This is a review of the pilot only, and I think that it can be a worthy review because of that - the point of any pilot is to make you want to watch the rest of the series, and in that this pilot failed rather badly.
And that is a shame, considering that the show is filled with potential. It's about time that a frank, European-style depiction of sex appeared on North American television, and it is even a breath of fresh air. And, from the beginning, the show gives the sense that there are immense depths for it to explore. Unfortunately, while the concept is very good, it is in the execution that the show fails.
The greatest weakness is in character development. The characters simply aren't developed beyond their genitalia, or more specifically, their problems regarding said genitalia. By the end of the first hour, in the three main couples, I only knew what two people did for a living, and the show only gives you the occasional flash that these characters have any sort of life beyond their sex (or lack thereof). The only subplot of the pilot was about a 10 year old girl getting a period - so even the kids are defined by their genitalia.
And, ultimately, at the end of the episode I couldn't care less about what happened to any of these people. A realistic depiction of relationship problems is a good thing, but you have to have some emotional investment in the characters for said depiction to actually be meaningful, and the show just doesn't show you enough to allow for that. We are introduced to these characters through their problems, we see their problems throughout, but we never explore any of the good things in their lives, or the interaction between the positive and negatives in said lives. With character development that poor, it renders what could be a wonderfully deep series very shallow indeed.
And that is a shame, considering that the show is filled with potential. It's about time that a frank, European-style depiction of sex appeared on North American television, and it is even a breath of fresh air. And, from the beginning, the show gives the sense that there are immense depths for it to explore. Unfortunately, while the concept is very good, it is in the execution that the show fails.
The greatest weakness is in character development. The characters simply aren't developed beyond their genitalia, or more specifically, their problems regarding said genitalia. By the end of the first hour, in the three main couples, I only knew what two people did for a living, and the show only gives you the occasional flash that these characters have any sort of life beyond their sex (or lack thereof). The only subplot of the pilot was about a 10 year old girl getting a period - so even the kids are defined by their genitalia.
And, ultimately, at the end of the episode I couldn't care less about what happened to any of these people. A realistic depiction of relationship problems is a good thing, but you have to have some emotional investment in the characters for said depiction to actually be meaningful, and the show just doesn't show you enough to allow for that. We are introduced to these characters through their problems, we see their problems throughout, but we never explore any of the good things in their lives, or the interaction between the positive and negatives in said lives. With character development that poor, it renders what could be a wonderfully deep series very shallow indeed.