Masters of Sex

After watching an early cut of the documentary, Masters is disturbed by the portrayal of his work. Johnson's move to solidify her custody arrangement with George backfires. Finding justification in Masters' distraction, Libby continues her relationship with Robert. Langham discovers Flo's family's wealth and connections, causing him to re-evaluate his relationship with her. And after repeated testing of their protocol to cure impotence, Masters and Johnson feel they are ready to cure sexual dysfunction. MORE -LESS

It's interesting if you look at the progression.

I did?

I did see Henry's last report card.

to acquaint you with fatherhood in these past six months,

This is, uh, it's a small matter really.

A life where I thought there was order to the universe.

There's a consistent skin flush in both subjects

at UCLA, and it turns out he is publishing his work,

Glenn, go and get Mrs. Masters settled by the mimeo.

you first turn the focus entirely away from sex.

Oh, no. That won't be necessary.

In real life, you can't fix bedroom problems

I know. I-I mean just... sleep.

...that they are condemning the United States...

A Dr. Joseph Kaufman, uh, in Urology,

he's just somebody who works in our offices, that's all.

given the court's bias against fathers,

It was, and now... I need to take responsibility for that.

What if that was the reason?

everything you want in this life.

Over the moon.

The other's now working for the new administration,

You run me around like I'm your personal inseminator,

to make it look better to a judge?

Has something happened?

It's, uh...

I'll take that under advisement.

George-- he wanted to put my fitness on trial,

And the terms are very favorable to George.

And his favorite one was named Sweet Lips?

in a controversial, soon-to-be-published book

Bill, no.

Yes, it would have.

because whatever you did, our film is now officially dead.

You would.

I mean, Margaret hasn't left me,

This has got to stop.

I know that I want it.

A television crew arrives at the clinic to document Masters and Johnson's work treating sexual dysfunction. Masters considers the publicity premature, and himself unsuitable as a television presence. Virginia deals with the fallout of having prioritized her work over her parenting when George argues to take their children on a trip with his new wife. Plus, Libby finds in Robert an appreciation for what she has to offer. And Langham realizes there's no way out of his sexual contract with Flo. MORE -LESS

Can we not, uh... analyze it?

- ♪ alouette, je te plumerai ♪ - Listen, if I could, uh,

Roger Corwin came up through the ranks at the network.

What is that on your cheek?

who's also a real family man.

and twice a week later.

I think there may be a couple dozen satisfied ladies out there

Uh, now, try and reformulate the question in your answers.

I have to do something upstairs for my husband.

Okay, now, when you say, uh, "sexual behavior,"

Well, they weren't always married.

Do you have any shots

There weren't any to choose from.

As Henry David Thoreau said,

that the, uh...

Does she tell you to take a message automatically

Oh, yes, of course.

You don't want your man to have a little fun?

We're waiting on a statement from Atlanta.

Last time I tried to explain the work and why it mattered,

Because they've never been on a plane before or to a big city

Who's there?

Well, I'm not gonna let you take me upstairs.

as if they're a couple coming to you for help.

for research purposes only, not as a calling card

- or with the new wife? - No.

Yeah.

I was expe-- expecting to go home with my husband,

This is a station you listen to?

The South Carolina Liberation--

but-- but I understand what the fight is about,

what's it like watching folks go at it all day long?

Y-you heard what I told her. We work together.

No almond cookies for you, Tessie,

We-- we will have Christmas when you're back.

That time you stole those tires.

And your wanting to be good makes you quiet...

and two little ones sleeping down the hall.

Oh, lighten up, Austin.

Maybe I want to be Scarlett for a change of pace.

What are you doing?

Masters learns of a rival study and calls in a public relations expert to help brand his work with Johnson. Virginia, having finally learned of Masters' sexual difficulties, is invigorated by the prospect of finding a cure. Determined to prove her worth to Robert, Libby canvases a tenement for a rent strike. Plus, Langham is stunned when Flo informs him that he has to have sex with her in order to keep his job. And Barbara and Lester connect over their shared sexual dysfunctions. MORE -LESS

I could have my receptionist call him.

which they did, so the lights should go back on shortly.

if I have any questions regarding my own patients?

And I've taken care of you each of those times.

stopped having sex...

I'm broken, and you're the one...

I think if that were true,

I'm happy to start dinner.

but I can see his disapproving looks.

No, you're not.

on the only decent apartment most of them have ever lived in.

- and let him know we are still... - Don't call him.

Ah.

I'd like to see for myself.

on my first look at a retreating cervix.

makes as much sense as anything else.

A rent strike in this building?

Uh...

Lester, Mr. Tally would like to see

Mr. Tally, why don't we continue to the exam room?

starts talking about sex, people are gonna tune out.

