TV REVIEW: "Masters of Sex" -- Premiered: September 29, 2013

"This study is the scandal..."

Showtime's Masters of Sex premiered last Sunday. Sadly, its premiere was kind of overshadowed by another acclaimed cable drama series that ended its five season run on the same night. You may have heard of it. I don't know, bitch! But I'm not here to write about that. I'm here to write about this amazingly new, brave, fresh, and quite frankly, astonishing new drama series that just knocked my socks off.

Michael Sheen stars as Dr. William Masters, an ob-gyn at the Washington University in St. Louis, who is rather driven in his study of the underlying meaning and physiology of what sex means to those who experience it and the culture surrounding it. From the early goings it's evident that Masters is a brilliant, progressive man who doesn't take no for an answer. He is the master of his domain in the workplace but his relationship with his wife, Libby, suffers for it. Of course, Libby and Masters are attempting to have a child so if there was ever a time he needs to be present with his wife, it's now. What's striking is that Masters is full of life, passion, and energy in the workplace but in his moments at home with his wife, including an incredibly awkward sex scene, he transforms into a lifeless, nervous being incapable of feelings. After the aforementioned sex scene, featuring all the awkwardness of a middle school dance, Dr. Masters' wife looks up to him as he goes to return to his own bed (yes, they have seperate beds) and asks, "What do you see when you look at me?" He responds simply with "love." It's a heartbreaking moment. It appears he's genuine with his response, but in that moment, "love" is just a word and not something he feels. It's almost as if he thinks that's what he's supposed to say in that moment, so he does. Sheen is so perfectly calculated in his performance that after the pilot alone, he will hands down be in the running for an Emmy award next year. He's THAT good and something tells me we haven't even skimmed the surface of Dr. Masters or Sheen's performance.

Of course, with Dr. Masters embarking on this journey, he is in need of an assistant! Enter Virginia Johnson, a perfectly cast Lizzy Caplan, a former jazz singer turned secretary. Masters takes a special interest in her, casually observing her interactions in the hospital's administration unit as he makes his way in and out of the office. Eventually, one day he corners her into "interviewing" for the new role as his assistant. In this case, "assistant" means business partner in the industry of the ins and outs of the female orgasm and all the sexy details that go along with it. She impresses him with her witty and honest commentary throughout the interview. At one moment, Masters asks her bluntly "Why would a woman fake an orgasm." She responds "to get back to whatever else she wants to do be doing." It's fantastic scene work by both Sheen and Caplan. Their chemistry crackles with the aid of the expertly written screenplay by Michelle Ashford. I giggled, yes GIGGLED with delight while the two shared the screen. It's a serious show about very serious, scientific, and political matters but it doesn't forget to have fun along the way.

The pilot breezes by quite quickly. It's beautiful to look at and every scene is engaging. After all, these are rather normal people at the outset of an extraordinary adventure of discovery. There are many wheels in motion but at the center of it all is Masters. A terribly broken man full of sadness but also full of drive and passion for his work and his belief. It is with Virginia, or Ginny for short, that Masters first smiles in the episode. It's beaming and genuinely happy. In turn, it's horribly depressing. What's preventing him from smiling at home, with his loving wife? The final scene is also probably one of the most mind-bending cliffhangers I've seen and yet it simply comes about during a conversation between Masters and Virginia, in a dark office while Masters is completing paperwork. Basically, Masters thinks that to keep their results as accurate as possible, the two of them should have sex, for science. Virginia is caught of guard, as she should be. Masters clearly looks at the act of sex as a piece of science while Virginia, like the rest of the world, is still in the thinking that sex is an extremely intimate act performed for love, fun and everything in-between. It's a tense scene and Virginia leaves Masters' office suggesting she will need time to think about it over the weekend. Masters obliges and returns to his paperwork. Once the door is closed and Virginia is gone, he stops writing and rubs his face in what appears to be frustration. Perhaps, this has all moved far too quickly. Perhaps, he is starting to realize there might be more to sex than he thought.

GRADE: A

Stray observations:

• I didn't mention Margo Martindale above. She was fantastically funny as Masters' secretary who isn't quite ready to venture into the journey of sex with him. She reminded me how much I miss The Americans on FX. Come back, The Americans!
• I also didn't delve into the subplot of Virginia and Dr. Ethan Haas at all. A lot of juicy stuff but it was all kind of predictable. 
• Wow, there is a lot of nudity in this show. I mean I was expecting it, but just, wow.
• I am predicting an epic title credits sequence to start in Episode 2. We shall see.