HBO's "Hung": The Show About a Guy With a Big…

But I've never understood why the female breast is such a big deal. I mean, they're just breasts. Maybe that's why I no longer have a problem with exposed breasts, because I see them as no different than an exposed male chest, which is why I never get why people say it's a double standard that you can have exposed breasts but not exposed penis. Wouldn't a better comparison be the female genitals, which to my knowledge is still taboo along with the male genitals? Isn't thinking in such a way just contributing to the continued over-sexualization of the female body by equating a woman's breasts to a sexual organ when they really aren't?

Boy...was I totally not impressed with the episodes I've seen. I'm not sure why they have to drive the point of "these are the most unlikely people to be be put in this situation" with every single character over and over and over. Ray, the 'pimp', the son...it's almost like the creators are trying to be too clever. I'll watch a few more, but so far I don't care if the show fails or floats.

Regarding "Hung," I'll stick it out for another few episodes, but, mostly, the show seems unremarkable and is an unfortunate break from HBO's typically ensemble-driven shows. (Also, "Sex and the City" belongs to HBO, not Showtime.)

Moreover, the wink-wink of the show's premise, the large penis, does not compare to the ultimate taboo: female genitalia. A full-frontal for a male is not the same as for a female. Put differently, we are a long way from ever seeing "pink" in mainstream film and television.

If broadcast networks want to know why they're losing their audience in droves, they need to understand that a lot of us are tired of practically every show being sanitized and made safe for 7 year olds and younger.

I just hope that HBO has the guts to follow through and explore all the topics related to the premise, including STD/HIV testing, condoms, inability to perform on occasion (or "rise to the occasion"), dealing with family issues when they find out about his new profession, irate husbands, rivalry with competitors, etc. If the show gets picked up for more seasons, I'd definitely like to see them address the possibility of male clientele. As word of mouth builds about Ray's services, it would make sense that Ray would begin receiving offers from generous gentlemen or curious husbands whose wives are already being serviced by Ray. As the saying goes, he's already established that he can be bought, it's just a matter of settling on his price and his limits. 

The other question I'd really like to see brought up is the "God's Gift" issue. People with amazing intellectual capacity are always encouraged to put their brain to use to support their families and help humanity. Talented sports stars are constantly celebrated for using their athletic gifts for the entertainment of millions. But when a man's only "gift from God" is a huge penis, is he encouraged to find a way to use it to support himself and his family, or to use it to bring happiness to others? Quite the opposite - at least in mainstream society. Sure, there's some initial curiosity (and jealousy), but even the slightest hint that he's making his living with his gift would cause the majority in the US to view him with disdain. Why is it OK to exploit your big brain for money, but not your big penis?

This is the second review that I read on it that said that it wasn't as shocking as the name would imply, and it was also compared to Nurse Jackie and Weeds in that review. Although, the other one I read wasn't as kind to the show as you were.

I like the premise, and I like Thomas Jane, but hearing the line "You used to have so much going for you...and you were hung", just makes it sound so corny. Really? Who would say something like that?? Maybe, I'd have to hear it in the context of the show?

And, not to be a nitpicker but in Swingtown, the swingers didn't move into the neighborhood, they were already living there when the "non-swingers" moved in across the street. :-)

The acting by Tom Jane and Jane Adams was very well done, especially Adams. The show just needed something more. Since this is the intro though, they had to set the stage for who was in the show and where it was going. So we'll see...

Good start on Sunday-have high hopes for this new show. Agree that the acting by Tom Jane and Jane Adams was really very well done. Have been a big fan of Tom Jane's since The Punisher.To me he makes things very believable on this show -as he slowly sinks down to nothing left but just his big penis...Notice when he did his online search to "market" his assets -he refined the search to just women who wanted big penis after the initial search ....

When I heard about this show I thought of something Dan Savage wrote about male prostitutes for women being basically an urban myth -- that he'd been writing about sex for 20 years and never come across an actual male hustler who only catered to females because (I'm paraphrasing) "Women don't have to pay for sex. Period." So I asked a friend in the Women's Studies Department who has a friend whose specialty is studying sex workers -- and this women confirmed Savage's contention -- that a guy being paid by women for sex is a straight male fantasy but so rare that they can't find any to study! She said (and I quote), "If this show is going to be even a little realistic, after the first few tricks, he's doing to be sucking you know what or he's going to be out of business!" So -- will they go there?