Victor Ritz is one of 10 UNF students who appear this week on “The College Tour” on Amazon Prime | Amazon Prime
Published on May 28, 2024 at 3:52 pm
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A Jacksonville surgeon and the University of North Florida get their time to shine in two different reality TV spotlights this week.
TLC’s Botched Bariatrics will feature local cosmetic surgeon Courtney Caplin, who works with patients whose weight loss surgery went wrong. The show will be shown at 10 p.m. Wednesday.
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Separately, Amazon Prime will feature 10 students from UNF discussing all aspects of their lives at the Southside university in Season 11 of The College Tour.
Here’s a rundown on each show.
Botched Bariatrics
Caplin works at Cosmetic Surgery Affiliates on Hodges Boulevard. She is an Orange Park native whose surgical emphasis is on facial, breast and abdominal treatments.
Approached by TLC during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said she did a number of Zoom interviews before she was chosen as one of the featured surgeons.
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Crews then came in to shoot footage and interviews with her and patients.
“When you go into surgery on a patient who has already had surgery performed and had an outcome that was not ideal. you don’t know what you are going to find. It can be a surprise,” Caplin said. “Some of these patients have become dear friends — some of the best patients. Selfishly, I get excited when I have a massive weight loss patient come in because typically, they are really good patients. They are very well-disciplined.”
Botched Bariatrics will focus on work done by five doctors including Caplin, who also works in a clinic in Oklahoma City but plans to transition to Jacksonville full time.
The series premiered a week ago. This week’s episode, called Butt Out, features a woman whose previous lap band surgery made it impossible to swallow solid food, so she has used a blender to liquify her meals for over a decade. Caplin then helps a patient whose tummy tuck left her with an unsightly stomach.
Living with a camera crew had its moments, Caplin said.
“The interview with the patient, the consultation and the follow-up, it was a bit awkward having them in the back of the room, knowing that there is just another person filming every moment of you with a patient over very intimate and detailed conversations,” she said. “In the OR, it was like normal — I think I am so used to just doing surgery, and the bright lights over the patient and noises in the background did not make any difference at all.”
The College Tour
Over on Amazon Prime, Alex Boylan hosts episodes of The College Tour, which tells the story of life on college campuses across the country and around the world. This week’s streaming episode interviews 10 UNF students on topics ranging from housing and research to opportunities to study abroad.
The interviews include Victor Ritz discussing coastal resiliency and environmental issues, to Kenneth Wright highlighting the military-friendly aspects of the campus. UNF President Moez Limayem also is featured.
The Amazon Prime series features aerial shots of the campus, students at work and play, and academics, housing, sports, career preparation and more. It has aired since 2021, averaging 13 to 15 episodes per season at college campuses around the country.
Other students interviewed at UNF in this week’s episode include a sophomore speaking about campus involvement to a senior explaining research opportunities, the network said.
