“Masters of Sex†is one of my favorite series currently airing on television which curious viewers can expect great writing, wonderful acting in each of the 12 sexually-charged episodes that are absolutely captivating! I’m really enjoying this series and I can’t wait for season three! “Masters of Sex: Season Two†is highly recommended!
TITLE: Masters of Sex: Season Two
FILM RELEASE: 2014
DURATION: 12 Episodes total (699 Minutes)
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1), English, French, 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RATED: Not Rated
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Directed by Michael Apted, Michael Dinner, Jennifer Getzinger, Jeremy Webb, Phil Abraham, Adam Davidson, Tim Fywell, Lesli Linka Glatter, John Madden, Lawrence Trilling, Michael Engler
Written by Michelle Ashford, Tyler Bensinger, Michael Cunningham, Bathsheba Doran, Lynnie Greene, Richard Levine, Amy Lippman, Thomas Maeier, Sam Shaw, Noelle Valdivia
Executive Producer: Michelle Ashford, Amy Lippman, John Madden, Sarah Timberman, Judith Verno
Produced by Thomas Maier, Michael Sheen, Gregory Prange
Co-Producer: Christopher Goode, Valerie Joseph
Associate Producer: Aaron Klemanski, Chris Leanza
Music by Michael Penn
Cinematography by Michael Weaver, Tim Bellen, Ben Davis
Edited by Fabien Bouville, Jordan Goldman, Blake Maniquis, Robert Frrazen
Casting by Bernard Telsey, Risa Bramon Garcia, Tiffany Little Canfield, Libby Goldstein, Junie Lowry-Johnson
Production Design by Michael Wylie, Andrew Jackness
Art Direction by Elizabeth Hershberger Gray, Kevin Rupnik
Set Decoration by Halina Siwolop, Ellen Christiansen
Costume Design by Ane Crabtree, Caroline Duncan
Starring:
Michael Sheen as Dr. William Masters
Lizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson
Caitlin FitzGerald as Libby Masters
Teddy Sears as Dr. Austin Langham
Nicholas D’Agosto as Dr. Ethan Haas
Helene Yorke as Jane Martin
Beau Bridges as Barton Scully
Cole Sand as Henry Johnson
Julianne Nicholson as Dr. Lillian DePaul
Rose McIver as Vivian Scully
Allison Janney as Margaret Scully
Kayla Madison as Tessa Johnson
Annaeleigh Ashford as Betty DiMello
Having been dismissed by Maternity Hospital, Dr. William Masters (Michael Sheen) needs a place where he and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) can resume their work. But thanks to their study’s controversial topic – sex – they are forced out of two more hospitals before deciding to open their own clinic. With the seeds of the sexual revolution being sown and the simmering civil rights movement exploding around them, the intimate relationship they started under the guise of their research unravels as the result of Masters’ sudden impotence. With the prospect of treating sexual dysfunction becoming increasingly important to their patients and themselves, at home Masters confronts his wife’s growing disaffection and the unexpected return of his estranged brother, while Johnson faces a crisis of her own when the publicity surrounding their work places the custody of her two children in doubt.
With the second season of “Masters of Sex”, Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson must find a new location to conduct their work.
But because of the controversial nature of their research and the lack of support, the two decide to open their own clinic.
Meanwhile, the era also features the Civil Rights movement, Masters must deal with his impotence and Johnson faces a crisis as she tries to gain custody of her two children.
Find out how life bodes for Masters and Johnson in the second season of “Masters of Sex” available on Blu-ray and DVD.
What is “Masters of Sex” about?
Based on Thomas Maier’s biography “Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Loveâ€, Showtime’s “Masters of Sexâ€, an American television drama series based on the real studies of Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson, has received positive reviews from critics and also viewers.
With a third season about to air, the second season featuring episodes 13-24, will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in May 2015 courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
For those not familiar with Masters and Johnson, Masters is an American gynecologist who wrote pioneering research alongside Virginia E. Johnson about the nature of human sexual response and the diagnose and treatment of sexual dysfunction.
Studies back in the 1950’s about orgasms, studies about the differences of penis sizes and how it affects a woman in sex, how the vaginal muscles contract during sex, vaginal lubrication and more.
As one could imagine, Masters and Johnson’s studies were ahead of its time because such studies were seen as pornographic and lewd but since then, these studies were seen as groundbreaking and what the two were able to accomplish would not be approved by any hospital or funded by any hospital today, so these studies were significant in the fact that William Masters was able to view hundreds of sessions of people having sex for the sake of science.
But of course, there is more to the story about Masters and Johnson, considering the two worked closely together, had sex together for scientific research, the two would eventually marry each other until their divorce decades later.
And the lives of William Masters and Virginia E. Johnson became the focus on the Showtime drama series “Masters of Sex†which stars Michael Sheen (“Midnight in Parisâ€, “Kingdom of Heavenâ€, “Underworldâ€), Lizzy Caplan (“Mean Girlsâ€, “Cloverfieldâ€, “127 Hoursâ€), Caitlin Fitzgerald (“It’s Complicatedâ€, “Damsels in Distressâ€, “Mutual Friendsâ€), Nicholas D’Agosto (“Final Destination 5″, “Electionâ€), Teddy Sears (“A Single Manâ€, “The Client Listâ€), Beau Bridges (“The Descendants,â€, “Max Payneâ€, “The Fabulous Baker Boysâ€) and Allison Janney (“The West Wingâ€, “American Beautyâ€, “Junoâ€).
“Masters of Sex†revolves around Dr. William H. Masters (portrayed by Michael Sheen), a successful gynecologist who has been conducting research on sex. Knowing that his boss, Provost Barton Scully (potrayed by Beau Bridges) may not agree to fund his research if he found out that it had to do with sex, Masters continues his study but because he’s not a sexual person, he needs someone to give him a female perspective but also someone social enough to bring more participants for his study.
