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[Dan]

That scene with Dr Langham and Alan Ruck's therapist was hysterical.

Guest casting on this show has been brilliant.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Allison Janney was just great this week. This show has really ascended to a new level these last few episodes.

Also, apparently the show does have an opening credits sequence, albeit in Canada and the UK. Here it is! Pretty much what I expected, heh.

- Sepinwall's review

In case you haven't been reading the comments each week, we've been fortunate to have "Masters of Sex" author Thomas Maier stopping by to offer some insight into how Michelle Ashford and company are adapting his book. In this thread from last week, Maier discusses the fact that in real life, Bill and Libby had two kids through his fertility technique, and that their son Howie was friends with Virginia's.

Ooh, interesting. I'll be sure to read the comments on his blog for the rest of the season.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

The writing was a little more on the nose (hate that term, but it gets the point) than it's been, and the acting wasn't like the past couple of weeks, but the plot sure as hell heated up.

 

[dead souls]

A-fucking-mazing. Damn this show is so good.

 

[Cloudy]

Saw the pilot tonight. It was very good

 

[someday]

I was really hoping they'd never have Masters and Johnson have a sexual relationship. It was refreshing that the show was so good (and their teamwork so strong) without them having to be personally intimate. I don't know any of their actual history so I don't know if it's there because it happened, or for the drama.

 

[Cornballer]

- Poniewozik takes a look at MoS at the halfway point of S1

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

I was really hoping they'd never have Masters and Johnson have a sexual relationship. It was refreshing that the show was so good (and their teamwork so strong) without them having to be personally intimate. I don't know any of their actual history so I don't know if it's there because it happened, or for the drama.

Thay deviate a lot from history, but

Spoiler

they end up in a relationship and eventually married.

 

[Shabadoo69]

This was by far my favorite episode so far. This show is awesome. I even got my girlfriend hooked.

 

[UrbanRats]

So far so good.
Although sometimes i feel like they use some clichés too much.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Although sometimes i feel like they use some clichés too much.

Any examples?

 

[Cornballer]

Also, apparently the show does have an opening credits sequence, albeit in Canada and the UK. Here it is! Pretty much what I expected, heh.

That's pretty bad.

 

[Dan]

Also, apparently the show does have an opening credits sequence, albeit in Canada and the UK. Here it is! Pretty much what I expected, heh.

Huh? This has been part of the US broadcast since episode 2.

 

[War Peaceman]

That's pretty bad.

Yes, it is tonally very odd. Feels like an up-market Carry On style sequence.

 

[Valhelm]

I anticipated this show to be awful, but it's quite close to Mad Men in terms of quality. It's a shame that the opening sequence is so awful.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Huh? This has been part of the US broadcast since episode 2.

I don't think so...

 

[UrbanRats]

Any examples?

Well more than clichès i should say the characterization of some of the characters is too on the cartoonish side, at times.
Some of the prostitutes, the two old lovers in Miami, even Virginia's Ex made me raise an eye-brow.

I wish they would tone it down a notch, but overall it's quite good.

Also yeah, the intro is bad.

 

[Dan]

I don't think so...

Then I don't know what the hell I'm watching. I've seen it 5 times now, via the Showtime east coast feed.

You guys know that Showtime's weird and does the 'previously on' material after the opening titles, right? They do that for all their shows.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

FWIW, I love the opening. It's so over the top, and yet repressed-- it's perfect for the 50s.

And has been on every ep since the second one.

 

[someday]

Thay deviate a lot from history, but

Spoiler

they end up in a relationship and eventually married.

Thank you. That helps a lot.

That opening has been showing for the west coast feed as well. I like it.

 

[Valhelm]

The kids' ages kind of boggle me. Is Johnson supposed to be older than 30? Her kids look like they're eleven and eight. Given that the father was her second husband, I really doubt she was married as a teenager.

 

[inm8num2]

Good episode. I'm really liking the scientific discussions and whatnot. The show could easily devolve into smut but they're going in a good direction.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Well more than clichès i should say the characterization of some of the characters is too on the cartoonish side, at times.

Some of the prostitutes, the two old lovers in Miami, even Virginia's Ex made me raise an eye-brow.

Ah, I see. Well, I can't say that I've had a problem with the characters being too colorful, but I can sort of see how it might be a problem for some.

I really doubt she was married as a teenager.

Why is that? This would be the late 40s - early 50s we're talking about here. Wasn't it pretty common back then for people to marry while still in their teens?

 

[Valhelm]

Why is that? This would be the late 40s - early 50s we're talking about here. Wasn't it pretty common back then for people to marry while still in their teens?

Very common. But he was her second husband. Presumably, she was married to the first guy for more than a couple months.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Very common. But he was her second husband. Presumably, she was married to the first guy for more than a couple months.

Ah okay, I see what you're saying. I somehow blocked out the part where you were talking about him being her second husband. Maybe she had one of those Vegas style weddings where she married and then divorced in the span of just a few days?

 

[Linius]

You guys think the opening sequence is bad? I love it

Fantastic episode this week. Man these Libby scenes were awkward after Bill left Miami. I loved how how Bill handeled that femalde doctor by the way.

 

[xenist]

You go girl! Get yours, Allison Janney!

The pairing up between her and Langham was a bit too easy, but her earlier scenes were so heartbreaking I literally couldn't care about plot problems. I was so happy at her finally "getting a win" I was willing to overlook them.

 

[UrbanRats]

You go girl! Get yours, Allison Janney!

The pairing up between her and Langham was a bit too easy, but her earlier scenes were so heartbreaking I literally couldn't care about plot problems. I was so happy at her finally "getting a win" I was willing to overlook them.