It's a minor setback.

before "Mister Magoo."

Double the olive brine, so it's extra dirty.

Uh, but n... n... no matter how...

No, I didn't say that you could move.

Okay. We can begin again.

Well, I... hope that was... good for you.

Make me feel good.

We're about at 30%.

I went to grade school with a guy, Freddy Russo.

Sometimes that cure is worse than the disease.

and he'suntil... he's coming around

I had one Tom Collins, like I have every night.

We are a family with a shared disease, a corrosive disease,

Our drunk dad beat you, and then he beat me.

Maybe the same reason you're a drunk...

Virginia continues to impersonate a patient's case history in order to glean advice from a psychiatrist. Betty and Masters' attempt to remedy Lester's impotence by hiring a prostitute rattles him even further. Libby gets the third degree when she offers her eyewitness testimony regarding the beaten man. And Barbara Sanders wrestles with an unsettling diagnosis that exposes a chain of secrets and causes Masters and Johnson to clash over their treatment strategy. MORE -LESS

Those are difficult things you're speaking of--

but I have.

Start there.

I could never get either one of them to eat fish,

I don't recall ever seeing her drink.

No.

Why don't you take your dress off? Come over here.

I see.

Oh, yes, very flexible. Gymnastics as a kid.

As a subject.

like Wilbur Wright flying over the heads of the doubting French at Le Mans.

It was a distressing sight, wasn't it?

It would be very helpful, Mrs. Masters,

Uh, Virginia has explained to you the importance

Okay, so what we're gonna do today is, uh,

Yes, the half we can do something about.

Mrs. Masters? I mean, you had to make

Well, then, why did that lawyer-- Mr. Gabler-- ask me?

I'm not good enough for you?

You were both very patient.

But he lives in Chesterfield.

Did he make you go back?

It's your birthday in March.

Um, that's a very lovely blouse.

Because it turns out... I'm good at everything.

I'm very grateful to be here tonight.

I could be sitting at the dinner table and my dad

until my sobriety allowed me this, uh...

as he drove into the distance until...

as quickly as possible, Barbara.

I was afraid of her finding out something that I'd done,

I never saw myself as a threat to the man's wife.

And he said, "Actually, Leona, I'm here for Pauline."

A new car, a new house, a new medical partnership.

I didn't wanna make waves, didn't ever wanna upset anyone.

We met.

That's absurd, Barb.

Barb, these things are complicated.

Where's she touching me?

So many subjects have come through your door.

How you just... walked into his office without any experience

to a bait-and-switch.

me he made walk home in the rain,

You tunneled under the wall. I went over it. We both escaped!

to do what it is we've done here in this room?

Masters privately treats a couple for infertility, without revealing his relationship to them. Johnson realizes her work with Masters can be used to help people suffering from sexual dysfunction - but quickly gets in over her head when she attempts to treat Barbara Sanderson on her own. Libby is unnerved after witnessing a hate crime that is then whitewashed by the police. MORE -LESS

but after all my years of bachelorhood debauchery,

That's nearly a third of all applicants.

Well, what brings you in today, Miss Packer?

You?

others will follow.

Well, impotence has

"My dad had a long, happy life.

Well, I know Campbell's is good.

I don't know.

I, uh, tried to find a...

Are there any questions?

Sorry. I got stuck with a patient.

We called it 'punch for suckers'.

New fertility patients. I saw them this morning.

Ah.

Leaking again.

shoeboxes full of them.

at one of those hellfire and brimstone churches.

Mary got pregnant at 14.

these... sorts of things every day.

No.

outside of Washington University.

I feel like a teenager smoking in the girls' room.

Normal is...?

one of the leading lights in the country in fertility.

The few white witnesses won't talk,

Or I... I... I don't know.

clearly, they were considerable.

I remembered his name.

Just to try it.

God knew what we had done,

in the office, in a controlled environment.

In the meantime...

My spokesman croaked.

to the new face of women's nutrition...

to discuss your own role in the study.

The work we're doing here, it's changing.

And Mrs. Johnson works with Bill,

In fact, we're the... the opposite of political men.

who saw the man being thrown out of a truck.

there was a creek that ran behind my house.

In the wake of Masters' discovery that Johnson has continued to have romantic relationships with other men, he becomes impotent without her knowledge and cuts off their sexual work together. He tries to keep his new clinic solvent over the course of three years by borrowing against his house, offering medical services to the hotel - and finally accepting money from his mother. MORE -LESS

is ambitious at this point.

and we had steak three nights a week and heat in the winter.

and you can show things you've never shown anyone,

For every care, a perfect future.

Careful with her mitts, Shel.

