It’s been quite some time since a TV villain has had the degree of impact in the real world that Nip/Tuck’s “The Carver” has had. When a real-life whack job is endeavoring to model his crimes on the series’ vicious mutilator, notice must be taken. To that end, I’ll now handicap what I see as the likely candidates to be Nip/Tuck’s resident fruitcake. Keep in mind that since I don’t exactly have a steel-trap memory, there may be someone on the list who has an iron-clad alibi and I simply don’t remember.
Let us also keep in mind that although the Carver raped Christian, well, they’re doing amazing things with plastics nowadays, so…
(Some necessary spoilers to recent episodes contained below)
2-1: Liz. If anyone has a reason to have up-close-and-personal hostility toward our Pair ‘o Dox, it’s their long-suffering anesthesiologist. She’s got the anger and she’s certainly familiar enough with scalpels. My top pick, with my only hesitation being that–since she’s the only lesbian character–are the producers going to want to deal with gays howling over having one of their own being a vicious murderer? Also, we see her in the trailers shouting, “I didn’t do it!” so if she’s become a suspect, that reduces the likelihood and puts into the front seat…
5-1: Julia McNamara. With Sean and Julia on the verge of reconciliation due to her pregnancy, seems as if it’s about time for the rug to be yanked out from under the poor bášŧárd. Certainly she would know her way around a scalpel as well, and she pretty much suffered a complete mental collapse. Deep seated jealousy and possessiveness of Christian would explain why she kidnapped Kimber and short-circuited the wedding. Probably even more ideal a Carver than Liz because the reveal avoids cries of “Foul” from the PC police.
15-1: Ava Moore. Famke Janssen’s loopy transexual has been pretty much MIA this season. Wound tighter than a Swiss watch and with more adult/child issues than any three Greek dramas, the advantage of Ava is that it wouldn’t disrupt the core cast to have her revealed as the merry murderer. And yes, transexuals may protest, but there’s a lot fewer of them than there are lesbians, so…
17-1: Matt McNamara. Carrying a grudge the size of the Titanic, it could be Sean’s son…but I kind of doubt it. He wears his hatred for the world on his sleeve, not repressed in the way that being the Carver would suggest. Besides, he’s such a screw-up that the first time he tried to kill someone he’d probably have cut off his own hand.
20-1: Gina Russo. Christian’s loopy former lover. Hasn’t been seen in a while. Might seem kind of anti-climactic after all this time, though.
25-1: Quentin. “Hi, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Dr. Quentin Costa, and I was brought in to be a prime suspect for the Carver. Look at me! I have sex with anything that’s got a pulse, and I lie, and I’m the smarmiest character ever on the series.” If this guy’s the Carver, then the producers are playing the way-too-obvious card.
30-1: Kit McGraw. Rhona Mitra’s detective. Certainly out there enough to be a suspect, but having the Carver be someone who didn’t exist prior to last season would be kind of a cheat.
35-1: Dr. Merill Bobolit. And I can see you saying, “Who?!” Merill was the rival plastic surgeon played by Boston Public’s Joey Slotnick who had it all, and then lost it all thanks to a botched job on a dog…partly and inadvertently due to Sean and Christian, since they’d refused the job. It makes perfect sense for Bobolit to be the Carver. The downside is the “Who?” factor.
40-1: Christian Troy. Did we see Christian snap and imagine himself as the Carver’s victim? Was Roma’s character right and he did fake it? Well, if Julian McMahon wanted out of the series so he could concentrate on movies, that would certainly be the way to give him a memorable send-off.
50-1: Sean McNamara. Considering he’s been holding himself together with spit and bailing wire, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’s become split personality boy. Thing is, that’s pretty much the end of the character. Nip/Tuck’s core remains Sean and Christian, and of the two, Sean is the heart and soul of the series. So I kind of doubt it.
100-1: Annie McNamara. Yeah, okay, the Carver looks like an adult. But honestly, it’s been so frickin’ long since I’ve seen Sean and Julia’s daughter that maybe she shot up and is bored because she’s really got nothing else to do.
150-1: Joan Rivers. Hey…why not?
PAD
• 
If you’re going that far down the list, you might as well add Christian’s mother, or for all we know, “mother”, played by Kathy Baker.
You can see a summary of the Vegas line here; I won’t say how it’s going just in case it turns out to be bets from people who really know.
