Lucid SkinForbidden Science Serves Up Softcore Scifi
Many would be alternately interested and afraid to hear about a science fiction softcore porn series that’s recently appeared on Cinemax: After Dark. Doug Brode’s Forbidden Science wrestles with the impact of cutting-edge technological advances, and illustrates how their discovery and abuse will lead to lots of hot, steamy sex.
The series follows the trysts and trials of the employees and products of 4Ever Innovations, a corporation involved in the design and production of a wide variety of tech tropes, including clones, androids, brain backups and memory manipulation. In between the social commentary and office intrigue, lots of male/female interfacing gets underway, at times with the aforementioned clones and androids.
Sadly for folks looking for actual science fiction naughtiness, clones and androids look alarmingly like normal humans. The kinkiest set piece from the first few episodes features a husband and mistress cheating on — and on top of — a sleeping clone of his dead spouse. Ultimately, the series seems more about strange fetishes than actual science fiction.
There is a serious attempt at dealing with the ramifications of life- and world-altering advances in biomedical science, but there is no new unexplored territory here. Viewers seeking lots of near-explicit carnal capers will be pleased, but those hoping for a lusty version of Better off Ted will want to leave this future for others to explore.
Written by Jeff in March of 2009. Last edited January 2018.
Comments
As this was one of the only negative reviews I got from the press regarding Forbidden Science, I thought I’d take a quick sec to address some of these concerns. First, despite the review being about the series overall, I didn’t get the impression that more than ep.1 (and maybe 2) were even viewed, as A) the ONLY over the top kinky or “fetish” scene was really in the pilot (as described above with sleeping clone). Yes there’s sex throughout, but the tone changes as the stories change, and most aren’t as sadistic as the one in the pilot, which fit that particular story. B) As to, “all of these themes have been dealt with before”, honestly I can’t think of a single series which dealt with cloned organs, clones vs religion, download memory, nano-tech for curing cancer, etc. — all in the same 13 episode story arc…eventually leading up to a finale that reveals that everything over the series was really one long experiment. Don’t get me wrong — yes, the series was low budget, yes it’s erotic, and no I wasn’t reinventing the wheel…but I would like to think that within the boundaries of Cinemax and late night, we did do something that hasn’t ever been attempted before, with strong cinematography and stories. Sometime we succeeded and sometimes we didn’t, but lord knows we tried to be unique with each and every single episode.
Either way, thanks for taking the time to review our little show, all the best — Doug Brode
Hi Doug! To be fair, you’re not far off. I only watched the first four or five episodes. I agree that you tackled a lot of near-future science fiction, but I didn’t ever get the feeling that I was watching “Science Fiction” .. in capital letters.
I’m not in the television biz, so I can’t say what kind of budget you would’ve needed to satisfy my otherworldly urges, but I’m glad that you did try to push the boundaries of reality with what you had!
Hey Jeff, sorry you didn’t make it to some of our best, like episode 6/7: “Property”, or Ep. 10: “Virus”…but, luckily it just so happens that episodes 6,7,8,10 might soon be released on a “Best of Forbidden Science” dvd, WITHOUT any sex! That’s right, the entire series has been re-edited the way we’d originally envisioned the series, and if the “best of” does well, the rest of series will follow soon after. Maybe check it out (hopefully this summer) if you see it in your local blockbuster…or, you can always track down a few of those Cinemax versions instead (for those of you wanting a lil extra with your sci-fi). While 6,7, 8 probably have more “sci-fi” for ya, I’d recommend my personal fave, ep.10 “Virus”, which is a cheesy homage to Lucas, Halloween, and practically every geek movie ever made. Seriously, it should come with a check list of sci-fi love. It might not change your mind about the series, but you’ll certainly get enough of the references to chuckle along I think. ….And yes, never let it be said, that I’m not out there shelling my wares 🙂
By the way, I looked through the site this afternoon, and it’s really well done. Nice job guys! All the best, Doug