Plenty of Sex at the TCA Press Tour

The TCA press tour has just begun and already we're being bombarded with shows with sex, sex, sex. Animal sex, that is. But what a sex life these critters have!

For the uninitiated, the TCA press tours occur every January and July and give the networks a chance to expose TV editors from across the nation and Canada to their upcoming programs. In the summer, the focus is mainly on fall programs.

First up is PBS. Public television doesn't draw as many viewers as the big broadcast network but they often have the most interesting sessions. This fall, the blockbuster will be Ken Burns' eagerly-awaited 15-hour documentary, "The War," about America's involvement in World War II. But there are plenty of other series far more interesting than many of those in the seemingly endless parade of criminal procedurals and unlikely superheroes.

Take, for example, "Nature." It's been around for 25 years and can still amaze. There's a two-part special that will run next spring with the intriguing title, "What Females Want and Males Will Do." I went to the press conference because, although I consider myself an expert on the latter, the former has always baffled me.

That's where we learned about the sex lives of ducks. The female of the species is often subject to what might be described as gang rape but, in this fowl world, she has the final say. "She can choose to use the sperm from a male or dump it," explained Patricia Brennan, an expert on such things.

Also on the panel was Chadden Hunter, an expert on the private lives of baboons. In baboon society, sex is controlled completely by the females. They pick and there's no appeal, speed dating or match.com.

For males, there are worse deals. Even baboons wouldn't trade places with male spiders who, after they mate, become dinner for the females.

The point of this is, well, there are two points. One, there's a lot more sex on TV than you think but, as long as it isn't of the human variety, no one seems to mind too much. Also, there's a lot more to PBS than you might think.

Posted by Barry Garron July 10, 2007 in Barry Garron, PBS | Permalink