Ana Stojanovic aka Ana Alexander

Chemistry is a TV series that I am not familiar with. A reader on my last post (yes, I need to update this blog more often, but life’s been busy lately) recommended it, so I thought, why not? I emailed my contact and ordered the series on DVD. Created by Richard Christian Matheson and Norman Steinberg. Chemistry debuted on Cinemax in August 2011 and lasted one season of 13 episodes. It’s described as a dark comedy. The series creators wrote the first episode, and Mark Haber directed it.

The lead characters are Ana Alexander as police officer Liz Campano and Jonathan Chase as corporate lawyer Michael Strathmore. One night, Michael is driving his car alone on a dark road when he gets into an accident, and his car flips over. Liz happens to be driving by in her police car and rushes to help, pulling him from the car; he seems mostly fine, just a little shaken up, and she offers to take him home.

Okay, I’m not a heavy stickler for realism in these shows, but I can’t help assuming this is beyond protocol. I mean, there’s no call for an ambulance or anything, not even any backup police, and he doesn’t have to go to the hospital. Even with Michael’s apparent good health, his car has flipped upside down, and the engine is on fire as he and Liz drive away. It just feels like there would be a different procedure here.

Anyway, Liz takes Michael back to his place and goes inside, where the two of them quickly engage in hot sex on his bed. Liz immediately exhibots a dominante nature and she gets on top of him and rides him and even puts handcuffs. She gives him a blowjob, which he clearly enjoys, and then gets up and sits on his face, forcing him to eat her out.

Yeah, it’s a hot scene.

So this is the basic plot of the series: watching Liz and Michael’s relationship develop. But it won’t be easy. While they are physically drawn to each other, over the course of the episode we learn there are obstacles that will keep things from going smoothly.

Michael’s currently in a relationship with a woman named Jocelyn (Ragan Wallake), who is the daughter of a man named Arthur (Eric Pierpoint), a founding partner at the law firm Michael works for. This doesn’t stop Michael from confiding in his fellow lawyer, Luther (Jeremy Kent Jackson), who doesn’t appear to care about the potential moral issues Michael could face and just wants to hear all the sleazy details.

Liz has recently been put on “probation,” although it’s not clear what that means, as she’s still working in uniform, for police brutality, and appears reluctant to get to know Michael better. They meet at a beach restaurant, where she brings some police files or something for him to sign, and when he asks to see her again, she takes him to a local old movie theater to watch a black-and-white film, CYRANO DE BERGERAC. They don’t pay that much attention to the screen, though, as they have sex in the seats, with Liz sitting on top of Michael. They’re the only ones in the theater, but an usher (Barrett Shuler) still comes in and orders them to stop and leave; Liz just tells him to get out, which he does. Afterward, they go into the women’s restroom and have angry sex on the floor (at least Michael finally gets on top this time). When it’s over, Liz just leaves, ignoring Michael’s pleas to talk.

So that’s where the episode leaves us, with Liz and Michael’s fate up in the air. Along the way, we also get another hot sex scene; this is between Michael and Jocelyn. She came by his house after Liz left to check up on him, being genuinely concerned. Michael, of course, didn’t mention Liz to Jocelyn.

We also meet Sally Kellerman as Liz’s neighbor Lola, Kristen Howe as Liz’s sister Abigail, and Chad Everett as Michael’s father, Vic, each appearing in brief segments where they sit and address the camera, as if they’re filming a documentary. These parts don’t really add to the episode’s quality, but we’ll see how this plays out in the rest of the season.

Overall, it’s very good. The potential between Liz and Michael plays well; you want to see where it goes. There’s more complex characterization than you see from typical softcore shows of this time period.

I will give this episode a Chacebook rating of FOUR STARS.

Jason Majercik is selling the UNRATED DVDs of Chemistry season 1 for $29.99. Email him at quinn_nash@hotmail.com for his softcore inventory list