In New Zealand, you more than likely know the friends or family of an actor in question (that is if you don't know them directly). Does that make fancying them even more wrong?

It certainly makes it *feel* wrong.

The wrongness of Loretta fancying was also addressed overtly if I recall. And check the mo.

most of us make decisions about whether or not we'd like to sleep with someone after that person has moved or spoken.

Oh yes. A good gait or gravelly purr works wonders. And (striking generalisation) women have been known to pay attention to body language that signals social rank and…

I am not disputing that, in any way. Jethro would be a cruel, selfish bastard.

And yet....

Maybe part of the appeal of the women in Bones (right with ya there, btw) is that their characters are also really, really smart?

Yup. I'll broaden that to really talented, which is something I find engaging and attractive. I find people who have and use talent much more attractive…

More? Pish.

I think Van would be much the more attentive lover.

I <3 you Russell.

And Emma, also a yes here to Loretta.

I also fancy Loretta.

As would I, if it didn't seem so wrong.

I think Van would be much the more attentive lover.

I am not disputing that, in any way. Jethro would be a cruel, selfish bastard. I also fancy Loretta.

evo psych as if it's the Sacred Truth on sexual behaviour

Secondhand story, but I believe it was someone who taught philosphy of science had a favourite hypothetical example:

Why do women orgasm less than men? Someone has to stay up and watch for predators...

I can even get this slightly back on topic. I fancy Jethro, but not Van. Same facial features, proportions, same genes...

I think Van would be much the more attentive lover.

Heterosexual men are typically attracted to several basic features in women most of which can be directly linked to reproductive success (hips, breasts, youth, fitness).

Woah there. Maybe part of the appeal of the women in Bones (right with ya there, btw) is that their characters are also really, really…

'GRARGHevolutionarybiologyevolutionarypsychologySTABBY!'

Whereas I like your version much better Danielle :).

This stuff fascinates me precisely because of the really wonderful mix of things that go into deciding whether or not they "wouldn't kick out of bed".

The reality is that biology plays a part but it by no means is…

That suggests that attractiveness is far more complex than basic evolutionary biology would suggest.

Thank GOD you said this, because I started writing a post three times and became entirely too tired to finish it. The basic gist was 'GRARGHevolutionarybiologyevolutionarypsychologySTABBY!', so yours put it much better.

Can't be doing with pretty boys.

Which means Jackie and I can divide up and pursue different men instead of wasting energy competing for the same ones.

A theory only slightly dampened by John Barrowman's extreme gayness.

I can even get this slightly back on topic. I fancy Jethro, but…

And yes of course there is a broad spectrum and outliers.

'Outliers' suggests a scenario where most people agree about who is attractive, and a few people disagree. But as Megan says, you have to actually work quite hard to find a person that most members of the requisite gender/sexual…

Four heterosexual women of similar age, and we are yet to find one we all think is incredibly attractive. (Apparently one of them just doesn't get the Kahui thing.)

We've found a lot…

Everyone finds different things attractive, don't they?

OK a very PC answer and sure I agree to a point.

BUT

Heterosexual men are typically attracted to several basic features in women most of which can be directly linked to reproductive success (hips, breasts, youth, fitness). Similarly with heterosexual women although…

Everyone finds different things attractive, don't they?

Yes indeedy. While I'm not the only bisexual woman I know whose long-term relationship operates under an Angelina Exception, you could survey both groups and get some average data, but the variation inside the groups would be so big it'd be difficult to…

Are bisexual women attracted to the same women to which heterosexual men are attracted?

People are people. Most people are attracted to at least some other people. The type of people who people are attracted to varies from person to person.

Which is to say: there isn't a single type…

...and none of the women?

OK since this is about the only place I can ask the question...

Are bisexual women attracted to the same women to which heterosexual men are attracted?