Yeah.

You know what that entails, Lib.

like two cats in a bag?"

In fact, we have a saying at Walcohl bank

Beginning at...

Bill, please.

who parades through their lives while the mother they do have

And by modeling agency,

is the story of real life.

we will not have to sell the house.

I have always provided the roof!

# For he's a jolly good fellow #

# Our eyes meet #

Usually in an exam room, occasionally in a hotel.

and the new clinic and the new baby,

"I am sorry.

comes with a lot of girls on their feet

Background b-roll... various subjects part 6.

and yet you focus on other men while you yourself are married?

Just show me enough compassion to allow me that.

- Oh, okay! - Okay.

I will find your breasts with my lips,

It was there this morning,

You know, I've been thinking, "Holy cow.

Empty, you know.

It couldn't.

Well, I was wondering if, uh...

she had her first baby delivered by a Dr. Masters.

want to become a participant in our study?

Um, Barbara, I thought that you and Dr. Greathouse,

"that we will never know about

I've always wanted to go to Paris... and Morocco.

After Hendricks bans Masters from using black participants in his study, Masters contacts a journalist to promote his efforts, using the debunking of sexual stereotypes as the lure. Johnson is forced to accept DePaul's choice to end her chemotherapy treatments. Gene uncovers the truth about Betty and Helen's relationship. Libby fires Coral after discovering she lied about Robert. MORE -LESS

I do have reduced cognitive function.

Oh, you don't recognize me because...

I wonder if different ways of being intimate would produce...

They know exactly what is expected of him or her and why.

We just won't do it by burning my hospital to the ground.

And I want you to know I appreciate all this.

that's enough for me.

Oh, I'm just I don't know.

Dr. franklin's patients sit on that side of the waiting room.

I can stay a little longer.

that the two of us can't see each other all the time.

Jim crow would certainly feel at home

The portrayal of black women as oversexed and immoral

It'll be harder to express your thoughts, to think clearly.

I'm done, virginia, with treatment.

Lillian.

I'm always telling al he needs to be more spontaneous.

Uh...

Always keep that wall up.

I can't have him coming to the house.

wondering why I suddenly went paralyzed.

So, the sickly child became prometheus,

on the negro community here at buell green.

I know. al, I'm sorry.

But helen and betty...

I could, uh...

since arriving at buell green,

for the mere perception of sexual aggression,

I've got 25 years of a sterling reputation.

Betty.

I'm just a woman who...

But I will... i cannot sell myself this cheap.

No one's ever been in love with me, though.

And so tall and beautiful

What are you doing?

I don't know what coral told you,

I can't work, uh, in a hospital anymore.

Masters continues to break new ground by continuing his study as the only white physician in a Negro hospital but at the cost of his gynecology practice. Libby is confronted by Coral's boyfriend, Robert, over her poor treatment of Coral, Betty reunites with her former lover, and Johnson struggles to right her relationship with DePaul - who is newly aware of Johnson's ongoing affair with Masters. MORE -LESS

Look again. It's not what you think.

How about the study?

N... not if it's...

And the dedicated exam room I'd requested.

to bringing the staff along in that area.

those...

to have waited for a job that you earned,

to drop off these reports.

You never told me that you had a friend that could...

Uh, human resources drew up a contract

We've been at this a while now.

Yes, I suppose so.

Thinks that little one walks on water.

The right th... the right thing for you.

We'll schedule regular capping sessions.

No.

And he's... he's real soft...

As opposed to what?

A little.

Every vendor at the track knows her by name...

Apologize to her! Tell her you're sorry!

Uh...

I didn't do anything wrong.

- No. - Gary Cooper.

I heard there was a horse

Hello?

Can we sit?

I am scared, though, for what's ahead.

you did it out of concern for Coral

and we have the study to focus on.

You were the cold lake,

Langham observes Masters and Johnson exiting a hotel room and shares his suspicions with DePaul, who is forced to make plans for her work without Virginia's involvement. Meanwhile, Betty attempts to conceal her infertility from Gene; and Masters tries to bring Johnson aboard as his assistant only to be thwarted by the head of the hospital, who takes a prurient interest in Masters' study. MORE -LESS

- You chose me instead. - I chose the work.

Oh, goodbye, Silky.

It's a mess, but it's all there--

but it's fine for me to play secretary in my free time.

I started calling you Dr. Lipschitz.

That helps Bill at work as well as at home.

after Dr. Papanikolau, after all.

But what would I tell my husband?

Things aren't always what they seem, are they?

to go back to typing memos?"

We can't exactly discuss sex research at my house

He'd probably bring a journal on uterine fibroids to read

Oh, well... my mama passed when I was 10, and...

