I imagine that the people who are OK with sex scenes are divided into two different types: those who think the sex is there to advance the plot, and those who think the plot is there to deliver the sex. And unfortunately I figure that it's very easy for the latter to stifle the former.
As for Barnabas and Angelique, I think a lot is gained by the fact that we didn't see the sex between them. She says they made a pledge (or something of the sort); he says they didn't. I'm glad I don't know the exact truth of the matter, even though I do have a very strong opinion about it.
Totally agree with the comment above.
I understand where Zahir is coming from, but the movies that Zahir listed are
absolutely appropriate for sex scenes, because that is what the plot is centered around. It is artistically appropriate because that is the mood for that particular movie. Like Midnight Cowboy for one, is about a hustler, so it's only appropriate in that sense.
Also, This sounds contradictory of me, but I would like to update the statement I made about violence because I wrote that post quickly and I didn't really explain my feelings on the subject... I agree with Zahir that sugar-coating violence isn't a good thing for a show that wants to leave you with the reality of a situation.
Some violence has a strong impact on the over-all feel of the show and I definitely wouldn't object to it.
I was actually referring to "gore" NOT violence and I didn't make that clear. I apologize for that.
Reason being is that, so many times, I see a show that tries to go all out with the dead bodies with the blood splurting out or the synthetics, and it just makes it feel a little corny to me. Especially in a horror film. And vampire shows especially--they try to put the blood all over the place. It's just silly and not at all realistic. In artistic form again, setting the mood... What person do you know would stop and study every portion of a corpse? It seems foolish in film sense to show the viewer every aspect of the dead person's mangled body, unless the movie centered around a police force where they are looking at the body objectively, well, that is what they do and again, it's appropriate.
For Dark Shadows I would rather see a different take on the show and make it more dramatic than about a vampire eating people, or them throwing in a couple sex scenes to wake you up. I think many shows rely on sex scenes to up the entertainment value, and when it is done in a way that doesn't supplement the plot line or really have much to do with the show, it's a waste of screen time. Most shows like that have very little quality which is why they have to throw that content in there, because, sex sells.