Well, having never watched the show, I find the ads for this great “reveal” to be just as loopy as any of the various serial killer tales found on daytime soaps. And, just for the record, who’s to say that this reveal will be the REAL deal?
But, since you brought it up, the current edition of TV Guide is also placing the odds on who the Carver is.
Merril Bobolit 8:5
Liz Cruz 2:1
Matt McNamara 5:2
Ava Moore 5:1
Quentin Costa 10:1
Bobbi Broderick 20:1
Gina Russo 50:1
(Those are the only ones that TV Guide is offering, so I can’t say how the magazine might gauge the other characters.)
Roma Maffia plays Liz, Rhona Mitra plays the detective.
I’m hoping that it’s Alec Baldwin, who plays Ava’s ex-husband.
Or it could be Ned Leeds.
Brian
“Roma Maffia plays Liz, Rhona Mitra plays the detective.”
You know, I *thought* the name seemed wrong, but I couldn’t find her listed among the cast regulars. But I did some further checking and finally found the detective’s name. So I’ve fixed the original entry.
PAD
Who says Liz is gay? She said it, sure. However, if she is the Carver and, therefore, nuts… how do we believe anything she says?
We’ve never seen her with a girlfriend or even talk of one. In fact, the only person we KNOW she’s been with is “Sophia” Lopez… a man.
Liz has been my choice since “Rhea Reynolds.”
Hey, has anyone noticed the Carver site over at MYspace.com which has blogs from the Carver him/herself? Check it out. Very creepy.
here’s the link:
http://www.myspace.com/thecarver
Brian Czako wrote:
“Or it could be Ned Leeds.”
-! I was going to write “I think J. Jonah Jameson is the Carver!” because I also was reminded of “Who is the Hobgoblin?” by this thread 🙂
I’ve only seen Nip/Tuck intermittently – often enough to conclude that the creators’ main objective is “What can we get away with? How bizarre or disturbing or ‘shocking’ can we be?” On another thread, I compared it to Family Guy; both have some similarities to Marilyn Manson as well, actually. But, I haven’t really seen it consistently enough to give an informed guess on the Carver’s identity (I hope it’s NOT Rebecca Gayheart’s character [who was blind, so I probably don’t have to worry]. I have seen her play a convincing psychopath, in … a project I won’t name, to avoid spoliers; but her character here, and what she had with Julian [from what I saw of it – may’ve missed resolution], were sweet, and it’d be too bad to spoil that.). Having it turn out to be “good guy” Sean would have some shock value …. So would Christian. And, this is the season finale; it WOULD let them leave on a “HOW are they gonna get out of this?” cliffhanger ….
I’ve suspected the cop (can’t remember his name) that originally took the case when Sean was attacked. He shows up here and there and was seen just 2 episodes ago. There have been a few moments that just make me think it might be him.
Although, I had a thought that the Carver could be, maybe, possibly, Kimber. With the split personality, Kimber would have access to everything, including Christian’s DNS, which was found at one of the crime scenes. We never actually saw the Carver take her. Plus, she’s been kinda nuts since we met her in episode 1 where Christian told her how much plastic surgery she would need to become perfect. Right before having sex with her, naturally. Kimber also vandalized Christian’s car, boat, even physically attacked him with a scalpel.
Those are my 2 possible suspects.
Bobby
I’m surprised you didn’t consider Jude Watson, the faux-British med school student who actually did put in an appearance this season. Althought Merrill’s a good suspect, he should be in prison now. Jude’s suspect number one next.
The last episode I saw ended w/ Kimber being forced to write notes to Christian, so I may have missed some things, but I really think that the obvious choice (Quentin) might be the correct one.
I also think he deliberately fixed the surgery involving where “the faker” pretended to be a carver victim. I would think that his character would find it a perfect “punishment” for someone who was perverting his art.
(Of course the aenestetist could have the same opportunity and rational as quentin, but I still lean more toward Quentin than her)
As for Dr Bobolit, isnt his character dead?
As for Dr Bobolit, isnt his character dead?
Not quite. When he was last seen, he fainted as he was about to perform a self face transplant. Theoretically, he could have died, but more likely he was taken into police custody.
I don’t think Joey Slotnick has the correct physique for the Carver. The voice sounds like Costa, but it just seems too obvious, so it can’t be him, right?
Brian
I don’t think Joey Slotnick has the correct physique for the Carver. The voice sounds like Costa, but it just seems too obvious, so it can’t be him, right?
“So I can clearly not choose the cup in front of me.”