Dr. Masters is married to Libby Masters (portrayed by Caitlin Fitzgerald), a woman who is unable to get pregnant. He often is the mentor to a young Dr. Ethan Haas (portrayed by Nicholas D’Agosto) who has fallen for an employee named Virginia E. Johnson (portrayed by Lizzy Caplan).
Dr. Masters hires Virginia E. Johnson, a single mother of two children who feels that working as the assistant to Dr. Masters will lead to something bigger for her.
And eventually, Dr. Masters feels that Virginia is the woman he needs in order to comprehend his research. Virginia is able to find more women (prostitutes) to become part of the study, having her best friend also participate in the studies and quickly, the two are able to uncover data and disprove a lot of sexual theories.
But they need to continue their research by taking chances and finding a way to get more data.
And when Dr. Masters needs more data, that are not from prostitutes, what happens when he and Johnson start getting involved in the sexual studies. And now their work is interfering with their personal lives but also receiving a lot of controversy with those in the medical community.
Which leads us to season two of “Masters of Sex”. Here is a basic spoilerless summary of each episode in season two:
- EPISODE 13: Parallax – Masters must deal with the ramifications after being fired from the hospital. Virginia must deal with the aftermath.
- EPISODE 14: Kyrie Eleison – Johnson gets a new job at a hospital and takes in a teenage patient.
- EPISODE 15: Fight – Virigina learns about Masters’ troubled childhood.
- EPISODE 16: Dirty Jobs – Masters tries to bring Johnson aboard as his new assistant.
- EPISODE 17: Giants – Masters continues his study as the only Caucasian physician at the hospital he is working at.
- EPISODE 18: Blackbird – Hendricks bans Masters from using Black participants in his study.
- EPISODE 19: Asterion – Why has Masters become impotent?
- EPISODE 20: Mirror, Mirror – Masters must treat a couple for infertility. Libby witnesses a hate crime.
- EPISODE 21: Story of My Life – Barbara receives her diagnosis and all is not good.
- EPISODE 22: Below the Belt – Johnson tries to find a cure for Masters’ impotency.
- EPISODE 23: One for the Money, Two for the Show – A television crew arrives to document Masters and Johnson’s work.
- EPISODE 24: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised – Masters and Johnson’s results of their studies are made available to the world.
VIDEO:
“Masters of Sex: Season Two†is presented in 1080p High Definition, 1:78:1 aspect ratio. The color is well-saturated, detail very good on closeups, and skintones look natural.
I didn’t notice any artifacts or banding issues during my viewing of the film. If anything, picture quality look very good on HD!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Masters of Sex: Season Two” is presented in English and French 5.1 DTS-HD MA. Lossless Audio is primarily dialogue and is crystal clear via the front and center channels. Don’t expect a surround channel-driven soundtrack as this series is dialogue-driven. But overall, dialogue is crystal clear.
Subtitles are in English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“Masters of Sex: Season Two” comes with the following special features:
- The Women of Sex – (20:04) A discussion featurette with Alana Adye, showrunner Michelle Ashford, Betsy Brandt, Ane Crabtree and Sarah Timberman discuss working on the series.
- The History of Sex – (17:48) A featurette with writer showrunner Michelle Ashford and the cast talk about the delicate balance of utilizing sex in the series, the characters and showcasing that era in time.
- The Men of Sex – (26:20) A discussion featurette with Michael Sheen, Beau Bridges, Jocko Sims, Kevin Christy, Teddy Sears talk about filming at various locations and working on the series.
- Deleted Scenes – To play deleted scenes, you must select an episode and then click on Deleted Scenes.
EXTRAS:
“Masters of Sex: Season Two” comes with a slipcover plus an UltraViolet code.
Captivating, smart and sexually-charged, “Masters of Sex†is an addictive series that makes you want more and more!
Who would of thought that a series based on the two researchers who observed sexual pattens and recorded every intricate detail would be so entertaining and titillating.
From the very first episode, watching as the stale Dr. William Masters being teamed up with the very sexually and independent Virginia E. Johnson was intriguing thanks to the commanding performances by Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan. While googling an image of the real life researchers shows a much older Dr. Masters compared to his young assistant at the time, “Masters of Sex†is much more stylish and how each character is integrated in the series is rather fun as the chemistry between Masters and Johnson literally emits sexual tension to the nth degree.
With the second season, while the stories were not subdued, there are different situations that come to play now that Masters works at an all Black hospital and is essentially given another chance. But he also must deal with the fact that he may be impotent. The series also incorporates more of Libby but also the Civil Rights period as hate crimes are taking place.
So, it’s a different type of situations for both Masters and Johnson. The sex is still there but there is a lot of focus on the actual work Masters and Johnson are involved in but a lot of focus this season was working at a new hospital, Masters and Johnson trying to develop whatever they have despite Masters being married and Johnson having other liaisons.
And aside from the character-driven storylines, the actual research is also showcased as viewers can only be amused of how Masters and Johnson are able to record their data and how far both individuals would go.
The last season was a bit more of shocking and bold but the writers played more to the era, the civil rights era and brought in more characters and multiple situations involving Masters, Johnson, Libby and others.
As for the Blu-ray release, “Masters of Sex: Season Two” looks fantastic in HD. Having only watched the first season on DVD, the detail of the series is evident, especially on close-ups. Picture quality for the most part is good.
Overall, “Masters of Sex†is one of my favorite series currently airing on television which curious viewers can expect great writing, wonderful acting in each of the 12 sexually-charged episodes that are absolutely captivating! I’m really enjoying this series and I can’t wait for season three!
“Masters of Sex: Season Two†is highly recommended!
