“Nip/Tuck”
Tuesday 10pm, F/X
I had given up on this outrageous plastic-surgery drama a few seasons back. Then I caught a recent episode and nearly flipped my shit. The show is crazier than ever, and I love it. Storylines include a woman with a family history of breast cancer who is so convinced that she’ll die from the disease that she sawed off one of her boobs in the waiting room; Jennifer Coolidge playing a surgery-obsessed famewhore whose butt implants translate to instant YouTube fame with the rap video “Yo Stank Bitch”; and the totally insane coupling of lothario Christian with gruff lesbian Liz. Coming soon look for Rose McGowan to join the cast for a multi-part guest spot.
“Millionaire Matchmaker”
Thursday 10pm, Bravo
All alone for Valentine’s Day? Don’t feel so bad. Even the rich and pretty need help in the love department. Enter Patti Stanger, a third-generation matchmaker who put her family’s penchant for playing yenta to practical use by starting the Millionaire’s Club. Season 2 of her Bravo reality series starts tonight, and if it’s anything like Season 1, it’ll be worth a watch. Stanger herself is interesting; totally confident in her abilities, and yet still vulnerable and flawed. She’s the first one to point out that although she dispenses tough love to knuckleheads who can’t land a spouse, she’s still unmarried and pushing 50. This season look for her to work her magic on women-repelling d’bags, and also try to find a match for a millionairess.
“Dollhouse”
Friday 9pm, Fox
Sometimes I think Joss Whedon is a glutton for punishment. Even after Fox botched his previous project, the space Western “Firefly,” the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator went back to the poisoned well for this new show. Right now he’s probably got a strong sense of déjà vu. Fox has consigned the show to the killing fields that are Friday night TV, the first episode was pushed back to the second (reportedly Whedon’s idea), and it’s not getting the kind of promotion that a high-concept show needs to survive. But here’s hoping, because it sounds promising. Eliza Dushku (Faith from “Buffy”; love her) plays Echo, an operative for a high-tech firm that implants memories and skills into its agents and then sends them on a variety of missions, from crime to assassinations to romantic rendezvous. Expect lots of butt-kicking and wigs.
