RV: I know this show takes place in the 60s, but I’m embarrased to say that I’ve learned more about sex from this show than I ever learned from my high school health class or Google. Even though the research that the show is based on has been around in the form of dense medical journals written by the real life Bill Masters and Virginia Johnson, all of the episodes tend to teach me some new thing that I never knew about our behavior. This show is one part drama and another part Discovery channel. I know that this story isn’t completely accurate to history, but from the research I’ve done (Googling: ‘Is Masters of Sex’ accurate),  it’s close enough, which makes the whole show much more fascinating. It’s like being exposed to a whole world you never knew about even though the evidence of such a world is all around us. Now beyond the history part of the show, the drama is also top-notch. Bill and Virginia are very flawed characters. In fact, at least several times a season, they will make you scream out in agony as two geniuses who make very dumb decisions, which usually involve them screwing each other either literally or metaphorically. This is a will they/won’t they story that does a very good job at tiptoeing the line between giving us what we want and killing our hopes and dreams. That’s a pretty amazing feat when you consider that the two main characters’ lives have already been extensively documented.

T: Where do I begin? This show has everything one would want in a compelling story: flawed protagonists, searing suspense, throwback couture, and – oh yeah – sex. Lots of sex. I mean, it’s in the title, so you know it’s there. But here is the great thing about Masters of Sex – it presents the idea of sex in a way that is true to the research: clinical, objective, dispassionate, ‘unsexy’. This isn’t to say that there aren’t steamy moments (you’ll be literally screaming inside waiting for ‘it’ to happen between Bill and Virginia); Season Two especially is filled with some particularly, ahem, satisfactory moments and even when they’re not ‘together/together’, the chemistry shared between these two is enough to keep you going through winter (if you know what I’m saying). But identifying that, highlights the very complexity of the show: Bill is married. And not to Virginia. And, in fact, is married to a very sweet woman. And yet…there you are rooting our lead characters on to get it on. With that said, I don’t think this show works to demoralize its audience. No. If anything it seeks to prove that we are all flawed creatures – even those [especially those?] most intelligent – and reaffirms that at the end of the day, we’re totally reliant on what the heart, and genitals, want.

As I get to the end of my summary, I feel like I haven’t explained anything. And that should be a testament to how much this show is a one-of-a-kind, don’t miss out, stop doing whatever you’re doing  and binge it right now kind of show…happy watching 🙂

5 Red Vines: Masters of sex just not relationships.

5 Twizzlers: Masters of Sex is one that will leave you totally satisfied, but will stick around to spoon  you after…