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Masters of Sex: the best sex on television Masters of Sex: the best sex on television
(35 minutes later)
SPOILER ALERT: This article is about the pilot episode of Masters of Sex, which aired on 29 September on Showtime and is due to be broadcast in the UK on 8 October SPOILER ALERT: This article is about the pilot episode of Masters of Sex, which aired on 29 September on Showtime in the US and is due to be broadcast in the UK on 8 October on Channel 4
If you're looking for the most sex on television, you should probably tune into something like Game of Thrones or True Blood on HBO, shows where ripped men and nubile women engage in all sorts of gratuitous acts, sometimes while explaining just what is happening on the show (a procedure that Game of Thrones invented that has since been dubbed "sexposition"). But, as someone who writes often about sex and the more sultry corners of pop culture, I can suggest where to find the best sex on TV: Masters of Sex, Showtime's new drama that started Sunday night (the first episode has been available online for a few weeks).If you're looking for the most sex on television, you should probably tune into something like Game of Thrones or True Blood on HBO, shows where ripped men and nubile women engage in all sorts of gratuitous acts, sometimes while explaining just what is happening on the show (a procedure that Game of Thrones invented that has since been dubbed "sexposition"). But, as someone who writes often about sex and the more sultry corners of pop culture, I can suggest where to find the best sex on TV: Masters of Sex, Showtime's new drama that started Sunday night (the first episode has been available online for a few weeks).
Now this sex isn't titillating or meant to be like some sort of romance novel cover come to life with bulging Nordic men ripping willing women's bodices (again, that has been True Blood's stock in trade for years) the sex on Masters of Sex is both sad and clinical, celebratory and exploratory. It's everything that sex is in real life: sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always interesting.Now this sex isn't titillating or meant to be like some sort of romance novel cover come to life with bulging Nordic men ripping willing women's bodices (again, that has been True Blood's stock in trade for years) the sex on Masters of Sex is both sad and clinical, celebratory and exploratory. It's everything that sex is in real life: sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always interesting.
The show centers on obstetrician William Masters and nightclub singer turned researcher Virginia Johnson who got together in St Louis in the repressive 1950s and started a groundbreaking study about human sexuality that changed how we think and talk about these animal acts to this day.The show centers on obstetrician William Masters and nightclub singer turned researcher Virginia Johnson who got together in St Louis in the repressive 1950s and started a groundbreaking study about human sexuality that changed how we think and talk about these animal acts to this day.
The first time we see a couple going at it on the show, Masters is peeping through a hole in the wall watching a prostitute pleasure one of her johns. It's meant to be comical, with her obviously faked groans and orgasm as Masters jots notes about their session. We all know how ridiculous creating the beast with two backs can be, and it's nice that this show acknowledges it too. We see Masters confounded that a woman would fake an orgasms which just shows that when it comes to the human condition, there are some things scientists can't learn in books.The first time we see a couple going at it on the show, Masters is peeping through a hole in the wall watching a prostitute pleasure one of her johns. It's meant to be comical, with her obviously faked groans and orgasm as Masters jots notes about their session. We all know how ridiculous creating the beast with two backs can be, and it's nice that this show acknowledges it too. We see Masters confounded that a woman would fake an orgasms which just shows that when it comes to the human condition, there are some things scientists can't learn in books.
Yes, sex always has to do with character on this show. We see Masters (Michael Sheen), a fertility doctor who can't get his wife pregnant, engage in a short and impersonal rutting with her on her twin bed (they sleep June and Ward Cleaver-style). He seems so in love with her that he can't think about defiling her in this way. Well, both that and his inability for them to conceive makes his own sexual life one of constant frustration.Yes, sex always has to do with character on this show. We see Masters (Michael Sheen), a fertility doctor who can't get his wife pregnant, engage in a short and impersonal rutting with her on her twin bed (they sleep June and Ward Cleaver-style). He seems so in love with her that he can't think about defiling her in this way. Well, both that and his inability for them to conceive makes his own sexual life one of constant frustration.
On the other hand, Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) is seen enjoying herself with a handsome coworker, forcing him to go down on her and rocking his world while getting her rocks off. She comes across as sexually liberated and perfect for the study that she and Masters are embarking on. Sure, she might not have a college degree, but she's very knowledgeable in ways that matter.On the other hand, Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) is seen enjoying herself with a handsome coworker, forcing him to go down on her and rocking his world while getting her rocks off. She comes across as sexually liberated and perfect for the study that she and Masters are embarking on. Sure, she might not have a college degree, but she's very knowledgeable in ways that matter.
The sex that happens in the laboratory – most of which in the first episode is women having sex with themselves – is suitably professional, as it were, the two researchers watching women strapped to electrodes pleasure themselves while they take readings. It's about as sexy as those plastic models of reproductive organs we were forced to look at in health class in high school, and probably just as informative.The sex that happens in the laboratory – most of which in the first episode is women having sex with themselves – is suitably professional, as it were, the two researchers watching women strapped to electrodes pleasure themselves while they take readings. It's about as sexy as those plastic models of reproductive organs we were forced to look at in health class in high school, and probably just as informative.
Unlike an episode of Cathouse, the brilliant brothel reality program on HBO, Masters of Sex isn't really interested in arousing the audience as it is the study of arousal and those involved in it.Unlike an episode of Cathouse, the brilliant brothel reality program on HBO, Masters of Sex isn't really interested in arousing the audience as it is the study of arousal and those involved in it.
That said, there is a truly touching moment that almost gets the juices flowing, when Masters and Johnson finally recruit a doctor and a volunteer to be their first couple to strap on all the wires and engage in intercourse. The two meet and are instantly attracted to each other and excited to be allowed to explore in a scientific setting. Despite the EEG's that are scribbling out their brainwaves purring in the background, these two find a fun and flirty connection under the fluorescent lights of the laboratory. They giggle as they roll around, kissing and discovering each other's bodies. There's something here that can not be measured or explained, no matter how many scientists try to observe it.That said, there is a truly touching moment that almost gets the juices flowing, when Masters and Johnson finally recruit a doctor and a volunteer to be their first couple to strap on all the wires and engage in intercourse. The two meet and are instantly attracted to each other and excited to be allowed to explore in a scientific setting. Despite the EEG's that are scribbling out their brainwaves purring in the background, these two find a fun and flirty connection under the fluorescent lights of the laboratory. They giggle as they roll around, kissing and discovering each other's bodies. There's something here that can not be measured or explained, no matter how many scientists try to observe it.
And that's why Masters of Sex has the best sex on television. It isn't a simple fulfillment of desire, an expression of love, or a voyeurist thrill like it is on so many other shows. It's complicated and messy, overdetermined and basic wrapped up all together in a ball of flesh and firing neurons. It's not only the start of life but also the beginning of their careers. It's like it is for all of us, meaning different things at different times but always driving us in ways we don't always understand. What makes the show worth watching is that, no matter how much it tries to put sex under a scientific microscope, it never forgets the one thing that can't be measured by tests or studies or doctors: the magic that happens when skin meets skin.And that's why Masters of Sex has the best sex on television. It isn't a simple fulfillment of desire, an expression of love, or a voyeurist thrill like it is on so many other shows. It's complicated and messy, overdetermined and basic wrapped up all together in a ball of flesh and firing neurons. It's not only the start of life but also the beginning of their careers. It's like it is for all of us, meaning different things at different times but always driving us in ways we don't always understand. What makes the show worth watching is that, no matter how much it tries to put sex under a scientific microscope, it never forgets the one thing that can't be measured by tests or studies or doctors: the magic that happens when skin meets skin.
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