Of course it could be Costa. It’s so obvious it’s Costa that people will gladly push him out of contention in order to finger someone else. When it’s revealed it’s Costa though, people will look back and smack themselves for how obvious it was.
Considering I said Costa was introduced to be the obvious suspect, if it then turns out to be Costa, I don’t think I’d be smacking myself so much as I’d be saying, “Hunh. So they went for the obvious. Okay.”
To my mind, with this sort of build-up,you want to do a reveal that will garner a far more emotional response than “Hunh. Okay.”
That’s why I still think that the Carver being Julia would be the most emotionally shocking.
PAD
That’s why I still think that the Carver being Julia would be the most emotionally shocking.
Although I still have real doubts about it being Julia, I’ve got to admit, the scene where she rather cooly repudates then smothers her “mother” really made me wonder.
Which I’m sure was the point of the scene.
“Inconceivable!” would be my retort to Sasha’s earlier comment.
I find a lot of mystery authors lead their readers down a path, providing clues that point to one suspect, and ultimately reveal an entirely different suspect.
If I have figured out who the killer is before the big reveal, it isn’t as satisfying a read.
The same would be said in this case, which is why I’m sure it isn’t Costa.
Ooh! Ooh! Here’s an idea!
Could it be Mrs. Grubman?
She really would have a negative conception of physical beauty considering what she her obsession to it cost her. The voder would disguise her stroke-impaired speech. And she would have it in for McNamara/Troy.
It was weird listening to the life story of the Carver, I had the feeling what was gonna happen, the explanation was a little too calm, too nonchalant, too blase.
After all, as Sherlock Holmes once said, after you have eliminated all the alternatives, whatever remains must be true.
— Ken from Chicago
Ha! Mrs. Grubman. Beside Joan Rivers … I wanted it to be her the most.
Interesting twist. Overall I enjoyed the episode, granting I suspended some disbelief.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW.
They were working WAY too hard to convince us Quentin was not the Carver. The reveal didn’t really shock me. It was more like “Ah, OK. That kinda makes sense.”
Few Questions: How do you fake your death in front of two doctors? Nobody thought to take a pulse? Nobody noticed he was breathing? Or did Quentin take the drug he used on his victims (did that drug make the victim appear to be dead?)
ump the Shark? Well, it’s more along the lines of Fonzie got off the motorcycle, jumped in the tank, and raped the Shark and left it pregnant.
I hate to say this, but this is the first time this show really let me down. Totally predictible, I knew as soon as they revealed Quention had no wee-wee, he was definatly the Carver. I suspected Kat for a while till she was “Carved”, and the big revelation was so dámņ Transparent when they started revealing The Quention Carver origin, and mentioned he has a younger sister.
After 3 seasons of this show, an utterly dissapointing finale and really bad “Tie-up” to both the Carver storyline and Matt’s character arch.
I had an inkling that it was Quentin. But I did not realize the connection between him and Kit. That was the ingenious part. I really love how this show crosses the line.
(I write this as someone who got bored with NIP/TUCK after the 1st season, but got sucked into watching last night.)
I was pretty unimpressed with the episode — but not for the revelation of who the Carver was (were? stolen from SCREAM) but for the execution of everything. There was the incredible sadism of the big semi-climaxes of the two torture scenes (dome simultaneously — double your discomfort!). There was the repeated shifting of suspects (it’s Quentin! no, it’s Liz! No…) Then there was the highly improbable kidnipping of the son AND his transexual former girlfriend (did the girl’s father have acess to the other girl’s schedule?). Finally, they completely blew the suspension of disbelief when they would have us believe Quentin could fake being shot, be brought to the morgue, be taken out of the morgue — and no one noticed? No one checked to see if he was dead? None of the doctors (at least 2 plastic surgeons were there) saw he wasn’t turning pale or checked for a pulse? The police weren’t interested in following up on the murder case of the decade? For that matter, was the sister even a police officer?
Too much spectacle and shock, too little else.
(BTW, check out Comedy Central tonight (Wednesday) at 10 for the sickest Christmas special ever: SOUTH PARK’s “Woodland Critter Christmas.” Fun!)
I was very surprised last night.
Partly with how good Joely Richardson’s American accent is.
Well, that’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back. Thanks a lot, PAD. People actually watch this refuse?
I should have known that your taste in TV shows was suspect from your fondness for the excrement known as ‘Smallville’, but I had hopes.
I’ll know better in the future. Sheesh.
