Over the span of its first five seasons, Nip/Tuck has had some spectacular highs and some even greater lows. Regardless of how you feel about them (personally, I liked season three and The Carver), as viewers we've all watched Dr. Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Dr. Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) slowly lose the battle to the one thing they're paid to combat - aging.

Entering its penultimate season, Nip/Tuck could use a little nipping and tucking of its own after the mediocre fifth season that saw a lengthy hiatus at the hands of the writers strike. Fortunately, it seems that things might be getting back to "normal" for McNamara/Troy. And by normal, I mean no more serial killers, organ thieves, or weirdo lip-synching musical montages. Beyond that, it's freak show as usual.

At the end of season five, the biggest cliffhanger possible was eradicated the second it became an issue when Christian found out that his cancer was in remission. It was especially disappointing because it meant the end of Christian and Roma Maffia's Dr. Liz Cruz before it even began. The whole situation left a fairly sour taste in most everyone's mouth as the only real question heading into season six was what Teddy would do to Sean after we saw her kill that other surgeon.

After screening the first two episodes of the new season (it returns to FX tomorrow night, Wednesday, 10/14, at 10 p.m. ET), there's little to report on the goings on at McNamara/Troy. For numerous reasons, the transition has been fairly rocky.

Most noticeably out of place? Dr. Teddy Rowe has been recast from Katee Sackhoff to Rose McGowan. By the end of the second episode there's reason to believe that Sean's life may still be at risk, but until you reach that moment, it's like watching a completely different character. McGowan is by no means a bad actress but she plays the role much differently that Sackhoff did. It's unfortunate because it does take you out of the moment while that memory of Teddy watching another human die by her own hands is so fresh.

However, there's plenty to distract you from the shortcomings. Guests galore litter the first two hours including Wayne Knight, Barry Bostwick, and the return of Mario Lopez as Dr. Mike Hamoui. The premiere also benefits from a timely reference - the horrible economy.

McNamara/Troy wasn't immune from the economic downturn either and the opening ep features a very memorable not-quite-so-rich and famous pseudo-documentary format narrated by Linda Hunt. It lends itself to plenty of laughs and also creates the set-up for one of Sean and Christian's funniest attempts yet at trying to get new business - a late night infomercial.

The fact of the matter is Nip/Tuck, believe it or not, is a show in decline. It's old, tired, and has seen better days. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though because let's be honest - sometimes the folks that have been around the block a few times still have the best stories up their sleeves. Season six doesn't have the strongest of starts but there is reason to believe that the best may be yet to come over these final 19 episodes.