Totally agree.
it was kind of too sudden to pair them together, but that meeting with Masters and Virginia was really hard to watch.
Poor woman.

 

[Cornballer]

Showtime vids on youtube:

- Behind the Episode #6
- Next on Episode 7
- Owed a Miracle - Sneak peek at Episode 7
- Emotional Attachment - Sneak peek at Episode 7

Please spoiler tag discussion as appropriate.

 

[SD-Ness]

As of now...

Masters of Sex > Homeland

 

[Valhelm]

Ah okay, I see what you're saying. I somehow blocked out the part where you were talking about him being her second husband. Maybe she had one of those Vegas style weddings where she married and then divorced in the span of just a few days?

Yeah, I guess that's most likely. I wonder when Masters will

Spoiler

leave his wife. End of the season? In reality, it happened much later, but this show is pretty ahistorical.

 

[Van Owen]

Yeah, I guess that's most likely. I wonder when Masters will

Spoiler

leave his wife. End of the season? In reality, it happened much later, but this show is pretty ahistorical.

Spoiler

I think he had a couple kids with Elizabeth though.

 

[narcosis219]

Spoiler

I think he had a couple kids with Elizabeth though.

Spoiler

Made even worse by her miscarriage. Either it'll take way too long to pop out two kids (a season or two?) or the writers are striking them out altogether.

 

[aFIGurANT]

Spoiler tags in the MoS thread makes me happy. I like that there's canon to work off of and overall this show is just too good, although I do agree with the camp here saying that the Johnson/Masters relationship hurts the eyes. Maybe I've just been coerced into the Team Libby camp because I find her really adorable, though.

 

[War Peaceman]

Allison Janney did a really fantastic job in the episode. That meeting with Masters and Johnson was just excruciating.

Also, the constant piss taking of Freud was so ham-fisted but hilarious.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Yeah, I guess that's most likely.

I actually just checked Wikipedia and it said that her first marriage lasted two days. So .

I wonder when Masters will

Spoiler

leave his wife. End of the season? In reality, it happened much later, but this show is pretty ahistorical.

Considering that they're looking for ways to stretch the show out beyond four seasons, it's conceivable that they might save that till later.

 

[Valhelm]

Just saw Episode 6.

Spoiler

This marriage is not lasting more than two seasons.

For some reason, I keep associating Libby with Marie from Breaking Bad. Maybe it's the

Spoiler

terribly lying.

 

[Klocker]

So far a better ShowTime series than any except shameless.

 

[Valhelm]

The fact that no character has even mentioned the ethical problems with married strangers fucking each other bothers me a bit.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

The fact that no character has even mentioned the ethical problems with married strangers fucking each other bothers me a bit.

I wonder if the idea is that since it has no effect on the data, they're trying to ignore that fact? Sort of a hard reaction to the prudishness that they want to overcome?

 

[UrbanRats]

The fact that no character has even mentioned the ethical problems with married strangers fucking each other bothers me a bit.

No married character involved with the study is faithful anyway.

 

[Exis]

This probably the best show currently airing on Television right now, but I said that about the first season of Homeland.

 

[Cornballer]

New episode tonight:

All Together Now

Spoiler

Masters and Johnson join the study as participants. Libby renews treatment.

 

[Davey Cakes]

Just caught up with episode 6.

This show does episode endings really well.

 

[Cornballer]

- Sepinwall's review

 

[RatskyWatsky]

A couple articles I thought were interesting:

New Yorker - What "Masters of Sex" Overlooks

Post-“sexual revolution,” there is general agreement that a woman who knows what she wants, in bed and in life, is a person to be admired. But it’s much harder to believe that a woman in St. Louis, Missouri, in the late nineteen-fifties, could enjoy the same nods of approval from her contemporary onlookers. And by her own account, the real Virginia Johnson did not live the life relatively free of judgment and social cost that “Masters of Sex” has, so far, implied for her doppelgänger.

NY Times - ‘As Long as You’re Watching People Have Sex, You Could Be Learning Something’

“Masters of Sex” is a contemporary show about retro attitudes that we can look back on now from the safety of more enlightened times. It also has the problem/advantage of depicting a prudish time on-screen while existing in the context of the most relentlessly unprudish media landscape ever. This predicament presents an interesting artistic challenge to its creators: How do you make a fresh, interesting and surprising show about sex in an era when it’s hard to find anything anywhere that isn’t, on some level, about sex? And how do you convey what it was like to be alive at a time when sex was still taboo without ascribing attitudes we find distasteful today (excessive inhibition, sexism, homophobia) to characters we’re meant to care about and identify with?

 

[Cornballer]

Thanks for the links, Ratsky.

One more review from tonight: Onion A|V Club review

 

[Dan]

"No, no, no, no. The tub won't accommodate us both."

Haha, he shut that down hard.

 

[dead souls]

Another solid episode. Showtime is having a great fall.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

This show keeps getting better.

While a lot of stuff is very on the nose, I've come to think that the show is really about the earthquake that the study is causing, even when done behind closed doors, anonymously, and with a limited number of subjects. It's about the unintended consequences of sex and repression, and I love it. So while some themes may seem telegraphed, I think the overall show is playing a subtler game.

I think the New Yorker article is interesting, but this is a work of fiction with an arc, and I think it's premature to say that Johnson won't regret her actions. The end of last night's episode seemed to suggest that, and we've already seen some of her regrets. That she puts a confident face on things and is generally successful so far doesn't mean the consequences won't be felt. Ethan's realization that she's sleeping with Masters seems to suggest that it's inevitable, in fact. With regard to the attraction and dynamics between them, the show would have a pretty hard time selling an on-screen Masters who is as cold as that article implies.