I have never watched the show before last night, because there’s usually something on opposite that I like a lot.
But, I tuned in hoping to tap in on some of the buzz about the show and the Big Reveal.
I was incredibly disappointed, to say the least. I figured out who the slasher was the first imte he was on the screen, and I put together the bit with —
!!!POSSIBLE SPOILER!!!
— Rhona Mitra’s character almost as fast. Maybe I’ve just watched too much TV, because I never have a hard time figuring out most TV mysteries.
The subplot with the gay torture and the girlfriend’s father was suspenseful, I’ll admit. And the juxtaposition between the two scenes was interesting too. But I have to say that I won’t be watching this show again.
I thought everything was too obvious and transparent. But what do I know? I’m a big fan of MONK, 24, and THE SHIELD and those shows lack subtleties at times as well.
I really wanted Kimber to be the one to take down The Slasher, by the way. That would have kicked some butt. It would have been a great way to put the whole nightmare of the attack — and the toxic relationship with Julian — behind her.
The bottom line: If they can’t fascinate and intrigue me with a two-hour season finale, I doubt they can with a regular episode.
Like most people, I was let down by the big reveal(s)–but I don’t watch the show as a Whodunnit anyway; I like it for the over-the-top melodrama and great acting. In that regard, it didn’t disappoint. The juxtaposition of the two torture sequences was amazing, and as ludicrous as the morgue sequence was, it nonetheless made me laugh. I’m fine with the show–but I’m still ready for some ášš-kicking, Mackey style.
I was hoping it would be Liz or the Doctor played by Slotnick.Quentin ??!!!!Kinda too convenient for me.I did like the storyline with Matt though.Kimber and her awakening to how superficial she was was well done.
I didnt watch much this season but did see a few good episodes.The one where John Billingsley wanted his leg amputated,Julia thinking her mother was dead and the Christmas episode were all good.My favorite line goes to Liz(Roma Maffia)at one point when Quentin dismisses Julia as he is performing Liposuction on a woman’s backside ,Liz looks at him and says” Until just now I thought that was the biggest ášš I had ever seen”
How nice. So not only do I watch the obvious suspect turn out to be the villain, but I get to have my viewing habits insulted as well.
As I said originally, having the Carver be someone who wasn’t in the cast (not to mention his associate fitting the same description) when the Carver first showed up is a HUGE cheat. His previous appearances had been so fraught with emotion, that anything less than a gut-level punch for the reveal was going to be a let down. Which is what we had here. I think Matt, above, had it right: Most of the hour was spent trying to convince us that Quentin couldn’t possibly be the guy so it would seem less obvious when it was him.
Consequently it made the story seem more desperate than anything else…desperation compounded by the staggeringly icky climax cutting between two sequences involving sadistic torture and severing of body parts. Here’s a clue: If you’re going to cut between two concurrent storylines, have some CONTRAST between the two. You have one hero hanging from a cliff while another is facing off against a roaring lion. Having four heroes all being menaced by body-maiming crazies is just so overwhelming that Kath at one point said, “I’m not sure I can get through this,” and I agreed with her. I mean, THIS is entertainment?
Basically, they worked real hard to have the revelation have the least impact in the long run, with nothing being really resolved since the Carver is still out there. The thing is, usually Nip/Tuck retreats back to the status quo after shaking things up, so from that point of view, the villain(s) of the piece couldn’t be anyone else. I was just hoping they were going to have the nerve to wander away from the status quo this time. It appears my hopes were misplaced.
PAD
“The bottom line: If they can’t fascinate and intrigue me with a two-hour season finale, I doubt they can with a regular episode.”
Actually, that’s the annoying thing, speaking as a regular viewer. There have been many one-hour episodes this season that have been far more “real,” far more compelling, than this one (the stand-out being the one about the woman so incredibly obese that she had literally bonded with the couch she was sitting on.) The finale, replacing drama with pure shock value, was a terrible introduction.
PAD
I too was disappointed by the big reveal. Also, Gina’s attack happened off panel. It should have been shown so there was some suspense. I almost missed her lying there. This may have been the least exciting episode of the season.
Bobby
“As I said originally, having the Carver be someone who wasn’t in the cast (not to mention his associate fitting the same description) when the Carver first showed up is a HUGE cheat.”
I disagree.
Initially, the Carver had absolutely no connection to McNamara/Troy–at least, no more than anyone else in the greater Miami area. Sean deciding to perform pro-bono surgeries on the Carver’s victims was completely circumstantial.
