Goodness, gracious me. A sitcom on Plastic Surgery? How degenerate!
A.ss enhancements, collagen, botox, sexual reassignments, tankles -
Rest assured, after this series, you will be well equipped when
Guests, colleagues, friends and loved ones bring these up at dinner.
All this value, and no mention yet of the very graphic sex scenes.
Numerous, explicit, shocking - never gratuitous, I pressed rewind a “couple” of times.
This is drama, not documentary, but every episode features an operation I
Usually wished was less explicit, not so vomit-inducing.
Add to that rich, detailed plot lines, complex characters, a myriad of issues,
Nestle the whole bunch into a soft bed of good actors and stylish sets – Viola! a hit.

Bodies-in-progress revolve around two partners in a Miami private plastic surgery.
One is Sean (Dylan Walsh), anally retentive, technically competent, a family man, the
Other is Christian (Julian McMahon*), conflicted, ambitious, technically mediocre playboy.
Between them is Sean’s family – discontented wife Julie (Joely Richardson), and
Intense, typically morose, un-typically thinking teen son Matt (John Hensley).
Erudite psychologist Grace (Alerie Cruz) and gay nurse Liz (Roma Maffia) in the
Surgeon’s office round out the main cast.

A regular set of guest stars also appear – girlfriends (or “Conquests” for Christian),
Naturally stereotypical Mexican thugs, kooky clients, kooky potential clients and a
Duo of a morally decrepit rich young and poor old plastic surgeons

Well, if eclectic characters are not enough to reel you in,
Relish in the sets – beautifully color coordinated ,stylish, fresh. Always
Intimate, the backgrounds hint at emotions just below the surface.
Noticeable efforts were put into choosing appropriate sound bites and songs. You
Know they’ve succeeded as you only notice the background effects when it counts.
Last but not least, we have the plot(s). Smaller plots** involve plastic surgery issues
Embedded in the main plots of family, affairs, triangles, threesomes, getting older,
Dealing with children, secrets and most of all - money vs. values.

Despite all the pluses, there are also minuses. For one, the son Matt has
An uncannily freaky resemblance to post-op Michael Jackson – on purpose?
Neurotic wife Julia is also annoyingly unconvincing as a love interest to Christian.
Get the DVDs of the first season and you’ll also get a further 3 documentaries. I
Liked best the one describing make-up effects of the series (*phew, not real*).
You’ll also get a doco on Nip/Tuck and one on plastic surgery hot topics. Also a

Severed Parts Gag Reel, Theme music music video and a teaser trailer.
Check out the gag reel for an especially funny cameo involving a tied up McMahon.
Recommend this series I must.
Oh, there’s plenty you could nit-pick about, but personally I
Think it’s a good reflection on dualities and complexities of today's world.
Under-aged should be kept decidedly away – the moniker “adult themes” was never
More aptly applied than to this series.
So watch it! Be shocked, drained, repulsed - but inevitably, entertained and educated


PS: I did wish that the series had focused and explored more on the actual plastic surgery cases and the after effects of the surgery – but I guess the producers wanted to keep a balance with the lives of the plastic surgeons themselves and their related family issues.

That was disappointing, because other series have dealt with stuff like single mothers, disenfranchised middle aged men, disintegrating families and other “day to day” issues, but none other have gone into plastic surgery and its effects on its proponents. Also, this series excelled when it was turned towards these issues and faltered a little in terms of pacing (slightly too slow and tedious in places) when it turned away from them. The series could have gone so much deeper into the effects on the clients instead of spending so much time on the 2 main characters and their family “issues”. Hopefully the 2nd season dealt with this problem better. – so that’s why 4 stars (well, that, and that creepy MJ lookalike thing – yuck!)


Bifocals
Starring: Dylan Walsh, Julian McMahon, John Hensley, Valerie Cruz, Roma Maffia, Joely Richardson
Full Listing of cast and crew at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361217/fullcredits
Directed by: Ryan Murphy (Creator), Craig Zisk, Jamie Babbit, Scott Brazil, Elodie Keene, Nelson McCormick, Michael M. Robin, Lawrence Trilling
Released in 2003 (Season 1) – Season 2 has just been released – I have not yet watched it and it is not covered in this review
Length: 13 episodes - 45 Minutes each

* Julian MacMahon, he of Australian Soap Opera fame – also did some time in “Charmed”

** Plot Spoilers – a quick synopsis (skip this if you’ve already decided to watch the series – isn’t it more fun when you don’t know what comes next?)
1 – Changing a mobster’s face for dirty $$$ - conflict between the partners – Christian loves it, Sean wants to do pro-bono work instead
2 – Identical twins wanting to look different from each other
3 – Malpractice threats, liposuction on a mentally unstable client
4 – Christian wants porn stars as clients while Sean is occupied with the issue of Sexual Reassignment operations
5 – Sexual Addiction and changing your face so your asian girlfriend’s family will accept you
6 – Sean and feelings for a potential patient – Breast cancer survivors and breast replacements
7 – Swingers parties and teenage threesomes
8 – A parent’s right to refuse facial reconstruction surgery on behalf of their comatose child
9 – Sexual Reassignment (again)
10 – Suicide when death is inevitable (and using large hands to operate on a small, dead head)
11 - Surgery on a woman with multiple personality disorder – when one personality demands the other change the body they share
12 – A very disgusting look at implants and the drug trade
13 – Plastic surgery for dogs (literally) and a fantastic finale involving mobsters.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age