I know I can't remotely predict which men women find attractive and frequently find myself saying "you like…

Hart Hanson? The guy who made a character bisexual, then three episodes later forgot and had her panting after every guy in the place and none of the women?

Oh yes... the Year of The Has-bian. :)

A sitcom is necessarily different from a drama that has some light relief. I haven't seen that particular episode of BBT…

But isn't that the art of comedy?

Sure, but I also understand why folks like Bill Prady and Bones creator Hart Hanson just don't view the autistic spectrum as a laughing matter — and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I think it was Hanson who said that if he…

Put the label of Asperger's on her, and would the reading inevitably become open to something more distasteful...

But isn't that the art of comedy? To me the very best, most enjoyable comedy is that which exposes what it is to be human, in its sometimes embarrassing detail. And surely…

We were in fits over the most recent ep to screen here — where Leonard's mother comes to visit and totally bonds with Sheldon — because it's like one long Asperger's joke.

Though its quite understandable how actor Jim Parsons and the producers of the show get rather twitchy at…

Now, talking about realistic lesbo scenes, Bound still wins for…

Actually I've got a slightly legitimate reason for a greater-than-can-be-usually-mentioned-in-polite-company knowledge of porn – my day-job is blocking spam, and I've had to read an awful lot of it. I've also had to experiment with visual classifiers, which does involve having a 'corpus' of data.

Speaking of which: Hart's Law…

Brilliant!

Leonard Nimoy's DNA. I squeed so bad.

Also, know what Leonard (not Nimoy) sleeps in after sex? There's a t-shirt. And some boxers... Does nobody sleep naked in the States?

We were in fits over the most recent ep to screen here — where Leonard's mother comes to visit and totally bonds with Sheldon

...and the ep where Sheldon attempts to understand the etiquette of gift-giving. Brilliant!

What is everyone else supposed to be seeing in it?

We loved it, which is unsurprising given how many 'the physics are stupid in X fantasy series' discussions I've sat through (alright, led).

Since it's been on TV we've been watching it with our kids, and our nearly-14 yo son…

It perpetually amazes me that The Big Bang Theory has enough of an audience to survive. Seems like it's directly targeted at me and my bestest friends. What is everyone else supposed to be seeing in it?

My darling and I also have that feeling that it's made just for…

No, but they're so horribly put upon by the non-penis bearing half of the human race.

We must be watching a different show. I don't think either gender comes across in a particularly well-rounded light.

Of course, Two and A Half Men is based primarily on malice but it is such well-written and well-delivered malice...

So is Fawlty Towers — and Sybil Fawlty may well have been the mother of all untameable shrews but 1) who wouldn't be driven insane by Basil, and 2) there…

i think they are showing everything from the very beginning starting next Tuesday.

Actually they start repeating Outrageous Fortune tonight at 9.30pm on tv3.

I presume it's right from the first episode, though they showed that series last year. Its hit-the-ground-running greatness fair blew me away at the time.

Are there numbers somewhere for this?

Oops, you're right. I'd searched the internet but unfortunately came back with a sample of well rated OF episodes and badly rated international rugby.

Here are some more comprehensive numbers, giving 6 international rugby matches an average of 479.4k, and 10 OF episodes an…

* which claim to measure "Presence in a room where a television set is on' in a sample of 500…

To tie this into another recent discussion: OF gets higher ratings than rugby. Admittedly being free-to-air helps.

Are there numbers somewhere for this? Because I'm slightly surprised. Single sports events tend to do very well. Usually in prime time, usually on a weekend etc. So is that on average, or…

Are there any nuanced male characters in it, for that matter?

No, but they're so horribly put upon by the non-penis bearing half of the human race. Sex may well make fools of us all, but there's the merest hint of a possibility men have something to do with their…

Although: rule 34. Does that work for TV?

I'm not sure anyone has written the rules of New Zealand television. Well, the BSA, but they don't count for our purposes.

