Masters of Sex S1E2 Review, “Race to Space”

Masters of Sex

“Race to Space”

Masters of Sex hasn’t settled in yet.  The show is still in its infancy, so it still has loads of potential.  It didn’t trip coming out of the blocks, but it isn’t breaking away from the pack either.  Enough with the clichés, on with the show.

The number one opportunity for this show to distance itself is to present the audience with a strong female character who is able to function without always falling back on a man, or breaking down completely.  Masters follows Homeland, which had a similar opportunity with Claire Danes winning Emmys, and instead threw her into a mental institution when things got tough.  So far, Lizzy Caplan is acting the shit out of this part thus far, even when the dialogue and the setup is sometimes underwhelming.  Her interactions with Bill Masters are far and away the highlights of this second episode.  I could do without the “possibility sequences” (the episode is shot with several scenes being presented as happening a few different ways, before they eventually play out as they actually happen.  It’s effective the first time as a small shock to the audience, but it’s also a bit juvenile and reminds me of something that would happen in Clueless or 10 Things I Hate About You) since all they really show is a character’s insecurities.  I’m far more interested in Caplan’s Virginia if she’s a woman of the 50s who ISN’T insecure.

Up to now, the show has been far too heavy.  The lighthearted moments are few, and since the subject matter is extremely dense even when it isn’t heavy on the science drama, I find myself pausing and restarting repeatedly to break up the dramatic weight.  Sex is funny, so there should be comedy in showing how uncomfortable discussing sex made people in the 50s.  And there are moments, like any time the giant glass dildo is shown.  They just aren’t exploited as a release valve for the crushing pressure of the dramatic intensity we are confronted with.  The answer is: SHOW THE GODDAMN GIANT GLASS DILDO MORE.  Annaleigh Ashford, playing the madam at Dr. Masters’ experimental cathouse, does serve as a ray of light through all the sexual gloom.  However, she’s only listed as being in two episodes.  I’d have to think that’s a mistake, since her story isn’t anywhere near resolved.  She’s a walking prostitutional cliché at this point (why not make the prostitute cultured and intelligent?  Haven’t we seen the gum-chomping whore with the Brooklyn accent enough?) but at least she forces her way through the morose malaise.

I’m holding out hope that Masters of Sex isn’t going to turn out to be a pulpy B+ movie that just happens to be 12 (or 24, or 36…) hours long.  I held out mentioning it as long as I could, but so far Liam Neeson’s Kinsey told the same story as Masters in a much more palatable manner, mostly so because I knew the story would be over an hour and a half after it started.  If Masters is only envisioned as a single season show, I can see it working to a limited degree.  However, as of the second episode, I can’t imagine a way for this to be interesting past the first season.  I’d love for the producers and writers to come up with a way to prove me wrong, but I’m not seeing it.

5/10