Masters of Sex: Season One

This Showtime original series centers on the man and woman who were at the forefront of the sexual revolution, thanks to an ambitious, daring, and revelatory study of the social and physical realities of sex among American adults. Golden Globe–nominated Michael Sheen plays Dr. William Masters, the successful gynecologist who is determined to pursue his work despite objections from the conservative board at his teaching hospital, and Lizzy Caplan is Virginia Johnson, who began as Masters' secretary, and soon became an assistant and then a research partner. The first season explores the beginnings of their decades-long partnership, as well as the controversy stirred up at Washington University in St. Louis in the conservative 1950s. Like Mad Men, the series uses the subject and setting in order to explore complex issues related to gender roles, chauvinism, sexual identity, and the conflicting pressures of social expectations and personal desires. And while the series unsurprisingly features nudity and sexual situations, it also examines the emotional complications attached to sex (and is oddly less explicit than shows such as True Blood or Spartacus). Presenting all 12 episodes from the 2013 debut season, extras include an audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes (the Blu-ray edition adds bonus featurettes). Handsomely produced, intelligently written and directed, and boasting superb performances, Masters of Sex takes a mature approach to what might have simply been titillating subject matter. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)