What happens when you take College students and throw them into a avant-garde professor's human sexuality course at a prominent NYC University? That's what this program hoped to find out.
The year was 2006. Jake Macklin (Matthew Modine) professor at the prestigious (and fictional) Bedford University is running a very different kind of learning experience for his students. His seminar is designed to make them consider life through the lens of their sexual interests. A core question that must be faced is the difference between sex and love, one of many earth shaking and heartrending issues these people must face, head on.
Macklin requires his students to make video diary entries about their observations, their experiences and their understanding of human sexuality, based on the empirical knowledge they acquired. And they all have their own takes on each issue.
Notable here is Richard Thorne, played by Milo Ventimiglia in his first starring role in a series, and he proves why he quickly started getting booked for more, one of the most standout performances of the ensemble, both in believability and vulnerability.
Likewise, Penn Badgley, also makes an impression (though not nearly as good as one we'll eventually get to on this list of Notable Shows set in New York City - his previous role on "Gossip Girl"). Here, he played a frosh trying to learn as much as he can about sex from as many women willing to teach him.
Of course, this seminar is not without its controversies, as Macklin is seen as a questionable character on the faculty and his methodology of teaching is likewise viewed as contentious. Just what's going on in this course, what are the specific assignments and how are these students getting graded?
Part of the show's problem is in not getting into the bare bones of the relationships and hanging too much on these video diary entries, where the discussion about what the students have observed or participated in get revealed. But then again, this isn't HBO, Showtime or Cinemax, where showing, not telling could have been an option for some of these scenarios. You couldn't get that racy on broadcast television.
New York plays a part because it's still a City of Sin, even after Times Square excised the porn of X Rated Theaters to turn it into a family friendly playground. The sheer numbers of people out there meant that the next "learning experience" was just around the corner.
Perhaps the most notable thing about this series is that it was the final new show to debut on The Dubba, Dubba, Dubba You Bee. The following year, they merged with that other foundering network, UPN to create The CW, sending The WB's mascot, Michigan J. Frog, back to his quiet and retired life, much like the professor and his students at Bedford disappeared, as well.
