Red Shoe Diaries: Season One

Soft-core porn on cable was a new thing in 1992 when the fledgling Showtime channel picked up this groundbreaking erotic series that would ultimately run for five seasons, bringing a hard-R sensibility to non-network programming (albeit in a B-movie manner). The series was created by Zalman King, who was responsible for writing and/or directing defining ‘80s soft-core hits like 9 1/2 Weeks and Wild Orchid. A pre-X-Files David Duchovny served at the host of this anthology series centered on sexy encounters between lost women and the lusty men who try to give them what they want. The central conceit was that Duchovny's character had lost his fiancé to suicide and was now looking for answers from anonymous women who answered his personal ad, titled “Dear Red Shoes.” A string of Hollywood male and female never-were's here (with a few exceptions, such as Matt LeBlanc) swoon, kiss, grind, and display skin under arty lighting with gauzy filters that scream sexy high-class adult fun, backed by George S. Clinton's sultry sax arrangements. King was very hands-on—he directed or co-directed nearly every episode—employing a defining style that nevertheless seems dated and droll nearly 25 years later. Still, this is a fun series for those with a taste for camp, with an accent on the risqué. Compiling all 13 episodes from the 1992-93 debut season, extras include an intro by King, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a photo gallery. A strong optional purchase. (T. Fry)