The History of Sex

Most people would probably prefer to have sex than learn why the Mesopotamians considered adultery theft. But there’s something to be said about enjoying the, ahem, ride and not just the destination. Thus, the History Channel offers this teasingly demure four-tape journey, documenting amore through the ages with scholarly testimony, well-endowed statuettes, lascivious drawings, and a few cheesy G-rated re-creations. Peter Coyote knowingly narrates the trip through ancient civilizations (the Greeks didn’t castigate people over their sexual orientations) to the early Eastern world (Chinese men were obsessed with holding on to their yang) to tribal Africa (women could take wives). Obviously, our ancestors weren’t completely backward. B