I don't want to get good at this.

I just asked for the check.

I'll, uh, take out the diaper pail.

Barbara, what is it?!

I never said that they did.

Well, it's cruel.

I think it's only right that, uh, you dispose of this, Betty.

Well, Dr. DePaul would never say this,

Yes. You are right about that.

Steady on, pal.

I didn't even know that water polo was a sport,

Virginia, God bless her,

Good morning.

I'll go get him.

It was a shortcut. That's all.

and you will not be welcome back.

To get your hair redone. It's my treat.

Once I give you the program,

experiencing certain uninvited erotic sensations.

Slight generalized vasocongestion

And you have grossly misjudged me if you think

What do you mean?

Loraine. Virginia Johnson.

wonders why her husband doesn't look at her

I'm in major need of advice, Bill.

being in the food business.

So I thought, you know...

I will admit it's an acquired taste.

All I'm saying is whatever this is you have with Virginia,

Why do I have to hear everything

Masters delivers a baby with ambiguous genitalia and urges the parents not to surgically assign the child a sex out of fear or convenience. Meeting Virginia at a hotel for a secret rendezvous, the two of them divide their attention between sexual role-play and a championship boxing match, prompting Virginia to unearth the truth of Masters'' troubled childhood. MORE -LESS

I don't know what "invetible" means.

to see on the boardwalk in Atlantic City?

Let me tell you how this is gonna go, Mr. Bombeck.

It's only the first round.

Make note of it.

It's rare, but it happens.

for the sake of expedience

Male like that.

people rooting against him.

I don't know.

How's her mother doing, if I may ask?

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

hoping to make her right with the Lord.

do not have a name.

That doesn't exactly qualify us for the cover

there were others.

All those girls on the army bases looking for husbands.

Never even mentioned another woman's name

But play it safe.

When he keeps his gloves down like that?

see how far my fist has to travel through space,

All right, like this, right?

Do you... do you have nail shears in your purse?

Well, then, it was an unfair fight.

steaming towels on our faces.

Or ever.

Beg me.

that you can take it and not run.

reached for a second helping before he did.

Oh, I-I could have stopped it.

in a way a novice like me can't understand.

And tell Henry I love him.

We don't need any of that fuss.

What'd I miss?

Bakelite.

Has he taken a bottle yet?

Masters begins a new job at Memorial Hospital under Betty's extortion terms only to discover that his boss insists he leave Virginia behind in favor of a handpicked secretary. Meanwhile, Johnson is torn between pressing Masters to rehire her and staying by DePaul's side as her condition worsens.

to see if he would allow me access to the basement,

for you to come over to Memorial for a while.

Who knows how long

And you?

And who's staying with the baby?

on that check my husband wrote.

If it's what I think it is,

And they're not expecting Lauren Bacall.

you need to show that face.

some guy named Sherman, as in the tank apparently.

my respect for the work you and Dr. Masters did

And you took that future and ruined it.

Her bedroom was on the first floor until she was 13.

I want this done, Doug.

Yes, I can see her.

Hello.

to get the words right?

It's true.

Just make sure it's done before my cotillion.

this other part, it's like...

and other nonsense.

all that worried him and hurt him,

Can you imagine?

Because if you don't, I will.

have been labeled deviant, amoral, whores.

But then we modified the device into a movie camera

I mean, everything doesn't have to go into...

want to do it hanging from their ankles off the MacArthur Bridge,

And trust me, they're out there.

Well, that sounds lonely.

we will likely see polio eradicated in our lifetime.

such promise of hope ahead.

My point is, I know these kind of situations,

Mainly so they don't interrupt me with all their roughhousing.

I know what to research now.

For me? Who are they from?

See, my mother had a habit of making me feel real lousy.

Masters deals with the ramifications of his disastrous presentation and being fired from the hospital. Meanwhile, Libby urges Masters to get another job; and Virginia fights off advances and innuendos stemming from the belief that she was the woman in Master's explicit film.

A script telling women like, say, Phyllis here...

Our study did not have a tomb or a king.

You young girls can panic over fat.

Rough day, sir?

There sat his wife, completely unsuspecting.

I didn't have a baby.

most eligible bachelor in the hospital.

And most of all, I would take care of myself.

Now, it could have just as easily been discovered by a Jap.

You know, um, well, Bets and I

There is only a shred of me left that still feels like a woman.

You know that, Virginia.

It's, uh, it's about your study.

I'm going because Tatti Greathouse was kind enough to

Don't be silly. I hit the medicine cabinet.

Oh, no, no, no. Elise.

Your fears are realized.

he made a sizeable donation to the hospital.

and as the man married to Anttila the Hun over there,

I-I was hoping I could see him now?