This is a work of fiction based on a book about a real couple. The suggestion is that there must be some truths to what's shown about the groundbreaking work Masters and Johnson did, and you would think there must be something real about the relationships, not only between Masters and Johnson but between many of the other key couples as well. But it seems that little, if anything, is real. It's pure soap opera. When I read the disclaimer after one of the episodes that all the children were fictitious, I knew I had been the subject of a bait-and-switch scheme. If the series had been sold as soap opera drama, based only on the imagination of the writers/directors, I may have enjoyed it a lot more. As is, it practically dishonors the Masters-Johnson name (hence, their work). The characters are not just flawed, they are wooden and emotionally stunted (with the exception of Betty, the most real person). I must admit, however, that I am approaching this series from a different perspective: I spent four years at Washington University and was privileged to be able to hear Masters and Johnson speak. They were smart, savvy, humorous and entertaining. Nothing like the way they're being portrayed (or should I say, "betrayed"?). I watched the series to gain some insight, to learn something, to be taken back to that time period, and to reminisce about the old "Wash U." None of that happened. With all the on-screen sex, Masters of Sex is a show about biology, with no chemistry.
Review of Masters of Sex