It perpetually amazes me that The Big Bang Theory has enough of an audience to survive. Seems like it's directly targeted at me and my bestest friends. What is everyone else supposed to be seeing in it?

Its a pretty traditional — if very well-cast and executed — sitcom (social…

Are you guys telling me that there is a Game show on TV with sex scenes?

As far as I can tell....no?

(Although: rule 34. Does that work for TV?)

I think all good TV now must be targeted at some sort of geek market.

It perpetually amazes me that The Big Bang Theory has enough of an audience to survive. Seems like it's directly targeted at me and my bestest friends. What is everyone else supposed to be seeing…

Fortunately this year my 7th form geo class would give a WTF?! response to most character behaviour.

Personally I'd date Pascalle though. Just don't tell my kids.

So, this means I'm not the only person with a list of OF characters in order of bonkability? (Basically, you just make a list in order of niceness, and then tip it upside down.)

I work on stupidity, and no inversion necessary — but I'll spare everyone the epic over…

Quite happy to just re-adjust to the local screening schedule though.

Unlike True Blood, where a certain person in the house had to see it as soon as humanly possible. Or, I suppose, non-humanly possible ...

Just watched ep 1 of HBO's [[http://goldkicks.blogspot.com/2009/09/hbos-bored-to-death.html|Bored…

I'm deriving a certain amount of wry amusment from your willingness to (ahem) 'let it all hang out' vis-a-vis your knowledge of porn, and the contrast with your reaction to something as anodyne as 'two-and-a-half men' (ugh! disgusting! of course I never watch that crap!)

I did it just for…

It's coming soon to TV3, Danielle. PASS

And can I just reccommend that everyone watches it, because it is AWESOME. (And, for some weird reason, doing double-duty as a rest home for secondary characters from Heroes.)

if I happened to be bisexually inclined...

That's, what, 65°?

True Blood....Jason Stackhouse wanders into shot ballocks naked

We just chewed our way through the first series in a couple of weekends (Must....have! More......box sets! Graaaagh!! The Hunger!!!)

Am I alone in being more than a little disturbed by the scene with him and the Laura Bush mask? :)

I'll…

if I happened to be bisexually inclined...

Don't let me get in your way, I'll be…

But, damn it, if I happened to be bisexually inclined there is no way I'd kick Robyn Malcolm and Kirk Torrance out of bed if they were offering.

There's a number of older single women teachers at school who would quite happily have Judd/Torrance's shoes under their bed.

Then I went to visit a certain friend who was recovering after a major operation and was subjected to a Whole Episode.

So now, I have how many series to catch…

My wife and I have this conversation regularly. The room that, for example, HBO shows get to 'breathe' and develop compared to network shows is quite noticable.

But how about True Blood? That show is so awesomely, multi-levelled stupid its brilliant. And the moment the guy who plays Jason Stackhouse…

Not to mention The L Word

Um, good call... If you're slightly beyond being titilated by the idea of ladies enjoying an occasional helping of muff then 'The L Word' kind of worked as an utterly gonzo soap opera — West Hollywood 90210, if you like or Grey's Clitoris. Not…

The characters talk about sex constantly, but Charlie, the ultimate he-whore, is always shown in bed in a t-shirt, boxers, and sometimes socks.

This is the standard apparel of male porno stars. I don't think the joke is lost on 50% of the audience. I see coded references to hetero…

And I have to admit that I made the decision early on not to watch OF. I can't remember why. I now regret that decision.

i think they are showing everything from the very beginning starting next Tuesday.

or you could pop down to the local library and rent it…

if the [OF] sex scenes are all Emma's making them out to be.

They're often funny, which is also rare in TV sex land.

Do you mean that The L Word has realistic sex scenes?

Realistic? Oh dear no, that is not what I turn to television for. I can…

And I have to admit that I made the decision early on not to watch OF. I can't remember why. I now regret that decision.