Given that, I felt it’d be incredibly too coincidental and hammy to have the Carver be someone who was closely tied to the cast before Sean made that fateful decision.
Of course, I say this as someone who didn’t like the eventual decision to tie the Carver’s actual identity to the cast and recurring characters, and subsequently make it a big plot point in the first place. I’m a little glad that, at the very least, the Carver was someone who came into their lives after Sean decided to involve himself.
Having skimmed through the episode again, I think that the mystery would have been better served if they aired the two episodes separately, over two weeks. The end of the first part would have been enough to convince that Quentin wasn’t the Carver, and everybody would have stewed for another week. Maybe it’s just me.
My objection is that having Kit be an accomplice (I don’t think she was an actual Carver) gets you almost nothing except an M. Night Shyamalan-style twist. I guess the idea is that she’s the one who acquired Christian’s semen and planted it, but that was left for us to work out later, so there’s no moment of realization. OK, it also explains how Quentin was found tied up, but that only happened at the beginning of the last episode, so it didn’t have to be that way, if you see what I mean.
I was hoping that the person who messed up the anesthetic in the operation on the woman who remained conscious was not the Carver, because only two people could possibly have done that, and having it be not completely related is a fine classical mystery red herring.
Also, not all crazy brother and sister teams have to have suggestions of incest between them, do they?
“How nice. So not only do I watch the obvious suspect turn out to be the villain, but I get to have my viewing habits insulted as well.”
Not a problem. 😉
Actually, I usually agree with your choice of viewing habits with some notable exceptions (“Smallville”, ugh; the musical episode of “Buffy”, double ugh). Just don’t tell me you liked that puppet episode of “Angel”. If you do, I’ll never trust you again. Aw, who am I kidding, of course I will.
Actually, I usually agree with your choice of viewing habits with some notable exceptions (“Smallville”, ugh; the musical episode of “Buffy”, double ugh). Just don’t tell me you liked that puppet episode of “Angel”. If you do, I’ll never trust you again.
Now it’s your viewing habbits that are suspect. Those are two of the best Angel and Buffy episodes.
The musical episode is great, but the puppet episode was a huge missed opportunity. I kept waiting for the funny, and it never came. I’ll go with the series finale as best Angel ep.
Count me as a fan of “Smile Time” — where Angel was turned into a puppet. I thought that it was a great twist onthings and eventhough it was silly, Angel was treated by the writers as a character with integrity.
And I ’bout fell off the chair laughing when he took his nose off. Also, when the puppet vamped up…that was priceless.
Besides, it’s easy for me to like any episode with werewolf girl in it. I thought that she had potential to be a fascinating character. (And let’s face it, she was incredibly cute.)
“Now it’s your viewing habbits that are suspect. Those are two of the best Angel and Buffy episodes.”
Bleech. Different just for the sake of being different doesn’t equate to ‘good’.
I don’t know about all y’all, but I got a big case of the heebee jeebees watching the last half hour with the threat to cut off the hands and fingers and other extranious pieces parts.
Tom Keller wrote:
> Well, that’s two hours of my life I’ll never get
> back. Thanks a lot, PAD. People actually
> watch this refuse?
>
>I should have known that your taste in TV
> shows was suspect from your fondness for
> the excrement known as ‘Smallville’, but I
> had hopes.
So what’s so wrong with Smallville?
And whether you have disagreements about personal tastes or not, there isn’t any need for ad hominen attacks, please.
PAD wrote:
> Having four heroes all being menaced by
> body-maiming crazies is just so
> overwhelming that Kath at one point said,
> “I’m not sure I can get through this,” and I
> agreed with her. I mean, THIS is
> entertainment?
She’s right. Even one body-maiming crazy isn’t entertainment as far as I’m concerned. That’s why I don’t watch programs such as this at all, and don’t go to movies such as the Alien series and so forth. There’s enough pain in the world without creating more of it for “fun” and “entertainment”.
(However, for those with strong-enough psyches — and stomachs — to stand it, I don’t disapprove of others having different tastes. No personal attack here.)
What’s so wrong with Smallville? Don’t get me started. It sucks ášš, let me leave it at that.
And complaining about a person’s taste in TV shows, which if you read my other post, I usually agree with PAD on, is not an ad hominem attack. An ad hominem attack would be if I said, “I should have known PAD’s taste in TV shows was bad because he’s a Liberal”.