and the practice lost money when Sean and Christian were on the verge of splitting. When Sean takes the doll home to work on it, he gets lost in the moment and has full sex with the doll, which has suction features in the openings to give a full orgasm. Sean realizes how sad he is, but then Kimber shows up to unexpectedly pick up the doll, and ends up having sex with the real Kimber.
Julia has moved into an apartment, and wants to pick up some items from the house to furnish the kitchen, and she also asks Sean if she can spend the weekend with Annie. Sean lets her, despite the fact that he is angry throughout the entire conversation. When Julia shows up the next morning to pick up the waffle iron, she runs into Kimber, who is going to make Sean coffee after their night together. Upset, Julia makes herself over and goes to a bar, where she meets a man she likes. She gets drunk, and winds up in his room where he wants her to use a sex toy on him. She refuses, but then man tries to force her to do it. She makes her way to the bathroom, where she finds a phone and calls Sean, hoping that he will come and get her. She tries to make up with him, but all he does is give her money for a cab and leaves.
Episode 9: Rose & Raven Rosenberg
Sean and Christian face the challenge of separating conjoined twins. The challenge is more complicated when Sean has difficulties working with Christian after learning the truth about Matt. Their constant bickering has been causing them to lose clients.
Episode 8: Agatha Ripp
A patient named Agatha Ripp comes in to McNamara/Troy. She reveals to Sean & Christian that she had a stigmata, but she says that it was a lie she said to the church so they would accept her, and that she really cut herself. People of the town turn to Agatha for blessing and renewed faith, despite claiming to be a fraud. When a "stigmata" appears on her legs, the doctors do a blood test to learn that it is not her blood.
Meanwhile, Julia is experiencing shingles, which Sean attributes to guilt or pressure, and associates it with the Matt-Ava relationship. She breaks the news to Sean that the reason she is under so much stress - he is not Matt's father. Sean goes insane and aggressively hurts Julia. He rampages into the office where he beats Christian to the ground. He turns to the church, where he meets Agatha. She reveals everything was fake, and that a sister from the church snuck in and punctured her, and left her own blood so the church would not cut her program.
Meanwhile, Liz reveals she is pregnant, but shuts Christian out, who wants to care for the baby. She experiences bruising and spotting, causing her to worry about 'the unknown'. Despite being impacted by Agatha, Liz has an abortion without telling Christian, who is upset that she got rid of the baby because she felt it would be handicapped.
Episode 7: Naomi Gaines
When local model Naomi Gaines is raped & disfigured by an attacker named "The Carver", Sean decides to repair her injuries on a pro-bono basis, thrusting McNamara/Troy into the local media spotlight, trying to overcome the slander caused by Bobbie Broderick. After getting caught sneaking into the house late at night, Matt lies by telling his parents he was studying with Ava's son Adrian. Adrian is forced to play along with the subject when Julia invites them all to dinner. Adrian reveals Matt & Ava's relationship, causing Julia to lash out at Ava & Matt. When Matt becomes uncomfortable with his increasingly demanding relationship with Ava, she reveals to him the secret that his mother is keeping from him.
Episode 6: Bobbi Broderick
Bobbi Broderick comes to McNamara/Troy to have lipo so she could get a job at Saks. During the consult, she doesn't bother to read the contract she signs. After the lipo doesn't turn out to standards, she tries to get revenge against the firm by showing everyone how it "ruined her life" by showing up in restaurants and the lobby of the firm itself. Julia asks Ava to help Matt with his grades, and Ava eventually offers Matt sex in order to focus more on his schooling. Julia tries to speak with Ava about a trouble from her past - a huge mistake she made in college - and Ava realizes it involves Matt's paternity. A woman whose lips were burnt off goes in for a consult, and learns that the doctors would have to take skin from her vagina to fix her lips. She decides to do it, because her husband has never been intimate with her down there. Sean feels uncomfortable about the woman lying to her husband where the skin has come from. She tells her husband it has come from the back of her legs. Meanwhile, as Matt becomes more attracted to Ava, he is arrested after being caught masturbating outside her window. He seeks Christian to bail him out because he thought he could trust him, but Christian becomes upset for his ignorance. Matt lashes back by saying that he already has a father, and he doesn't need another one. After Ava and Matt finally have sex, the next morning Matt learns Ava has a son named Adrian - and they're the same age.
Episode 5: Joel Gideon
After a car accident due to cell phone use, Sean winds up in the hospital. As a result of the accident, Sean develops a phobia of driving and other dangerous things, causing a dent in his career. He thanks the car company because their safety features saved his life. The car company, wanting a point of view from this doctor who has been in a car accident, offers Sean a new car if he agrees to inspect the cadavers they use as crash test dummies after crash tests. Sean tries to take more risks, causing Julia to become upset. Trying to take more risks, Sean decides to go shark diving, and drags Matt along with him. After realizing how much he cares for his son, Sean decides not to follow through. Christian is reminded that his son is no longer in his life, and he turns for comfort in Julia, who reveals to him that Wilber is not his only son.