Me too. I could invent a reason though. Fortunately, you can rent the earlier seasons on DVD – I'm sorely tempted, if the sex scenes…

Do you mean that The L Word has realistic sex scenes?

Heh, well it deviates from the Standard Sex Scene in one way, which is one way more than most shows do.

But I'm equally happy about the whole Hoochie Mamma philosophy – that you don't have to be angular…

Oh god, have I missed the beginning of that series? FAIL.

It's coming soon to TV3, Danielle. PASS

And I have to admit that I made the decision early on not to watch OF. I can't remember why. I now regret that decision.

. . . gleefully set fire to it like you would a wanker's townhouse.

Excellent, very excellent.
Though you'd probably need to bring your own accelerant as it'd be a bit, you know, soggy.

Glee, of all things

Oh god, have I missed the beginning of that series? FAIL.

The characters talk about sex constantly, but Charlie, the ultimate he-whore, is always shown in bed in a t-shirt, boxers, and sometimes socks.

This is the standard apparel of male porno stars. I don't think the joke is lost on 50% of the audience. I see coded references to hetero…

Not to mention The L Word

Do you mean that The L Word has realistic sex scenes? Not in my queer world. It may be a little more realistic than some shows, but it's still essentially Emma's "one attractive woman and one attractive [wo]man, aged between twenty and forty". It's…

Not to mention The L Word, although I guess that falls under your umbrella of "A couple of U.S. cable-only shows and British gay-specific dramas aside..."

Originally a long rambling paragraph that mentioned The L Word and Queer as Folk by name, then I thought about Torchwood, tried to go…

There's a sex scene (of all things) American Pie that I thought was quite realistic. It was the couple's first time and they awkward and not quite sure what to do and then it was over quickly.

Glee, of all things, has also had a couple of quasi-sex scenes of…

What, you mean with the neck-biting and the blood drinking and the sharp! pointed! teeth! and the 'crawling out of the ground covered in soil' and all that?

Well, they are vampires--and I don't know whether they wear socks.

As Bill and Sookie are an item in 'real life', I…

and sometimes socks.

Business socks?

Would you make an exception for HBO dramas such as Six Foot Under or True Blood?

The most disturbing sex scene in Six Feet Under has no sex or nudity in it at all, just... nuzzling.

Would you make an exception for HBO dramas such as Six Foot Under or True Blood? The sex in the latter is pretty damn spot-on (or so I have been told!)

Yeah, True Blood was one of the cable shows I had in mind there. I wonder if, though, the…

There's a sex scene (of all things) American Pie that I thought was quite realistic. It was the couple's first time and they awkward and not quite sure what to do and then it was over quickly.

I'm still practicing to make sure my first time isn't like that.

The sex in the latter is pretty damn spot-on (or so I have been told!)

What, you mean with the neck-biting and the blood drinking and the sharp! pointed! teeth! and the 'crawling out of the ground covered in soil' and all that?

And I've lost count of the number…

I'm not going to promise, or even ask, that the comment thread be that way. What you read from this point on is your own responsibility.

I'm one of those annoying (and sometime, annoyed) people who doesn't feel they can watch something from halfway, or miss out bits in the…

Ooh, ooh, I know this one! That's sarcasm, isn't it? I've been hearing about that...

Like many people, I am occasionally a little bit sarky. But you say it almost like it's a bad thing :-)

#OF!OF!OF!

I didn't even bother hashtagging, figured *everyone* would know what I was taking about.

I did actually pause last night trying to work out what hash-tag I should be using. The agony of the early adopter...

The poor job TV dramas usually make of portraying sex has always surprised me…

(I, for instance, used to live in a New York apartment at least as nice as the one on Friends.).

The people running the official Outrageous Fortune Twitter account were beside themselves, although I think they may have been drinking.

It would be unprofessional not to frankly.

It was trending No.1 at about 11pm — which resulted in:

(a) People in South America and elsewhere thinking that #outrageous…