Put aside the fact that the name of this show makes it sound like you're literally going to be watching porn. (Unless that's a motivating factor for you, in which case continue thinking you're about to watch porn.) While there is a certain amount of sexual content that you come to expect from shows airing on Showtime, Masters of Sex is so much more than that. It's the story of Bill Masters and Virginia Johnson, two pioneers in the field of human sexuality during the 1950s. The show features a frank and upfront depiction of their experimentation, which involved masturbation and intercourse in a clinical setting. It's kind of like a really steamy version of Mad Men, except set in St Louis, revolving around science, and featuring heaps more sexual repression. But the aspect of the show that I find most interesting is the intense character study that this type of story allows. Bill Masters is a deeply, deeply damaged man, and his interactions with everyone around him (especially his doting wife Libby, his mother, and Virginia) are a riddle wrapped inside a quagmire with a side of enigma. Virginia is probably one of the strongest female characters I've seen on television, period -- she's a 1950s single mother of two who is sexually liberated, has a job as a lab assistant, and is actively pursuing a college degree so that people will take her seriously. Status: Renewed
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
