+++Warning, this contains minor spoilers from season one, but no major season two giveaways+++
The 12-episode second season of Masters of Sex aired during the summer and fall of 2014. It continues the fictionalized biographical drama of William Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) and their famous sex study. This season is set (mostly) between the years 1958 and 1961. Masters, having been fired from Maternity Hospital, tries to find a place where he and Virginia can continue their work on the sex study. Of course, being in 1950s Missouri, that is not an easy feat, and they end up opening their own clinic. They continue to engage in their very ill-advised affair that was teased at the end of season one, under the guise of being participants in the study. That storyline actually opens up a much larger story arc for Libby (Caitlin FitzGerald), who is being ignored by Bill more and more. We also get insight into Bill's childhood when his mother, played by Ann Dowd, appears partway through the season.
The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc set. The A/V quality continues to be very good, as the series looks and sounds great in HD. There are some special effects to make the show a period piece, but they certainly do not dominate the show. For extras, three different featurettes range in length from 18 to 26 minutes, one focused on the women in the show, one focused on the men, and one focused on the time period in which the show is set and the social issues occurring at the time. Then, there are a handful of deleted scenes. Of course, this is the last season of the show that would be released individually on blu-ray. Seasons three and four were not released in the US at all until a complete series blu-ray set was released after the series ended. So, that is a better pickup than this one and if you did get this when it was originally released, you have to decide whether to double dip.
Overall, the season is very good. Maybe even better than he first. It is a show about sex, but it is not equivalent to the late-night soft-core movies on Showtime or Cinemax. It does not have sex for sex's sake, and it shows how sex can be dark and dysfunctional and not just titillating. The show also deals with issues that are still prevalent in our society today, including race relations, interracial relationships, homosexuality, and more, and how all of those things have been stigmatized, especially when sex is involved. The second season did have some cast turnover with Nicholas D'Agosto having a much-reduced role but Annaleigh Ashford being promoted to a series regular. The season also had a strong recurring and guest cast, including Beu Bridges, Allison Janney, Betsy Brandt, Keke Palmer, Sarah Silverman, René Auberjonois, Christian Borle, and Courtney B. Vance.
If you liked the first season, you will probably like this one. If you have not seen the show yet, it is based on true events but definitely fictionalized. So, you are not getting a historically accurate documentary. It is well written and very well acted and definitely worth the time to watch.
The 12-episode second season of Masters of Sex aired during the summer and fall of 2014. It continues the fictionalized biographical drama of William Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) and their famous sex study. This season is set (mostly) between the years 1958 and 1961. Masters, having been fired from Maternity Hospital, tries to find a place where he and Virginia can continue their work on the sex study. Of course, being in 1950s Missouri, that is not an easy feat, and they end up opening their own clinic. They continue to engage in their very ill-advised affair that was teased at the end of season one, under the guise of being participants in the study. That storyline actually opens up a much larger story arc for Libby (Caitlin FitzGerald), who is being ignored by Bill more and more. We also get insight into Bill's childhood when his mother, played by Ann Dowd, appears partway through the season.
The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc set. The A/V quality continues to be very good, as the series looks and sounds great in HD. There are some special effects to make the show a period piece, but they certainly do not dominate the show. For extras, three different featurettes range in length from 18 to 26 minutes, one focused on the women in the show, one focused on the men, and one focused on the time period in which the show is set and the social issues occurring at the time. Then, there are a handful of deleted scenes. Of course, this is the last season of the show that would be released individually on blu-ray. Seasons three and four were not released in the US at all until a complete series blu-ray set was released after the series ended. So, that is a better pickup than this one and if you did get this when it was originally released, you have to decide whether to double dip.
Overall, the season is very good. Maybe even better than he first. It is a show about sex, but it is not equivalent to the late-night soft-core movies on Showtime or Cinemax. It does not have sex for sex's sake, and it shows how sex can be dark and dysfunctional and not just titillating. The show also deals with issues that are still prevalent in our society today, including race relations, interracial relationships, homosexuality, and more, and how all of those things have been stigmatized, especially when sex is involved. The second season did have some cast turnover with Nicholas D'Agosto having a much-reduced role but Annaleigh Ashford being promoted to a series regular. The season also had a strong recurring and guest cast, including Beu Bridges, Allison Janney, Betsy Brandt, Keke Palmer, Sarah Silverman, René Auberjonois, Christian Borle, and Courtney B. Vance.
If you liked the first season, you will probably like this one. If you have not seen the show yet, it is based on true events but definitely fictionalized. So, you are not getting a historically accurate documentary. It is well written and very well acted and definitely worth the time to watch.
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