Season 1 – Masters of Sex

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Laura S Michael Sheen has forever been ruined for me. "Tonight I need to reacquaint myself with your body. I will touch every part of you. I will put my mouth on you. I will spread your legs." Jesus. The way he mesmerisingly commands not only the attention of Caplan's character but the viewer's... I'll never ever be able to see Sheen in other, even if goofy, roles without creaming my pants. Hot DAMN. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/03/24 Full Review Dom This show isn't that good frankly. I originally wanted to watch this show, thinking that it was a BBC-style dramatization of real historical events, but what I ended up watching was a pornographic version of something which had a lot of potential. The show is a long and utter drag, soap opera-esque in many instances, the same cliches being used season after season. Season 1 was where the directors at least half-heartedly tried to tie historical reality to their show, which does not work due to psychopathic characters we are supposed to root for, crappy side characters, and too much nudity (this show definitely gives Game of Thrones a run for its money, in fact it overblows Game of Thrones in that category!). The first episode of season one is the best episode of the series, hands down, but after that, it gradually goes downhill until the absolute disaster of season 2 (where the directors almost completely gave up on the main premise of the film) before it slightly rises until the end (although I gave up watching in the middle of season 2 and went for the recaps at the beginning of each following episode instead). Every character that the director wants you to like (even the director doesn't know which character he or she wants you to sympathize with) are all bipolar assholes in this. So, this show had a lot of potential but it was plagued from the start by terrible screenwriters, bizarre subplots, and so much nudity that it almost completely distracts you from the terribly long pacing of the plot. Watch the first season (plus recaps) and spare yourself the time if you are in fact interested in this show, or just read the book. P.S. Actually, after having watched bits of Mad Men and Das Boot, even in its state, I think elements of this TV series stands up above those two series. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/21/23 Full Review Davide l Refreshing, all the way into season 4. Glad to find at least one painfully brief reference to Wilhelm Reich's work and his tragic fate at the hands of the "FBI" in season 2, episode 10. It's a clue to a much wider contextual perspective which intellectual honesty demands, the man having given his life for his work on the same topic and beyond, going too far for the powers that shouldn't be. That makes this all the more enjoyable rather than leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of false portrayal of the public discourse on the matter of human motions and emotions, individual and collective... Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/23/22 Full Review Audience Member Great performances from actors and also gave insightful insight to subject matter. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review the s Here's the problem with this series: it's fairly well written, very well acted but Dr. William Masters is written in such a flawed way that it sucks the oxygen out of the entire story. The movie version portrayed Masters as an inquisitive, naive, awkward physician. This series portrays him as a bitter, tyrannical, cold and petty man. And I can't speak from a biographical standpoint but I'm guessing no doctor would make any real strides in any kind of research (let alone sexual) if he was as difficult, cantankerous and argumentative as the character makes him out to be. There's clinical (as most physicians are) and then there is just downright unlikable and miserable. Creative license dictates that writers get to take some liberties with character development...they could have made the doctor complex and deep and challenging without making him an unbearable, miserable man. It's a case of one bad apple spoiling the whole lot. The character is such a gross part of the story that it genuinely removes any curiosity I have about his story, his life or indeed, this story. To be fair, I'm only 4 episodes in and Johnson's story arc is compelling and interesting but Dr. Steven's makes me want to turn the story off completely. I imagine he changes as a character but honestly right now I can't fathom how this series has made it to a second season let alone 3 additional seasons. Lesson to writers: you can creat very difficult and complex characters...even really evil, disgusting characters without writing them as massive, intolerable a-holes. Look at some of the classic TV dramas...the landscape of the history of the best shows ever made for television...they all have bad guys and protagonists and antagonists...hell, look at Gus from Breaking Bad: the guy was as evil as a character can be written but he was compelling and complex and not written as someone you couldn't bear to be around or listen to. That's what the writers did to the character of Dr Stevens in this series. And as the main character, nothing else really matters. If your lead characters are so unlikeable that you can't make it through the first several episodes, the writers have failed...ratings be damned, this is not an enjoyable series to watch because the main character is written the way a 3rd grader would draw an evil monster: all heavy hands and no subtlety or complexity. Update: after watching the full series, I am stumped as to how high the scores and ratings are. The story itself and the editing style makes it feel like a soap opera. And I feel like that says it all. The acting is incredible...there isn't even room for improvement in that regard. Honestly. All-star cast that really goes the distance. I can't help but wonder what this cast could do if they had a solid script with better writing. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Slow, but grows on you and tells an incredible true story. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Masters of Sex — Season 1

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