Sex and the Stethoscope: Cable's Heart-to-Heart Doc

Okay, what is the question people ask most?

Without a beat, Pinsky says, "Guys ask, are they adequate? Are they man enough? And women worry about what men think."

Fascinating . Pinsky and O'Neill say the show will be "clinical" in the sense that the discussions about sex will be offered by a medical doctor. "We know the FCC has concerns about the show," Pinsky says. "They've put everyone on notice that they'll be watching." This frustrates Pinsky because, he says, "I want to be more Catholic than the pope," but the FCC stubbornly refuses to say what is out of bounds when it comes to community standards for cable sexpert shows.

Dr. Drew excuses himself to prepare for the taping. Out in the studio, one of the show's managers is warming up the audience by reading from the "Condom Wheel," which gives women advice on how to persuade their partners to wear protection. Example: He says, "It doesn't feel good." She should say: "The safer I feel, the wilder I get." Then the warm-up act asks the audience about adult toys and self-love. A show of hands? People? Anyone? A guy in a leather jacket raises his hand, vigorously.

The taping begins. It's funny, but for all the show's titillating potential, it is rather chaste.

In one segment, Dr. Drew quizzes the co-authors of "The Hookup Handbook" about the popularity of no-strings-attached make-out sessions among the twenty-something generation. He is clearly skeptical. The co-authors, a pair of New York gals, believe it is all just flirty fun.

Okay, bye-bye to New York gals and hello to newlywed couple flush with randy abandon. Meet Dave and Becky, a regular looking pair (she's in shorts with black socks and sneakers) in the Barry White stage of marriage. She says, "We're never very far out of the mood." Then Dr. Drew brings out a psychoanalyst to explain to Romeo and Juliet that their physical ardor may wane, and that it's only natural. Then we learn that Becky is now preggers, and there ensues helpful information about how her body will change and that Dave needs to be sensitive and cool about that.

It's all very nice, very normal. Not kinky at all. There is no nee d to avert one's eyes. "It's about being a human being," Pinsky says. Strictly sexually speaking.

Next up on Discovery Health: "Skinned Alive!" ("By this point, Sarah was in agony.") Now that is disturbing.